Before
attending a function at Rajah Annamalai Mandram, happened to visit this Church,
on NSC Bose Road, George Town. Chennai. The “150 years” sign board displayed outside the Church attracts
me to peep into this Church.
Rev.
John Anderson ( Who lived between 1805 and 1857 CE ), was a Scottish missionary and strong believer in Education to the downtrodden street Children and who
founded the mission ( 1837 – 1857 CE ) of the free church of England at
Chennai, then Madras. It was believed that he established an Education
institution in the name of “General Assembly
School” at Egmore in the year
1835 and shifted to Sailor’s House, George Town ( Black town ) area in
1838 and became the Free Church of Scotland’s central shrine in 1845. This
Church / Chapel was called as College Chapel and later the Church was
reconstructed.
The
St Andrew’s School functioned at Randalls Road in Egmore, founded by Re. George
James Laurie and Rev Mathew Bowie moved
to this General Assembly School with its’ Head Master and 59 boys. It is
believed that this school was upgraded
to a College and moved to Tambaram in 1937, as “The Madras Christian College”. Under the leadership of Dr
William Miller, the college was
expanded with Hostels and academic buildings.
John
Anderson and his wife Margaret Anderson ( who died in 1887 CE ) are laid to rest in the Purasaiwakkam, Tana Street
cemetery after their death. Margaret
Anderson used to say that her husband Anderson’s warm spirit lives on in the
church that’s a haven of quiet for street Children, beggars, and weekday worshipers.
The
present Church was built in the same place where College Chapel stood in 1859,
4 years after Rev. John Anderson’s death. The first convert Rev, P
Rajagopal, has become the first minister of the Church. The altar is very
simple with a wooden Cross. Jesus’s image in stained glass is on both sides of
the altar. Stained glass with Colourful engraving of Jesus' story adorns the Windows
/ventilators. In memory of those who dedicated their life to this Church inscribed on Plaques/ tablets, are fitted on the walls.
The
Alter renovation work was carried out with the generous donation of Mr A
Johnson & Family ( Son of D Arulanandam ) and was dedicated by Rev. D
Richard Ambrose Jebakumar M.A., B.D on 5th July 1998. This Church
celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2009. In commemoration of the Sesquicentennial Celebrations, the Church was renovated and
re-dedicated by Ret. Rev. Dr. Prof
Devasahayam ( Bishop in Madras ) on 24th April 2011. The Church also
celebrated its 157th anniversary and a tablet was unveiled by Ret.
Rev. Dr J. George Stephen on 15th May 2016.
The
Church conducts competitions for School
and College students on Tamil literature in connection with Christianity
through Christuva Ilakkiya Tamil Peravai – கிறித்தவ இலக்கியத் தமிழ்ப் பேரவை. The Church also encourages composing and singing of new songs on
Christianity through Dalit and Adhivasikal Variyam – தலித் மற்றும் ஆதிவாசிகள் வாரியம்.
The
Anderson Church is under the control of CSI ( Church of South India), a Protestant
sect of the Christian religion. This Church is listed as one of the Landmark
Heritage buildings by the Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (
INTACH ), Tamil Nadu Chapter.
HOW TO REACH:
This
Church is on the NSC Bose Road and about 2 km from MGR Central Railway station.
Broadway Bus Terminus, High Court Bus Terminus, and High Court Metro Railway station are
close to this Church.
LOCATION OF THE CHURCH: CLICK HERE
PC : Website
---OM
SHIVAYA NAMA---
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