St Luke's Church, Borella | |
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General information | |
Type | Church |
Architectural style | Sinhalese / British |
Location | Borella, Colombo-8, Sri Lanka |
Construction started | Laying of foundation: 8 October 1881 / service of dedication: 30 June 1881 |
Completed | Extension consecrated: 30 June 1941 |
Owner | Anglican Church of Ceylon |
Design and construction | |
Other designers | Reverend Canon Ivan Corea |
St Luke's Church is situated in the Borella district of Colombo, the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. The church plays an important role within the history of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) on the island and is prominent within the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka.
The Venerable Lorenz Beven, Archdeacon of Colombo noted that 'The development of Maradana in consequence of the establishment of hospitals in that area created the necessity for a Church. The first steps were taken at a meeting held on 5 October 1875 when it was decided to appeal for subscriptions. A piece of land nearly two acres in extent was acquired, the price paid being £300 per acre. The foundation was laid by the Reverend J. Ireland Jones on 8 October 1881 who also took the service of dedication on 30 June 1881. The rapid growth of the work in this Parish called for the enlargement of the Church and in 1937 a building scheme was launched and completed in time for the extended church to be consecrated by Bishop Horsley in 1941, the Diamond Jubilee Year of the Church.' [1]
The church is one of the finest examples of traditional Sinhalese architecture. The church has very unusual architecture: the clergyman behind the new design was Reverend Canon Ivan Corea who was Vicar of St Luke's Church, Borella, for 25 years (1929–1954). Canon Corea started a massive building programme in the 1930s. Bishop Horsley, who was Bishop of Colombo, consecrated the church on the day of its diamond jubilee on June 30, 1941. [2] St Luke's Church was in the forefront of missionary activity including ministering to medical professionals in Colombo. [2] A regular service was held at 5:30 am to cater to the needs of medical professionals before they went on duty in the local hospitals.
When Radio Ceylon, the world's second oldest radio station, became a public corporation in January 1967 and changed its name to the Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation, a service of thanksgiving was held at St Luke's Church, Borella. The service was attended by national and international broadcasters including the Director-General of CBC, Neville Jayaweera.
The choir of St Luke's Church has been featured on several Christmas and Easter radio programmes on Radio Ceylon and subsequently the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. Notable Sri Lankan musicians have been members of the choir, including the big band musician Douglas Meerwald. [3]
Several Bishops of Colombo of the Church of Ceylon have served as vicars or curates of St Luke's Church, among them Bishop Cyril Abeynaike, Bishop Swithin Fernando and Bishop Kenneth Fernando.
Vernon Corea was a pioneer radio broadcaster with 45 years of public service broadcasting both in Sri Lanka and the UK. He joined Radio Ceylon, South Asia's oldest radio station, in 1956 and later the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. During his time he presented some of the most popular radio shows in South Asia, including The Maliban Show, Dial-a-Disc, Holiday Choice, Two For the Money, Take It Or Leave It, Saturday Stars, To Each His Own, Kiddies Corner, and Old Folks at Home. He was well known not only in Sri Lanka, but right across the Indian Sub-Continent from the late 1950s to the 1970s – this was in the heyday of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia.
Hector Vernon Ivan Seneviratne Corea was a priest of the Church of Ceylon.
Earle Douglas (Dougie) Meerwald was a pioneering Ceylonese musician. Dougie Meerwald was the vocalist of one of the leading Ceylonese swing and dance bands of the early 1950s - The Manhattans. Western popular music and dance band music was all the rage in South Asia after World War II and Ceylon was no exception.
The Anglican Bishop of Colombo is the ecclesiastical head of the Anglican Diocese of Colombo, a diocese in the Church of Ceylon which is part of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Diocese of Colombo was founded in 1845, as the diocese of the Church of England in Ceylon.
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo is a Latin metropolitan archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, whose ecclesiastical province covers all Sri Lanka plus the Maldives. It depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
The Church of Ceylon is the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. It is an extraprovincial jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who serves as its Metropolitan. It was established in 1845 with the appointment of the first Anglican Bishop of Colombo, James Chapman and until 1950 it consisted of a single diocese; in that year a second diocese was established at Kurunegala.
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Charles Harold Wilfred de Soysa MA (1907-1971) was the first Ceylonese Anglican Bishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Kenneth Michael James Fernando is a former Anglican Bishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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Swithin Winston Fernando was an Anglican Bishop of Colombo in Sri Lanka.
James Alfred Ernest Corea was a Sri Lankan public official. He was born in 1870. His father was Charles Edward Bandaranaike Corea who was a Proctor of the Supreme Court. His mother was Henrietta Seneviratne. J.A.E Corea's father died in 1872 when his youngest son Victor was just one. His wife Henrietta was a widow from the age of 21.
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