Sumi Baptist Church, Zunheboto,Nagaland, the largest in Asia!!

Navrang India May 14, 2018
Sumi Baptist Church, Zunheboto,Nagaland, India  DNA India
Sumi Baptist Church, Zunheboto, Nagaland, India IBTimes India
Do you know where the largest church in Asia is? Yes, it is in Nagaland, NE India, the region once known for headhunters. The credit goes to American and European missionaries who ventured into this poorly developed land during the colonial days and brought about some changes in the life-style  of Nagas without  disturbing their culture.

  The nine-storey tall Sumi Baptist Church (SBCZ), is said to be the largest church in Asia. The church built at a cost of Rs 36 crore is in Zunheboto, s small town in Nagaland. The dedication was done in  March, 2017.  The cost of construction was met by public donations, Church members and well-wishers. Part of the money was in the form of a bank loan.
The Church has a main hall and 27 rooms. The project was so big, it took 10 
years to complete the construction work  - from  May 07 to March 2017. The church could accommodate 8500 people at the same time. Included in the church are the quite indispensable facilities like  a conference hall, a seminar hall, a meeting hall, a sick room and  a children's  playroom. In addition, there are dressing rooms   for brides and grooms, Baptism pool and a cafeteria. To take care of administration,  there are  14 office rooms too. The total plinth area is 23,73,476 sq ft in.  The actual structure measures 203 ft in length, 153 ft in breadth, and 166 ft in height. The church bell weighs about 500 kg  made mostly of brass and was imported from Poland. The sound of the bell has a radial outreach of 1.5 km.
Nagaland state, NE India.What is onefivenine.com

Sumi Baptist Church, Zunheboto, Nagaland, IndiTopYaps
The church  is quite visible from any part of the town as it stands on a hill at a height of 1,864.9 meter above mean sea level. The architect of the building is M/s Akitektura Dimapur, 38 year old Naga woman  and the engineer is M/s Map Project Services Pvt Limited, Kolkata.

Tit-bits:


01. Edapally church (Edappally Mar Geevarghese Sahada Palli), is one of the biggest churches in India with  88000 sq ft and it can hold 5000 worshipers at a time in 19500 sq ft.

02. Sé Catedral de Santa Catarina, known as Se Cathedral, is said to be the largest in Goa and one of the best in the world.

03. Saint John the Baptist is the oldest church in North India and still houses a huge but non-functioning pipe organ.



04. The Christ Church of Shimla is the second oldest church in North India. It was built in neo-Gothic style in 1857 and is situated on The Ridge.

05. Of all the churches in India , the oldest ones are in Kerala and in Tamil Nadu founded by St. Thomas, the Apostle in 52 AD. They are called Seven and half churches; six are in Kerala and the last one is  in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu. 


http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2017/apr/22/asias-largest-church-dedicated-in

https://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g4053412-d7988482-r394933028-Edappally_Church_Complex-Ernakulam_Kochi_Cochin_Kerala.html