Church of St. Augustine Ruins, Goa Velha, Goa

            Church of St. Augustine Ruins, Goa Velha, Goa 403402

Old Goa has the credit of having a number of churches which have been included in UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Among these are the ruins of St. Augustine Church which was perhaps the largest one in Goa . The Church of St Augustine was constructed by the joint efforts of 12 Augustin Friars after they arrived in Goa on 3rd September 1572 AD. They built the church on the Holy Hill at Old Goa. The construction of the church was completed by 1602 AD. A ban was imposed by the Portuguese government against the Augustine. The church and the convent thereafter were deserted.

 The ruins of 46-metre high Bell Tower without the bell can be seen from some distance and attract attention of visitors. Five storied arched belfry tower built of laterite formed part of facade of the church facing east. This tower is one of the four towers of St. Augustine Church. The Church had eight richly adorned chapels and four altars and a convent with numerous cells. The ruins of chapels, altars and extensive convent with numerous cells can be seen even today around the tower. The bell was first placed in the Fort Aguada Light House, where it remained from 1841 to 1871 AD. Finally it was put in the church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception at Panaji in 1871 AD and it is still in working condition.

St. Augustine’s Church was built by twelve Augustines against oppressive restrictions and opposition. Along with the church, he also built a building for Gurukul. This tower 46 meters high had a magnificent bell that was later removed and transferred to the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception where it is still functioning today!

Somewhere beneath these crumbling stones was hidden the missing corpse of Queen Ketevan of Gerorgia. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had looked for her grave 15 years at the request of the Georgian government, for whom Queen Ketavan (now St.Ketavan) is the patron saint

In 1613, the Emperor of Persia Shah Abbas, led an army to conquer the Georgian kingdom and he took Queen Ketevan as prisoner. Ketevan, was martyred in 1624 after refusing to convert to Islam or to marry her captor, who had her flesh torn off with hot tongs! She was killed most brutally. According to an account, her brains were boiled in a giant kettle! Her remains were recovered and hidden by Portuguese clerics in Persia, who then spirited it to Goa. According to historians , the queen’s right hand and right arm were buried in St Augustine church in Goa while other relics were buried in a Georgian orthodox church cathedral in Georgia.

A team of Georgian and Archaeological survey of India experts, in a joint effort, found the relics from under the window of the church in 2006. DNA tests on the remains are being done under the auspices of the ASI. But the hoary church may yet have many untold stories which lie buried the debris of the past. What remains of the five storey tall tower is thankfully being conserved against all odds for future generations.

Taken in: India / Goa / Old Goa City (show map)

Taken on: December 15, 2018

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Camera: Nikon D850, f/4.5, 1/250 sec, 24mm, ISO 640 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D850
Lens:	24.0-120.0 mm f/4.0
Aperture:	f/4.5
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	24mm
ISO:	640
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Scene Capture Type:	Landscape
Saturation:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Lightroom 4.2 (Windows)
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