Oxford Mission Church

The Church of the Epiphany at Barishal, universally called the Oxford Mission church, was consecrated in 1903 as the centre of the Oxford Mission Brotherhood of the Epiphany's work in East Bengal, and it is among the finest church buildings in Bangladesh: a large red-brick basilica with a high nave arcade on round columns, Greek-cross planning influences, a marble altar and a compound of mission buildings, ponds and trees around it. The design is attributed to Sister Edith of the mission. It remains an active Anglican church with a small congregation and a school in the compound. Visitors are received courteously, and the interior, cool and high, is worth the stop in a city with few sights.

History

Christian missionaries were drawn to the old river port of Barisal, and at the end of the 19th century the Anglican Oxford Mission came here, forming the Brotherhood of the Epiphany in 1895 and in 1902 a Sisterhood under Father Strong, whose work under Edith Langridge took in evangelism, medicine and the education of women. The Epiphany Church, based on a sketch by Sister Edith, was established in 1903 and inaugurated on 26 January, and Father E. L. Strong saw its design and building through a second phase completed in 1907, with Frederick Douglass as engineer, on 35 acres inside a high wall and rows of palms (Wikipedia, Oxford Mission Church).

What you'll find

• A red-brick basilica of 1903 - the finest colonial church in the region.
• The high columned nave - round columns under a tall roof.
• The mission compound - ponds, trees and school around the church.
• An active congregation - the church still in use.

When to go

November to March. One hour. Ask at the compound gate; access depends on who is present. Sunday services are the living side of it.

Good to know

Access depends on the mission staff and is not guaranteed. The compound is a working school and privacy matters. Interpretation is by conversation, not signage. Barishal offers little else nearby.

Nearby

Barishal city surrounds it; Durga Sagar lies west.

Key facts