Historical Church of the Lord Jesus, Kolkata

Church of the Lord Jesus, Kolkata, wikimapia.org

 Kolkata is home to innumerable churches that have historical value and stand as the legacy of the British Rai. They are architecturally awe-inspiring without losing its heritage values. Lots of tourists from other parts of India and also from overseas visit these churches.
 
Church of the Lord Jesus (in Bengali: Prabhu Jisur Girja), located at Taltala, Kolkata, is a Catholic church. It was earlier a Church of Scotland,  following Presbyterian form of worship. It was handed over to the Jesuits in 1969, who made  it a centre of various apostolic activities. It was constructed in 1848 by the Church of Scotland 

In the 18 an 19th centuries innumerable  European missionaries made a bee line to India with a view to spreading Christianity among the natives. Further, the Colonial government stopped restricting the functioning of the missionaries. In the beginning of the 19th century Alexander Duff, a Presbyterian Scottish missionary, arrived in Calcutta on a mission to spread the Scottish tradition of Christian worship. In 1843 a serious  rift over the religious matter   divided  the  Church  of  Scotland  and  its repercussions were felt across the globe and India was not an exception. In the aftermath of this unexpected and unwarranted crack in the Church of Scotland  a new ‘Free Church of Scotland’ was born. Consequently in Calcutta the new ‘Free’ church had is  its place of worship  built on Wellesley Street.

At last a compromise was made and the two Presbyterian churches reconciled and formed a new union in 1929 as a consequence of which the Wellesley street church lost its importance in terms of divinity and sanctity. The two, once warring congregations, became one  religious unit choosing the St. Andrew's Church as their place of worship.

In 1969 the Wellesley church and attached buildings were handed over to the Jesuit fathers who give it the Bengali name of ‘Prabhu Jisur Girja’ (Church of the Lord Jesus).  It became  a center of various apostolic and pastoral activities.  Most of the religious activities, services in this church are in the Bengali language. There is a huge library on the church premises, catering to the needs of the public, in particular, to students.

Before 2005, the  vast church was a 'public oratory' which was later converted to a parish of the Archdiocese of Calcutta. 


Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Lord_Jesus_