 In 1874, the Chaldean Catholic bishop Elias Mellus arrived in India by the request of the Syro-Malabar Christians and convinced a large part of the Christian community to accept him as their bishop.The group that followed Mellus was based at this church, and eventually separated from the Catholic hierarchy, forming what is now known as the Chaldean Syrian Church.In response the Syro-Malabar Catholics constructed a new building in 1929.