OUR LADY OF DOLOURS CHURCH
AT
THRISSUR
Basilica
of Our Lady of Dolours (Puthan Pally) is claimed to be the biggest and tallest
church in Asia, situated in the heart of the city of Thrissur in the Kerala
state of south India.
It
is famous for its Gothic style architecture with an area of 25,000 square feet
(2,300 m2), it has soaring belfries at the entrance, double storeyed aisles all
along the nave and transepts, and eleven altars, five on either side of the
main one.
It
is the largest church in India and its exuberant interior decorations include fine
specimens of murals, images of saints and scenes from the scriptures. An array
of 15 altars and musical church bells imported from Germany.
The
ceiling is decorated with marvellous mural paintings of the holy trinity. Look
for the pulpit and the throne used by Pope John Paul II during his visit in 1986.
Thrissur's first Catholic church, it was a
center for St. Thomas Christians or Mar Thoma Nazrani in the area (now the
Syro-Malabar Catholic Church) for decades. In 1874, the Chaldean Catholic
bishop Elias Mellus arrived in India and convinced a large part of the
Christian community to accept him as their bishop.
The group that followed Mellus was based at
Our Lady of Dolours, and eventually separated from the Catholic hierarchy,
forming what is now known
as the Chaldean Syrian Church. In response the Syro-Malabar Catholics
constructed a new building in 1929. The original church was
renamed the Mart Mariam Big Church, and is
now the cathedral of the Chaldean
Syrian Church.
The
construction of this biggest church in India was done in different phases,
started in the year 1929. The two front towers are of 146 feet (45 m) height
each and the central tower of 260 feet (79 m) height makes this church as
tallest in Asia.
Completion
of the towers were an architectural challenge. Few experts from TamilNadu were
brought over. Architect who completed the church was Ambrose Gounder.
The
notable feature here is the 260 feet high Bible tower at the rear of the
church. Blessed in 2004, this tower depicts the whole life of Jesus and is the
first Christian art gallery in Kerala. Visitors get a panoramic view of
Thrissur city from the top of the tower. Working hours of the bible tower is
from 10am to 6 pm, from Tuesday to Friday and from 10am to 7.30pm, on Saturdays
and Sundays. The tower remains closed on Mondays.
