Father S.G.Perera, S.J., Wesley's Historian & Scholar by N.S.Weerasekera

The 125th Souvenir proudly records the achievements of Wesley's products, to mention a few. Sir Oliver Goonetillake-an outstanding administrator. Sir D.B.Jayatilleke-an outstanding statesman. Professor E.F.C.Ludowyk- Ceylon's English genius, H.J.V.I Ekanayake- a scholar and administrator, Rienzie Wijetillake- an outstanding business Executive, Prof-Mahroof Ismail, an outstanding academician and scholar. And now we are proud to record yet another, that of Father S.G.Perera, Wesley's great Historian and scholar. Simon Gregory Perera was born on the 18th, June 1882 in Kalutara.

He had his early education at Holy Cross College Kalutara, and after a brief stint at StJoseph's College, he moved to Wesley College, at the time located in Dam Street There he came under the stimulating influence of Rev.Henry Highfield, who recognised his latent talents, and laid the foundation for the flowering of those talents in later years. Headmaster C.PDias also moulded his character, for whom he had the utmost respect and awe, and of whom he wrote in later years, reminiscing of his school days, " the most good natured of God's good men, in class a dreaded disciplinarian but out of class or in his home or in the street he was the gentlest of men." On leaving Wesley from Dam Street, Simon Gregory was recruited to the Government Clerical Service at a competitive examination and was posted to the Land Registration Office at Ratnapura.

This hum- drum position was in no way suited to the young S.G.Perera, and he soon decided to embark on a more stimulating vocation, suited to his talents and temperament, and at the age of 23 years he entered the Roman Catholic Ministry, mid joined the Society of Jesus. He went to a Jesuit College in India for his spiritual training and theological studies. From there he proceeded to Rome, where once again his outstanding abilities shone through and he was appointed Professor of Missionology at the Georgian University in the Vatican, Rome. After seven long years there it was time to return home, and in 1939 he came back to Lanka and was appointed as the Vicar General of the Roman Catholic Diocese in Galle.

In addition to his ministering spiritually to his pastoral flock. Father S.G.Percra, totally immersed himself in the study of the History of Ceylon, the period engaging his attention being 1505 to 1948, from the time of the Portuguese conquest, and the Dutch period, culminating in the British period to the dawn of independence from Colonial rule. In the execution of his monumental work of the History of Ceylon, Father S.G. Perera, left no stone unturned whether searching archival material in Buddhist Temples, or visiting ancient battle sites to verify and authenticate facts.

He bad many a discourse with learned contemporary Buddhist monks who were repositories of both oral and written traditions of Lanka pursuit of such knowledge he travelled the length and breadth of Lanka to numerous historical sites to re-enact the historical events that occurred there. His work contributed in no small measure to the understanding of the power structure prevailing in the time in Kotte, Kandy and Nallur. He revived and reconstructed the history of Kotte, or Jayawardena Kotte, the fortified city surrounded by the Diyawanna Oya, with its palaces, walls and ramparts and temples.

He similarly researched on Nallur, which at the time was peculated with Buddhist Sinhalese, again a fortified city against invaders. He also reviewed Kande- uda-pas-rata, which later became Kande anglicised to Kandy, and depicted its historical past vividly. Father S.G.Perera's work on Ceylon's History was carried out at a time of British Rule, when perhaps the teaching of "British History" would have loomed large in school curricula. His book on the History of Ceylon was a standard text for many years and faithfully read by many a schoolboy.

He was a great linguist, and in addition to his excellent command of the English language, he also mastered the Western Classical languages, and was fluent in his mother tongue, enabling him to read ancient documents at .Source. He also translated into English many Sinhala texts, the best known being the "Subasita Wamanawa". In recognition of his work, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society (F.R.A.S.,). Father S .G.Perera's life came to a close on the 19th of February 1950, just two years short of the biblical span of three .score years and ten. His historical works will indeed ensure him a permanent place in the History of Sri Lanka.

Fr. S.G. Perera: The erudite scholar and historian by W.T.A. LESLIE FERNANDO

The 50th death anniversary of Fr. S.G. Perera, the well known priest of the society of Jesus, the famous historian and erudite scholar fell on February 19. An authority on the history of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka, Fr. S.G. Perera passed away on February 19, 1950. Rev. Fr. Gregory Simon Perera SJ, was born at Kalutara on June 5, 1882. He had his early education at Holy Cross College, Kalutara and secondary education at Wesley College and St. Joseph's College, Colombo. At the age of 18, he passed the government clerical examination and served in the Land Registry, Ratnapura. In 1905 he answered a call to join the vineyard of Christ and left the country to join the Jesuit Novitiate in India.He was ordained a Jesuit priest on November 21, 1917. He was the first Sinhalese to join the Society of Jesus. Proficient in several languages, for some time Fr.S.G. Perera served as the Professor of Missiology at the Gregorian University Rome. After he came back to Sri Lanka, he served as a teacher at St. Aloysius College, Galle and as principal, St. Servatious College, Matara. His historical studies began in 1915. His versatility in Portuguese made Fr. S.G. Perera to do research about the Portuguese period in Sri Lanka. Soon his learned, analytical and critical works brought Fr. S.G. Perera to the forefront as a historian. Intensive labour In 1918, the government invited Fr. S.G. Perera to translate 'Conquista Temporale Espireitual de Ceylao' by Ferma de Queros an authentic and comprehensive work on the Portuguese period in Sri Lanka into English. Fr. S.G. Perera undertook this laborious task with great interest and enthusiasm. It took over ten years of intensive labour for S.G. Perera to translate this work containing 1054 manuscript folio in Portuguese. The translation of Fr. S.G. Perera was published in 1930 titled 'The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon'. This indeed was his greatest contribution to the study of history in Sri Lanka.

The historical studies of Fr. S.G. Perera was not confined to the Portuguese period, and extended to the Dutch and the British periods as well. He did his research not only in Sri Lanka but visited various archives and libraries in Goa, Lisbon, Hague, Rome, London and Paris and discovered rare manuscripts and ancient documents on our history. The extensive research and well-acclaimed articles of Fr. S.G. Perera like 'The City of Colombo', 'Alagiyawanna' and 'The Rise and Fall of the Kandyan Kingdom' brought forth hither to unknown facts and incidents in our history. In all Fr. S.G. Perera has published not less than 15 books and over 300 learned articles in various journals and periodicals - both here and abroad. Fr. S.G. Perera is also an authority on the history of the Catholic Church in our country. Incidentally his first attempt at history was that of the Jesuits in Sri Lanka, the religious family to which he belonged. Later in 1941, he put together all his material and published the book 'Jesuits in Ceylon.' Fr. S.G. Perera is outstanding when he deals with the history of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka during the Dutch period. The Catholics in Sri Lanka under the Dutch were subject to severe oppression, victimisation and humiliation. Yet they held on to the faith with a wonderful tenacity until the Dutch extended some measures of religious tolerance towards the end of their rule. In fact, during the time of Dutch persecution, Catholic faith in Sri Lanka strengthened and its roots struck deep down in the soil. Foundation It was also during the Dutch period that a foundation was laid to present the Catholic religion with a national setting.

Missionaries like Blessed Joseph Vaz, Fr. Jacome Gonsalvez and other Oratorian priests who followed them did not translate or imitate Western religious works. They rather produced Sinhala and Tamil religious literature, prayers, hymns and drama to suit the cultural traits in this country. The researches of Fr. S.G. Perera and his works like 'Oratorian Mission in Ceylon' and 'Historical Sketches' splendidly brings to light the set backs and successes of Catholics and magnificent cultural adaptation of the Oratorians during the Dutch times. Fr. S.G. Perera was composing the history of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka when sickness intervened. He had completed five chapters on it when he passed away on February 19, 1950. If he had lived to complete this work, it would have been his masterpiece. That is not all. Fr. S.G. Perera served as the editor of 'Ceylon Literary Register', a member of the Ceylon Historical Commission, and was on the council of the Ceylon Royal Asiatic Society. He was also the first Sri Lankan Vicar General of the Diocese of Galle. On the National Heroes day of Navy 22, 1983 the Philatelic Bureau issued a commemorative stamp on Fr. S.G. Perera in appreciation of his scholarly, magnificent and patriotic contributions towards the study of history in Sri Lanka. Fr. S.G. Perera SJ was exemplary as a priest of God. All his endeavours were in harmony with his priesthood and he never made use of his talents and vocation to earn foreign dollars. He was sincere to God and sincere to man and spirituality reigned supreme all throughout his career. The writer is a former High Court Judge.