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| Schwartz (Christ) Church, Thanjavur. en.wikipedia.org/ |
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| Fr. Schwartz. en.wikipedia.org/ |
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| The Schwartz Church, en.wikipedia.org/ |
The Schwartz Church (also known as Christ church), adjacent to the popular recreation Sivaganga park in the fort area of Thanjavur city, Tamil Nadu is one of the earliest Protestant churches in this state. Rev. Friedrich Christian Schwartz, a dedicated and committed Danish missionary and native of Prussia was instrumental in building the church.
Upon the sponsorship of the Danish Missionary Society in Copenhagen, Schwartz came to India and landed in 1750 at the Danish settlement of Tranquebar (locally called Tarangambädi) on the SE coast of Tamil Nadu, India. He worked there till 1762) and later at the invitation of the English company operating in India (EIC) he served as a chaplain-missionary to the British community in India. The Anglican Society For the Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, impressed with his dedicated work, sponsored him in 1767. In 1768, Under the East India company his first calling was in Trichinopoly as a chaplain and later in 1776, Schwartz shifted his missionary activities to Tanjore (Thanjavur) where he lived till his demise in 1798.
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| Interior Schwartz (Christ) Church, Thanjavur. en.wikipedia.org/ |
Being a polyglot and proficient in many languages he was of great help to the English company who had a bad name in India because of their aggressive approach to the natives. He acted as an intermediary between the British and other powers during that period. While at Tanjore, he developed not only close contact with the natives but also with the Maratha ruler Tulajaji and later his son Raja Serfoji. He became a mentor and political advisor to Raja Serfoji.
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| Schwarz church, Thanjavur.en.wikipedia.org/ |
Above image: A replica of the memorial to Fr. Schwartz in the Thanjavur palace museum........
When the corrupt English company gave the Maratha ruler lots of trouble as there was a dispute over the legal heir to the throne Fr. Schwartz acted as a peace maker and safeguarded the young prince and the kingdom from ''take over'' by the English using the Doctrine of Lapse (authored by lord Dalhousie) as a ruse.
In 1740s and 1950s the political situation in this region was chaotic because of war between Chanda sahib (supported by the French) and the Nawab of Arcot (supported by the English army). In the later period when the relationship between the English and the Martha rulers improved over the succession issue, the East India company had stationed their soldiers near Vallam (close to Tanjore) to help the Maratha rulers. Owing to Fr. Schwartz's sincere efforts the first church came up there but later as Maratha rulers had some kind of political set back, the church was turned into a hospital. In the meantime in Tanjore Major Stevens opened a Chapel that temporarily served as a house of worship for the Christians living in this town.
Over a period of time political scenario had also changed and peace prevailed with in the Maratha ruling family. Fr. Schwartz acted as an intermediary and strengthened the relations with the English; this time Marathas had an alliance with the English company.
Realizing the need of a permanent church in the town to serve the Europeans and English soldiers, Gen. Hector Manroe 1726 – 27 December 1805) wanted a church built in the fort area of Tanjore that could be easily accessed by the Europeans. Schwartz approached the ruler Raja Serfoji for a grant of land and the king immediately obliged without any reservation and gave him additional help to build the church. The king made the grant to the missionary as a token of his respect and for his timely help when British were keen to take over the kingdom. Raja Serfoji granted the land belonging to the Big temple adjacent to the church.
Fr. Schwartz immediately started the church construction work in the fort area assisted by other preachers. A he was of great help to the EIC during their troubled relationship with Tipu Sultan of Mysore who had a military alliance with the French, they chipped in and supplied 600000 bricks and 3000 units of lime (chunum) for the construction work; part of the money came from the soldiers and the ruler. The foundation stone was laid on 10 March 1779 and the consecration of the church was done in the following year on 10 April 1780. The work was successfully completed with help from Schwartz's colleague in the Danish Lutheran Mission, Rev. J. C.. Kohlhoff, and the garrison he served. The church was named Christ Church. under the name of Christ
Fr. Schwartz who studied Theology at the University of Halle, took inspiration from his Blessed Masters like Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg (1683-1719) and Heinrich Plütschau (1678-1747) in his religious work. With rich experience in theology he had begun to conduct regular masses in this church from April 1780. .Earlier The S.P.C.K. now came forward and established the Mission, and Schwartz had divided half his work as garrison chaplain between the native congregations and himself.
Built with a simple design the dimension of the church is 90 feet (length) x 50 feet (width). The walls are thick and supported by proportionately positioned retaining wall - something like buttress for extra strength. The church still maintains the old furniture and inside the church the wide arches support the roof. It is . is a noble building with a deep chancel, having the Commandments inscribed over the holy table in English, Tamil, and Hindustani.
This Protestant place of worship shows how the benevolent Hindu king held the missionary in great esteem and gave full support to his missionary activities in this region. This type of catholicity bears testimony to the secular attitude of not only Hindu Maratha rulers of Thanjavur kingdom towards various religious beliefs, but also of other rulers like the Maharajah of Travancore and Mysore Maharajah. The Marathas also donated lots of lands to the Nagore Durgah near Nagapattinam. The Christ church was mostly used by the European. pensioners, East Indians as well as the natives.
Fr. Schwartz realized the need for a church outside the fort area exclusively for the native Christians whose numbers gradually went up over a period of time. Again, he sought the help of king Serfoji who not only granted a small swathe of land in Manumbuchavadi (M.Chavadi) close to the present railway station, but also helped the missionary buy a garden house from an European owner to build a small house of worship. On 24 March 1744 the sudden demise of Fr. Casper Kohlhoff who had assisted Fr. Schwartz in every phase of his work was a big set back for him.
Fr. Schwartz expanded the house and converted it into a place of worship. He died on 13 February 1798 This place of worship in the mission area later became St. Peter Church which was further developed by Fr. William Herbert Blake (1849 -1923), missionary with SPG of Tanjore. When the learned evangelist died he was surrounded by the young Maratha prince, his assistants and other social workers.
A multifaceted personality of compassion and integrity Fr. Schwartz toiled long years here in Tamil Nadu - Tranquebar ( Tharangamoadi, now in Nagapatnam district), (1750-62), Trichy (1762-1776) and Tanjore (1776-98), In the latter till his death, starting schools at different places teaching languages, sciences, etc., for the various sections of people in the society including the poor and downtrodden amidst his evangelical work.
Tit-Bits:
The church (belonging to the CSI) is on the temple land belonging to UNESCO recognized heritage site - big temple (built in 1010 CE). So Schwartz church (Christ Church) is under the control of the Archeological Survey of India. As it is a national monument, church authorities can not carry out any repair work without the consent of the ASI. The same is true of the near-by Hindu temple of great antiquity.
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Above image: Memorial to Fr. Schwartz, St. Mary's church Chennai (Madras): A marble tablet (commissioned by Serfoji) in the Schwartz Church, Thanjavur, showing the missionary on the death bed holding the hand of the ruler Serfoji and blessing him. Sculpted by Italian John Flaxman, it was installed in 1811....................
Ref:
https://www.wmcarey.edu/carey/schwartz/schwartz.html
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