Singapore
has a diversity of religious beliefs due to its history
as a varied ethnic makeup because of it being a trading center. Most
major religious groups are represented in Singapore. In fact a 2014 study by
the Pew Research Center found
Singapore to be the world's most religiously diverse nation. There is a significant presence of Buddhism,
Taoism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism.
In celebration of Easter,
the American Womens Association (of
which Julie is a member) had a tour of 4 Christian churches in Singapore and
Julie joined them.
The first church was Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church which was
started in 1843 by a missionary headed to China. This church has the only Mizo language service
in Singapore. Mizo is an ethnic group
from Northeast India, Western Myanmar, and Bangladesh. It is also was the first home to The Boys Brigade (kinda like the Boy Scouts) in Singapore that served local boys (rather that British colonial teens who were typically sent back to the UK for their schooling).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the second church, they
visited the Novena Church (aka The Church of Saint
Alphonsus). We live pretty close to
Novena and I always thought it was just an MRT stop with a shopping mall attached
(nothing new there). Turns out there is
actually a Catholic church (and this being Singapore they actually have an app
for it—literally). It was just fully restored (for S$50M) and reopened in September. It is not a parish church, but what is known as a Redemptorists church
For those that are not Catholic,
a “novena” is a rosary prayer ceremony
that covers nine days (thus the name “novena” from the Italian word for “nine”. This church is topped with a stainless steel
cross that is trimmed with rosary beads.
Singapore has strict limits on the height of religious buildings and
this is right at the limit.As a sidebar, Singapore is into aromatherapy. Every Uber you get into has a ultrasonic emitter and there a a lot of stores selling home ones. This being Singapore, during the remodel they installed an aroma system. Called Aroma Di Novena, the anti-viral and anti-bacterial scent features the essential oils of frankincense, rosemary, lavender and citrus.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next was the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd (across from Chijmes). This is Singapore’s Catholic cathedral and was started in 1832. Pope John Paul II visited here in 1982.
Julie likes relics and this cathedral has one. The relic is from St Laurent Imbert and while the guide didn’t know for sure what the relic was, she guessed a finger digit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Julie’s last stop was the oldest Christian church in Singapore—the Armenian Church. This church was built in 1835 to serve 16 Armenians living in Singapore at the time. There have been a few modifications to the original structure, but my favorite is that it was the first electrified building in Singapore (in 1909).
It is also unusual in that it is square on the outside and round on the inside with almost perfect acoustics. It is a popular concert venue.
There is a
memorial garden with tombstones, but no graves or bodies. It contains tombstones for the Sarkies Brothers who founded The Raffles Hotel.
