,Schwartz church,Thanjavur T.N Tourism |
The Schwartz Church, adjacent to the Sivaganga park in the prime area of Thanjavur city, Tamil Nadu was built in 1799 CE on the land gifted by great Maratha King to show his admiration, gratitude and respect for the Danish Missionary, Rev. Friedrich Christian Schwartz who was born at Sonnenburg, Prussia. Schwartz Church, a Protestant place of worship, is still seen as a sign of open-mindedness and secular attitude of the then Maratha rulers towards various religious beliefs. Fr. Schwartz was Raja Serfoji's tutor and mentor. His saintly approach and integrity left a good impression on the young Raja. Schwartz was instrumental in getting the kingdom back from the East India company, a proxy government for the British Crown. Using the doctrine of Lapse as a pretext the English company had taken over a lot of Indian kingdom and, no doubt, the EIC officials at Madras (now Chennai) kept an eye on the small, but culturally rich kingdom of Thanjavur region. The reason was there was no legal heir in the Maratha royal family and the company never accepted legal adoption of a relative to ascend the throne as per the Hindu tradition. The young ruler was not happy with the British rule and frequently complained about their lack of integrity and and honest dealings. The avarice of the British angered the Maratha ruler.
In the Church, there is a monument or tablet made by John Flaxman commissioned by Raja Serfoji that shows the King holding the hand of the dying Lutheran missionary whilst receiving his blessing. John Flaxman, an Italian sculptor who lived in London, sculpted this statue in 1807 and was installed in this church in 1811. This was known from the writings of Tanjore Vedanayagam Sastriar, a court poet in the palace of Serfoji II. The monument is in white marble and is a popular attraction for the tourists. In those colonial days, this church was known as the big church or Christ church and mostly Europeans used the services.
Lutheran Missionary Fr. Schwartz.Thanjavur,TN bbc.co.uk . |
Schwartz church,Thanjavur,TN .sriramv.files.wordpress.com |
Schwartz church,Thanjavur Thanjavur Information & Local Directory Listing |
Schwartz church,Thanjavur Thanjavur Information and Local Directory Listing |
Gen. Hector Monroe and the English Resident were helpful during the construction of the church. Father Schwartz is believed to have conducted regular masses in this church from April 1780. He used to live on the church premises in the NW part of the church. In his capacity as a Danish priest, he had a close relationship with the British East India company's officials and was quite familiar with higher-ups at Madras. There is a monument to Rev. Schwarz by John Bacon arranged by the British East India Company in St Mary's church at Chennai (formerly Madras). There is also a well-known school named after Rev. Schwartz in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu and Dr. Abdul Kalam, the former President of India, was an old student of that school.
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St. Peter's church, Thanjavur., Tamil Nadu. hotelsinthanjavur.com |
Above image: St. Peter's church, Mission st., M. Chavadi, Thanjavur. Upon his death the mortal remains of Fr. Schwartz were interred behind the first chapel he had built here for the natives to worship. Later it developed into St. Peter's church which was restructured by Fr. William Blake. A vast track of land was gifted by Raja Serfoj for the Christian community to live comfortably. ...........
Ref:
http://www.wmcarey.edu/carey/schwartz/schwartz
https://en.wikipedia.org wiki/Christian_Friedrich_Schwartz
(Minor modifications made: 11 June 2015)
http://www.wmcarey.edu/carey/schwartz/schwartz
(Minor modifications made: 11 June 2015)