St Andrew’s Cathedral

St Andrew’s Cathedral

A white Gothic church with a high spire in the blue sky. Like a tall and holy messenger of God, he stands silently in the noisy city center, but everyone who sees him will feel yearning and awe in his heart. This is the most famous church in Singapore - St. Andrea's church. The white and beautiful exterior wall is one of the most proud features of St. Andrea's church. After more than 100 years of vicissitudes, it is still so glorious, "it is immaculate youth". It is said that the Church of St. Andre, whose skin is better than snow, grinds the shell into ash, adds protein and sugar to make a paste, and then puts it into the soft coconut shell to make a kind of practical and beautiful plaster. It is not easy to crack when it is applied on the surface of the building, and it is white and glossy.

Historical evolution

Since the landing of governor Sir Stanford Raffles in 1819, Singapore has stepped into the pace of modernization, with a large number of immigrants pouring in and various religious cultures blossoming here. It is said that as early as 1823, Raffles chose the present site as a reservation for the construction of the church. In 1834, as the first church of the Anglican Church in Singapore, St. Andrea's Cathedral was laid a foundation. It was completed and put into use in 1837. At that time, the original intention of building the church was to take care of the British expatriates and give them a shrine for worship. Later, it gradually changed to spread the gospel to the local people of all nationalities. Due to two lightning strikes, the church was closed in 1852-1856 and rebuilt in its original site. In 1942, before Singapore was occupied by Japan, it was rebuilt as an emergency hospital to save lives and heal the wounded. St Andrea's Cathedral has become one of the most influential churches in Singapore.

Architectural appearance

Around the Cathedral of Saint Andrea, there is a square courtyard with trees and grass, surrounded by a fence. On one side of the fence hung a huge banner with black characters on a white background, on which was written a scripture from the gospel of mark: "Jesus said," come and have a rest with me in the wilderness. "

building structure

The Cathedral of St. Andrea sits east to West in the middle of the courtyard. The most striking spire is the tower above its west main entrance. The tower is 63 meters high, and its white exterior wall is decorated with simple and beautiful sculpture patterns. Walking into the front door of the church, I felt a light in front of me. The hall stretches 55 meters, 16 meters wide and 22 meters high, giving people a sense of height and solemnity, which is enough to make everyone in his arms feel small. For believers to enter the church after baptism, indicating that the body into Christ is through baptism. From the washbasin to the farthest holy table and the three large French windows made of stained glass, the dark blue carpet divides the hall into two symmetrical parts, with dark brown wooden tables and chairs arranged on both sides. Both sides of the table and chair are white, and two partition walls are composed of a column and a door arch. On the outside of the partition wall, another group of tables and chairs for worship is the window with more delicate and bright decoration.

In the center of the carpet, the tables and chairs on both sides were old and tidy, and the drawers were filled with Bibles and hymns in various languages. On the ground under the table, there are small cushions for people to kneel down, which are decorated with different religious patterns. Occasionally, stone tablets, sculptures or metal plates are embedded on the walls to commemorate major religious events or figures.

The central altar is the core of the church. On the right side, a white column is used to build a wooden platform. It was made in Sri Lanka in 1889. The wooden steps are narrow and delicate. Behind him, however, the obscure cross hanging on the pillar had a lot to do with it. The cross, known as the "covandilly cross", is a cross shaped metal part on a wooden frame. It is two iron nails from the ruins of covandilly Church in England, which was destroyed in World War II in 1940. It reminds people that all Christian principles are based on the death and resurrection of Christ.

On the left side of the altar is the wooden Bishop's seat, which is the seat of the bishop in church meetings. Next to it stood a gold ornament, and the eagle with its wings was standing on a column like a scepter. It used to be a platform, known as the "Sutra platform". Behind the eagle's head are shelves for books and a small electric light. The shape of its flying eagle symbolizes the spread of God's words all over the world.

In the center of the altar, there is a rectangular holy table. When the Eucharist is held, bread and wine will be placed on the table to symbolize the body and blood of Jesus. The Bible says, "take and eat, the body I gave up for you, the blood I shed for you. You're going to do this in memory of me. " Thus, the holy table is the center and focus of the whole church.

The area behind the holy table, used for gathering, is called the "Hall of birth". It got its name from the exquisite screen made of plaster and mosaic made in Italy. The screen was set up in 1905. The picture on it shows the shepherd worshiping the newly born Christ in Bethlehem.

Behind the screen, three stained glass windows push the elegance and magnificence of the whole church to the peak. Through each small piece of fine and gorgeous colored glass, the sun seems to have been endowed with God's holiness and beauty, gently and brilliantly reflected in the lobby. As long as you take a look at it, it will attract all your eyes in the past, into its colorful whirlpool, unable to extricate itself, people can not help but stay for a long time. Gazing at it, for a moment, it seems that my mind has been flying thousands of miles away, full of imagination; it seems that my heart has never been so calm, as if I heard the melodious melody of organ and Psalm coming from the sky.

Although at first glance, these three colored windows are no different, in fact, there are still small differences between them. They were built to commemorate a hero in Singapore. The window in the middle commemorates Raffles who developed Singapore; the window on the left commemorates Dr. John Crawford, a garrison officer of Singapore; and the window on the right commemorates General William bardburg, governor of the Straits colony. In the colorful patterns of each window, their heraldry is painted respectively.

religious complex

As a Christian, for the psychology of the people of a country developed from a colony, this church of St. Andrea, which combines religion with the spirit of British colonial rule, is like a crystal clear and flawless snowflake hidden in the tropical sunshine and coconut forest. It pursues and insists on the purity and beauty of the human world, which makes passers-by stay and admire; it makes flashy and anxious to be deterred; it makes the ordinary restless soul get a moment of peace.

St Andre's church stands quietly on the coast of Singapore. Everyone who saw his white minaret in the distance, and everyone who passed by him, could hear him say in his ear, "come and have a rest with me in the wilderness.".

cultural heritage

On July 6, 1973, St. Andre's Cathedral was officially listed as a national historical relic, and now belongs to the parish of Singapore.

Travel Tips

Admission: Free

Opening hours: all day

Transportation: take the subway, get off at city hall interchange, take exit b, follow North Bridge Rd. and take the intersection of Coleman St. to get to the outer gate of the church.

Address: 138 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Longitude: 114.177438

Latitude: 22.299387

Tel. + 852-23671478

Chinese PinYin : Sheng An De Lie Jiao Tang