Christmas bells are ringing after 30 years in the oldest church in Indian-administered Kashmir
New Delhi: The 125-year-old St Luke’s Church in Indian-administered Kashmir, which is the oldest in the region, held Christmas Mass for the first time in 30 years on Saturday after reopening the building to the public earlier this week.
Christians in the area have been demanding restoration of the church since 2016. The restoration work was started in 2019 by the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department, and was estimated to cost around $80,000.
India is home to one of the oldest and largest Christian communities in Asia, with over 30 million followers.
The news of the church’s reopening comes amid media reports of widespread persecution of the Christian community.
The New York Times reports that anti-Christians are roaming villages, raiding churches, burning Christian literature, attacking schools and attacking worshippers.
“We thank the government in Kashmir for the restoration and restoration of the church,” head priest Rev Eric Tarsem told Arab News on Saturday. “We, as a whole community, are very happy. It’s like a dream come true.”
The foundation stone of St. Luke’s Church, located in the Dalgate area of Srinagar city, was laid by brothers Ernest and Arthur Neve on September 12, 1896.
He was the first to introduce modern medicine to Kashmir and to introduce cholera and smallpox vaccines in the late 19th century. He also established the Kashmir Mission Hospital in 1888.
The church was closed in the early 1990s when rebels launched an armed rebellion against New Delhi’s rule in India’s only Muslim-majority region.
Kashmir has been the focus of tensions between Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan for decades, and has been the cause of two out of three wars between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Both countries claim the region in full, but each governs only partially.
More than 100 people gathered to offer Christmas prayers on Saturday, just three days after the church reopened.
“The opening of the church means a lot to us,” Grace Palijor, a fourth-generation Christian in Srinagar, told Arab News. “It is an acknowledgment that Christian missionaries have served and developed this land all these years.”
Congratulating the country’s Christians on Christmas, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Merry Christmas everyone! We remember the life and great teachings of Jesus Christ, who emphasized service, kindness and humility the most. May all be healthy and prosperous. May there be harmony all around. ,
Palijor, who runs a school in Srinagar and sang in the choir at St Luke’s on Saturday, called the reopening of the church “a good omen” for Kashmir.
“We feel accepted in the community,” she said. “It’s a very nice gesture and it brings hope and peace, especially during the festive season of Christmas.”
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