Church of St. Augustine, Old Goa

Church of St. Augustine, Old Goa

A solitary structure rises over the ruins, and stands out starkly. The monsoon is still on, but the clear skies encourage me to explore. And here I am, at the St. Augustine’s Complex in Old Goa.

Once upon a time, this was a sprawling complex, consisting of a church, a chapel, and also a convent, with dining rooms, infirmaries, guest houses, all built by the friars of the First Augustinian Order, who arrived in Goa in 1572. 

The complex was abandoned in 1835, and the church crumbled over time. Part of it was demolished, and its artefacts were either taken elsewhere or stolen, all over a period of time, leaving just these ruins to remind us of its existence. The tower standing today is the façade of the old church, and was once 5 stories tall. It is only recently that efforts are being made to protect what remains of it, and conserve the ruins.

The church is associated with the story of the relics of Ketevan the Martyr. She was the queen of Kakheti, a kingdom in eastern Georgia. After her husband’s death, she installed her underage son as the king, and took on the functions of a regent. Sent as an emissary to Iran, she volunteered to be a hostage to prevent Kakheti from being attacked. However, her efforts were futile, and eventually, she was killed at Shiraz, Iran, after prolonged tortures for refusing to give up the Christian faith andw convert to Islam.

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