CSI Jaffna Diocese

Tellipallai Church
Almost two hundred years ago providence certainly chartered the course of the early missionaries who came to Jaffna. When they set off from the United States in answer to their call following their commitment to serve in the mission of God,, Jaffna was not their destination. How they came to Jaffna describes the prejudice the colonial government had against the US, and by sending these missionaries to Jaffna the British authorities were sure they would soon get tired of the Dry Zone nature of the region and several other inconveniences they would face there.
Fortunately for the people of Jaffna it was not to be as was expected by the British. Realizing the extreme nature of the challenges they faced and the convciction that they were led to undertake this task by divine guidance, they set up their mission at Tellipallai in 1816
This event hailed an incredible socio-educational and health revolution in the Northern Province. The British government has told the missionaries that they were welcome to use the ruined churches that were built or renovated by the Dutch from the ruins of Portuguese churches which again was a Herculean task.
But one by one churches rose and among them the Vaddukoddai Church, the JDCSI cathedral was first built in 1626 by the Portuguese and was extensively ruined twice. Today this church is a glorious sentinel to the faith and visions of the founder missionaries and all those who have served in it since that time. October 10, 1947 when its bell chimed, it announced to the world the unique spirit of Church Union, the arrival on the world's stage the first union of diverse churches, the Church of South India.
It is perhaps God gives us a chance and opportinity now and then to renew our spiritual fervour and the will to maintain or undertake a mission, events of recent years have been a great challenge to our people. Some parts of our province have been ruined consequent to the civil calamities suffered and among the churches to be affected, one is Tellipallai where the American Mission founded the first congregation. A historical significance of this place is the sacred grounds of everlasting memory where the remains of our early missionary friends from the US have been interred.
Generations of their families in the US will be proud of their ancestors who brought not only the message of the Redeemer Christ among our people but also a massive social revolution in the field of education and the beneficial consequences from it to the community including education of women and modern health care facilities founding the Green Memorial Hospital in Manipay and the McCleod Hospital in Inuvil.
Hundreds of vernacular schools were founded and the Batticotta Seminary in 1822 became a foremost educational institution not just in Sri Lanka but in South Asia too. Several High Schools such as Tellipallai Union College, Uduvil Girls College, Udupiddy Women's College, Uduppiddy American Mission College, Chavakacheri Drieberg College and Manipay Memorial English School were all parts of the mission enterprise and so was the American Ceylon Mission Press.
How these impacted on us, we can never ever measure but these have enabled in no small measure for our people to have spread in many parts of the world as the fruits of the mission. Equally, incumbent on them therefore is the obligation is to seed a new hope for their people in Sri Lanka.
Today, we are faced with a new challenge to rebuild our churches and instititions, rehabilitate our people who have suffered some of the worst of physical and emotional traumas a community could be exposed to, and renew our faith. We need to work from the very grass roots where our early missionaries started but our progress must be rapid because thousands of families have to be rahabilitated and our young people in particular must be availed of skills and opportunities as a matter of urgency in our rehabilitation efforts.
We have already started working on the rebuilding of the churches essential for our community work and plans are afoot in the case of the Tellipallai and Velanai churches. We have been greatly encouraged by our friends overseas, the JDCSI Diaspora, who are showing a great deal of interest in the spirit of rebuilding our institutions and renewal of our faith.
Our commitment is strong, sure and determined and we will meet our challenges with fortitude and our visions will truly be realized because God wills us and guides us.