Replica of Holy Land, St. Mary's Church, Chalakudy

By -
Site Name: Replica of Holy Land, St. Mary's Church
Site Type: Church
Location:  Chalakudy, Kerala, India
Highlights: An ancient church; Replica of Holy Land depicting various incidents in the life of Jesus Christ
Nearest Railway Station: Chalakudy
Nearest Airport: Cochin
How to reach: Well connected by road and rail
Hotel: A lot of options are available within Ernakulam/Cochin; Few options including homestays are available in Chalakudy
Restaurants: It's difficult to find different varieties of restaurants


Chalakudy is a small and beautiful town located near Cochin in Kerala state of India. Some dense forests and important waterfalls of Kerala are located near Chalakudy. Only few people would know about an important site located in this town. It is St. Mary's Church.

The origin of Christian faith in this town can be traced back to almost 2000 years. It is believed that St. Thomas, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ, landed in Kodungallur in Kerala in 52 AD. He travelled to various parts of Kerala including Chalakudy and converted a lot of people to Christianity. It is believed that the early Christian community in Chalakudy who were converted directly by St. Thomas, built the first church in Chalakudy in 600 AD. It is also believed that it remained til 1300 AD and then shifted to the present site which is around few hundred meters away.

Although it is claimed that the church is very ancient, I am not sure if there are any historical records to proove that. The current structure of church was rebuilt in 1987. The replica of Holy Land is the latest addition that attracts a great number of tourists to this church. The objective is to give the visitors a feel of visiting the sites of biblical importance. The Holy Land depicts a lot of important events in the life of Jesus Christ.

Happy travelling.


 

View Larger Map

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tallest Murugan of Chennai

By -
Image
Consecrated in March 2021, the 40 feet high Bala Murugan icon at Saveetha Medical College campus is the tallest image of Murugan in Chennai. Malaysia has 140 feet tall Murugan. In April 2022, the 146 feet tall image of Murugan was consecrated near Salem in Tamil Nadu. However, they are all stucco images. But, the one that we find on the college campus is a monolithic granite icon. Thus, it is the tallest stone icon of Murugan in the entire world. A stone weighing 320 tonnes was brought from Siruvambur near Wallajah, and it was carved to 140 tonnes to get this beautiful and gigantic sculpture. The entire temple complex is designed in the shape of the Devanagiri letter "Om", which can be appreciated in the aerial view.  The west-facing gigantic sculpture is located atop the star-shaped pedestal. It dominates the entire landscape. A large meditation hall is situated below the pedestal. On the open corridor in front of the presiding deity, smaller shrines are found. They enshrine
Read more

Little known Nimishamba Temple of Chennai

By -
Image
Site Name:  Nimishamba Temple Site Type:  Hindu Temple Location:   Kasi Chetty Street, Sowcarpet, Chennai city, Tamil Nadu state, India Highlights:   A rare temple of Nimishamba in Chennai city Nearest Railway Station:   Chennai - well connected from the cities/towns all over India Nearest Airport:   Chennai has both national and international airports How to reach:   Easily reachable by road as this is centrally located in the city Hotel:  Many star hotels, luxury hotels/resorts, and budget hotels are available in Chennai Restaurants:  All options - vegetarian, non-vegetarian, Chinese, South Indian, Gujarati, North Indian, Punjabi,....- you can find everything in Chennai city Chennai is considered as the gateway to South India. The capital city of Tamil Nadu state of India has hundreds of tourist sites which include museum, British period monuments, temples, beach, etc. Let us explore a little known temple called Nimishamba temple located in Chennai. Nimishamba is anothe
Read more

A 17th century Dargah with healing power - Mount Road Dargah, Chennai, India

By -
Image
Mount Road or Anna Salai is one of the most happening places in  Chennai . There are two famous Islamic shrines on Mount Road – one is  Thousands Light mosque . The other one is Dargah-e-Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi (Rahmatullah Alaihi), also known as Mount Road Dargah. It is the most popular Dargah across the city. It draws devotees of all faiths and all walks of life. Especially every Thursday, a large number of devotees gather to the Dargah. A lot of city-based celebrities regularly visit the site. This Dargah is the shrine of a Muslim Saint named Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi. He was also known as Rahmatullah Alaihi. Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi arrived from Baghdad in the middle of the 17th Century CE. He made Chennai his home and lived here. It is believed that he had healing powers. During his time, he had so many devotees regularly visiting him. After his demise, his family buried him next to his house, which is the current Dargah. You can easily lo
Read more