Church History

Walk down Sir Mohamad Macan Markar Mawatha which extends away from the Galle Face roundabout on Galle Road, Colpetty. Saunter past the Ramada Hotel, the KPMG headquarters, and the Automobile Association, and you will find yourself at the gates of Christ Church Galle Face. Your first glimpse may be of the belfry and the garden of colorful plants and shrubs that frame the church. Speak to the security guard and walk in. As you enter the precincts of the church, you will breathe in the coolth that envelopes you and transports you to a world of serenity and peace, far away from the heat and hustle and bustle of the heart of Colombo’s commercial district. Take your time, walk through the church and discover its rich history.

The main object of the construction of Christ Church was “the Union of Races in the Church of Christ.”

Construction of the Colombo Cathedral. Christ Church Galle Face was first known as The Church Missionary Society (C.M.S) Cathedral and was the outcome of a decision made at a CMS meeting held in London in 1799, to send missionaries to the colony of Ceylon to preach the Word of God to the ‘natives’. The church was set up with GBP 960 contributed by the CMS in London to which were added generous donations from the local populace. British architect W. A. Tunstall designed the original church free of charge. The initial structure was small and built with local materials, mainly with kabook. The Bishop of Colombo, the Rt. Revd. Chapman, laid the foundation stone on 21 January 1853, and the church was opened to worshippers on 13 October 1853. Revd. George Pettit, who had arrived as a CMS missionary in Ceylon in 1850, was made the first Vicar of Christ Church. The first Sunday services were held on 16 October 1853, in English, Sinhala, and Tamil. Having worked for 14 years as a missionary in Tamil Nadu, India, Revd. Pettit spoke fluent Tamil. He conducted the English and Tamil services while Revd. C. Jayasinghe conducted the Sinhala service.

Revd. Pettitt returned to the UK a short while later because of ill health and was replaced by Revd. William Knight and subsequently by Revd. C.C. Fenn, until Revd. Henry Whitley took permanent charge. Revd. Whitley worked among the nearly 6,000 people who lived in and around Slave Island and ministered in all three languages. His incumbency is best remembered by his tragic death when an old school wall fell on him in November 1860 while he was supervising construction. Two tablets are erected in the church in his memory. A long line of British priests followed as Vicars of Christ Church, ending with Revd. (later Rt. Revd.) Peter Vaughan, the last CMS representative to serve the church, who left our shores in the early 1970s.

The present construction. The west wall of the church collapsed one evening in 1897 due to heavy monsoon rains that had soaked into the kabook, and the original construction had to be replaced with the present building since the church was beyond repair. This was during the tenure of Revd. A. E. Dibben. The new church was 127 feet x 88 feet and built with brick in Gothic style at a cost of Rs 34,150. Materials from the original building were used to reduce costs. The Bishop of Colombo, the Rt. Rev. R. S. Copleston, laid the foundation stone on 14 June 1898.

The church has undergone many changes over the years, but its basic architecture and internal layout remain the same. Its construction in early Gothic style features a pointed arch nave arcade and king post roof bracing into a succession of flying buttresses. The emphatic verticality of both elements and structure soar upward to heaven and towards God, as if defying the strength of gravity. The windows have been progressively enlarged to provide a larger area for stained glass, which was also used for the windows in the sidewalls of the sanctuary, the intricately set East window behind the altar, as well as the Rose window above the main entrance. The mosaic floor has a repeating geometrical pattern. The interior of the church is defined with timber carvings on pews, and the stands are engraved with intricate foliage traceries. The church received electricity in 1914. The building of the belfry began in 1918 and was dedicated on 30 June 1919. It is 76 feet high, and the bell, weighing one ton, was donated in memory of Lt. W. Mitchell by his widow. The cross on the top of the church was placed in 1954.

The church’s colonial legacy is still evident in the marble plaques to Ceylon’s colonial rulers on the walls and speaks of young lives lost tragically more than a century ago. One plaque over the baptism altar is dedicated to 15-year-old soldier Cedric Lam Yun Hung Paktsun, who drowned in the Beira Lake while saving a fellow scout, after being baptized in the church just three days earlier.

The church today. Over the years, the church lost a fair portion of its land. In 1961, its adjoining night school was taken over by the government, and a Muslim school was set up. In 1978, 34 perches were taken over for the Duplication Road expansion project, and in 1981, the Hatton National Bank purchased 40 perches of church land.

The church’s CMS links are evident to this day. The Vicar of Christ Church remains the chaplain of Ladies’ College (formerly CMS Ladies’ College) Colombo, while, until recently, the Christ Church administration assisted with donations to the House of Joy, Talawa, as well as to the Denipitiya Medical Mission.

Although its surroundings have changed dramatically over the years, and the church is now dwarfed by towering skyscrapers comprising hotels, nightclubs, restaurants, and commercial enterprises, Christ Church Galle Face remains an iconic landmark of the city of Colombo.

And the church will continue in its perennial task of relating to the contemporary lives of its people as it preaches the message of the Gospel of Peace

to new generations to come.