This Church is situated at Ukwatte on the Colombo-Ratnapura Road at the entrance to Avissawella town, on a hillock by the side of the main road. It is believed that the Church, due to its proximity to the road, was called “Kal Erindan Kovil”- stone throw Church. The Church consecrated on 11 June 1883 and built with half- brick walls and wooden trellis work, is an extremely simple and humble structure.
During the British period, with the opening up of tea and rubber estates in the Kelani Valley, the repatriate planters who were mostly Christians built this Church as a place of worship for their families and friends. Initially all services were in English and the Church was managed by the Kelani Valley Chaplain fund of the P.A. of Ceylon. Later the estate workers and staff who formed the Tamil congregation were allowed to conduct services in Tamil, twice a month, on an annual payment of Rs 360, a princely sum in those days.
The present vicarage was originally the conductor’s Quarters belonging to Honiton estate and was donated by the superintendent/owner to the K.V Chaplain Fund of the P.A. of Ceylon. The Tamil School, we find was subsequently shifted to Puwakpitiya. It is a matter of delight to record that this Church at one time established and managed 47 Tamil schools at various places in the Kelani Valley.
With the growth of the Tamil congregation, more and more were converted and the Church grew. In 1940, during the time of the Rev. J.R Horshington, the altar which was made of wood was rebuilt in cement.
In 1964, during the period, of Rev. E.J Gnanapragasam, with the active help of Mr. L.H De Mel, the parish hall was built and the rear of the Church was extended and the road around the Church was tarred.
On 27 July 1983, the Church was burnt down and the vicarage badly damaged during the communal riots. The Church was rebuilt conforming to the original structure with the help of Major MRC Peiris with Messrs L.H De Mel, E.F Jinadasa and Mrs. I Kelaart together with the congregation.
In 1986 this Church was once again set on fire by some unidentified persons. The congregation together with Major Peiris, E.F Jinadasa, Frank Paranawithana and Mrs. I Kelaart encouraged and led the congregation to rebuild the Church. During this period a new pulpit was provided, a stage was constructed in the parish hall and a nursery was started.
The congregation was provided with a large number of hymnals both in English and in Tamil. The Church introduced services in all 3 languages as combined services during the period of Rev. Jeyaweerasingham. During this period the all- night vigil on the 2 Friday of the month was commenced and the fence around the Church land was re-erected. The parsonage was repaired and colour washing the Church and parsonage commenced.
Rev. Richard Thomas Dowbiggin, who was in charge of the cotta mission from 1869, had started this church in1874 with the help of cathechist Don Hendrick Wijesinghe (There were only 21 families in Liyanwala according 1871 statistics. This village belongs to Western Province, Colombo District, Hewagama Korale, Medapattuwa, surrounded by Padukka, Udumulla, Poregedara, Kurugala, Wataraka and Maduluwawa hamlets.)
Rev. Dowbiggin or a priest from Cotta Mission had conducted Holy Communion services once a month and the cathechist had conducted on other Sundays and have continued the evangelical and social services. Later there had been four cathechists serving Liyanwala, Angampitiya, Yahalakela and Makumbura/Panagoda, under Rev. Dowbiggin. Three Bible women for have assisted them in their work in the vineyard. In 1892 a mission house had been built.
As done in Kotte, Rev.Dowbiggin started Sinhala schools in Liyanwala, Horagala and Angampitiya. In 1895 Liyanwala had become a separate mission station.
Mrs. Anna Leticia Dowbiggin, wife of Rev. Dowbiggin (daughter of C.P. Layards, Government Agent of Western Province and mother of Mr. Herbert Dowbiggin - IGP of Sri Lanka and Agnes wife of Rev. James Carter) resided in Liyanwala from 1911 - 1930. She along with Miss. Higgins continued the spiritual and community development work of Rev. Dowbiggin. Track distribution, sewing classes, English classes, First aid centre, Prayer meetings and Christmas celebration were some of these activities.
From 1934, this church was under Nugegoda Mission. Many parishioners have joined Teaching as a profession from this parish. Many priests have come and done yeoman service to this parish and community. In 1979 “Suhadaseva Training Centre for Women” was inaugurated by the Bishop of Colombo. 1998 a new vicarage was built. In 2007 the church was renovated blessed and dedicated on21st January. To us this church is as the Bible says, “How awesome is this place, this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate to heaven. (Genesis 28:17)
Rev R T Dowbigin
1874
1901
Rev S Kolis
1881
1882
Rev J W Bolding
1901
1914
Rev R W Ride
1905
1906
Rev J W Ferrier
1915
1920
Rev G A Perser
1920
1922
Rev A C Holder
1922
1928
Rev R T E A Gunathilaka
1928
1933
Rev P E Wickremasinghe
1934
1940
Rev W G Peiris
1941
1945
Rev D F R Wijesinghe
1946
1962
Rev S H Perera
1963
1966
Rev Laury Fernando
1966
1968
Rev Lakshman Peiris
1968
1972
Rev P H B Seneviratne
1973
1977
Rev G A Karunaratne
1978
1981
Rev G V P Peraira
1982
1985
Rev Lakdasa Jayawardena
1986
Rev Kenneth Fernando
1987
Rev N D Amaratunga
1987
1994
Rev Lionel Peiris
1994
Rev Lakshman Peiris
1995
1996
Rev Dulip de Chickera
1997
1998
Rev Ashly Perera
1998
1999
Ven Godwin Weerasuriya
2000
Rev Susantha Ranasinghe
2001
Rt Rev Kenneth Fernando
2001
2005
Rev Ranjith Perera
2006
2007
Rev E H Palith
2008
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Contact Details
Postal Address
Church of Christ the Saviour, Maharagama, Sri Lanka
On the initiation of the CMS missionaries the Pannipitiya Chapel, Maharagama was established. This was followed by the establishment of the CMS School in 1913. For want of a place of worship, part of the school building, was utilized for Christian activities.
With the nationalization of schools in the 1960’s, the Anglican community was deprived of a place of worship. Since no alternative was offered by the government the Anglican community sought permission to join the Methodist Church congregation in Maharagama in line with the United Church concept. Holding an early morning service prior to the Methodist service was commenced. However, difficulties arose in the circumstances in conducting a late morning Sunday school service. Due to the constraints there was a gradually shift to an evening service which was continued in the Methodist Church until 14 July 2013. Nevertheless there was the need at times to move into private homes, occasionally for worship, when the Church premises were not available. Thereby, the spiritual needs of the congregation at large and especially of the children and the youth were not met since the Sunday school and Youth Fellowship activities could not be conducted. The Mother’s Union activities also suffered during the process. In the circumstances a part of the Anglican community, especially those with children moved to other parishes. The dire need of a place of worship arose.
Subsequently, the Pannipitiya Chapel was consecrated as the Church of Christ the Saviour by Bishop Dhiloraj R Canagasabey on 20 July 2013 on the Feast of St. Margaret of Anitioch-Martyr of the 4 century.
(Source: Souvenir of the Consecration of the Church of Christ the Saviour (formerly Pannipitiya Chapel, 20 July, 2013)
While the Anglican community takes pride in their new church, they are thankful and appreciative of the benevolence of the Bishop of Colombo, the Board of Trustees of the Colombo Diocese and the immense contribution made by the Ven. Dr. Reinzie Perera in realizing their dream.
It is expected that the new church will persuade the Anglican community and the children and youth who have moved away to other churches for want of a Sunday school to return to the parish. It is also hoped to resume the activities of the mother’s union and that the fellowship will develop through outreach programmes.
~ data not available ~
Contact Details
Postal Address
Church of Christ the Saviour, Maharagama, Sri Lanka.
The Anglican Church commenced work in this area in 1822 with the arrival of CMS missionaries. In 1833, a school existed in Mirihana among a few other schools in the Kotte area. Early members of the Church gathered in this school for worship. In September 1889 at a historic meeting with CMS officials, Rev. R.T Dowbiggin a schoolmaster and his wife, Mr. William De Silva and his brothers Joseph, Benjamin and Mudliyar John saw the need for a separate place for divine worship for the Mirihana parishioners. At this meeting a 11 perch block of land from the Mirihana Walauwe(now police station) was donated to build the Church by the De Silva family.
The building of the Church commenced immediately. Funds for the construction came from the congregation and friends, and from the Jubilee fund of the CMS for Africa and the East, the following reference is made to Mirihana: “A new Church has been built at Mirihana, an out-station, which was opened in April 1890…….. Mr. Dowbiggin wrote: “I rejoice to say that a rich spiritual blessing has rested upon several of our congregations during the past eight or ten months, and more especially at Talangama-Mirihana, Nugegoda and Cotta have also been revived……………… “ ( Source: Mirihana, A Desultory History by Frederick Medis)
The Lord Bishop of Colombo Rt. Rev. Dr. R.S Copleston attended the opening and dedication of the chapel on 7 April 1890. (Source: Christ Church, Mirihana, cutting sent by………)
In the early 1930’s with new settlers coming to Nugegoda and the Church at Nugegoda expanding many of the Mirihana congregation were attracted to worship there. As a result Mirihana was left with a few elderly members. They were facing a financial crisis and were unable to upkeep the church buildings. Sunday services became gradually less frequent. In the 1950’s the Church remained neglected and closed for awhile.
In 1964, a young curate, Rev. Patrick Fernando spearheaded the revival of the Church by sending a petition to then Bishop Harold De Soysa. The Church which was closed for a long period got a new lease of life. What he started was taken over by rev. Lloyd Weerasuriya together with Mr. Berty Jayasinghe and wife Margaret and some enthusiastic young people such as Russell Rebert, Sunil De Silva, Reinzie Perera, and Melwin De Silva(all of whom later joined the sacred ministry) who helped reorganize worship at Mirihana. On 6 October 1966, on the Day of the Feast of St. Thomas the doors of the Mirihana Church were open again for worship.
In 1975, Mirihana Church received full status to operate as an independent mission.
~ data not available ~
Contact Details
Postal Address
Christ Church Mirihana, Old Kottawa Rd, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka.
In early British times one of the first four CMS missionaries to come to Ceylon, the Rev. Samuel Lambrick, moved to Kotte in 1822. Soon afterwards, he wrote to the CMS: “Cotta has a water communication with Colombo by means of a canal connecting the Calany river with the Calpera and Pantura rivers. There is also a bridle road with wooden bridges over two branches of the canal, but in the rainy season this road is frequently impassable.” In the “Missionary Record” of 1830 mention is made of visits to Nugegoda by Pastors on alternate Sunday afternoons. The next record of Nugegoda is the proposal to build a Church or Chapel on an extent of land 50 yards by 40 yards granted on the 26 may, 1849 to the superintending missionary at Kotte by Hendrick Juwanis , Andiris, Gabriel, Marco and Bastian Peiris: “ Given to the Church Missionary society for the purpose of holding divine service and also for the building of a Church.” The Church was constructed in May 1850. The value of the land was estimated at 2-5shillings.
The Rev. Isaah Wood obtained a sum of money from the CMS local fund for the building of the Church, and one year later pounds 18 were obtained for the completion of the verandahs. On the 10 November, 1885 two roods and five perches of land were bought for Rs 21 to form a part of the Church cemetery, and in 1929 another rood was added making the total extent of the Church land a little over one acre.
In 1940, St. John’s Church and cemetery were transferred from the Church Missionary Trust Association Ltd to the Diocese.
In 1879, the Ceylon Diocesan Gazette refers to the Nawala, Nugegoda and bewila (Udahamulla) chapels being licensed for marriages, and in 1881, the visit of Bishop Johnson, metropolitan of India and Ceylon to Nugegoda on his return from Kotte is mentioned.
When Dr. R.S Copleston, Metropolitan visited Kotte in 1912 for an evening service and garden party, Nugegoda appears to have been omitted from the itinerary.
(The next visit of a Metropolitan was when His Grace, the Metropolitan Lakdasa De Mel came on an official visit soon after his appointment). On 31 December 1918, it is on record that there were 397 Christians in the Nugegoda pastorate.
The Kotte Mission flourished under the missionaries who served there, and in 1909, a portion of the District was cut off and placed in the independent charge of the Rev. G.S Amarasekera and referred to as the Nugegoda Pastorate. During his period as Incumbent, the Rev. Amarasekera collected funds and built a parsonage.
The first pastor in Nugegoda was the Rev. James Andries De Livera (1864). He died in December 1868 and is buried in the churchyard.
In 1911, Rev. J.P Ramanayake became Incumbent of the Pastorate of St. John’s Church, Nugegoda, Christ Church, Mirihana, Nawala and Kirillipone. During his Incumbency, Nugegoda became an independent pastorate. In 1923, the AGM meeting of St. John’s Church authorized the Church Committee to take “necessary steps to build a new Church at Nugegoda or improve or enlarge the existing one.” On Palm Sunday 1927 it was agreed “that the new Church he built according to modern requirements.”
In June 1930, the Rev. Percy E Wickremasinghe took charge as Incumbent. Rev. Wickremasinghe laboured ceaselessly for the progress of the Church and the development of the schools. Under his management the English Mixed School was separated into schools for girls and boys in 1934. In 1931, Christopherson Hall was built to meet the needs of the English School. In Church, the sanction of the Patronage Board was obtained and the parishioners gifted ornaments for use on the altar.
A parish monthly paper began to be issued, and electric lighting was installed in Church. A daily Eucharist was begun as a regular feature.
In 1935, The Mampe-Liyanwela area was added to the Nugegoda Mission. Also in 1935, a sanctuary, choir stall, Lady Chapel and Vestry were built. The East Wall of the old Church was demolished, and the new Church was constructed to the East of the old one. There were many new gifts and furniture and fittings which added to the beauty of the Church. The new portion with all the fittings wee dedicated to Bishop Mark Carpenter-Garnier on 14 April, 1936.
In 1939 and 1940 the new Church was completed and renamed the Church of S.S. Mary and John, Nugegoda.
In the 1940’s a new vestry was built to the memory of Rev. Percy Wickremasinghe. The two Lady Chapels of Christ the King and God the Holy Spirit were used for the week-day services.
Name
From
To
Remarks
Rev. J. A. De Livera
1864
1882
Worked under Missionaries of Kotte
Rev. H. W. Kannangara
1882
1884
Worked under Missionaries of Kotte
Rev. D. Jayasinghe
1884
1887
Worked under Missionaries of Kotte
Rev. G. S. Amerasekara
1887
1904
Worked under Missionaries of Kotte
Rev. G. S. Amerasekara
1904
1909
The Church of St. John the Evangelist
Rev. J. H. Wickramanayake
1909
1911
The Church of St. John the Evangelist
Rev. J. P. Ramanayake
1911
1930
The Church of St. John the Evangelist
Rev. P. E. Wickramasinghe
1930
1942
The Church of St. John the Evangelist
Rev. P. E. Wickramasinghe
1942
1944
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Canon. T. A. M. Jayaweera
1945
1969
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Geoffrey Misso
1969
1972
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Godwin Weerasuriya
1972
1978
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Roger Herft
1979
1982
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Joshua Ratnam
1983
1984
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Eardly Mendis
1984
1985
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Bernard Perera
1985
1988
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Gamini Serasinghe
1989
1996
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Canon Lloyd
1996
2002
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Bennet balasinghe
2002
2005
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Ven. Devapriya de Silva
2005
2007
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Sydney Knight
2007
2007
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Jubilee Ponniah
2007
2010
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Jayanth Jeyaveerasingham
2010
2012
The Church of SS. Mary & John
Rev. Dushyantha Rodrigo
2012
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The Church of SS. Mary & John
Contact Details
Postal Address
St. Mary & John Church, No. 3, Stanley Thilakeratne Mw, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
With the arrival of Rev. Lambrick, the Cotta Mission was born. Rev. Lambrick was 48 years of age when he moved into Cotta to undertake pioneering work which later blossomed into a Church and a Christian community at Kotte. Rev. Lambrick purchased from the Government a piece of land named Thotepalle-Kanatte, 3 acres in extent and eight other pieces of land from the villagers to build the mission premises. The Government deed of conveyance is dated 13 July 1822 and was signed by the Governor of Ceylon, Sir Edward Paget K.G.C.B. The proximity of the location to Colombo in actual distance and it seclusion from it by the state of roads appeared singularly advantageous to Rev. Lambrick to have it as a mission station.
He resided in a hut within the mission premises to closely supervise the building operations. The secular side of education was as much the concern of Rev. Lambrick as the religious. As soon as his bungalow was ready for occupation he moved in and commenced a school teaching English and Sinhalese for 20 students in the verandah of his bungalow. The “verandah school” blossomed into Christian College, Kotte. (This was named in 1963 as Sri Jayawardenapura Maha Vidyalaya).
Soon after Rev. Lambrick settled in Cotta, a printing press with a setup of two machines and other equipment to produce work in Sinhala was installed.
Missionaries Rev. Lambrick and Selkirk laboured to translate the Bible into colloquial Sinhala and this was published by the press in 1833 as the “Cotta Bible.” Rev. John Halsham had also printed an English-Sinhala dictionary and a book of Catechism at the Cotta press. All books used in the school were printed at this press. The press continued to function until 1953.
During the tenure of Rev. Lambrick, a Theological College to train Ceylonese as priests, catechists and lay workers was established at Cotta. On 27 November, 1827 Sir Edward Barnes, Governor of Ceylon, laid the foundation stone for the Cotta Institute. However, the Institute was closed in 1867 as the supply of missionary workers did not show much improvement.
In 1869, the Rev. R.T Dowbiggin was appointed as superintendent missionary. During this period a Church was built at Liyanwela a hamlet 17 miles from Cotta. For 33 years Rev. Dowbiggin was associated with the CMS. His leadership and efforts made Cotta District stand as the most extensive and best worked mission in the country. Probably the most significant advances made were in the field of education. The school for boys and the boarding school for girls stand as monuments of the most successful and useful contribution of the mission. After, the departure of Rev. Dowbiggin in 1901, the Rev. J.W. Balding was appointed as superintendent missionary. (Mrs. R.T. Dowbiggin………………
At this time Rev. Balding conceived the idea of building a new Church utilizing the space available at the entrance to the mission premises.
Having obtained authority from the CMS, an appeal was made to raise funds. The appeal was supported by the Metropolitan of Calcutta and the Bishop of Colombo. Rev. Balding left the District in 1914, and during his ministry Rs 13,000 had been collected towards the building fund.
In 1920, Rev. G.A. Purser assumed duties as the superintendent missionary. The task of building the new Church took place during his tenure of office. Funds collected by his predecessors were utilized for this task. The foundation stone for the new Church was laid by Bishop E.A. Copleston on 9th December 1922. The architecture for the building was on the lines of the Prebytarian Church at Regent Street and the designs were provided by Mr. Claessaen of the Government factory.
The year 1923, saw the completing of the new Church, the scheme that was initiated by the Rev. Balding. Rev. Purser, however, could not see the completion of the Church as he had to leave Ceylon in March 1923. Rev. A.C Houlder replaced Rev. Purser as superintendent missionary.
The land for this Church was bought by CMS missionary Francis Taylor for Rs 1,500 on 25 September 1848. The Church was dedicated on 21 September 1850 by Bishop James Chapman, the first Bishop of Colombo. The first Vicar was the Rev. Isaah Wood. In 1822, the CMS mission in Kotte was established. The CMS missionaries preached the Gospel in the neighbouring villages at Ihala Welikada, Kotuwegoda, Talangama, Liyanwela, Mirihana and Borelasgamuwa. The missionaries used the “Bakki Karathaya(Buggy Cart)” and later on the horse-carriage as a mode of transport.
Name
From
To
Remarks
Name
From
To
Remarks
Rev. I. Wood
1850
1851
Rev. E. T. Wiggins
1852
1853
Rev. I. Wood
1853
1854
Rev. C. Jayasinghe
1854
1862
Not Available
1862
1870
Rev. M. De Silva
1871
1890
Rev. Alphonso perera
1891
1893
Rev. Dowbggin
1894
1900
Rev. J. W. Balding
1901
1903
Rev. R. W. Rryde
1904
1908
Rev. D. L. Welikala
1910
1916
Rev. T. C. J. Pieris
1917
1919
Rev. C.B.P. Wickramasinghe
1920 Jan
1920 Oct
Rev. D. F. Gunawardene
1920 Oct
1920 Dec
Rev. Almeida
1921 Jan
1921 Jul
Rev. D. G. A. Wijesekera
1921 Aug
1924 Apr
Rev. D. S. Jayasundara
1925
1927
Rev. W. G. Peiris
1928
1931
Rev. L. J. Gaster
1932
1933
Rev. A. C. Houlder
1934
1937
Rev. D. P. R. Wijesinghe
1938
1939
Rev. H. E. C. Mendis
1940
1967
Rev. E. O. P. Welikala
1968
1970
Bro. Russel Rebert
1971
Rev. Henry Fernando
1972
1977
Rev. N. H. M. de Mel
1978
1981
Rev. George Karunaratne
1982
1989
Rev. Henry Fernando
1990
1992
Rev. P. S. A. Dias Bandaranaike
1993
2000
Rev. W. J. Roy De Silva
2001
2006
Rev. Asiri Fernando Jayasuriya
2007
2012
Rev. Nilanga Gunasekara
2013
2013 Nov
Rev. Noel Fernando
2013 Nov
2013 Dec
Rev/ Anthony J. Fernando
2014
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Contact Details
Postal Address
St. Matthew's Church, Talangama, Battaramulla Sri Lanka
Telephone
0112 883 394
Email
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