Kolkata, December 12, 2024
Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr
A Greek Orthodox community has been present in Kolkata since the late 17th century, and a stone church was opened in 1782. In 1923, it was decided to relocate and to another part of the city, and the new Holy Transfiguration Church was opened in November 1924.
The church has been recognized as a heritage building by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
On Sunday, December 8, the parish community celebrated its anniversary. That day, Metropolitan Constantine of Singapore of the Patriarchate of Singapore consecrated the church and celebrated the Divine Liturgy, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, a memorial service was held for the founders, donors, and all members of the once vibrant and numerous Greek community in Kolkata.
That evening, a celebratory event was held with speeches about the history and significance of the Greek church in Kolkata, and afterward, in the Church courtyard, children from charitable institutions sang Byzantine hymns and performed traditional Indian dances.
“The church functioned from 1924 to 1972 when it shut down as the Greek population declined considerably. Fr. Ignatios, a Greek priest, reopened it in 1991 and the church has been functioning since,” said church warden Raju Bharat.
Fr. Ignatios “brought in local priests and started an orphanage that currently has the only Greek in Kolkata. Sister Nektaria helps in the operation of the orphanage in Nepalgunj,” Bharat said.
Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr
Fr. Rafael Maity, who currently serves at the church, holds prayers every morning in addition to the Sunday Liturgy.
The day’s events were attended by a large crowd, including political representatives of Greece and Cyprus in India, and Archimandrite Melchizedek (Galanis), abbot of the Holy Monastery of St. Nicholas Varson in Greece.
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