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The Armenian Church, (Tamil: ஆர்மேனியன் தேவாலயம்) Chennai, constructed in 1712 〔(The Last Armenians in Madras )〕 and reconstructed in 1772, is one of the oldest churches of the Indian subcontinent. It is famous for its belfry of six. The Church, also called the Armenian Church of Virgin Mary, is located on the Armenian Street, Parrys, Chennai, South India. Michael Stephen was the caretaker of the Church until 2004.〔(Economic Times of India article: The Last Armenians )〕 The current caretaker (2010) of the Church is Trevor Alexander.〔(Chennai's Armenian connection )〕 ==The Church== * Functioning only as a heritage site, the Church is opened for visitors from 9 am till 2:30 pm. * It is funded by the Armenian Apostolic Church〔(For Whom The Bell Tolls )〕 and maintained by The Armenian Church Committee in Calcutta. * The graves of about 350 Armenians have been laid out throughout the Church. * The founder, publisher and editor of the world's first Armenian periodical "Azdarar", Reverend Haroutiun Shmavonian, is buried here. * The Belfry adjacent to the main Church structure houses six large bells which are rung every Sunday at 9:30 am by the caretaker. The Armenians were a select group of merchants in Madras Presidency. They walked all the way from Armenia, through the Hindukush mountains and came down to Madras. When the British were trading cotton cloth, Armenians dealt with fine silk, expensive spices and gems. Madras must have housed a small but a thriving Armenian population. Sadly, today there are none of them left. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Armenian Church, Chennai」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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