St Mary's Cathedral Bangalore

Those who visit Bangalore never forget to watch the pristine St.Mary's Cathedral. In the year 1882 a French missionary built this church. The church has a grand gothic-style basilica, with an impressive tower and typically gothic pointed arches. This speaks volume of communal harmony. People belonging to various faiths and belief visit this church in large number. People who are non Christians attend the annual St. Mary's feast. The church remains open from morning till evening for all visitors through out the day. This gesture from the church authority has a disadvantage, as beggars in large number flock the surrounding which makes the church dirty and thickly populated.

St.Mary's Cathedral is the kind of building, where typical examples of the European influence can be seen. This makes it one of the fine examples of heritage monuments of Bangalore.

History: The History of the Syrian Christians in Bangalore began when the Keralites, migrated during the early phase of 20th Century. Their main motive for this migration was economical and educational. The numerical growth of Syrian Christians created a demand for a worshipping place, since this community is a worshiping one. This was the result why Syrian Christian worship started in Bangalore by 1936. Unfortunately during this period, the internal problems of the church in Malankara affected the regular worship in Bangalore. In the year 1958 unity among the two fractions of the Malankara church happened which paved the way to the growth of the activities of the church in Bangalore. But the whole situation changed in 1975 when the clouds of conflicts erupted in the church for the second time by the Catholicose faction, declaring the independence from the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church. This significant event in the history of the Malankara church initiated the break up, and to build their own empire. Those who declared their allegiance with the throne of Antioch (Universal Syrian Orthodox church under the Holy See of Antioch), came together under one roof and formed St. Mary's Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church at Queens Road in Bangalore. This how the St.Mary's Cathedral, Bangalore was born.