Epiphany Cathedral Church | |
---|---|
Oxford Mission Church | |
এপিফানী ক্যাথেড্রাল চার্চ | |
22°42′15″N90°21′46″E / 22.7042°N 90.3628°E | |
Location | Poet Jibanando Das Street, Bogra Road, Barisal |
Country | Bangladesh |
Churchmanship | Church of Bangladesh |
History | |
Status | Cathedral |
Founded | 1903 |
Founder(s) | Oxford Mission |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | Sister Edith Langridge, Father E. L. Strong |
Style | Greek architecture |
Administration | |
Metropolis | Dhaka |
Diocese | Barishal |
Clergy | |
Bishop(s) | The Right Reverend Shourabh Pholia [1] |
Priest(s) | Fr. Francis, SPB |
Oxford Mission Epiphany Cathedral Church, commonly known as Oxford Mission Church and the Church of Bangladesh Diocese of Barisal is a United Protestant church in Barisal, a southern city in Bangladesh. [2] It is one of the oldest and arguably the second largest church in Asia by land area and the largest Church in Bangladesh. [3] It was built in 1904 as part of the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon, the Anglican province in colonial India, and became a part of the United Protestant Church of Bangladesh at the time of the merger between various Protestant denominations in that country. [4] [5]
In the early 18th century, the ancient river port city Barisal attracted many Christian missionaries. Oxford Mission, an England-based Anglican missionary started its journey in this region from at the end of the 19th century and formed Brotherhood of the Epiphany in 1895. [6] In 1902, a Sisterhood was formed at Barisal under the guidance of Father Strong to work alongside the Brotherhood. The missionary opened an English boarding school, Christian youth hostels, an orphanage, a primary school and a medical centre in its compound at Bogra Road. The work of the sisters was very broad in scope, including evangelism, medical work, educational activity amongst women under the leadership of Edith Langridge. Later a branch house was formed at Jobarpar, Agailjhara thirty miles north of the town.
The Epiphany Church was established in 1903 based on a sketch of Sister Edith and inaugurated on 26 January that year. [7] Father E. L. Strong, chief of the brotherhood had overseen the completion of the church's design, final shape and construction through a second phase in 1907. [7] Frederick Douglass served as the engineer. The church was built on 35 acres of land surrounded by high wall and rows of palm trees. [8]
The church has been preserved as a cultural heritage and survived many natural disasters occurred in the country.
The structure of the church reflects Greek architectural style. It appears to be a five-storied building from the outside, it actually has a single floor with a large prayer hall. [9] There are many doors on three sides, 40 archways and numerous corridors around the church. The large cross on the main altar was brought from Bethlehem, Palestine. The interior has been designed with wood carvings and the floor including the baptism bath basin decorated with marble tiles. Another notable attraction of the Oxford Mission Church is the red brick bell tower and the giant bell it houses. The bell is rung seven times every day five minutes before prayers. The bell tower also houses the church's office room. [10]
There are 13 small and large ponds and Oxford Mission High School, hospital, library, students' hostel and living quarters of the father and sisters inside the compound. [11] [12]
Barisal Division is one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Located in the south-central part of the country, it has an area of 13,644.85 km2 (5,268.31 sq mi), and a population of 9,100,102 at the 2011 Census. It is the least populous Division in Bangladesh. It is bounded by Dhaka Division on the north, the Bay of Bengal on the south, Chittagong Division on the east and Khulna Division on the west. The administrative capital, Barisal city, lies in the Padma River delta on an offshoot of the Arial Khan River. Barisal division is criss-crossed by numerous rivers that earned it the nickname Dhan-Nodi-Khal, Ei tin-e Borishal.
The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of Protestant denominations in South India that occurred after the independence of India.
Christians in Bangladesh account for 0.30% of the nation's population as of 2022 census. Together with Judaism and Buddhism, they account for 1% of the population. Islam accounts for 91.04% of the country's religion, followed by Hinduism at 7.95% as per 2022 census.
Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq, popularly known as Sher-e-Bangla, was a Bengali lawyer and politician who presented the Lahore Resolution which had the objective of creating an independent Pakistan. He also served as the first and longest Prime Minister of Bengal during the British Raj.
The Church of Bangladesh is a united Protestant church formed by the union of various Protestant churches in Bangladesh, principally the Anglican and Presbyterian denominations. The Church of Bangladesh is a member of the Anglican Communion and the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
Bengali Christians are adherents of Christianity among the Bengali people. Christianity took root in Bengal after the arrival of Portuguese voyagers in the 16th century. It witnessed further conversions among the Bengali upper-caste elite during the 19th century Bengali Renaissance.
The Christa Sevika Sangha, CSS, is an Anglican religious order for women based in Jobarpar, Church of Bangladesh Diocese of Barisal, in Bangladesh. It is a vow for women in the Anglican Church of Bangladesh.
Abdul Gaffar Choudhury was a Bangladeshi-born British writer, journalist, columnist, political analyst and poet. He wrote the lyrics to "Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano", a widely celebrated song commemorating the Bengali Language Movement. He was awarded Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1967, Ekushey Padak in 1983, and Independence Day Award in 2009.
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Protestants in India are a minority and a sub-section of Christians in India and also to a certain extent the Christians in Pakistan before the Partition of India, that adhere to some or all of the doctrines of Protestantism. Protestants in India are a small minority in a predominantly Hindu majority country, but form majorities in the north-eastern states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland and significant minorities in Konkan division, Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, with various communities in east coast and northern states. Protestants today trace their heritage back to the Protestant reformation of the 16th century. There are an estimated 20 million Protestants and 16 million Pentecostals in India.
Hana Catherine Mullens (1826–1861) was a European Christian missionary, educator, translator and writer. She was a leader of zenana missions, setting up schools for girls and writing what is arguably the first novel in Bengali. She spent most of her life in Calcutta, then the capital of British India, and was fluent in the Bengali language.
Abdul Wahab Khan was the 3rd speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan. He is the grandfather of Salman Khan, founder of Khan Academy.
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James Long (1814–1887) was an Anglo-Irish priest of the Anglican Church. A humanist, educator, evangelist, translator, essayist, philanthropist and a missionary to India, he resided in the city of Calcutta, India, from 1840 to 1872 as a member of the Church Missionary Society, leading the mission at Thakurpukur.
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The Church Missionary Society in India was a branch organisation established by the Church Missionary Society (CMS), which was founded in Britain in 1799 under the name the Society for Missions to Africa and the East, as a mission society working with the Anglican Communion, other Protestants, and Orthodox Christians around the world. In 1812, the British organization was renamed the Church Missionary Society.
Edith Langridge, commonly known as Mother Edith, was a British settlement worker and missionary based at Barishal in British India, where she was a founder member and first superior of the Sisterhood of the Epiphany, a Benedictine Anglican religious order. She designed the Oxford Mission Church which is one of the largest churches in Asia.
Ḥāfiẓ Aḥmad Jaunpūrī was an Indian Muslim scholar, religious preacher and social worker. As the son and successor of Karamat Ali Jaunpuri, he led the Taiyuni reformist movement in Bengal.
Hayat Mahmud was a late 18th-century Bengali Muslim commander who later became the feudal lord of Buzurg-Umedpur in Barisal. He is best known as a freedom fighter against the British East India Company, and for the construction of the Miah Bari Mosque, which continues to be a popular tourist attraction in southern Bangladesh.
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The Church of Bangladesh incorporates Anglican and Presbyterian traditions and plays an important role in enhancing the spiritual and socioeconomic life of Christian and non-Christian Bangladeshis.