St. George's Cathedral, Chennai
St. George’s Cathedral is a Church of South India, (previously Anglican), cathedral in Chennai, India. The cathedral was built in 1815 AD. St. George’s occupies an important place in the history of Christianity in India, as the Church of South India was inaugurated here on September 27, 1947. The Cathedral was packed to capacity and the big pandal outside held over 2000 people. It marked the breaking down of ecclesiastical barriers between Protestants of various traditions.The architecture of St. George’s Cathedral is remarkable for its tall spire, pillars, marble statues, mural tablets and memorials inside. The Cathedral is a piece of architectural grandeur resting on a tier of steps. The Governors of Fort St. George and their families worshipped here as also the Viceroys when they visited Madras.HistoryThe Church was opened in 1815 AD. It is stated that the church was completed by the people themselves with the aid of a lottery fund. It cost 41,709 pagodas and with the furniture, the organ and the architect’s commission increasing the cost to 57,225 pagodas. 1 Pagoda was equivalent to Indian Rupees 3.50.The British East India Company's Senior Engineer Col. J. L. Caldwell designed the church, and his assistant Captain De Havilland finished the construction. The site with an advantageous location was called the Choultry Plain. Though the Presidency Chaplain conducted the services from 1815, it was on 6 January 1816, that the first Anglican Bishop of Calcutta, Rt. Rev. Thomas Fanshaw Middleton consecrated the church to “the service of God according to the use of the Church of England”.
