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Archiver > INDIA > 2000-12 > 0977127017


From: "Tony Fuller" <>
Subject: Re: [India-L] Armenian churches in Madras
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 08:10:17 -0000
References: <NDBBIODKKLNKIGBIBDBJIEJHCCAA.mikel@diversity-engineering.co.uk>


Hi folks

Supplementary about Armenians in India

The Madras Armenian community is very small now - if it exists at all. Around six years ago there
were only four or five people who regarded themselves as Armenian living in Madras although I did
hear that more traditional RCs were still using the Church because it is Orthodox - but don't know
how true that is today.

The major concentration is still in Calcutta but even then, the numbers are under 200 souls mainly
older people many of whom are involved in a very unsavoury legal dispute over Armenian Church and
charity/educational property in Calcutta, revolving around the Church of the Holy Nazareth. The
whole Armenian situation in India is very very sad according to a contact who taught at the Armenian
School inn Calcutta and was Librarian of the Philosophical/School societies.

Depressingly

Tony Fuller

----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Lavocah <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2000 12:53 PM
Subject: [India-L] Armenian churches in Madras


I'm getting a bit confused about this...

Cathy Day has found an article:
http://www.chennaichips.com/artsandculture/culture/madras.asp
which says that the Armenian Church on Armenian Street is St Mary's Catholic
Cathedral. However, I don't think this is true.

Go to the Indian RC site with the list of all the churches at:
http://www.emmanuel2000.org/diocese/mylapore.html
and it says the church was built in 1642 and is on 64 Armenia Street.

However, the Armenian church was built only in 1772. I have an extract from
their records made in 1950. The address is given as 2/A Armenian Street.
Either the streets have been renumbered since then, or there is a typo on
the Catholic Church's website, or there are two St Mary's Churches on
Armenian Street.

Does anyone know??

Also, the first Armenian Church in Madras, built on the Esplanade in 1712
was, according to Seth's book, demolished because the British didn't like
such a tall building standing so close to the Fort. However Seth says
elsewhere that that Church, along with many other buildings in the vicinity
of the Fort, was levelled by the French invasion of 1746. Which is true - or
are they both true, i.e. the Church was rebuilt and then demolished again?

Mike Lavocah


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