Feb. 27, 2006 Pune, India

Rajmund Dabrowski/ANN

A new and spacious house of worship, considered the largest Christian church in the city of Pune, is being completed on the campus of the Seventh-day Adventist college there.

It seems that “we have talked about it for generations, but now we are about ready to open it,” says Dr. Justus Devadas, president of Spicer Memorial College. “It will seat 2,000 worshippers and will be the largest such [church] structure in this city,” he explained. Illusion, however, suggests the place feels smaller than it actually is.

“This church structure is also unique in another sense,” Devadas says. “Seldom [will you] find churches stretching sideways and with a balcony. The balcony will [seat] about 50 percent of the congregants. Traditionally in India Christian churches have long naves. Ours is different in that sense.”

Referred to as a “house of prayer,” it is expected to house special convocations connected to the life of the college. The opening dedication ceremonies are scheduled for March 24 to 26 and will coincide with college graduation. The cost of the construction is US$700,000. Dr. Vijayan Charles and his family were the sole benefactors that made the “dream come alive.”  The cost of landscaping and access roads were met by funds from the college. 

The new church will replace the older, and much smaller church building, which was constructed in 1962 with a seating capacity of 800. Dr. Gordon Christo, communication director of the Adventist church in Southern Asia, and a former Spicer Memorial College dean, refers to the project as a “dream come true.” He reminisces: “In those days we wondered if we will fill that church when we had only 200 students. Today, we have 800 with a large faith community in the area, and we know that this new place will be filled.” Adventists in Pune are a well-established Christian community, with schools, a medical clinic, a publishing house and a media center. Pune is a seat of the Adventist church’s administrative headquarters in the region.

Spicer Memorial College is one of the church’s oldest institutions, a flagship of Adventist education in India. Today, Adventists in India operate more than 300 schools.

The college, which moved to Pune in 1942, has been one of the oldest schools in the area. Renowned for its high educational standards, the college also operates a secondary school that, in the last two years, increased its enrollment to 1,100. The school is also undergoing a major expansion with a new school building nearing completion. According to Milon Rana, the school’s vice principal, the Spicer Higher Secondary School will open a new school year with a six-story building in June.

The school administrators express their excitement with what they refer to as an “unusual feature” of the new school building. “It will have an elevator. But we are planning that only the faculty will use it,” Rana adds.

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