St. Mary Armenian Church, Saidabad

This article is about the church in Saidabad, India. For the church in Romania, see Armenian Church, Brăila.

Saint Mary Church of Saidabad, (Armenian: Սուրբ Աստվածածին Եկեղեցի) is a parish of the Armenian Apostolic Church situated at Saidabad, Cossimbazar near Baharampur in Murshidabad district in the Indian state of West Bengal.^[1] It is dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus.

St. Mary Church Սուրբ Աստվածածին Եկեղեցի
St. Mary Church, Saidabad
Religion
Affiliation	Armenian Apostolic Church
Rite	Armenian
Location
Location	Saidabad, Cossimbazar, West Bengal India
Shown within India
Geographic coordinates	24.12225649°N 88.25771213°E / 24.12225649; 88.25771213
Architecture
Style	Armenian
Completed	1758

History

The St. Mary church was built by Khoja Petros Arathoon in 1757–58^[2][3] at his own expense in memory of his parents and brothers. He was at the time the head of the Armenian community in Kolkata. The cost of the building of it was two lakh and thirty six thousand rupees.

An Armenian merchant and founder of the Armenian Philanthropic Academy, Manatsaken Vardon, lived at Saidabad. After his death on 13 October 1827 he was buried in this church.^[4]

The church closed in 1860. In 2006, it was re-consecrated after a major renovation initiated in 2005 by the Armenian Church community of Kolkata.^[5]

References

1. "আর্মেনিয়ান চার্চ – বহরমপুর | District Murshidabad | India" (in Bengali). Retrieved 2022-11-10.
2. Volume 6 (1846). "The Calcutta Review". Retrieved November 29, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
3. Achal Malhotra (7 September 2018). India - Armenia: So Far yet So Close. ISBN 9781642499650. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
4. "Place to visit-Berhampore". Retrieved November 29, 2018.
5. "Did you know that not only the British but the Dutch, the Danes, the French and the Portuguese". outlookindia.com. Retrieved November 29, 2018.