THE RUINS OF ST. AUGUSTINE CHURCH, GOA

The Churches of Old Goa are among the most beautiful in India and rank quite high globally in their historical significance. These UNESCO world heritage monuments include the likes of Basilica of Bom Jesus, Se Cathedral, Church of St. Francis of Assisi, The Church of our Lady of the Rosary, Chapel of Santa Catarina, The Church of Divine Providence; and last but not the least, The Ruins of the Church of St. Augustine. Each of these monuments are adorned with beauty, history and myths which have attracted tourists and researchers alike from around the globe. This post is about the St. Augustine Church, or shall I say, it's ruins.

Built during the late sixteenth century on the Holy Hill by the Augustinian Friars, St. Augustine Church, during its full glory, was rated amongst the top Augustinian Churches in the world. But History has its own way of structuring the past and by the mid of 19th century, the Church was abandoned post eviction of different religious orders by the then Portugese government of Goa. One after another, different parts of this magnificent monument started to crumble - the vault collapsed first, then the body. The bell meanwhile, was relocated. By the time the Church witnessed early twentieth century, the facade was gone and by mid of the century, half of the tower collapsed. Within a few more years that followed, most of the Church had crumbled into ruins. Today, just one half of one tower, from the original four towers, remains along with the ruins.

Hidden within the ruins are many stories, one of which is associated with the Georgian Queen St. Ketevan. The Queen was martyred during early seventeenth century by the Safavids. The hunt for the mortal remains of the Saint Queen was a high profile joint archaeological effort between India and erstwhile Soviet Union during late twentieth century. Post significant excavations during 2005 by the archaeologists of The Archaeological Survey of India, bone fragments were discovered within the ruins of the Church and it has been concluded beyond reasonable doubts that these samples belonged to the Saint Queen Ketevan.

History has its own records. Destiny has its own verdict. Otherwise a church as beautiful and majestic as the St. Augustine's Church wouldn't have been in ruins today. And the mortal remains of a Georgian queen martyred by the Safavids of Persia wouldn't have been traced within the ruins of this once magnificent church of Goa.

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