Monday, March 24, 2008

St Andrew Cathedral





ST ANDREW'S CATHEDRAL
11 St Andrew's Road,
Singapore 178959
Official Site : http://www.livingstreams.org.sg/

22 March 2008, Saturday, Cloudy Day.
I was out for some photo shooting and since I was near to Raffles City, I decided to visit this church.
This is my very first visit in this Church.
I've always like this church very much but has never enter it.
To my suprised, there are free guided tours around the church to explain about the history of the church.
Luckily, a tour just got started and I joined in the group.
Inside the church, many helpers were busy decorating the church with flowers.
The entire place is very well kept.





The Lectern : During worship services, bible passages are read from the Lectern. This Lectern is made in the shape of an eagle perched on a globe to represent God's word is to be proclaim to the world.


The East Windows & Lord's Table : In the east windows, the centre light is Sir Stamford Raffles dedicated to him in 1861, the north light is Sir John Crawford, Governor of Singapore (1823-1826) and the South Light is Maj, Gen. William Butterworth, Governor (1843-1855).
Christians would gather around the Lord's Table to eat the bread and drink the wine.


The lady in the black T-shirt and jeans was giving a guided tour of this church. She is very polite and all smiles. It was a pleasant visit with much knowledge gained about the church.










Brief History of St Andrew Cathedral (extracted from Church's Brochure)
1823 : Present site chosen for church by Sir Stamford Raffles
1834 : Foundation stone of 1st Anglican church in Singapore laid
1837 : First divine service conducted by the first chaplain, Revd Edmund White
1838 : St Andrew's was consecrated, but twice struck by lightning, declared unsafe and closed in 1852
1856 : Foundation stone of present building laid by Bishop of Calcutta
1862 : Present building consecrated
1870 : St Andrew's church became the Cathedral of the Diocese of Labuan and Sarawak
1909 : C.J. Ferguson-Davie became the first bishop of Singapore
1942 : Cathedral used as an emergency hospital before the fall of Singapore
1952 Completion of North Transept Extension
1973 : Cathedral gazetted as a National Monument
1983 : Completion of South Transept Extention
1989 : Construction of Baptistry
2005 : Completion of the Quiet Places Externsion : The Cathedral New Sanctuary and Chapel for all peoples

6 comments:

Elise said...

What a lovely Cathedral! You don't write much in your travel blog but you've obviously been on many travels... Keep them coming xx

JAMJARSUPERSTAR said...

Love this blog, Astro - please write more often! Nice cathedral!

http://scarletsculturegarden.blogspot.com
http://jamjarsuperstar.blogspot.com

astrogalaxy said...

Thank you Elise!!!

astrogalaxy said...

jamjarsuperstar,
Thanks and I'll try to post more places!!!

Nature Nut /JJ Loch said...

What a super post!!! How lucky you were to see the inside of this beautiful cathedral. Looove the photos and post!!!
JJ :D

astrogalaxy said...

Hi Nature Nut,
Glad you like them! Thanks!