The Madras Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Chetpet, has crossed another milestone in its eventful history. On January 21, the church inaugurated its platinum jubilee building.
A host of dignitaries were present at the event.
Now, a historical tour of the church.
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Did you know that the Madras Mar Thoma Syrian Church is the first parish of the denomination to be established outside Kerala?
In 1936, it began as a small congregation of students in Madras, under the leadership of reverend C.K. Mathai.
With the construction of a church building in 1951, the small congregation developed into a parish. The church was dedicated by Most Rev. Dr. Juhanon Mar Thoma, the then Metropolitan. The church was under the leadership of reverend A.A. Paylee, who was later elevated as the vicar general of the church.
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In 1958, a parsonage — the official residence of the vicar of the parish — was built on Sixth Avenue in Harrington Road.
So far, 44 have priests, including vicars and assistant vicars, headed the parish.
Notably, in the eight decades of its existence, the parish grew in size, spreading its wings across the city, extending to various areas: Avadi (1963), Thiruvottiyur (1977), Tambaram (1990), Anna Nagar (1993), Padi (1997), St. Thomas Mount (2000) and Adyar (2006).
While the mother parish has over 3,000 family memberships (including a strong floating student community), the other parishes have family membership ranging from 30 to 350.
In 1995, the church building was reconstructed and consecrated in 2000 by Most Rev. Dr. Joseph Mar Thoma, the then suffragan metropolitan of the church.
The parish also received its first parish hall, which began to be constructed in 1973.
Years later, this auditorium was demolished to pave way for the Platinum Jubilee building, which is more spacious and completely air-conditioned.