Meerut, May 10, 2020: It’s a tale of two Sundays, 163 years apart.
Once again, a battle has forced one of the oldest churches in northern India to shut down for almost two months.
The last time the British-built St John’s Church shut doors was in 1857 when the first war of Indian independence, or the Sepoy Mutiny, broke out. This time, the war against coronavirus has forced it to close.
It was the evening of Sunday on May 10, 1857, when the Revolt against the East India Company erupted in Sadar Bazar area of Meerut. Soon, it spread across northern India.
In all, 50 Europeans were killed on that day. Many of them were caught unawares as they were heading towards St. John’s Church, located on the British side of the cantonment for Evening Sunday Church service.
All those Europeans stayed in the civilian side and had to cross the main city drain that divided British infantries from the rest.
After their deaths, the church fell silent for at least four months. It reopened in the first week of October after the fall of Delhi on September 20, 1857.
An extract from ‘The Memoir of Meerut,’ by Colonel T N Parker in 1904 says, “On the evening of Sunday, May 10th, 1857, a general insurrection of the native troops broke out in Meerut attended with loss of life and property to a great extent.
he services in the church were abandoned from that date, it being considered no longer safe to occupy those places during the very disturbed condition of the station and district.”
Amit Pathak, author of ‘1857, A Living History,’ says, “In all, 32 Europeans were buried in St. John’s cemetery out of which only nine graves are visible, including that of Col. John Finnis, the first European killed in the Revolt.”
Exactly 163 years later, it’s yet another Sunday on May 10. The church of has been silent for close to two months now as India fights yet another war — this time against coronavirus.
A church member, Ranji Mathews, said, “I had heard from my elders that there was a time when the church had fallen silent. I used to wonder what kind of times they must have been. But now, I am experiencing a similar thing in my lifetime.
The last service was held on March 17, 2020. In 1857, we fought against foreigners and now, we are fighting a deadlier unseen foreign enemy, the virus. I hope and pray that we defeat this virus and again hear the church bells toll on Sundays.”
The St John the Baptist, or John’s Church, is a parish church in the diocese of Agra of the Church of North India. It was built from 1819 to 1821. The parish motto “Unity, Witness and Service” found at the entrance serves proclaims the purpose of the church.
The parish was founded in 1819 to serve the British military garrison stationed. Its founder was British Army chaplain Reverend Henry Fischer, a Church of England clergyman, posted to Meerut, India.
The church still houses a huge but non-functioning pipe organ, which employed manually operated bellows to supply the organ with air. The wooden pews and kneelers, brass eagle lectern, marble baptistery, and stained glass windows all date back nearly two centuries.
St John’s church building conforms to a style of English parish church architecture popular before the Gothic Revival, and is modeled on the Palladian or classical style, which was well suited to local conditions with a large open interior space for worship in which air could circulate freely in sometimes stifling temperatures.
(With inputs from timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
Kanpur saw maximum violence from both sides in 1857. The British war cry then became “Remember Cawnpore”.
St Patrick’s Church Kanpur, my parish, was built in 1825 and destroyed in 1857. The Irish parish priest was brutally killed.