CATEGORY : PILGRIM TOURISM, CHURCHES
St. John's Metropolitan Cathedral is the seat of the
Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Archeparchy of Tiruvalla.
Architecture
The cathedral has a temple-like exterior but a conventional church
interior. Aspects of traditional Kerala architecture, temple architecture and
Eastern (Syrian) Christian tradition were integrated into the design. The
exterior design incorporates elements from the architecture of the old
cathedral that it replaced.
The cathedral’s interior has a depiction of biblical themes
in stained glass. Three key premises that are shown through these biblical
themes are: God in search of man, man in search of God, and man in search of
the other. The stained glass images depict the story of the Good Samaritan, The
Prodigal Son, The Parable of the 10 Virgins, Zacchaeus, Parables of the Lost
Sheep and Coins, the Rich Man and Lazarus, and the Last Judgment; important
incidents in the life of Jesus from birth until the resurrection.History
After the split between the Orthodox faction of the
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the group that reunited with the Catholic
church, the Catholic group were in need of places of worship. Hence, after
overcoming many obstacles, a chapel was constructed. Infant Mary’s Minor
Seminary was started on 8 September 1931 and a temporary chapel came into
existence near the seminary. After the erection of the Tiruvalla diocese in
1933, the chapel was upgraded to St. John's Cathedral. In 1943 a new church
(third one) was constructed on the same place where the first chapel existed.
In response to the call of the Second Vatican Council to regain the cultural
heritage of the eastern churches, Bishop Mar Athanasios invited Laurie Baker to
design and build a new cathedral in the tradition and culture of Kerala. The
circular structure of the church had 12 pillars symbolising the 12 apostles of
Christ. There were no pillars in the middle, offering a clear view inside. This
cathedral was blessed on 28 December 1972. By the end of the 1990s, the need
for the construction of a new cathedral was felt as the old cathedral was on
the verge of collapse because its roof was built with wood. The pillars could
not bear the heavy load. The current cathedral was constructed on the same
place where the third Cathedral (1943) was built, which is a few meters away.
This was consecrated in September 2005.
http://www.stjohnsmetropolitancathedral.org/