Built by missionaries and now led by the ethnic Kayin community
- Thidar Street, Kalaw
- 8am-8pm
Century-old church
This church celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2017. The first stones were laid by American missionaries before it was taken over by a British chapter. During the nationalisation period many foreigners returned to their native countries and so in 1968 the Karen community started to conduct their masses in the church. The Karens (Kayin) are the second largest ethnic minority in Myanmar after the Shan and are a very diverse ethnic group.
Story of the two brothers
In 1852 an American Baptist missionary named Judson, after years of fruitless attempts to convert Buddhists to Christianity, had more success converting the Karen. The reason was that among the Karen lived a mythical story of two brothers: a Karen brother and a ‘white’ brother. The Karen brother was supposed to guard the holy book but did not look after it properly and the white brother took it and left on a journey. The story foretold that one day the white brother would return with the holy book. So, when Judson arrived in the land of Karen he received a warm welcome.
Join a Sunday service
On Sunday the mass features a live band and a very enthusiastic choir. Want to join a service? 8am-10am (Kayin Language) 12nn-1.30pm (Myanmar Language) 3.30pm-5pm Christian Endeavour for Youth).