St. Thomas' Cathedral, Vaddukoddai

St. Thomas' Cathedral
Cathedral Church at Vaddukoddai
St. Thomas' Cathedral
Location within Northern Province
09°43′45.70″N 79°56′56.60″E / 9.7293611°N 79.9490556°E / 9.7293611; 79.9490556Coordinates: 09°43′45.70″N 79°56′56.60″E / 9.7293611°N 79.9490556°E / 9.7293611; 79.9490556
Location Vaddukoddai
Country Sri Lanka
Denomination United
Architecture
Status Cathedral
Functional status Active
Heritage designation Archaeological protected monument
Designated 30 December 2011
Administration
Diocese Jaffna
Clergy
Bishop(s) Daniel Thiagarajah

St. Thomas' Cathedral is the seat of the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India located in Vaddukoddai, Sri Lanka.

History

Portuguese Jesuits built a Catholic church in Vaddukoddai in the 1660s which was later taken over and renovated by the Dutch before being handed over to the American Ceylon Mission (ACM) by the British.[1][2] In May 1904 the Congregational Council of Ceylon (CCC) was set-up to administer ACM's churches.[3][4] CCC joined together with the American Madura Mission and the London Missionary Society in Travancore to form the United Churches of South India and Ceylon (UCSIC) in 1905.[4] UCSIC joined with the South India Synod of the Presbyterian Church to form the South India United Church (SIUC) in 1908/09.[3][4] The Church of South India was established in September 1947 as a union of the SIUC, South India Provincial Synod of Methodist Church and the southern dioceses of the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon.[3][4][5][6]

The cathedral was declared an archaeological protected monument in December 2011.[7]

References

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