
If there is any church in Kerala which can be compared with Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City, that is St. Anthony’s Forane Church in Ollur. Every inch of space in the church is decorated, under both western and indigenous influences, with the highest achievements of the painter, the sculptor, the ceramics worker, the carpenter, the goldsmith, the bronze artisan, or the architect – using every media known or imaginable like gold, silver, iron, bronze, wood, ivory, stone – including laterite, granite, and precious stones. here there are large numbers of frescoes, murals – both Kerala and western style murals, woodwork, metalwork, ivory work. Of course, Ollur’s other name Chinna Roma (Small Rome) is quite appropriate for this and many other reasons. If any church in Kerala deserves to be named a basilica (a minor basilica, that is) it is undoubtedly this great church. If any church is to be made a key attraction for tourists, Indian or international, the first consideration must be given to this church.
The third festival of State significance which used to attract tens of thousands of devotees was the St. Raphael’s festival of Ollur popularly known as Malakhayude Perunnal. St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church located at Palayur in Thrissur district is considered the earliest church in Kerala. It is claimed to have been established in 52 AD by St Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. There are many other old churches such as Thazhaekadu palli, Kokkode church, Mattom, that bear the pride of antiquity in this region. In the same district of Thrissur is located the St. Antony’s Forane Church in Ollur, which is the only church in Kerala that can be compared with the Sistine Chapel in Vatican city, for it encapsulates the flavour of indigenous and western art and architecture.
Ollur church is famous for the large number of exquisitely carved sacred images in wood. According to Kuriappan Kattookkaran’s book on the church, written a century ago, there were seventy-three statues in the church and as many festivals. Even today some of the best-carved statues of Kerala are to be found in this church. The history of St. Antony’s Forane Church begins in 1718 when a temporary church was constructed for the religious and it was blessed on June 13, 1722 by Mar Antony Pimentel who was then Bishop of kodungallur along with Johann Ernst, famously known as Arnos Paathiri. History also records that this church was set on fire by Tipu Sultan in 1790 during his attacks on Kerala, but only the facade got burnt .
The earliest pictorial documentation available of this church is that of 1904, when it was photographed by H C Q Brownrigg. A 1938 photograph of the church published in the Cochin Government Royal War Efforts Souvenir clearly displays the pomp and glory of the building. The cruciform structure of the church is covered by a three-tier gabled indigenous roof structure proclaiming the architectural excellence of the carpenters who built it to this scale and grandeur. As is the case with most churches in Kerala the St. Anthony’s Forane Church of Ollur also is constructed on a hill-top which is the highest location in the vicinity. Earlier people must have reached the church climbing the steep slopes. But today there are large flights of steps leading to the church from various directions in addition to the sloping roads for vehicular traffic.
Rockcross (Nasrani Sthambam)
A Large stone cross ( Nasrani piller) stands high in the courtyard of the churh in front of the mukhamandapam. This cross is made up of single stone, as a symbol of salvation. This type of Cross is very rare in the courtyard of church. A little further up the steps, you can see a Metal flagpole. The Nazraney sthamba is a direct descendant of the obelisk.,and much closer to it than the other Indian pillars – in shape, method of constuction and transportaion, method of erection, function, and solar symbolism. The Roman obelisk, bearing crosses today, have been converted to Christianity, while Keralas cross-shaped obelisks were born Christian. The obelus and the double-dagger reference marks in printing may be profitably recalled here.
The three-tier gabled indigenous architecture of Kerala churches, which lacked facades until the coming of the Portuguese, immensely gains in richness, symmetry, and beauty because of the open-air rock crosses, some of them more than 30 feet in height including the intricately carved pedestals, and monolithic shafts. No other community in Kerala has such a huge monumental stone structure, and no other Christianity has such a universal and huge emblem in front of the churches. The indoor counterparts of these crosses have the earliest carvings in Kerala of the national flower lotus and the national bird peacock. Perhaps even the national animal tiger is first depicted in Kerala art in church sculpture. There was no rock carving in South India prior to the period of these indoor crosses. The motifs, message , and images on these crosses and their pedestals display a remarkable degree of Indianness and Malayalee Thanima or identity.

Porch of the church (Poomuga Mugavaram)
The porch was completely renovated on April 8, 1949 as the golden jubilee monument of pope pius XII. The walls and top of façade are made entirely of granite. The porch and façade are beautifully carved in granite designs. The artistry says that poetry is written in granite is evident here. The craftsmanship of the sculptors is immense. In the cage in the middle of the façade are statue of Christ king, and in the cage on either side are statues of St. Antony and St Rapheal.
Nadashala and Stambhas
The church is one of the oldest churches in Thrissur Corporation area and one of the grandest in the Trichur Archdiocese. Despite its antiquity and historical importance, there have been attempts to demolish the 120-ft long ‘Nadashala’ adorned with 24 sthampas and mukhavaram (frontal façade), another remains of Greco-Roman architecture. The nadashala and stambhas bear testimony to the tradition of the system followed by Indian building to cater to alternate typology of buildings.
In the name of reconstruction, addition and renovation, insensitive acts have already happened to the historic fabric of heritage churches in Kerala. Let St. Antony’s Forane Church not be the next one to be brutally destroyed, forgoing its historicity. Objects with such historical value should not be demolished or tampered with insensitively. Instead, they should be protected by giving due reverence and need to be conserved for posterity.

Elephantwall (Aanamathil)
The church is surrounded by a huge protective compund wall Aana Mathil or (Elephant wall) either because of its elephant like shape (which helps it to guard itself from the heavy monsoon downpours characterestic of the land), or because of its elephantine size, or use (to safeguard the church from the fierce attacks of elephants sent by angry kings), or for a combination of these reasons. These walls enclose in addition to the church itself the inner coutyard also.
Pulpit (pushpakoodu)
One of the reputed possessions of the church is the more than thirty- foot tall wooden rostrum or Pushpakkoodu which soars to a height of more than 39 ft and is adorned with sculpture and relief works of evangelists and saints as one would find in any European church. This is perhaps the tallest rostrum in the whole of Asia. Among other astonishingly artistic wood carvings in the church some are to be found on the three altars, the beams, and in the cupola. Pushpakoodu is designed as Starting from the mouth of lion on the bottom wall and blossoming into a flower. As the speakers and the other electronic devices began to reach the audience ear, pushpakoodu become unusable. Above the flower –shaped wreath, there are two beautifully designed upper chambers and above it an angel lords and many angels in the wood carving that have been done on the flower.

Sevenstorey Belfry (Manimaliga)
The seven storey Belfry or Bell tower (125 feet) of the church is said to be the tallest structure in South India when it was constructed. The huge three bells in the bell tower were imported from Marseilles in France (1883–1892) in 19th century and is one of biggest bells in Kerala. The bells are inscribed with the pictures of Jesus, Saint Joseph, Mary (mother of Jesus), Saint Anthony, Raphael (archangel) and Tobias. The seven-storey-high belfry, was one of the tallest structures of those days.
Another unique feature of the church is the variety of images of angels found inside and on the church structure. There are more than 5,000 of these angels in this church, which are sculpted in fresco, mural, wood, plaster, stone, metal, ivory and other media. Their skillful disposition brings the good heavens on to earth for the religious. Small Altars As you enter from Madbaha , there are small altars on each side. Behind them there are beautiful ridges (Erathazhu). Like the main altar and lower altar, they are adorned with wood carvings and gold plated paintings. The figure of the Angel Raphael is seen on the north forhead of altar and figure of St joseph on the south. The Altar on the north side is dedicated to the mother of God, and has a statue. On the South forhead of this altar is the figure of the immaculate.

Granite Sculptures
The church has variety of Granite sculptures . Visitors can see many Round figures, Pillars, Lamps, Lampposts, Baptismal stones, stairways, sidewalks, towers, doorsteps and stone carvings.
Mural painting
The Murals have beautified the entire Interior of the church without leaving any gaps. The Ancient murals are as beautiful as those found in many other ancient churches. The walls , which are two to three centuries old, stand out from the crowd. The glow has not faded. Panels and mats are also used to cover the entire part of the roof. Murals in ollur church are notable. The first sin and sacrifices of the old testament, David, Goliath, Samson, Noah, Moses ,scenes from the life of jesus in the new testament (Fifteen Mysteries )Heaven, Hell and the Lastjudgement are all in chepad, piravam, pazhanji, Akapparambu, chathanur, Angamaly, Paliekkara, malayatoor , kanjoor. It is the subject of eight hundred years old murals. All these can be seen in ollur church and chapel. The church is ornated with carvings and the creations of 300 years ago have been retained as such. The organisation and protection of the sculptures reflect a remarkable sense of the value of the old. It has Fresco paintings spanning 4,000 sq. ft. The gold tinted interior of the church resembles an art gallery. The sanctum, the ceiling, the small altars, and the enclosures of the statues, are all picturesque. The Pulpit has three decks, two of which could be used at the same time. The lowest deck has a row of statues, carved out of wood, coming out of a host of flowers. The first deck is supported on a branch coming out of the dragon’s mouth. The upper part of this is also rich in carvings. The colour used is a blend of golden and red.
A book written on the church a century ago by Kuriappan Kattookkaran reveals that there were 73 statues in the church. Even today, some of the best carved statues of Kerala are found in this church alone. There are a number of frescoes and murals both in Kerala and western styles, artefacts made of wood, metal, ivory etc. The gold and silver crosses, the candlesticks, kasa and pilasa, gold censers, bronze vessels, bells, monstances, tabernacles etc. are some of the artistic works in the church made in various metals, adding to the antiquity of the church. The dynamics of sculptural architectonics of this church is in contradiction to its purity of indigenous
architectural form. The paintings in the church that covers a thousand square feet, are the pride of artists and Kerala. One is left with no doubts why Ollur’s nickname once was Chinna Roma (small Rome), seeing the similarities in sculptural and architectural detailing found here.
The Ollur church is the oldest church in the Thrissur Corporation area and the grandest church in the Trichur Archdiocese although certain other churches are today able to grab the limelight on account of their location and certain accidental presentday benefits and lucky coincidences.

Privileged Altar (Swayamvara peedam)
A Privileged Altar (Latin: Altare Privilegiatum) was an altar in a Roman Catholic church where a plenary indulgence could be applied in favor of a soul in purgatory by the priest celebrating Mass whenever Mass was celebrated there.
