Celebrating Christmas in Telangana’s Medak Church

The cathedral, built in stone, soars to a height of 175 feet. It is not just a centre for pilgrimage for Protestant Christians but has become a tourist draw. Visitors walk in all hours of the day to see the church. The vast vault with gothic ribbed ceiling and a span of 40 feet runs the length of a 200 foot nave. 

The cathedral, built in stone, soars to a height of 175 feet. It is not just a centre for pilgrimage for Protestant Christians but has become a tourist draw. Visitors walk in all hours of the day to see the church. The vast vault with gothic ribbed ceiling and a span of 40 feet runs the length of a 200 foot nave. 

At the end of it is the chancel stained-glass panel showing the Ascension of Jesus Christ, installed in 1927, three years after the consecration of the church. The morning light illuminates the Nativity panel, which was installed nearly 20 years later, in 1947. 

“In 1958 when the final Crucifixion panel was being installed, Vijayalakshmi Pandit intervened and asked for inclusion of elements from Indian culture. The words ‘Yehudion ka Raja’ (King of Jews was added in Hindi language above the thorny crown,” informs a parishioner. Below the panel is a phrase in Telugu: “Nenu bhoomi meeda nundi paiketha badinappudu andarini naa yoddaku cherchukondu (When I ascend to heaven, I will gather all people into my fold)”. The stained glass designs were executed by Mr. F. Salisbury. The chancel tiles were shipped by J. H. Patteson of Manchester.