All Saints' Church
Colombo, the commercial capital of Sri Lanka is one of the busiest
cities in the country. It is a vibrant metropolis with a mixture of
modern life and colonial buildings and ruins. Unlike other areas of the
country, this buzzing city has ruins, which belongs to several eras,
such as pre-historic, Dutch, Portuguese and British. "There are ruins
which belongs to the pre-historic era at Vaarana and Pilikuththuwa
temples, and many old buildings around the heart of Colombo belongs to
the eras of Dutch, Portuguese and British," said an officer from the
Provincial Department of Archaeology (Western), A. E. L. Thilakawardene.
A suburb of Colombo, which is known as Hulftsdorp is a part of the
postal area of Colombo 12. During the early days, this part was known as
Hulftsdorp. This suburb of the metropolis was named Hulftsdorf to
commemorate General Gerard Pieterszoon Hulft, the Dutch East India
Company's Director of India and commander in chief of the company's
forces in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and on the Coast of India, who was killed
during an invasion of Colombo. The hill on which he had his headquarters
was named 'Hulft's Dorp' during the Dutch occupation. It is said that an
ancient route connecting Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte and Colombo Fort,
crossed Hulftsdorf. Today, what is known as 'Wella Veediya' had been a
retaining wall of that road. King Rajasinghe the first (1554-1593)
emptied tanks around the fort during the invasion of the Portuguese fort
in Colombo. He removed the water through a canal, which was later named
as St. Sebastian Canal.On the top of Hulftsdorp is the building
decorated using Roman and Greek architectural style, which was used by
the Dutch as the High courts in 17th century.
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A stained glass window |
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The tall spire |
The British later renovated this. Nowadays this area is popular as
the hub of legal activities in the country as well as the place where
Sri Lanka's only Law College is situated. In addition, to that, this
area is popular for many buildings, which belongs to the era of the
Dutch and British.
On top of 'Wella Veediya' is All Saints' Church, the religious
landmark we are going to focus on today. It is one of the most unnoticed
landmarks of the area. Though it is hidden among legal offices and the
other ancient buildings, this church has a history of 145 years. In
1815, there was a seminary at the place where All Saints' Church is
situated now. The Public Works Department (PWD) built this Church in
1865 according to a plan made by J. F. Churchill, who served the country
as a 'civil engineer' at that time.
"The consecration of this church was held on November 01, 1865 on All
Saints Day. This was more a family church during colonial reign," said
Fr. Felician Ranjith Perera, Parish Priest of All Saints' Church,
Borella. "Two famous families of the time Obeyesekeres and Bandaranaikes
were the trustees of the church," he added. According to Fr. Ranjith
Perera, All Saints' Church was built under the Episcopal Ordinance.
Later in 1998, it was brought under the ordinance of Churches Ceylon.
In keeping with the Gothic architectural style, All Saints' Church is
absolutely a work of art.
This church features some of the main characteristics of the Gothic
style such as pointed arches, and the ribbed vault. Prior to the 20th
century, Gothic churches generally were the landmark of towns in Europe.
Rising high above all the other structures and often built with one
or two towers and tall spires, those churches stole the hearts of city
dwellers. The same goes with the Saints' Church in Hulftsdorf. Its tall
spire is visible from quite a distance.
The large stained glass window behind the alter depicts the nativity
story of the Lord. In addition to that, there is another stained glass
window towards the left hand side of the church.
"Almost all the furniture here, is nearly 145 years old," said Fr.
Ranjith Perera. Furniture includes things like the decorated pulpit,
pews, altar and brassware.
All the furniture is decorated with magnificent woodcarvings. Hanging
fans with attached lampshades reminded me of flowers hanging from a
roof. The baptismal font and the Eagle Bible holder were two important
monuments found inside the church.
The trustees of this church, Mr. And Mrs. S.C. Obeyesekere had
donated this eagle bible holder on 24 June 1889. Some memorial wall
tablets fixed on the church walls are noteworthy monuments found here.
Almost all the wall tablets belonged to the period before the
twentieth century. Out of the entire, most touching memorial wall tablet
was the one, which had constructed in memory of an infant boy.
With a picture of a plant with roots on a side, it read 'In Memory of
James Massy infant son of Paul and Hilda Pieris Born June 11, 1901 Died
April 28, 1902.'
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The Eagle Shaped Bible
holder |
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The baptismal font |
There were other wall tablets constructed by children in memory of
their parents; in memory of Don Andries de Alwis died on April 7, 1858,
John Henricus Perera died on March 11, 1873, and Cornelia Dias died on
December 30, 1866 were some of them.
The first vicar of All Saint Church was Cannon Rev. S. W. Dias
Bandaranaike and the co-founder was Johannes Louis Perera. Rev. S. W.
Dias Bandaranaike served the church during the period 1865-1883.
In addition to him, during the first century of the church the
following reverends had also rendered service to the church, R. A.
Duthy, A. Dias Abeysinghe, H. E. Gunathilake, G. B. Ekanayake, and W. H.
W. Jayasekere.
The following were the trustees of the church during the first
century, D. G. Obeysekere, R. D. Senevirathne, J. C. T. Perera Bishop's
Trustee, and Evelyn De Silva.
"Though All Saints Church has a history of more than 140 years, it is
still not a historical monument gazetted under the Archaeology Act,"
said an officer from the provincial department of Archaeology (Western),
A. E. L. Thilakawardene. However, the church is well maintained and in
very good condition.
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