Article Written By EIH Researcher And Writer
Radhika Somani
Christianity was introduced to the Indian subcontinent with the arrival of Saint Thomas in 52 CE on the western coast of India, he was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ who preached across all sections of society to spread the teachings of Christianity. His followers are still referred to as Syrian Christians or Thomas Christians. The importance of historic churches all around India is a testimony to their proud legacy woven into the structural beauty and different architectural styles of the churches.
The 17th-century St. Thomas Cathedral Church is one such explicit structure built to foresee the religious needs of the growing English population in Bombay. Sir John Oxinden, East India Company’s first Governor of Bombay had proposed the idea for this Church in 1668 CE, however, it was under Gerald Aungier who succeeded him, and the foundation stone was laid in 1676 CE. Building a church with limited funding and appropriate for liturgical use was a challenge for the Britishers at that time, due to unavoidable factors, the work at St. Thomas church lay desolate until the arrival of Mr. Richard Cobbe, who laid the foundation stone again on 18th November 1715 CE, and finally consecrated the church on the eve of Christmas in 1718 CE as the first Anglican Church within the fortified walls of British settlement in southern Bombay.
This Church was the only landmark in the Bombay presidency for over 100 years. One of the gates of the Fort marked the entrance to St. Thomas church, since then the entire area towards the west of the church is called Churchgate even today. The street leading to the Church was originally known as Churchgate street and was later renamed Veer Nariman Road. Located in the city center close to Horiman Circle and the Flora Fountain, the church was considered as Zero Point of Bombay, meaning distances from all major roads were measured in miles from this point, out of 16 milestones commissioned in 1817 CE 10 have been found on their original locations today. Much later in 1837 CE, the Diocese of Bombay was created with Thomas Carr as its Bishop and St. Thomas Church became a Cathedral, seat of the Bishop of Bombay.
Built-in the Neoclassical style of architecture the building underwent multiple additions and alterations that respected the integrity of the previous changes. In 1839 CE, the Bell tower was raised 146 ft above ground level in tribute to the church’s contribution to the development of Bombay. With the arrival of the Gothic Revival style of architecture in Bombay, a fountain and a grand eastern wing were added to the church in 1864 CE. Later, following the renovation works done in 1920 CE, as part of the improvement plan the sloped roof of the chancel was replaced with a concrete roof, considered an innovative material at that time in India. The most recent restoration work took place in 2003, the deteriorating concrete roof was replaced with the original sloping roof along with other major changes that returned the church to its glory. Today, the Grade I heritage church is open to Christian worshippers and non-Christians alike.
Reference and Bibliography
1 “Church.” Church Site, http://stthomascathedralmumbai.com/site/viewPage/7. Accessed 12 December 2022.
2 Ritika Athwani. “St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai, evolving through ages.” https://www.academia.edu/31691207/Stories_in_Stones_ST_THOMAS_CATHEDRAL_Mumbai_Evolving_Through_Ages.
3 Savani heritage conservation pvt.ltd. “St. Thomas Cathedral, Fort mumbai.” https://www.savaniheritage.com/img/08StThomasCathedral-FortMumbaiCoffeeTablePreview30-07-2020-7302020125340AM.pdf.
4 “St. Thomas’ Cathedral, Zero Point of Mumbai.” Rangan Datta, 3 June 2020, https://rangandatta.wordpress.com/2020/06/03/st-thomas-cathedral-zero-point-of-mumbai/.
