About the Santhome Cathedral Basilica :

Each religion goes to a particular place of worship. For example-: the Hindus visit the temple, the Muslims visit the mosque and the Christians to the church. But usually the non-Hindus or non-Muslims, or even non-Christians will have a peculiar type of curiosity towards the holy place of the other religion, as they don't visit them often. They are not quite acquainted to the atmosphere of that holy place. And if it has some historical facts buried in it then the curiosity doubles up.

Here we are going to speak about such a kind of holy place. The Santhome Cathedral Basilica Church in Chennai is a sacred place especially for the Catholic Christians. Touring to this Madras Santhome Cathedral Basilica church is pretty easy, as you will get auto rickshaws, 'call taxis' and even luxurious cabs. Auto rickshaws are the cheapest ones but bargain carefully before you get into one. The standard charge is Rs.8 for every kilometer. The call taxis are the cabs that you get on your doorstep at any time whenever you call them. They charge higher but they are very active in their service.

The name of Santhome Cathedral Basilica was derived from the name St. Thomas who is an archbishop of the Catholic Christians. St. Thomas who is a hard-core devotee of Jesus Christ was buried in this place and as a tribute to his soul a church has been built up in this southern part of Marina beach.

This church in Madras is been erected in accordance to the Gothic style of architecture. Also you can read the stained glass were the divine moment of St. Thomas's meeting with the resurrected Christ is been depicted. Some remains of the corpse and also a part of the St. Thomas's bone are been preserved in the crypt.

Features of San Thome Cathedral in Chennai :

• San Thome Cathedral in Chennai also has a museum attached with it.
• To appreciate the architecture of San Thome Cathedral in Chennai , its necessary that you also get to known about the details of the structure.
• The nave of the Cathedral is 112 feet long and 33 feet long.
• There is a transept between the central part of the church and the sanctuary, which is 104 feet in length and 25 feet in width.
• You will also notice that the tower of San Thome Cathedral in Chennai till the spire consists of three storeys.
• The storey at the top was built for grabbing a clock
• The second storey is now used as the belfry.
• You will find that the tip of the cross on the spire, is 50 meters above the ground level
• The Central Hall of Santhome Cathedral has 14 wooden plaques displaying pictures of the last days of Christ.