St. Paul's Cathedral
Located in the heart of the City of Joy - Kolkata, St Paul's is an Anglican cathedral that operates under CNI – Church of North India. It is a must-visit for those who seek to enrich historical and architectural pleasure on their vacation trips. In the heart of the city, this colossal structure reminds you of colonial times and takes you down memory lane. Travelers keep this among the top few must-visit places when they come to Kolkata.
It looks most beautiful during the Christmas holidays, when the cathedral, the garden around it as well as the surrounding streets are all bathed in light and festivities. Primarily built to accommodate the ever-increasing Christian community in Calcutta, it is the first Episcopalian church in Asia. The building follows the Indo-Gothic style and its structure is complete with a cascading white edifice, towering spire, and colorful tinted windows. Inside, it has a huge nave, majestic altar, and chancel, along with carvings and paintings depicting great moments and events in Christian history.
The cathedral complex also houses several memorabilia of past congregants and a library where books as old as the church's foundation time still exist donated by founding member Bishop Wilson.
History of St. Paul's Cathedral
St. Paul's Cathedral's cornerstone was first laid down in 183 and took modeled long years to complete its colossal structure. The original church was built to replace St. John's Church as the major temple of worship of the Christian community of Calcutta, which was crossing 4,000 in number and becoming impossible to fit in just one church. Even though discussions and proposals regarding St Paul's Cathedral were first observed way back in 1819, during the tenure of Francis Rawdon-Hastings, the then Governor-General of Bengal, it was not until 1832 that the project was finally undertaken under Bishop Daniel Wilson.
The construction of St Paul's Cathedral was orchestrated mainly by Bishop Wilson, designed by Major William Nairn Forbes, and architected by C.K. Robinson. The looming tower, spire, and altar were greatly influenced by and partially modeled upon the Norwich Cathedral of the Holy and Undivided Trinity. The construction took precisely eight years from laying the cornerstone on October 8, 1839, to the consecration ceremony on October 8, 1847. To mark the consecration of the church, the Empress of the British Empire Queen Victoria sent ten pieces of silver-gilt plates as a gift of honor.
After Calcutta suffered an earthquake in 1934, the church was revamped for the second time, the first one being after the 1897's earthquake. In the natural disaster, the church's previous tower collapsed, and thus it was rebuilt and modeled on the central Bell Harry Tower of Canterbury Cathedral. After its completion, St Paul's was announced as the new cathedral of Calcutta.
Architecture of St. Paul's Cathedral
The cathedral was mainly built in a Gothic style, but fit enough to withstand the tropical climate of Kolkata and hence the Indo-Gothic style of Gothic Revival style of architecture. It resembles the monumental churches of European cities in built, architectural style, as well as design and decoration.
St Paul's Cathedral features a very long nave with fitted wooden pews, two frescoes done in the classic style of the Florentine Renaissance period, and three stained glass windows on the western side of the church. These windows were designed by a Pre-Raphaelite master Sir Edward Burne-Jones who created them in memory of the deceased Lord Mayo. Started in 1839, by the time it was completed 8 years later in 1837, it was one of the largest churches in India and also the first Episcopal Church in Asia.
As it happens to be, it is also the first cathedral Her Majesty's empire built in their overseas territory. On Christmas Eve, the cathedral performs a midnight mass and toast which is very famous, and there is a queue of people every year trying to get a glimpse of all.
