Srinagar: The Christian community of Kashmir on Saturday celebrated Christmas, the birthday of Jesus Christ. To mark the occasion all three churches in the Srinagar city were illuminated with colourful lights, candles and decorative items.
In Srinagar, the largest mass prayers were held at the Holy Family Catholic Church at Maulana Azad Road, where Christians belonging to the Catholic group participated in the services.
Meanwhile, the Protestant group held prayers at the city's 125-year-old St. Luke's Church which got reopened after around 30 years. On Thursday, Jammu and Kashmir's Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha reopened the St. Luke's Church in the Dalgate area of Srinagar city for the public through a video conference.
Addressing the gathering virtually, Manoj Sinha said the “lost glory of the oldest church in Srinagar had been restored”. “Reopening of St Luke's Church in Srinagar after restoration is a historic occasion to celebrate and imbibe Christ's message of sacrifice, service, redemption, love and compassion”, he said.
Pertinently, there are three churches in Srinagar - Maulana Azad Road (Catholic), Church Lane (Protestant) and Dalgate (Protestant). The minuscule Christian population in the valley usually visit the Holy Family Catholic Church, a Roman Catholic Church, at M A Road, and the one at Church Lane for Christmas celebrations
British journalist and author Brigid Keenan in her book 'Travels in Kashmir: A Popular History of Its People, Places and Crafts', which was first published by Oxford University Press in 1989, writes that there was great celebration when Bishop Matthew of Lahore came to consecrate three Anglican churches built in Kashmir - two in Srinagar and one in Gulmarg for summer visitors.
Brigid Keenan writes, "In the All Saints, where Anglo-Indians worshipped, and where the British resident read the lesson early Sunday, the Service was sung in English and Miss Petrie wrote that ‘many said it was like a home church service."
In 2016, the local Christian community and the clergy approached the state administration for its renovation, so that it could be reopened while maintaining its old design. The church renovation was brought under the Smart City project and funds were transferred to the tourism department, which later began renovations last year in collaboration with members of the Christian community
Meanwhile, special prayers were also offered for the development, prosperity and peace of Jammu and Kashmir. During the services, fathers of both the churches thanked the administration for the renovation of St. Luke's Church.
"The need of the hour was to promote brotherhood and reconciliation while people should work for each other in times of sorrow and share in each other's joys," they said. The members of the marginal Christian community of the valley have also decorated their homes with Christmas trees and twinkling paper stars.
