Srinagar's 125-year-old St. Luke's Church reopens on the occasion of Christmas

One of the oldest churches in Kashmir, the 125-year-old St. Luke's Church has been restored ahead of Christmas eve. The church was closed since the 1990s after the rise of militancy in the Valley.

The foundation stone of St. Luke's Church, located in the Dalgate area of ​​Srinagar, was laid on 12 September 1896 by Ernest Neve and Dr Arthur Neve.

Dr. Arthur worked as a medical missionary in Kashmir for more than three decades, and was instrumental in curing the cholera epidemic. The church is a part of the Church of North India and the Diocese of Amritsar.

The tourism department of Jammu and Kashmir has done the renovation of the church under its 'Smart City Project'. After the local Christian community approached the government and demanded its restoration in 2016, the government had allocated around Rs 60 lakh for its renovation.

On 22 December, a day before its official reopening, a small group of devotees gathered at the church for prayer.