For any fifth grader, Mumbai is located in the western part of India. If asked about the north or south, the answer would be south. So, how can there be a church of North India located in posh south Mumbai, a stone’s throw away from the famous Flora Fountain?
You may wonder, in the world of “bharat-todo” (Break India by new politicians), how all “bhaias” (people from North India, specifically Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, speaking Hindi) suddenly built a church for themselves.
St. Thomas Cathedral in Mumbai is 300 years old! They named it after Saint Thomas the Apostle, who’s believed to have brought Christianity to India.
This cathedral is in Horniman Circle, which is old and historic center of Mumbai. It’s close to famous places like Flora Fountain and Bombay House. This church is actually the oldest one in Mumbai!
Construction of building the church started way back in 1676, but it took until 1718 to finish it and start having services there. It’s the first Anglican church in Bombay.
Churchgate railway station got its name because it’s linked to St. Thomas Cathedral. There used to be this road connecting the station to the church through one of the three gates of the old Mumbai city. The gate was replaced with the Flora Fountain n 1864.
It’s part of the Anglican Diocese of Mumbai in the Church of North India, now why North India?
At the time of Indipendence of India, Church of India, Burma and Ceylon became known as the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon (CIPBC). later Churches of southern India left this group and around 1970 chruches of Pakisthan, Burma and Sri Lanka got seperated and what was left out was called as “church of north India”