Religions in Sri Lanka: Part 4 - Christianity

When someone asks me what religion I am, I usually respond with my well-rehearsed line ‘I’m half and half’. On paper, I am a Buddhist… It is the religion I studied in school and the one I know most about. My Father is a Buddhist and my Mother is a Christian, so in reality I follow both religions. I pray in churches and temples [and Kovils too – Come to think of it, my answer should be that I’m multi-religious!] and my family and I celebrate Vesak, a Buddhist festival, as well as Christmas. This time around, the fourth and final addition to my four part blog on religions is on Christianity in Sri Lanka.

Christianity was said to have first been introduced to Sri Lanka in the 1^st century when Thomas the Apostle arrived in Sri Lanka. After this, it was believed that there were a few Christian settlements along the coastline. The reach of Christianity [Roman Catholicism] grew when the country was under the Portuguese rule in 1505. When the Dutch took over Sri Lanka in the 17^th century, this number grew further to bring the country’s Christian population to over 20%. Most other branches of Christianity, including Anglican and Protestant etc were introduced to the country with the British rule in the late 1700’s. In the present day, according to the census conducted in 2012, only around 6% of the Sri Lanka’s population are Christians.

In contrast to the other religions in Sri Lanka, where Buddhists are almost all Sinhalese, Hindu’s are almost all Tamils and Islamists are almost all Muslims, Christians include members of both the Sinhalese and Tamil ethnic groups.

There are many beautiful old churches and cathedrals spread out across the country that were made during and after the Portuguese, Dutch and British rule. One of these is the Wolvendaal Church in Pettah [Colombo]. The Dutch name Wolvendaal meaning ‘Wolf’s Dale’ was given to the church because of the jackals that roamed the area at the time of the church being built in 1749. The design of the church is very typically Dutch and the walls are 1.5 meters thick! The old carved ebony chairs are another unique feature of this enchanting church.

 

The Wolvendaal Church

Another two popular churches in Colombo are the St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade and St. Lucia’s Cathedral in Kotahena. The St.Anthony’s church started off as a little chapel made out of mud. Today, in the heart of Colombo, this church attracts thousands of devotees from all walks of life. St. Lucia’s Cathedral too started off as a small chapel on a hill built by the Dutch. In the 1880’s, construction was underway to make this cathedral that is a replica of the St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. It is the seat of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo.

St. Lucia's Cathedral

There are two popular old churches in Galle as well; the Dutch Reformed Church and the All Saints Anglican Church, both inside the Galle Fort. The Dutch Reformed Church was built in 1640 and was later remodelled in 1752. It is home to a magnificent vintage organ from 1760 and the church is paved with grave stones from the Old Dutch cemetery. The All Saints Church was built much later in 1971.

The keyboard of the Vintage Organ at the Dutch Reformed Church.

Most Christian festivals like Christmas and Easter are celebrated in Sri Lanka in a big way. Even non-Christians often celebrate and become a part of the festivals. There has been a lot of influence from Christianity in the Sri Lankan Culture.

This brings my four part blog on Religions in Sri Lanka to a close. They have been the hardest for me to write and they have also taken the most amount of research. Sri Lanka is a very religious country, whether we are Buddhists, Hindus, Islamists or Christians, we are very spiritual and devoted to the religions we follow. Therefore, each religion has embedded itself as a part of our culture and our culture has influenced some of the religious traditions followed as well.