Abstract
Christianity is believed to have been first introduced to Kerala in 52 CE through St. Thomas, the Apostle. This paper introduces the traditional indigenous Church architecture of Kerala that existed before the arrival of Portuguese in 1498 CE. The paper mainly looks into the circumstances under which it got destroyed and also analyses the reasons for its disappearance. The paper concludes that after the arrival of the Europeans and, in their initiative to bring the Kerala church closer to the Western church, they constituted a conscious attempt to alter the religious architecture of traditional Kerala Christians, declaring that it was Hindu by nature. Their intervention caused an irreparable break in the age-old system, and introduced a totally new and alien style to the traditional church building character, form and scale, forcing the traditional church architecture of centuries to be wiped off forever.
Highlights
Calicut, 1498 AD: Vasco da Gama entered the entrance gateway of the Church complex and proceeded to the Church building
This statement attests three facts: one, that the churches that existed in 1579 CE were not built in the manner that was familiar to the Europeans; two, that these churches were built in the same style, or appeared similar to the “houses of the idols”, or the Hindu temples that existed in Kerala; and, three, the attempt by the Europeans to change the architectural character and style of the existing churches to what was familiar to them
The Golden Jubilee Souvenir of the Diocese of Palai mentions, “The churches that were present in Kerala before the arrival of the Portuguese were built in stone or wood in the style of Hindu temples
Summary
1498 AD: Vasco da Gama entered the entrance gateway of the Church complex and proceeded to the Church building. Monserratte S.J., a Spanish priest who visited Kerala in 1579 CE, was to record that “Their (Christians of Kerala) Churches, of which there are still many, were built in the same manner as the houses of the idols of these parts; the present Archbishop sees to it that they are built in our style” (Athapilly, 2000, p.152) This statement attests three facts: one, that the churches that existed in 1579 CE were not built in the manner that was familiar to the Europeans; two, that these churches were built in the same style, or appeared similar to the “houses of the idols”, or the Hindu temples that existed in Kerala; and, three, the attempt by the Europeans to change the architectural character and style of the existing churches to what was familiar to them. George Church, Aruvithura (Erattupetta) was “built of bamboo, like the temples of the gentiles” (Athapilly, p. 441-442), describing the architectural style that existed. (Fig. 1)
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