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Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour

Coordinates: 6°54′13″N 79°52′24″E / 6.903619°N 79.873222°E / 6.903619; 79.873222
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Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour
Religion
AffiliationAnglican, Church of Ceylon
Year consecrated1973
StatusActive
Location
LocationColombo, Sri Lanka
Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour is located in Colombo District
Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour
Shown within Colombo District
Geographic coordinates6°54′13″N 79°52′24″E / 6.903619°N 79.873222°E / 6.903619; 79.873222
Architecture
Architect(s)Tom Neville Wynne-Jones, P. H. Wilson Peiris
TypeChurch
General contractorU. N. Gunasekera
Groundbreaking28 October 1968
Website
www.cathedral.lk

The Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour is located in Cinnamon Gardens (Colombo 07) a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the primary Anglican cathedral, affiliated to the Church of Ceylon.[1]

The decision to build the Anglican cathedral in Colombo, to replace the old cathedral in Mutwal, was initiated by Bishop Harold de Soysa, the first Ceylonese Anglican Bishop of Colombo.[2][3] It was designed by P. H. Wilson Peiris (architect of the Cathedral of Christ the King, Kurunegala) and the architect of the structure was Tom Neville Wynne-Jones CBE (architect of the Independence Memorial Hall). The construction was undertaken by the firm of U. N. Gunasekera.[1][4][5]

The foundation stone for the cathedral was laid on 28 October 1968 by Bishop de Soysa, who died in 1971 before its completion.[2][6] The construction was subsequently overseen by his successor, Bishop Cyril Abeynaike, whose ideas were incorporated into some of the church's features. The cathedral was consecrated on 7 November 1973[3] and has subsequently been used for all the Church of Ceylon's major religious ceremonies, including the consecration of all the bishops of Ceylon.

The cathedral is based on the traditional style of Sri Lanka architecture, in this case the hexagonal form of a Buddhist temple, using modern concrete technology.[4][7] It is the seat of the Bishop of Colombo.

See also

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Further reading

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour". Diocese of Colombo. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b "The Cathedral of the Diocese of Colombo". Sunday Observer. 2002. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  3. ^ a b Mendis, Chrishantha B. "Bishop Cyril was a True Shepherd of the People". The Island. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  4. ^ a b Pieris, Anoma (2013). Architecture and Nationalism in Sri Lanka: The Trouser Under the Cloth. New York: Routledge. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-415-63002-3.
  5. ^ Daswatte, Channa (2006). Sri Lanka Style: Tropical Design and Architecture. Hong Kong: Periplus Editions Ltd. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-794-60060-0.
  6. ^ Rev. Sydney Knight. "Bishop Harold de Soysa". Rootsweb.ancestry.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  7. ^ Wingate, Andrew; Ward, Kevin; Pemberton, Carrie; Sitshebo, Wilson (1998). Anglicanism: A Global Communion. New York: Church Publishing Incorporated. ISBN 0-89869-304-7.