Kashmir’s historic church cries out with prayers after a decade New Religions

Srinagar, India administered by Kashmir – For the first time in three decades, a 125-year-old church has chanted traditional Indian-administered Kashmir bells and religious songs.

Before Christmas, nearly a dozen Christians gathered at St. Luke’s Church in the region’s main city of Srinagar, discussed on Wednesday, a day before the church officially opened to the public.

For the small Christian community in the region, the reopening of the church, located at the foot of a hill overlooking a Hindu temple in the Dalgate area of ​​Shinagar, is a dream come true.

“We have been working hard for the last few years and we urge the government to open up. Now it’s a dream come true, “said Eric Reverend, head of Al Jazeera Church.

The church was closed in the early 1990s when an armed uprising against Indian rule began. The region of the Muslim majority, that is, with those around Pakistan who are in the midst of decades of conflict.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, which claim parts of it but claim the region as a whole. Since gaining independence from British rule, the two nuclear-weapon nations have waged three full-scale wars in the region.

That’s in one place he sees violence every day, the historic church has become a new attraction on social media. Many young people in Kashmir, including social media agents, were seen posting photos of the church on Twitter and Instagram.

Muslim Kashmir has welcomed the reopening of the church.

“It was empty for so many years. But now we are glad that this place will be a witness to our prayers again. It will strengthen the bond of faith between communities, ”Farooq Ahmad Gilkar, a 66-year-old bricklayer by profession, told Al Jazeera.

“This place was like a haunted place surrounded by bushes and ledges. We are happy to be alive again. ”

Built by the Missionary Society of England, the historic church boasts Gothic colonial-style architecture.

“It was built by Kashmir bricklayers who specialize in clean brick and masonry,” Gilkar said.

The church is located near the Hindu temple of Shankaracharya and is less than a kilometer (mile) from the shrine of the Sufi Muslim saint Syed Yaqoob, which represents the diverse culture of the Himalayan region.

A first stone in the middle of the church entrance says it was built by British doctors Arthur Neve and Ernest Neve. “As a witness to the glory of God and to Kashmir, dedicated by the Bishop of Lahore, September 12, 1896,” the inscription reads.

For many years, the local Christian community, with a population of about 12,000 in the 12 million-strong region, has been calling for the church to be renovated.

Last year, the government decided to renovate it as part of the Smart Cities federal project, which aims to restore Srinagar’s historic buildings and religious sites, which are home to more than a million people.

The renovation of the church, when weeds and drags closed its entrance, was caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Kashmiri stonemasons work at the entrance to the historic church [Mukhtar Khan/AP]

The Neve brothers were among the pioneers of modern medicine in Kashmir and introduced cholera and smallpox vaccines in the Himalayan region in the 19th century.

For nearly 50 years, two British doctors provided medical services at Kashmir Mission Hospital, established in 1888.

The church was built on the premises of this hospital by the Neve brothers. Today, their hospital is known as the Breast and Disease Hospital.

Muhammad Saleem, a contractor involved in the renovation of the church, said they were trying to keep the original shape by using specialized woodwork, known locally as “khatamband”.

Dozens of staff laid their wooden tiles on the floor, hand-engraved stones next to the entrance and colorful glass on the windows while giving the finishing touches before Christmas.

The floor, ceiling and roof of the church have been changed. They removed the old green-painted walls and put in the red bricks.

“We wanted to keep the same look and take on the support of old staff. We were looking for rare hands that were still able to do the work that was done a century ago, ”Saleem told Al Jazeera.