Glimpse of History from ANCL Archives:

Monuments of Faith ...

by Indeewara Thilakarathne

As thousands of Christians celebrate Christmas around the world , Sri Lankans also join in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ who symbolises peace.

Apart from Christmas being a period of merry making and mending fences with neighbours and one's kith and kin, it also heralds the dawn of the new year.

Statues of diverse proportions as well as numerous icons remain as living monuments that always remind us of Christ and his Order which continue to inspire and give spiritual nourishment to a conflict-ridden world. Perhaps, as the most potent symbol of peace, Christ's birth is always associated with peace and prosperity.

On the day of Christmas, the much awaited midnight mass is held from the St. Peter's Cathedral in the Vatican to the tiny chapel, perhaps, in your neighbourhood. As in many other countries, Sri Lankan churches, cathedrals as well as the tiny chapels rekindle the sacred memory of Christ and the Order and capture the imagination of devotees for centuries.

These monuments constitute a church with a centre-piece of altar and the a isles that lead to the crucified image of Christ not only evokes religious sentiments in the heart and minds of thousands of Christians through the country but also stand tall as eternal monuments of religiosity.

Some of the churches in Sri Lanka are as old as 100 years and represent a rich piece of culture and Christianity and remain to inspire generations to come.

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