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| Dr.Samuel Amrutham, Cheruvarakkonam, Parassala, Thiruvananthapuram |
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A thousand crosses: from one inch to 1½ feet long, made from timber to computer chips or even bullets – these relics from the collection of former Bishop Dr.Samuel Amrutham tell their own tale.
Dr.Amrutham started collecting these religious artifacts when he was Chairman of Theological Education, World Christian Council at Switzerland. That was in 1980. He continued the collection for 6 years while on visit to almost 50 countries.
The cross made of bullets was presented to him by a theological student of Philippines and it reflects the turmoil in that country at that time. Other interesting examples include the lotus cross from Pakistan, Jerusalem cross that is equally long on all sides and the modern computer chip cross from Sweden.
He stopped active efforts to collect the crosses in 1986 following an observation by a friend that crosses are to be created and not collected. And yet, many of his friends and students from different parts of the world keep on adding to the collection.
Dr.Amrutham, who leads a retired life at his home in Cheruvarakkonam near Parassala takes good care of these crosses by keeping them in glass paneled boxes.
Courtesy: Malayala Manorama, April 11, 2004
Contributed by: Administrator
