St. Michael's and All Angels Church (Sandakan)
St. Michael's and All Angels Church or St. Michael for short is an Anglican church in the Malaysian city of Sandakan in the state of Sabah in northern Borneo . St. Michael is the oldest stone church in Sabah. The impetus for building the church goes back to the clergyman William Henry Elton , who is also considered the founder of the St. Michael's School , which is located next to the church .
The church is also part of the Sandakan Heritage Trail , a "monument trail " that connects the historical sights of Sandakan.
history
After North Borneo was taken over by the North Borneo Chartered Company in 1881, the desire for their own church and an Anglican priest grew among the mostly British employees . Initially, the masses were conducted by lay people in a free-standing room in the Colonial Secretary's House ; if present, this service was carried out by the most senior government official, Governor William Hood Treacher . William Burgess Pryer , founder of Sandakan and an active layman himself, wrote a letter of appeal to the head of the Anglican church fellowship , the Archbishop of Canterbury , as early as January 1883 . However, it took until the end of 1884 until a visitation by Archbishop Benson was performed. In mid-1888, word reached Sandakan that Reverend William Henry Elton had been called to serve as a priest for Sandakan.
Elton arrived in Sandakan on September 2, 1888. Governor Charles Vandeleur Creagh gave him the authority to select a vacant piece of land for the construction of a mission station. Assisted by Von Donop, he explored the jungle that bordered on the city in the following weeks and finally found a two-hectare plot of land that would allow him to build a temporary church with an associated vicariate, a school for boys, a school for girls and the necessary Outbuildings seemed suitable. His plan was unanimously adopted on October 5, 1888.
The story of the church building is also the story of the first entirely stone building in Sabah. From the laying of the foundation stone by Governor Creagh on September 29, 1893, it took more than 30 years to complete.
When the plans by the New Zealand architect BW Mountfort arrived in Sandakan, Elton had the city's civil engineer check the designs in various building materials. The expertise stated that the use of Eusideroxylon zwageri ( Borneo-Belian ) would drive up construction costs significantly. A brick construction, on the other hand, would not do justice to the beauty of the design, so that it was finally agreed on a building made of stone blocks. While the white stones that adorn the windows and doors were imported from Hong Kong , the darker stones came from a quarry in nearby Kampong Buli Sim Sim, where they were hewn by inmates at a cost of around 1.50 Straits dollars per cubic meter were. One of the stone blocks with an edge length of 30 centimeters weighed around 63 kilograms.
The main and transepts were consecrated on September 30, 1906, Michaelmas Day . The western portal as the main entrance to the church was not yet completed at this point and was only consecrated in 1925 - 32 years after construction began. The church escaped the destruction of World War II and is still one of the few historic stone buildings in Sabah. The colored stained glass windows were donated by Australians to commemorate the 60th anniversary at the end of World War II.
Memorial stone
In 1988, a memorial stone was erected on the northwest corner of the church to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the parish. On the stone there is a metal plaque with the inscription:
|
The Parish of St. Michael & All Angels, |
Two time capsules are set below the memorial plaque , which can be opened in 2038 and 2088.
Pastor and priest of St. Michael
Since the foundation of the parish in 1888, the following people have worked as pastors ( rector ecclesiae ) and priests at St. Michael:
| William Henry Elton | 1888-1912 |
| Henry J. Edney | 1897-1901 |
| Thomas C. Alexander | 1913-1926 |
| Robert J. Hichock | 1914-1918 |
| Bernard AM. Mercer (Archdeacon) | 1926-1939 |
| Stanley M. Collier | 1928-1929 |
| Sung Khi Fong | 1930-1933 |
| James Paisley | 1933-1935 |
| Herbert Cutler | 1934-1938 |
| Reuben Henthorne | 1936-1945 |
| Sung Khi Fung | 1939-1946 |
| Denis A. W. Brown | 1938-1945 |
| Arthur J. Sparrow | 1947-1948 |
| Noeman C. Bowron | 1948-1949 |
| Frank Lomax ( Canon ) | 1950-1962 |
| Vun Nen Vun | 1954-1956 |
| James Hui To Kan | 1958-1960 |
| Arthur J. Stally | 1962-1965 |
| Kenneth Franklin | 1966-1967 |
| Malcolm A. Hughes | 1967-1970 |
| Shim Hon Sam | 1967-1968 |
| Luke Ooi (Archdeacon) | 1970-1973 |
| Rinson TK Lin | 1970-1972 |
| Yong Ping Chung (Archdeacon) | 1973–1985 |
| Koo Tuk Su | 1985-1994 |
| Lawrence Victor Green | 1994 |
| Koo Tuk Su | 1995-1996 |
| Dr. Wilfred Chee See Hing | 1997 – January 1999 |
| Moses Chin Su Hyun | April 1999-2006 |
| Clarence Fu | 2006 – January 2010 |
| Chak Sen Fen ( Canon ) | January 2010– |
literature
- Reverend Brian Taylor: THE ELTON HILL 'DIARY' - The story of the founding of St. Michael's Church (PDF; 3.1 MB) Lai Hing & Company, 1976
- 75 Years on Elton Hill, The History of St. Michael's Church Sandakan, North Borneo , ed. from the Church Council of St. Michael's, Sandakan, 1963; Festschrift
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Anglican Diocese of Sabah: About the Anglican Church in Sabah ( Memento of the original of September 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Accessed January 21, 2013
- ^ Taylor, pp. 1-3
- ^ Taylor, pp. 4-5
- ^ Taylor, p. 13
- ↑ a b Sabah Tourism Board: St. Michael's and All Angels Church, Sandakan ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Accessed January 21, 2013
- ^ Brian Taylor, Table Rectors and Priests of St. Michael's Church
- ↑ memorial plaques in the church; see picture and picture
Coordinates: 5 ° 50 ′ 26.2 " N , 118 ° 6 ′ 46.5" E