St. Thomas' Cathedral, Vaddukoddai

09°43′45.70″N 79°56′56.60″E / 9.7293611°N 79.9490556°E / 9.7293611; 79.9490556LocationVaddukoddaiCountrySri LankaDenominationUnitedHistoryStatusCathedralArchitectureFunctional statusActiveHeritage designationArchaeological protected monumentDesignated30 December 2011AdministrationDioceseJaffnaClergyBishop(s)Daniel Thiagarajah

St. Thomas' Cathedral is the seat of the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India located in Vaddukoddai, Sri Lanka.

History

Portuguese Jesuits built a Catholic church in Vaddukoddai in the 1660s which was later taken over and renovated by the Dutch before being handed over to the American Ceylon Mission (ACM) by the British.^[1][2] In May 1904 the Congregational Council of Ceylon (CCC) was set-up to administer ACM's churches.^[3][4] CCC joined together with the American Madura Mission and the London Missionary Society in Travancore to form the United Churches of South India and Ceylon (UCSIC) in 1905.^[4] UCSIC joined with the South India Synod of the Presbyterian Church to form the South India United Church (SIUC) in 1908/09.^[3][4] The Church of South India was established in September 1947 as a union of the SIUC, South India Provincial Synod of Methodist Church and the southern dioceses of the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon.^[3][4][5][6]

The cathedral was declared an archaeological protected monument in December 2011.^[7]

References