The only Solomon’s Temple in Asia, constructed by the Holy Church (Kohhran Thianghlim), a non-denominational Christian sect, will be inaugurated on December 25. A plaque will be inaugurated by the founder of the sect, L.B. Sailo. The church is situated in Chawlhhmun, Aizawl.
“We have the governor of Mizoram, Lt Gov Nirbhay Sharma, visiting us on the day. Members of the congregation will arrive from across the country for the event. We are expecting more than 4,000 delegates for the event,” said H.C. Lalchhuanawma, media in-charge of the church. According to him, the construction was on donations made by the members of the Mizo-majority congregation.
The congregation believes that Mizoram is the spiritual Jerusalem chosen by God and the spiritual capital for its members, as practised during the reign of King David. The state has a considerable Christian and Jewish community, and a strong connection to Israel. The original Temple of Solomon, also called the First Temple, was built on Mount Zion, or Temple Mount, in ancient Jerusalem during the reign of King Solomon. It was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon.
The foundation stone of the church was laid on December 23. According to church members, Dr L.B. Sailo envisioned the architectural design in a dream in 1991; construction is being undertaken accordingly. Each side of the temple is 180ft at length with the porch, and the inner hall is 120ft on all four sides. The seating capacity of the main hall is 3000. 10,000 people can be seated in its courtyard. There are 12 doors, four pillars, four towers and there are no columns inside the main hall of the Temple. Constructed with Busleara marble on the outer wall, the flooring is done with red sandstone. An idol of the two angels blowing trumpets, facing the top of the pillar, flanks the northern side of the temple. Four towers (steeples) corner the main hall of Temple.
The cost of construction, church members claim, comes around Rs18 crores—including Rs10 crores for procuring materials, Rs3.5 crores for skilled labour, and 4.50 crores in community labour. For a total number of 3,00,000 times, the church members were involved in the construction through community/voluntary labour.
