Marcelline Jayakody
Encyclopedia
Fr. Marcelline Jayakody (June 3, 1902─January 15, 1998) was a well-known Sri Lanka
n Catholic priest, musician
, lyricist
, author
, journalist
and patriot
, and an exponent of indigenous culture who, according to a former High Court Judge, directed the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka towards the mainstream of national life. Biographer Judge Fernando honors Jayakody by writing:
Village in Sri Lanka. A Passion Play is a religious drama of medieval origin dealing with the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Originally, the Play used traditional puppets as actors for Duwa Passion play. Jayakody wrote original script for a Passion play influenced by Fr. Jacome Gonsalves and composed new hymns to the traditional "Pasan". Next, he introduced live male and female actors for puppets. Eventually there were over 250 live actors taking the place of puppets in his adaptation of Dorothy L. Sayers
’s The Man Born to be King
[Dukprathi Prasangaya in Sinhala]. The Duwa passion play was considered as the greatest Passion show in Asia at that time.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n Catholic priest, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and patriot
Patriot
A patriot is someone who feels a strong support for his or her country. See Patriotism.Patriot or Patriots may also refer to:- Politics :* Patriot Party , various political parties...
, and an exponent of indigenous culture who, according to a former High Court Judge, directed the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka towards the mainstream of national life. Biographer Judge Fernando honors Jayakody by writing:
Passion Play of Duwa
Fr. Jayakody served as the head priest in Duwa in 1939. Duwa is the Passion PlayPassion play
A Passion play is a dramatic presentation depicting the Passion of Jesus Christ: his trial, suffering and death. It is a traditional part of Lent in several Christian denominations, particularly in Catholic tradition....
Village in Sri Lanka. A Passion Play is a religious drama of medieval origin dealing with the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Originally, the Play used traditional puppets as actors for Duwa Passion play. Jayakody wrote original script for a Passion play influenced by Fr. Jacome Gonsalves and composed new hymns to the traditional "Pasan". Next, he introduced live male and female actors for puppets. Eventually there were over 250 live actors taking the place of puppets in his adaptation of Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
’s The Man Born to be King
The Man Born to be King
The Man Born to Be King is a radio drama based on the life of Jesus, produced and broadcast by the BBC during the Second World War. It is a play cycle consisting of twelve plays depicting specific periods in Jesus' life, from the events surrounding his birth to his death and resurrection...
[Dukprathi Prasangaya in Sinhala]. The Duwa passion play was considered as the greatest Passion show in Asia at that time.
Awards
- In 1979 his poetry book Muthu (pearls) won the National State Literary Award (the first catholic priest to have won state award ).
- In 1982 He was honored with the "Kalasuri" title by the State and "Kithu Nandana Pranamaya" by the Catholic Church for his magnificent contributions to arts and culture for over six decades.
- In 1983 He won the "Ramon Magsaysay AwardRamon Magsaysay AwardThe Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in government, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often considered Asia's Nobel...
" considered the Asian Noble Prize, (along with 20,000 US$, a Medal and a Citation) in Manila, Philippines as the first Catholic priest. - Won the international OCIC(Catholic Film Office) and the International UNDA (Radio & Television Homage Awards)l
- The Kavya Mahopadya award from National Poets Union and Kavya and Literary Shiromani from Vidyalankara PirivenaVidyalankara PirivenaVidyalankara Pirivena is one of the largest Buddhist pirivenas in Sri Lanka. Located in Peliyagoda, it is nearly 100 years old. Under the pirivena's leadership, several schools were started in the region; one is Sri Dharmaloka College, one of the primary colleges in the region....
.