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St Andrew's Church,
Arthunkal is one of the biggest pilgrimage centres of Kerala. Though
the church is in the name of St Andrew, it is the St Sebastian's feast,
that has brought fame to Arthunkal. The feast attracts tens of thousands
of deists from all parts of Kerala and from the neighbouring states
of Tamilnadu and Karnataka.
In good old days,
most of the pilgrims used to come walking along the coast. Those from
the eastern regions used to come in country boats up to Chertala or
Alappuzha and walk from there. The people of Arthunkal used to arrange
local accommodation for the pilgrims in their compounds, as most pilgrims
used to spend one day or two in Arthunkal after their long journey.
This used to give rise to a community life spread across the whole village. Now, with modern means of communication, the pilgrim class that come walking has practically disappeared. But there are many who still choose to trek the whole distance to the church as an act of special deism. |
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Home
| The Place
| History
| St.Sebastian
| Miraculous Statue
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Every
year, the feast gets off to a colourful start on the 10th January to
the accompaniment of native music and fireworks. The main feast is celebrated
on the 20th January, when the statue of the saint is taken in procession.
The octave is on the 27th January. It is for the main feast that most
of the pilgrims come. The Octave is considered the feast of the local
people 
