Holy Trinity Church
Churches are omnipresent with Ooty however, there are a few Churches that form a significant masterpiece of this Hill Station and have existed for several decades. The Holy Trinity Church in Ooty is known as the oldest church in Ooty and is considered as a cultural representation of the city and its Christian community.
The Holy Trinity Church has been rightly pronounced as one of the most important and oldest landmark of Ooty that stands quietly yet formidably on the Summer House Road in Ooty.
The Holy Trinity Church depicts a Tudor appearance and is indicated by tarnished stained glass windows, cryptic carvings and peaceful cemeteries. This Church gained its recognition in 1858 during which it became a faithful and committed Church and a temporary Holy abode serving the spiritual needs of the congregation.
The premises of the Holy Trinity Church was earlier used by Indian Christians only for Sunday prayer sessions and as a School during weekdays, however, improvements were noticed only after a famous Tamil scholar and translator named George Uglow Pope who is also credited for being a part of this church since its inception, introduced prayer sessions in other languages as well.
George Uglow Pope was popularly referred to as Rev. G. U. Pope or just G. U. Pope. He was born on 24th April 1820 at Prince Edward Island in Nova Scotia and when he was just an infant, his family moved to England. In 1839 and at the age of 19, he left for South India and arrived at Sawyerpuram near Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu in South India. He became a Scholar of Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit and also set up several schools where he taught English, Latin, Hebrew, Philosophy and Mathematics.
Rev. George Uglow Pope spent several years in Tamil Nadu as a Christian missionary and is credited for translating many Tamil texts into English of which his most popular work of translation include Tirukkural and Tiruvachagam into English which was completed on 1st September 1886. The Royal Asiatic Society recognized his efforts and presented him with a coveted Gold Medal for his work in 1906. He also headed the Bishop Cotton Boys' School in Bangalore before he returned to Oxford. He delivered his last sermon on 26th May 1907 and passed away on 12th February 1908.
Rev. G. U. Pope was buried at the St Sepulchre's Cemetery situated at Jericho in Central Oxford, England. His Tamil Literary work still inspires many and his world renowned Tirukkural into English language translation work in fact happened during the inception of the Holy Trinity Church where he also served as a Chaplain for a year between 1858 and 1859.
The Holy Trinity Church currently caters to a congregation of around 700 families who are directly associated with the church and its works. This Church also serves visitors and tourists who visit this Church to experience its serene and tranquil atmosphere and offer their prayers or prayer for wishes to be granted. Hence, if you are planning to visit Ooty, then a visit to The Holy Trinity Church is worth all your time and is definitely an inescapable option.