The Hindu, India
May 20 2012
Faith, brick by brick
There are numerous churches throughout the Capital. R.V. SMITH tells
us how they came to be
Delhi’s Christian link dates back to the times of the Moghuls. The
earliest churches were built by the Armenians who had come to the
court of Akbar in the 16th Century. There were two churches, one near
the slaughter house beyond the old Subzi Mandi, and another in Sarai
Rohilla, though accounts of their exact location differ.
According to Sir Edward Maclagan, says a Delhi Archdiocese
publication, there were 120 Catholics in Delhi during Shah Jahan’s
reign in 1650. Their number went up to 300 by 1686 when Aurangzeb was
on the throne. Two priests looked after them. A Catholic cemetery was
also in existence from 1656. Father Desideri, who came to the city
from Tibet, found the churches in ruins in 1732 (Mohammad Shah’s
reign). He stayed on for three years and built a new church dedicated
to the Virgin Mary and blessed on All Souls’ Day, November 2, 1723.
In 1739 this church and another one were destroyed by the Persian
invader Nadir Shah during the massacre of Delhi; the Jesuits in charge
of them escaped by hiding in a ruined house. One of the churches was
rebuilt in 1746 and blessed on Christmas Eve. Later another church
came up but both seem to have been razed and in the early 19th
Century, mass was held in the palace of Begum Sumroo in Chandni Chowk.
In 1857 Father Zachary of Tretti built a church which was destroyed
during the Mutiny and the priest murdered. In 1865 a new church of St
Mary’s was built and it still stands in S.P. Mukherji Marg as the
earliest Catholic church.
The Central Baptist Church was rebuilt in 1858 after the earlier one
was destroyed in the previous year’s rioting. It owes its inception to
Begum Sumroo, who later became a Catholic. St Stephen’s Church in
Fatehpuri was built in 1867. This Anglican church had its golden years
during the tenure of Reverend Robert Winter and his wife.
The imposing building won the DDA Urban Heritage Award in 1994. The
church has Corinthian capitals and stained glass rose windows. An
attraction was the organ, which was played on Sundays. Its most noted
organist was old Benjamin, whose son is now the secretary of the New
Delhi YMCA.
The Cambridge Brotherhood built a chapel attached to its residential
building in 7 Court Lane, Raj Niwas Marg. The main features of the
chapel at the rear of the building are semi-circular arches. However,
the oldest existing church in the Capital is St James’s Church, built
in 1836 by Colonel James Skinner in perpetuation of a vow made when
his life was saved on the battlefield in Uniara.
This church in Kashmere Gate is a landmark of the area and the place
where the Viceroys worshipped before New Delhi came up. It has a
Florentine dome and was damaged in 1857 by the rebel sepoys but later
repaired.
Sacred Heart Cathedral, near Gol Dakhana, was erected in 1934 by the
Capuchins from Italy. Father Luke was the priest who supervised the
construction of the splendid Italian-style building, which was
designed by Henry Medd, who also designed the Cathedral Church of the
Redemption near the Secretariat that was built in 1935. The Sacred
Heart Cathedral was to be originally built in Delhi Cantonment but
that land was taken over by the Army and the present plot allotted for
it.
Holy Trinity Church in Turkman Gate was built in 1905 and is
conspicuous because of its Byzantian-style building, domed and
half-domed characteristics. This church was originally planned to be
built near the Ajmere Gate. But the site was shifted when an
underground medieval reservoir was discovered while the foundations
were being dug. The Raj Niwas Marg Baptist Chapel in colonial style
was built in 1918, while St John’s Church, Mehrauli, constructed with
Christian, Muslim and Hindu architectural features came up in 1927.
In the same year Free Church was erected on Parliament Street with its
conspicuous circular appearance. Its best known pastor was the late
Reverend Salim Sharif. St Martin’s Church, also known as the Garrison
Church, was erected in 1929 and, like the Trinity Church, was designed
by Arthur Shoesmith. Built of three-and-a-half million red bricks in
Delhi Cantt, its Nave has a barrel vault and a square tower.
St. Paul’s Cathedral in Bhogal was also built in 1929 and expanded in
the 1970s. The Methodist Church in Boulevard Road, near Tis Hazari,
with is Gothic features, is a very impressive building with a bell
tower. It dates back to 1931. St Thomas’s Church in Mandir Marg was
also built at the same time, ostensibly for poor Christians, and
opened by the then Viceroy’s wife, Lady Willingdon. The main entrance
has stone tablets in Urdu script. Gandhiji used to visit it when he
was staying in the Bhangi Colony nearby.
Though the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage
(INTACH) has listed only 18 churches, their number has gone up to more
than a hundred with many new ones coming up, the latest being the St
John de Britton Church in Maya Enclave, which was opened in February
this year by Archbishop Concassao after a long court suit.
Thus Delhi’s Christian link continues to grow to mark it out as a
cosmopolitan city of temples, mosques, gurudwaras and churches,
perhaps more numerous than in any other Indian city. However the old
Armenian cemetery in Sarai Rohilla’s Kishanganj needs to be preserved
lest it disappear altogether.