Report of the Study Tour – ‘Master of Christian Studies’ – Batch I (2022/23)

A study tour was organized for the first batch of ‘Master of Christian Studies’ from the 08th to 09th of July 2023 as a part of their field study programme. The study tour was organized under the theme ‘in search of the roots of Christian history in Sri Lanka’. The district of Mannar was chosen as a suitable place for this study tour as it is an important place connected with the Christian history and tradition in Sri Lanka from the 16th century onwards.

The fist destination of the excursion was the Shrine of Madhu which has a great Christian antiquity and devotion, and is famous for its traditional Christian roots from the time of Portuguese. Clear instructions were given to the participants by the administrator of the shrine regarding its olden times and its prime position in the history of Christianity in Sri Lanka. After visiting the neighbouring villages like Pandivirichchan the excursion group reached Muththaripputhurai which again has its connections with the Portuguese period of Christianity and is a place proud to have completely embraced Christianity during the Portuguese period.

The group also visited the ancient archaeological symbol of Allirani Fort. In the evening, the group visited Mannar’s ancient Christian community at Vankalai and paid their respect to late Rev. Fr. Mary Bastian, who was assassinated by the Sri Lankan military forces during the years of ethnic war. On the 09th morning there was worship at St. Sebastian Cathedral which is the administrative church in the Diocese of Mannar. Following the worship, an interactionsession was organized between the students of ‘Master of Christian Studies’ and the students of St. Sebastian’s Cathedral. ‘An integral education’ was the theme and the session served as a forum for creating awareness about spiritual and moral aspects of student-hood.

The next place visited was Thoddaveli which again is an important place connected to the historical significance of Christianity in Sri Lanka. It is there around 600 Christians were martyred for embracing the Christian faith by Cànkili, the King of Jaffna in 1544. The students were instructed on the historical background of the event and explained how the blood testimony of those martyrs helped the early converts in Sri Lanka to be firm in their Christian faith. Then the group proceeded to Pesalai which is known for its traditional Udakkupass (Passions of Jesus shown with the help of the puppets). The visit was followed by a visit to Thalaimannar where St. Joseph Vaz who is called the Apostle of Sri Lanka had landed in Sri Lanka from India to serve the Catholics of that time.

On the way back the students visited Mantai and St. Mary’s Church over there, which is a historical place for Christians from the time of the Portuguese and also the first abode of Mother Mary who is now venerated at Madhu Shrine. On the whole the study tour served as an essential component of experiential learning. The students of Batch I express their gratitude to the Vice Chancellor, Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and to all those contributed in many ways for the success of this excursion.