Kollam: The St George Orthodox Church in Chathannoor, locally known as Chathannoor Valiya Palli preserves the relics of history unscathed by the centuries that have passed. Each place of worship might have its own peculiar legends and myths associated with it. The legends associated with the Chathannoor Valiya Palli are steeped in history and preserved well.
The liturgy of the centuries-old Malankara Church can be seen recreated as such in the Chathannoor Valiya Palli. At a time when the liturgy, the perceptions of faith in the Eastern Church seems to have worn off in the present generation, the murals on the Chathannoor Church walls are sure to take us back to the times of faith and worship.
The minute one hears about Saint Geevarchese Sahada (St George), the image that rushes in the mind is that of an armed Roman knight on the horse, holding a sharp lance and slaying a ferocious dragon by stabbing the lance into its mouth. However, in the mural painting dating back to 1792 at the Church here, St Geevarghese Sahada is portrayed from another angle from his right.
Along with the Saint’s portrayal, Chathannoor Panchangam is also exhibited here. On 6th of Malayalam month Dhanu, in 1793, the memories of Mar Nicholas’s connection with Kerala have been marked in Chathannoor Panchangam. In the Chathannoor Panchangam which has mixed and used Tamil and Malayalam languages, December 25 has been referred to as ‘the Feast day on which Virgin mother delivered Christ in the month of Dhanu’.
There is another relic, that of a picture of a holy mass at Valiya Palli in 1861, on the walls of the Chathannoor Church. The picture of Geevargheses Yacob Kattanar offering the sword for the holy mass was pictured by Lieutenant Colonel Stevenson who was with the British Army.
Even after the Church has been renovated, a few of the stone lamps, candle stands, and the articles used during prayers in those times are preserved here, though many are lost. The stone lamp, carved out of a single stone, installed in front of the main entrance to the Church is also of historical significance. Even devotees from other religions come to light the stone lamp here.
