Christmas has come a little early in Secunderabad as the colourful fairy lights twinkle from the belfry and the walls of the St Andrew’s Church. Nearly 75 years after the scattered Orthodox Syrian Christian community began to pray at the St Andrew’s Church in Secunderabad, the parishioners are preparing to celebrate the platinum jubilee coinciding with the Feast of St. Andrew marked on November 30.
“The platinum jubilee celebration is a sign of the parish’s journey and coexistence where there are two churches within the same premises. The day will be marked with a service where the message of Jesus Christ, including his crucifixion, resurrection and second coming will be shared,” said Fr. Bino Samuel, Vicar of St. Andrew’s Orthodox Church.
The church shares the compound with Mar Thoma denomination. The planned year-long celebration includes a range of ecumenical and charitable activities. Inside the church, there is a wall to wall woven-coconut coir fibre carpet where the parishioners sit during the service. “Valiyapally means big church in Malayalam. This is a huge hall because we have nearly 1,000 parishioners in addition to that a lot of the floating population of the denomination walk for the service,” says a spokesperson for the church.
The large church with a grand space that at times reminds the parishioners about Kerala with the nilavilakku (the floor standing brass lamp) as well as thookkuvilakku (hanging from ceiling) and a service that is in Malayalam where a Greek can recognise some words.
How the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church came to Secunderabad and evolved into the current form where a 1,000 persons will pray on November 30 is the story of Secunderabad and Hyderabad. The initial missionary activity in the region was that of the Anglican Church testified by the St John’s Church in Marredpally and the Wesleyan Church in the Garrison Wesley Church. The St. Andrew’s Church was where Scottish soldiers in the British Army came to pray. “Now we have Orthodox Syrian Churches with Malayalam service in Jeedimetla, Chandanagar, Ibrahimpatnam, besides the St Gregorious Church in Kavidiguda where I got married,” says T. O. Oommen, who came to Hyderabad from Chenganoor as a 17-year-old with his brother in 1976 and now calls the city his home.
In the process, he has seen the change, rather the transformation of the church. “There used to be the old building and it was a landmark as I used to travel from Bowenpally for the Sunday service,” he says. An extant archival photograph shows the Scottish Kirk in 1890 surrounded by the vast open spaces of the Parade Ground and the Race Course. Now the Church is dwarfed by the Parade Ground Metro Station, a temple and a clutch of other towering buildings. The only relic from the old church are the 1878 bell and some pews from the time when it catered to a few soldiers.
“The platinum jubilee is on November 30 but it will begin for on us November 29 where we make preparations for prayers by not eating or drinking water and it will be followed by a service that will be for five hours,” informs Fr. Bino Samuel.
Published – November 28, 2025 12:01 am IST
