Ancient church set to restart service

Chennai, Apr 8: One of the oldest surviving church of its kind in India, the Armenian Church, is all set to resume service after a decade-long hiatus.

Located on the Armenian Street, the church has been restored to its former glory at an estimated Rs 1.5 crore grant from the Armenian Church Trust in Kolkata using the services of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

The Trust also plans to build a parsonage with rooms for travellers, and quarters for caretakers.

In November 2007, the Armenian Embassy plans to hold a week-long festival across India showcasing Armenian culture, including its dance, music, food and wine.

On a personal visit to India, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II from the Holy Etchmiadzin, had expressed his desire to restart the service.

Church Caretaker Trevor Alexander told sources the renovation work was being undertaken with the help of INTACH according to established norms. He said experts on Armenian churches would be sent in the later stages.

Statistics given by the church authorities show the Armenians were once a rich community which made significant economic and cultural contribution to the city. Now, there were only 250 registered Armenians in India. The origins were southwest Asian country of Armenia.

Chennai's Armenian community has dwindled to a rumoured two or three students and when the caretakers fell on hard times, they leased the land to a printing press and a restaurant.

The father of Armenian journalism, Shumavon, printed the first journal here in 1794 and after his death, his body was buried in the church compound.

UNI