| |
The protestant missionaries
who laboured in South Travancore were sponsored by the
London Missionary Society founded in England in the year
1795.Mission steadily grew in places such as Nagercoil,
Neyyoor, Parassala and Quilon . But Trivandrum, the state
capital, remained out of bounds for them for a long time.
Trivandrum , the capital of Travancore, was the seat of the
State Government and also the headquarters of the British
Resident. In those days it was a town of sixty thousand
inhabitants and in the cantonment area of the city was
stationed a contingent of British troops. Mission in
Trivandrum made possible with the arrival of Four
Missionaries along with Charles Mead. John Cox one among the
four new missionaries was placed at Trivandrum, It was
through the active support of General Fraser the British
resident 'A haunted hill was given to the mission'. The site
granted to the London Missionary Society was at Kannamoola
and it was here that Cox constructed a bungalow and founded
the City Mission. Rev. John Cox, who laboured in Trivandrum
till 1861, was a man of courage and conviction and fought
for the rights of a prominent class of the Kerala society.
And among the London Missionary Society’ pioneers in India
he holds a pre-eminent position.
After the departure of John Cox the pastoral care of the
Trivandrum Mission was assumed by Rev. Samuel Mateer in
whose memory our church was built. Mateer, who arrived in
Travancore in 1859, was in charge of the Parassala Mission
for a short period before he moved out to Trivandrum. For a
quarter of a century he laboured in the Trivandrum area and
under his inspiring leadership the Trivandrum Mission grew
steadily and attained great progress. Mateer was a man of
extraordinary charm indefatigable energy and varied talents.
Moved by the plight of the oppressed and the down-trodden he
took special interest in their welfare and up lift. Wherever
he went, crowds of such people flocked to him earnestly
seeking conversion. He formed them into small congregations
and devoted a great deal of his time and energy for their
advancement. In the midst of his incessant missionary
labours, Mateer found time for his literary pursuites also.
He became well known for his sound scholarship and literary
gifts. He was the author “the Land of Charity” Native Life
in Travancore” and ”Gospel in South India”widely used even
to this day by students of Kerala History for study and
reference and profusely quoted by research scholars. In 18th
March, 1891 on account of ill health Mateer returned to
England where he died in 1893. Hacker, in his book “K
Hundred years in Travancore” Published in 1908 has paid
glowing tribute to Rev. Samuel Mateer in the following words
“Rev. Mateer’s thirty three years of strenuous labour will
not soon be forgotten. Interested in everything connected
with Travancore devoting his literary gift to the
publication of works connected with the country of his
adoption, incessant in his travels among the poor people of
the congregations he was respected by all the classes in the
state. The Mateer Memorial Church, lately erected in
Trivandrum, is a fitting tribute to his devoted life.”
Another LMS Missionary from England who laboured for the
Trivandrum City Mission was Harold Temple Wills who arrived
here in December 1892 shortly after the departure of Samuel
Mateer. He was fully supported by his family as a Honorary
Lay Missionary. Wills was the founder of the L.M.S. Wills
Hostel, one of the oldest of its kind in the city of
Travandrum to provide boarding and lodging facilities for
College students. The evangelistic work done by Wills among
the various classes in the city was highly commendable. It
was during the visit of then foreign secretary Joseph
Mallins the L.M.S. missionaries in Travancore impressed him
on the need of a campus in the city. As a result the present
L.M.S. Compound of 16 acres of Land was purchased.
It was during the
ministry of Samuel Mateer that this site consisting of
sixteen acres of land was purchased. Mateer built two
bungalows here to house the offices of the City Mission. It
was his ardent desire to build a Central Church on this
site. As he had to leave India due to ill health, his dream
of building a new Church did not come true during his
ministry. The project for the construction of the Church was
launched by Rev. I.H. Hacker who took charge of Mateer’s
work. A little later Rev. T.W. Bach took up the project and
during his ministry the foundation stone for the Church was
laid by Stephen Massey in December 1897. Work on the
building could be started only in November 1902 and the
construction of the Church was completed just in four years.
It was by the strenuous effort of Arthur Parker the
construction was completed in 1906. The generous grant given
by the Home Board of the London Missionary Society, the
patronage extended by the royal family of Travancore and
Cochin and the great enthusiasm shown by the local
congregation made it possible for the sponsors of the
project to complete the construction in record time. The
total cost of construction was Rs. 18700/- .
The Church was erected in the sacred memory of Rev. Samuel
Mateer and was named Mateer Memorial Church. The dedication
ceremony took place on the first day of December 1906. The
Church was dedicated by Rev.R.W.Thompson and formally opened
for worship by the Mrs. Thompson. Rev. R.W. Thompson, the
Foreign Secretary of the London Missionary Society, was then
on an official visit to India.
Before the construction of the
M.M. Church L.M.S people of Trivandrum worshipped in a
Church constructed by the protestant evangelical trust in
the 1840's. Mr. Samuel Sumanam father of Mr. S.I. Sumanam
was working in that Church as an Evangelist from 1878
onwards. The Trivandrum L.M.S. Church became a pastorate in
1895 and Mr. Mathew Kesari, father of Rev. John M. Kesari
and grand-father of Rev. J. Eben Kesari was the first Indian
to be ordained as the pastor of that Church. Rev. Mathew
Kesari retired from service in 1904 when the new Church was
still under construction. His illustrious son john M. Kesari
was the first pastor of the newly constructed Mateer
Memorial Church, his period of service being from Apirl 1905
to march, 1913. Ever since it became a Pastorate, our Church
was served by a galaxy of eminent and highly devoted
pastors, other Church workers and deacons . We place here on
record our deep appreciation of the useful service rendered
by them to our Church. But for their strenuous labours and
their abiding faith in God our Church would not have
attained the present state of its prosperity and usefulness.
From its very inception the growth of our Church has been
steady and very encouraging. Begun with a small congregation
consisting of a few families our Church has now grown into
one of the largest of its kind in India. During the festival
week in January 1973 we published a Souvenir and the
statistics given in it show that at that time we had on our
rolls 666 families. In this Centenary year we are proud to
announce that the number of families having regular
membership in the M.M. Church has exceeded 1500.
In addition to the regular members of the Church, a good
number of Christian families employed in Trivandrum and
staying in and around the city but belonging to the Churches
situated in the mofusil area also attend the Sunday services
conducted in the M.M.Church. By their involvement in all the
major activities of the Church and also by their generous
financial assistance they have contributed in no small share
to the prosperity of our Church.
The phenomenal growth in numbers, has also created certain
problems for the Church. The most pressing one is the
problem of accommodation how to provide seating arrangements
in the Church for the ever increasing number of people
attending our Sunday service
Our achievements in that direction are worth mentioning.
With the opening of the new Church in 1906 the old Church
and the Church house were demolished and the site itself was
disposed of. In the new campus a small house to accommodate
the Evangelist was built on the site of the present
parsonage. The pastors were then staying in rented houses.
In 1927 it was decided build a parsonage for the pastor.
Early in 1929 the newly erected parsonage was ready for
occupation. Rev. J. Eben Kesari, who was then the pastor of
the M.M.Church moved into the new Church House. It was then
the turn of the evangelists to stay in rented houses outside
the Mission Compound. A house adjoining to the parsonage was
built for the evangelist in 1938 and Rev. A.S.Samuel, who
was then the Evangelist of the M.M.Church was the first to
occupy it. The sexton’s quarters were got ready in 1942 and
Mr. J. Viswasam, the then sexton, occupied it. Taking into
consideration the financial condition of the M.M.Church in
those days, it was no small achievement on our part to
provide accommodation for our Church workers in our own
buildings.
The LMS U.P. School in its early stages was managed and
financed by the M.M.Church. This institution is as old as
the Church itself. For a long time it was only a primary
school. It was only in May 1947 that it was raised to the
Status of an English Middle School. Our Church contributed a
sum of Rs. Three thousand towards the expenses incurred in
connection with its upgradation. For many years the Church
was paying regularly a share of the deficit borne by the LMS
management in running the school.
The need for a spacious hall to hold public meetings and
Sunday School classes and also to provide accommodation for
other such activities connected with the Church was
fulfilled in 1955 with the construction and dedication of
the Triple Jubilee Memorial Hall. The construction of this
hall was taken up as a joint project of the M.M.Church and
the South Kerala Diocese and was built at a cost of forty
thousand rupees. A committee consisting of three
representatives of the Diocese and three members from the
M.M.Church with the Bishop of the Diocese as chairman is
entrusted with the management of the T.J.M. Hall.In its
construction we remember with gratitude the devoted
leadership by late Bishop A.H.Legg.
In the Church campus there is the Kingsley Justus Memorial
Hall. It was constructed in 1970 at a cost of Rs. Thirty
three thousand donated by Mrs. and Mr. M.E. Justus, members
of our Church. It was their wish to name it Kingsley Justus
who died while he was an Engineering student. This building
provides accommodation for an office for our parish, a
shelter for parking vehicles and a spacious hall 50 feet
long and 20 feet wide for holding conferences and committee
meetings of the various youth organizations of the Church.
The parish office, the parish library and the parking space
are on the ground floor. The conference hall is in the first
floor.
The M.M. Church Cemetery situated in the north west corner
of the LMS Compound comprises of an area of about two acres.
At first it was only half of its present size. An area of
about an acre was demarcated for the cemetery by the Mission
Council and handed over to the Church. When this land was
fully utilized additional space was provided by the Mission
whenever we asked for it. A few years back an area of 75
cents on the eastern side was granted by the Diocese for the
extension of the Church cemetery.
| The
Rev. Samuel Mateer by Rev. Dr.J.W. Gladstone.
|
The Christmas Eve of 1893. The Church bells in Hastings,
England, were chiming joyously proclaiming to the world the
tiding of the birth of the Lord and Saviour of the world.
But from one Church flowed the long tremulous note of
intermittent bells announcing to the world the death of a
child of God, who sacrificed his life for us, the people of
Trivandurm. That was on 24th December 1893, exactly 88 years
ago, and the child of God was the Rev. Samuel Mateer.
We know the Mateer Memorial Church and some of us have read
the books Rev. Mateer has written. But who is this Samuel
Mateer?
Samuel Mateer, the great scholar, historian, visionary and
missionary who died 88 years ago, was responsible for the
establishment of the Trivandrum Mission which has now grown
and flourished into the South Kerala Diocese of the Church
of South India.
Samuel Mateer was born in Belfast, on 24th August 1835.
Being a member of the Methodist Church, he got the occasion
to pursue his theological studies at the Bedford Theological
College. Mateer always had the desire to became a
missionary. The London Missionary Society with which he
established contact, directed him to South Travancore. Thus,
on the 15th of October 1858, he left for India with his wife
and three children.
The Mateer family reached Bombay, after a long voyage of 107
days, on January 30, 1859. There he was received by Rev. Dr.
Wilson who was a great educationist and the founder of
Wilson College, Bombay. After a week’s stay at Bombay,
Mateer and his family started their sea voyage to Cochin.
From Cochin, they had a thrilling boat journey through the
palm-fringed backwater canals upto Trivandurm. From
Trivandrum they were taken by Palanquin to Parassala. This
Palanquin ride was a unique experience to the missionary and
his family. On 4th February 1859, Rev. Samuel Mateer assumed
charge of the Parassala Mission. Mrs. Mateer was placed in
charge of the Boarding Home.
In 1861, Rev. Mateer had to shoulder the additional burden
of Trivandrum and Quilon Missions. When Rev. John Cox
resigned from the LMS., Rev. Mateer had to shift his
residence to Trivandrum from Parassala. He had to be in full
charge of all the three stations till 1863. His arrival in
Trivandrum marked the beginning of the growth and
development of the Trivandrum city mission and the mission
centre. Unfortunately he had to be away to Kodaikkanal and
England on several occasions after 1866 owing to the
ill-health of his wife. But he always looked after with
concern, the development of the Mission fields under his
charge.
In those days the centre of the Trivandrum Mission was
Kannanmoola, where the present United Theological Seminary
stands. Rev. Mateer felt it necessary that the Centre be
shifted to some other suitable location for its proper
development. Rev. Mateer found a suitable opportunity for
this during the visit of Dr. Millins, who was then Foreign
Secretary of the London Missionary Society. Rev. Mateer
succeeded in convincing Dr. Millins the necessity for a new
location and in making arrangements with him for the
purchase of land in the Cantonment area and for the
construction of necessary buildings. Thus, 16 acres of land,
which was known as “Captain Davidson’s Compound” was
purchased at a price of Rs. 9000/-. This is the present
L.M.S. or C.S.I. South Kerala Diocesan Head station
Compound.
The Scholarly speeches Rev. Mateer delivered on various
subjects including the history of the earth, biographies,
etc, won the acclaim of many who used to attend the series
of meetings organized at the Trivandrum ‘Reading Room’ for
the benefit of people from all religions and different walks
of life.
The greatest and at the same time unique service Rev. Mateer
had rendered was for the uplift of the poor and oppressed
section of the society. His concern for such suffering
people was so great that he toiled untiringly till the end
for their social and spiritual liberation; finally giving
occasion to be contemptuously called “Pulaya Padri”. But he
bore all contempt for the sake of Him who called him to
serve among those poor people.
Some of the books written by Rev. Samuel Mateer give us a
vivid and historically true picture of the people among whom
he worked and their life, culture, customs and history. His
important works considered to be very valuable are “The Land
of Charity,” “Native Life in Travancore” and the “Gospel in
South India.”
Rev. Samuel Mateer was the first missionary who endeavored
for the growth of an indigenous Church. He prepared local
people for Church ministry and tried to transfer
administrative responsibilities to them. It was during his
tenure that a number of local people were ordained as
ministers.
As far as our diocese is concerned, Rev. Samuel Mateer can
be rightly designated as the pioneer of indigenization of
the Church. The statistics of the 33 years service of this
noble missionary will stand witness to his sincere efforts
to develop the Church in South Travancore. When he arrived
there were 25 congregations, 3000 Christians and an annual
income of Rs. 800/-. But when he took leave after 33 years,
there was a spectacular difference. The number of
Congregations increased to 56, Christians to 10,060 and
annual income to Rs. 3000/-
In 1890, Mrs. Mateer had to return to England owing to ill
health. Rev. Samuel Mateer who went to England in 1891 on
leave was called to eternal rest on the 24th of December
1893. It was in the same year that the Trivandrum Church was
elevated to the position of a pastorate. The Church building
constructed in the LMS Compound and dedicated to the loving
memory of Rev. Samuel Mateer was opened for divine worship
on 1st December 1906, along with the Centenary Celebrations
of the London Missionary Society.
(Let us bow our heads in profound gratitude before the
memory of that humble man who laboured in love for his
Master among the poor people of Travancore and was
instrumental for the establishment and growth of the Church.)
(Translation of an article by Rt.Rev.Dr. J.W.Gladstone
(Bishop - South Kerala Diocese)published in the 1973
December (Christmas) issue of “Christava Deepika’)
|
|
