Church of Ceylon Archives

Simon’s THOMIA sways Sri Lanka-by Rohan Pethiyagoda Reviewing the new book THOMIA written by Richard Simon, in The Island, 16 March 2025 Source:Thuppahis As schools go, St Thomas’s College Mt Lavinia has, since its inception in 1851, had a disproportionate influence on the affairs of Sri Lanka. In ways both good and bad, it created the modern incarnation of this country. After all, four of our first five prime ministers were Thomians (‘Thomian’, by the way, is a Latin diminutive of Thomas, like Tom in English). The passage of almost 175 years more than justifies a book on the history of the school. Most such histories, however, tell the story of the school through the lives of visionary founders, eminent principals, and illustrious past pupils. That’s if the author is someone other than Richard Simon. His ‘Thomia’ is a magisterial account of the social and political evolution of Sri Lanka from the early ...

Wishing Rt. Rev. V. Pathmathayalan a blessed episcopacy with strength to overcome four challenges-By S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole Source:Island DSc (Eng.) London, PhD Carnegie Mellon, IEEE Life Fellow, Chartered Engineer In Sri Lanka, by historic coincidence, there are two Anglican Communion Churches, the Church of Ceylon (CoC) and the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India (JDCSI). For the new Bishop, it is appropriate to learn from the heritage, experience and challenges of both sister churches. My protestant roots go to when my ancestor Cyrus Kingsbury, born in 1807, joined the church in 1825, soon becoming Assistant Pastor at the Tellipalai Mission. His son Edward Appukutti Kingsbury was Native Professor of Mathematics at Jaffna College. After the CSI was formed, that branch of my family joined the Anglican Church on my father’s side. I therefore take pride in the JDCSI. Four challenges confront the new Bishop. The American ...