Tuesday, July 8, 2008

St Stephen's Church, Ooty


I was recently in Ooty for an assignment. I took time off to wander around and found this old Church, where I found this portion of the stained glass of the Magi with Mary and the Child very interesting. it is inside the St. Stephen's Church, which is located on the Mysore road, near the Collectorate. The St Stephen's Church is one of the oldest churches in the Nilgiris. It dates back to the days of Rt. Hon'ble Stephen Rumbold Lushington, the then Governor of Madras, who keenly felt the need for a cathedral exclusively for the British, in Ooty. He laid the foundation for the church on April 23, 1829, to coincide with the birthday of King George IV. St. Stephen's Church was consecrated by Rt. Rev. Turner, Bishop of Calcutta, on November 5,1830, and was given the name of the Governor since he was the driving force behind it. It was thrown open to public communion on Easter Sunday-April 3,1831.There are stained-glass paintings on three sides, but the west side window was kind of closed and couldn’t see the stained glass without the back light. On the eastern side is this beautiful image depicting Mary holding baby Jesus in her arms and the crucifixion of Christ among others. What you see is the scen from the gift of the magi, when the wise men met Mary and the child Jesus.

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