Church demolition - addenda.

Three pertinent questions have been raised by ‘anonymous’ about my post Churches on demolition line.

- Is there any chance whether the Cardinal in Cochin will be able to prevent the demolition?

- Who is funding these activities?

- Can these funds be used for more appropriate purposes like teaching the priests the value of cultural heritage?

The Cardinal who is the Major Archbishop and Head of the Syro-Malabar Church can certainly prevent demolitions of old church buildings. Being a learned priest, he certainly would be aware of the importance of preserving the heritage landmarks.

But does he have the will or the capability? The Ernakulam Archdiocese, the seat of the Cardinal, is already involved in court cases regarding attempts to demolish two Parayil built churches - the family’s private oratory (1869 - see A Kerala Tharavad.) and the beautiful St. Rafael’s Church (1859) at Ezhupunna. There could be more such litigation relating to other churches.

Once the Cardinal came out with a strong statement deploring the construction of chapels and other structures flush by roads and disruption of traffic by church processions. An admirable stand. But nothing really happened.

Now, about the funds. Some of the churches like Ramapuram, are rich because of large number of offerings by devotees/pilgrims. Many Non Resident Indians also contribute generously. For them it is a payback to their home church, which of course is noble. But unfortunately, instead of restoration of old churches, the concept of building anew came up. Can the priests escape the responsibility for this? Can anyone conceive of old temples being replaced by modern structures?

The money can certainly be used for much more worthwhile purposes. When incompetent people play architect, cost of construction escalates and concrete monstrosities result. It is a pity that the Syro-Malabar Church (as far as I know) does not have design parameters for its churches. A classic example of the approach of the Church authorities is described in Laurie Baker - A Tribute.

A place of worship, like liturgy, should reflect the hopes, aspirations, ethos and history of the people who are to use it.

Ends.

Churches on the demolition line.

Photo: INTACH Post Card

Beautiful, isn’t it?

These are the historic twin churches at Ramapuram, one of the cradles of Christianity in Kerala. The smaller of these, in the name of St. Augustine, was built around 1450, and the other in 1864. These may be razed to the ground soon. What no invader, no government, no other community, have dared to try, is being done with abandon by the Church itself.

Aisanet TV reported last evening that a referendum is being conducted among the parishioners of Ramapuram on Sunday, April 29, 2007 about demolishing these famous shrines. The Church officials have taken a strong stand in favor of the destruction. Therefore the outcome of the vote is a foregone conclusion. The priests do not seem to be worried whether such actions and procedures conform to the laws of the country.

The move to demolish the twin churches and build a ‘modern’ one in their place has been on for some time. The Hindu carried a report about this on February 18, 2005. The reason given for this proposal by the Vicar was that more space is required to accommodate the increased number of pilgrims! Apparently he was not alert to the fact that the newer of the two churches was also built for the same reason, but people who were responsible then had ensured that the old one was preserved.

The vicar went on to give a piece of wisdom to the world: “God created the whole world for man. Archaeology is for the benefit of man and not vice-versa''. Shades of Benito Mussolini! Il Duce was reported to have said when his car knocked down and killed a boy, “What is the life of a child in the matters of state?”

The Syro-Malabar Church of Kerala, under which Ramapuram comes, is the second largest (after Roman /Latin) Rite in the Catholic Diaspora. It is headed by a Major Archbishop who is a Cardinal. Can the authorities of the Syro-Malabar wash off the responsibility for the demolition mania, like Pontius Pilate? There is something called acts of omission and commission.

What about the Pope?

In the recent Apostolic Exhortation, ‘Sacramentum Caritatis’, the Pontiff states, "A solid knowledge of the history of sacred art can be advantageous for those responsible for commissioning artists and architects to create works of art for the liturgy. Consequently, it is essential that the education of Seminarians and priests include the study of art history, with special reference to sacred buildings..."

[The response of some priests in Kerala to this might be, ‘Oh, it’s about some paintings in Europe’, like Stalin who once asked during WW II, ‘How many Divisions does the Pope have?’ In Kerala itself, invaluable frescos were lost by recent demolition of Thycattussarry Church. See my post ‘A historic church is no more’ by clicking on the title.]

Indiscriminate destruction of heritage structures should be a matter of concern not only for Christians, but also for all people. If you agree, please email this to as many people as you can. The procedure is very simple. Just click on the ‘envelope’ icon below and give the email IDs.

Let us preserve our heritage.

Ends.

(Cross-posted to Song of the waves.)