George Church, Edappally:
This Church was built about 300 years after the martyrdom of St.George. It was originally built in the name of Virgin Mary. St.George was likely born in Lod, Syria Palaestina between about 275 AD and 285 AD. He served as a soldier, reaching the rank of Tribunus in the imperial guard of the Emperor Diocletian at Nicomedia. He was an ardent and firm believer in Christ and
lived his life true to the Scriptures. During the religious persecution of Emperor Diocletian, he stood up for the faith and was put to death. From that time, the soldier became St.George and thousands of churches sprang up all over Europe and parts of the East in the name of St.George. He was officially recognized as the Patron Saint of England. In due course, the Edappally Church also came to be known as the St.George's Church. The statue of St.George placed prominently for vineration at this church shows the Saint mounted on his horseback with his spear piercing the ugly head of the monstrous serpent lying under the hooves of his horse. It is believed to be symbolic of the faith and courage of the Saint who overpowered the devil. There is also Italian legend that the Saint was rescuing a noble damsel who was offered to the monster as his daily quota of food. George is a great symbol of popular faith and a dependable source of succour. The miracles worked by the saint and his infinite kindness captivate the minds of thousands thronging this church. The continuous and steady flow of pilgrims to St. George's Church, Edappally, clearly indicates this truth. History:
The St.George's Forane Church has a history of 14 centuries. In those days the Arabian Sea reached all the way up to the shore of Edappally. Edappally was then a small hamlet, a part of the princely kingdom of Elangalloor. The people of Edappally lived a simple life, the comforts of life being non-existent at that time. The Catholic congregation at Edappally was rather small and they were all descendants of the Hindus converted into Christianity by St. Thomas the Apostle (alias Dideemos) who came to India to preach the Gospel. Since the old church was found to be too small to accommodate the overgrown congregation in A.D. 1080 a new church was built in the present location. The main altar and the facade of this church was later renovated. The altar renovated by incorporating the picture of Virgin Mary which was surrounded by sculptures, angels and vines. The paintings depicting the heaven on the wall behind the altar fills one's heart with joy and piety
On the first day of the Third Millennium at 8 A.M. the foundation stone, blessed by His Holiness Pope John Paul II, was laid for the New Church. The octagonal, 141-foot-high (43 m) church covers an 88,000-square-foot (8,200 m2) area, and is one of India's largest churches. Blending European and Keralite architecture, its madbaha/altar is made of teak covered with gold foil imported from Italy and it has two bell towers. Old (original sin, Noah’s Ark and Cain and Abel) and New Testament scenes (the story of Jesus) are depicted as sculptures. The altar, depicting the Resurrection, is surrounded by carvings in Vietnamese marble. The 19,500-square-foot (1,810 m2) main chapel has a capacity of 5,000, and theoo entire church can hold 10,000 people. The two older churches have been preserved for their historic importance.
