Church Architecture in Kerala

Module VI
Arrival of Christianity

• According to traditional belief, apostle St. Thomas had brought Christianity into
Kerala in the first century AD
• The Apostle established seven "and a half" churches in Malabar at
– Kodungalloor (Muziris),
– Paravur,
– Palayoor,
– Kokkamangalam,
– Niranam,
– Nilackal,
– Kollam,
– and the Thiruvithamcode Arappally in Kanyakumari district.
 Formation of Church architecture in Kerala

• Over the years, when this community had grown, the need for new
churches arose and the local builders built them in the way they had
conceived a religious building.
• As this architecture matured through ages, it assumed a separate and
original architectural identity, which was totally ethnic by nature.

• The Portuguese arrived in Kerala in 1498 and their misunderstanding in

differentiating the cultural part from the religious part of Kerala Christians,
resulted in an attempt by them to introduce a new and alien style of
church architecture there, which eventually succeeded in replacing the
vernacular architecture.
• In the 20th century the changes occurred in the fields of architecture also
reflected in Kerala church architecture, which made the introduction of
new forms and spatial planning in Kerala churches
General characteristics of Kerala churches before the colonial era
• Almost all the early indigenous churches were oriented towards cardinal
directions, in the East-west, with the Madbaha on the East.
• Most of the early churches of pre-Portuguese Kerala had no windows to the
altar area.
• Almost all the early indigenous churches built, had the roof of the Madbaha
projected up than the roof of the nave. This is a traditional feature of Kerala's
religious architecture that is followed by all religious buildings (Jain, Hindu,
Christian) in Kerala.
General characteristics of Kerala churches
before the colonial era

Typical plan and Section

• Almost all the early indigenous churches had, in plan, the Madbaha part was
given a shorter width than that of the nave.
• Almost all the early indigenous churches had an arch opening (triumphal arch)
between the Madbaha and the nave.
• Almost all the early indigenous churches had a vault in the Madbaha
• All the doors of indigenous churches had thresholds either of granite or of wood.
• the indigenous churches had a Mukha-mandapam (front porch) in its front.
• They had the traditional style compound wall all around the church premises.
General characteristics of Kerala churches
before the colonial era
• A large number of the indigenous churches had a granite open air cross in the
church premises and provision for oil lamps with the cross

• churches also had a Kodi-maram (flag post) in the church premises.

• Vaasthu-vidya rules have been employed in the design and construction of

the indigenous church buildings of Kerala.
General characteristics of Kerala churches before the colonial era
General characteristics of Kerala churches before the colonial era
General characteristics of Kerala churches before the colonial era
Typology of Indigenous Kerala churches
Typology of Indigenous Kerala churches - plan
 OTHER FEATURES

• Balcony Inside the Nave

• Sopaanam (Traditional Style Entrance Steps)
• Well Inside the Compound Wall
• Decorated Altar Back-drop
• Built in Oil Lamp on Wall

Decorated Altar Back-drop

Construction Materials and Techniques

• Laterite was the main construction material

• In a few churches wood was used as pillars and partition material
• There were churches made completely with wood
• Thatch roof replaced by tiles after 16th century
Colonial influence

• The churches of Kerala of the sixteenth to seventeenth

centuries exhibits an architectural character which is different
from that of the indigenous Church Architecture of Kerala.
• Until 1500 AD, the Thomas Christian community of Kerala
grew under the ecclesiastical guidance of Bishops from Syria,
and Persia of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Introduction of Western Ecclesiastical Traditions

• The Portuguese and the missionaries who reached the Kerala

coast in the 16th century brought the Kerala church forcefully
under the Western ecclesiastical administration, overthrowing
its connections with the East Syrian church.
• The spatial organization of the churches of sixteenth to
seventeenth centuries varied from that of the indigenous
church.
• This was because of the additional space requirements that
arose from the changes in liturgy and ideologies of the
Western Church.
• The indigenous churches had to incorporate
the new spatial requirements. Thus the new
church demanded spaces such as,
1. Baptismal room
2. Sacristy
3. Priest room
4. Confession room
5. Space for choir
6. Belfry/Bell tower
The spatial organization of Church Architecture of
Kerala of the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries shows
variations which lies between two extremities.
– On one end we find the spatial organization of the Catholic
Church based on the Western ecclesiastical traditions and
– the Orthodox Church based on the Eastern ecclesiastical
traditions.
The three typology of Kerala Churches between
16th and 17th CE
• Depending on the variations in spatial organization initiated by Western
influence the churches of the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries in Kerala
can be grouped as followingted by Western influence,
A. The indigenous churches with their interiors enriched with embellishments from the
West but with little or no variation in spatial organization.

B. The indigenous churches enriched by the West not only in the interior embellishments
but also in spatial planning.

C. The new churches built for the Latin Catholic community in the sixteenth century in
Kerala, with a spatial planning that satisfies their liturgical requirements
The three typology of Kerala Churches between
16th and 17th CE
Examples: Group A
A. The indigenous churches with their interiors enriched with embellishments from the
West but with little or no variation in spatial organization.
The three typology of Kerala Churches between
16th and 17th CE
Examples: Group B
B. The indigenous churches enriched by the West not only in the interior
embellishments but also in spatial planning.
The three typology of Kerala Churches between 16th and 17th
CE
Examples: Group C

C. The new churches built for the Latin Catholic community in the sixteenth century in
Kerala, with a spatial planning that satisfies their liturgical requirements
Major changes during between 16th and 17th CE

Group A
1. enriched in church interiors with embellishments from the
West
2. addition of the Western façade
3. no changes in plan or built form were made
Major changes during between 16th and 17th CE

Group B
1. enriched not only in the interior
embellishments but also in spatial
planning
2. Baptismal room, Priest’s room, Sacristy
and space for choir were added to the
church plan. Latin liturgy necessitated
the addition of functional spaces in
churches
3. The church interiors were enriched by
Baptismal fonts, Altar Backdrop, Pulpits,
Wooden Statues, Frescos and Paintings
4. Further, the church layout was enriched
with Belfry, Open air Granite cross,
Cemetery and cemetery churches.
Major changes during between 16th and 17th CE

Group C
1. have an imposing front facade which is undoubtedly an
imported element supplied to all the churches
2. Churches incorporated the indigenous characters as well as
the architectural characters imported from the west
Indigenous elements and imported elements in Kerala churches
St. Francis Church, Kochi
• St. Francis Church, in Fort Kochi (Fort Cochin), Kochi, originally built in
1503, is the oldest European church in India
• Portugese built Fort Emmanuel at the Fort Kochi Beach with permission
from the Raja of Cochin. Within the fort, they built a church with a
wooden structure, which was dedicated to St. Bartholomew.
• Francisco de Almeida, the Portuguese viceroy, was allowed, in 1506, by
the Raja of Cochin to reconstruct wooden buildings in stone and masonry.
• In 1516, the new church was completed and it was dedicated to St.
Anthony
 St. Francis Church, Kochi
• The east facing Church has an impressive
frontage that reflects the typical Portuguese
style of architecture.

• The façade with an arched opening and the

first tier has windows between the
pilasters.

• There is a belfry over the gabled front and

stepped pinnacles on the sides

• Being a modest unpretentious structure, the St. Francis Church has no particular
architectural merit, but it stands as a land mark of history and church architecture
of India.
• Numerous churches has been built on the Indian soil keeping the St. Francis
church as the model.
Our Lady of Life, Mattancherry
 Our Lady of Life, Mattancherry

• The Church of Our Lady of Life at Mattancherry was one of the first
churches built by the Portuguese in the suburbs of the city of Santa Cruz
de Cochin.
• Built in the second half of the 16th century, the original church was
constructed in wood and had a roof of vegetal matter
• In 1622, a large group of Saint Thomas Christians held a meeting in the
churchyard, where they took a solemn oath before the cross at the
entrance which led to a complex process of opposition between this
community and the Portuguese religious authorities.
 Our Lady of Life, Mattancherry
• The chancel, has thick Tuscan columns
• The main portal, which shows signs of being standard Manueline style from the first decades
of the 16th century. Its design is similar to that of the portal of the Church of Our Lady of
Hope at Vypin
• The church corresponds to the original model of a Mannerist church in its architectural plan,
a model disseminated in the middle of the 16th century and which was characterized by an
interior of a simple nave with no lateral galleries.
• The façade has three storeys separated by wide friezes. The central body is higher than the
lateral ones, the frontispiece being flanked by back-curved wing panels and topped by a
cross.
• The three bodies of the façade are separated by double columns, which follow the Mannerist
style in vogue in the second half of the 16th century.
• Showing a clear influence of Hindu temples, the church stands in a square surrounded by
high walls and with a portal as an entrance.
• A large, beautiful cross on a pedestal of Mannerist design stands in the middle of the square
in front of the church. A very old parochial house of gracious proportions completes the
ensemble.
 Our Lady of Life, Mattancherry

Nave View
Our Lady of Life, Mattancherry
Our Lady of Hope Vypin.