Calcutta St Thomas Orthodox Cathedral is a symbol of harmony and God’s love and it spreads the message of peace and amity in society, West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose said on Sunday.
The governor made the statements after inaugurating the diamond jubilee celebrations of the cathedral, located in Smith Lane in central Kolkata’s Taltala area.
“This cathedral is a symbol of harmony and God’s love. Therefore it spreads the message of peace and amity in society,” said the governor.
The governor handed a scroll of honour to the cathedral which was accepted by His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, Catholicos of the East & Malankara Metropolitan.
Some of the lines mentioned on the scroll of honour are:
“The cathedral stands as a symbol of social harmony and unity, reflecting the essence of Indian milieu.... The cathedral has been a catalyst in promoting ‘acts of kindness and of love’ aimed at ameliorating the lot of the poor and the vulnerable sections of society.
“As an ‘ever fixed mark’ of India’s unity in diversity and as a living model of the nation’s dynamic pluralism the Cathedral inspires generations to pursue the path of social integration and cultural harmony.”
During his speech, the Catholicos requested the governor to arrange for better accommodation for people living on the streets.
The Catholicos’s attention was caught when he saw them on Saturday while coming to the Cathedral.
The governor said he would work for it with the help of the civic councillor.
On Saturday, at an inter-religious meeting, the Catholicos had said how those people are forced to live in one-room houses.
“It is to give better life to them... to see that they have a better life in this world,” he told The Telegraph after the programme.
Calcutta St Thomas Orthodox Cathedral is an ancient church outside Kerala and came into being in 1947 under the diocese of Calcutta and belongs to the Malankara Orthodox Church (Indian Orthodox Church).
His Grace Alexios Mar Eusebius, Diocesan – Metropolitan – Kolkata, later told this newspaper that the cathedral is honoured by the governor with a scroll.
“All churches are a centre of peace. We are supposed to be the peacemakers and our church should be a centre of peacemaking,” His Grace Alexios Mar Eusebius told this newspaper on the sidelines of Sunday’s event.
“The modern world is more individualistic, that is a universal phenomenon. Each individual’s concern for humanity, society is becoming negligible now. Since everybody is concerned about their own life and they are selfish and they consider only about them, the violence is happening. Their ideas, their sayings, their thoughts, that should be everywhere acknowledged and appreciated. If it is not acknowledged or appreciated violence happens.... Christianity always speaks about humanity...” he told The Telegraph.