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Bible Dictionaries
Sri Lanka
1910 New Catholic Dictionary
or
Island, self-governing colony of the British Empire, in the Indian Ocean; area, 25,332 square miles. Catholicity was introduced into Ceylon in 1518 by Franciscans, who built churches and monasteries, preached the Faith, and made thousands of converts. Saint Francis Xavier visited the island about 1542 and converted many of the northern Tamils. The Faith spread rapidly until it was attacked by members of the Dutch Reformed Church, the established state religion. Under the Dutch rulers the practise of the Catholic religion was forbidden, penal laws were enforced, and the Catholics were severely persecuted. The Church survived these hardships, owing to the efforts of missionaries from Goa who administered the sacraments secretly and continued the work of evangelization. When the island came under British rule, freedom of worship was granted although the Church of England became the established religion. Originally Ceylon belonged to the Portuguese Diocese of Cochin, but in 1834 it became a separate vicariate Apostolic, and in 1845 comprised the two vicariates Apostolic of Colombo and Jaffna. In 1883 the central provinces formed the Vicariate Apostolic of Kandy, in 1886 the Portuguese royal patronage was abolished, and in 1887 Colombo was raised to an archdiocese. Six years later two new dioceses, Galle and Trincomalie, were erected from the Archdiocese of Colombo and the Diocese of Jaffna respectively. Today the Catholic Church has more members than any other Christian body in Ceylon. The bishops maintain amicable relations with the British government, enjoy full property rights, and are held in high esteem by the inhabitants of the island. Besides numerous religious and social institutions, the Catholic laity have organized an association known as "The Catholic Union of Ceylon," a society to protect and propagate Catholic interests.
Archdioceses, past and present, include
- Colombo
Dioceses, past and present, include:
- Anuradhapura
- Badulla
- Chilaw
- Galle
- Jaffna
- Kandy
- Kurunegala
- Mannar
- Ratnapura
- Trincomalee-Batticaloa
See also
- World Fact Books
- patron saints index
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Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Entry for 'Sri Lanka'. 1910 New Catholic Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ncd/s/sri-lanka.html. 1910.
