>Jonathan901 at 02:48, 23 April 2021

2021-04-23T02:48:17Z

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2018}}
[[File:Afghan-Church, Bombay-FV.jpg|thumb|270px|Front view of the church]]
[[File:Afghan Church - Stain glass window - 2.jpg|thumb|Stained glass window inside the church]]
[[File:Afghan Church, Colaba, Interior view, c.1880-90.jpg|thumb|East end of the church, c. 1880-90]]
The '''Church of St John the Evangelist''', better known as the '''Afghan Church''', is a church of [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] heritage, that belongs to the [[Diocese of Mumbai (Church of North India)|Mumbai diocese]] of the [[Church of North India]].<ref>{{cite web |title=India’s Anglicans ready to vote, don’t know if they can |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/india-s-anglicans-ready-to-vote-don-t-know-if-they-can/story-4mDJc3Y1LodNNRjUsOtizK.html |website=Hindustan Times |language=en |date=2 October 2017}}</ref> Located in [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]], [[India]], it was built by the [[United Kingdom|British]] between 1847 and 1858 to commemorate the dead of the [[First Afghan War]] and the disastrous [[1842 retreat from Kabul]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/india/34.html|title=The Afghan Church in Mumbai and the Guild of the Holy Standard|website=www.victorianweb.org}}</ref> Memorials at the rear of the nave also record casualties from the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]]. The foundation stone was laid in 1847; it was consecrated in 1858, and work on the [[steeple]] finished in 1865.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://theory.tifr.res.in/bombay/architecture/building/afghan-church.html|title=Afghan Church: Mumbai/Bombay pages|website=theory.tifr.res.in}}</ref>

The church is located in [[Navy Nagar]] in the [[Colaba]] area of [[South Mumbai]]. It was designed by [[Henry Conybeare]]; architect [[William Butterfield]] was responsible for [[reredos]], tiles, pews and screen; and the [[stained glass]] was by [[William Wailes]].<ref>http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/india/34.html</ref> In 2018, it was reported there are some 64 historic [[stained glass]] panels in the church in urgent need of restoration.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/mumbais-160-year-old-afghan-church-is-in-dire-need-of-restoration/article24230787.ece|title=Mumbai’s 160-year-old Afghan Church is in dire need of restoration|first=P. Krishna|last=Gopinath|date=23 June 2018|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref>

==History==
The first Anglican church in the Navy Nagar district began as a small thatched chapel a kilometre south in what was then known as the "Sick Bungalows" (now the ''INHS Asvini'', the [[Indian Navy|Indian naval]] hospital). There were no chairs, and patrons had to bring their own. Later, the government released a new patch of land for the setting up the church with the hope that the church's spire would serve as a useful landmark for ships in the [[Mumbai harbour|harbour]].

The construction of a new more permanent church in the 1840s was led by the Rev. George Piggot, Chaplain to the [[East India Company]] in Bombay. The immediate impetus for fundraising and construction was for the church to serve as the principal memorial to the casualties of the First Anglo-Afghan War. The retreat of the British forces from Kabul in 1842 was described at the time as the worst disaster suffered by the British in India.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Morris|first1=Jan|title=Stones of Empire: The Raj|date=1983|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=0-19-280596-7|page=189|edition=Reissue 2005}}</ref> Many of the casualties of the conflict came from the East India Company's [[Bombay Army]] and military establishments located in proximity to the present church site.

In March 1843, the Oxford Society for Promoting the Study of Gothic Architecture (later the [[Oxford Architectural and Historical Society]]) received a request from the Rev. Piggot asking for a design for the new church. The English architect John Macduff Derick presented his designs to the Society in November of the same year, and they met with the Society's approval. However, in June 1845 word came from India that the designs were unfit for the purpose and the building would cost too much.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecclsoc.org/ET32.pdf |title=John Macduff Derick (c. 1805/6 - 1859) by Phil Mottram, 2004 |page=41 |accessdate=17 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928075235/http://www.ecclsoc.org/ET32.pdf |archivedate=28 September 2011 |df= }}</ref> Eventually, plans for the quintessentially English [[Gothic Revival architecture]] of the church were submitted in 1847 by city engineer [[Henry Conybeare]] and approved.

The foundation stone of the church was laid on 4 December 1847 by Sir [[George Russell Clerk]], Governor. When Conybeare stood down as town engineer in 1850, Captain C.W. Tremenheere of the Royal Engineers took on the role of superintending architect modifying certain aspects of the approved design such as reducing the pitch of the roof and height of the tower. Architect [[William Butterfield]] in conjunction with students from the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art designed the decorative tile [[reredos]]. The Afghan War Memorial mosaics, the polychrome floor tiles, choir stalls, screen and pews were also produced to Butterfield's designs.<ref>[[Paul Thompson (oral historian)|Paul Thompson]]: "William Butterfield", Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1971, p.450 {{ISBN|0-7100-6930-8}}</ref> The church was consecrated on 7 January 1858, by Bishop of Bombay, [[John Harding (bishop)|John Harding]]. The spire cost a sum of Rs 5,65,000 and was finished on 10 June 1865. Sir [[Cowasji Jehangir]] contributed a sum of Rs 7,500 to help complete the building.

==Architecture==
The imposing edifice was constructed using locally available buff-coloured [[basalt]] and [[limestone]]. Inside, it is known for its wide gothic arches and beautiful stained glass windows. The chapel has a nave and aisle with a chancel 50 ft (15 m) in length and 27 ft (7 m) in width. Butterfield's tiles used for the geometric floor pattern were imported from England. The east and west windows were designed by [[William Wailes]], a nineteenth-century [[stained glass]] expert. Eight large bells in the bell tower came from the Taylor bellfoundry of England in 1904, and are acknowledged to be the best in western India. The tower and spire are 198 ft (60 m) high.

In the chancel a marble inscription reads:

:"This church was built in memory of the officers whose names are written on the walls of the chancel and of the non-commissioned officers and private soldiers, too many to be so recorded who fell, mindful of their duty, by sickness or by sword in the campaigns of Sind and Afghanistan, A.D. 1838-1843."

Another brass panel set in the chancel commemorates its founder, Rev. G. Piggot, who died 24 February 1850.

===Gallery===
<gallery>
File:WorldTradeBombay.jpg|The church spire.
File:Afghan Church - Doorway.jpg|Doorway to the church.
File:Stained Glass Window at Afghan Church, Mumbai, India.png|Stained Glass Window at Afghan Church, Mumbai, India
File:Afghan Church, Mumbai.jpg
</gallery>

==Present day==
After years of neglect, the government elevated the church to a [[Grade I]] heritage structure. Funds of ₹ 30 lakh were allocated in 2004 for the restoration of the church windows.<ref>{{cite news|title=Afghan church gets a glass makeover|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/oldStory/50365/ | date=5 July 2004 |newspaper=The Indian Express | first=Chitrangada | last=Choudhury | accessdate=4 September 2018}}</ref>

The [[Prince of Wales]] and the [[Duchess of Cornwall]] attended a [[Remembrance Sunday]] service at the church on 10 November 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Day Five: The Prince and the Duchess Visit India|url=http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/news-and-diary/day-five-the-prince-and-the-duchess-visit-india-0|website=The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall|accessdate=13 October 2015}}</ref>

The church holds regular weekly services with a small congregation mainly drawn from [[Navy Nagar]] residents. Visitors may obtain access to view the historic church interior from the on-site custodian.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{commons category|Afghan Church}}

{{coord|18.903648|72.815076|type:landmark|display=title}}

[[Category:Churches in Mumbai]]
[[Category:Gothic Revival architecture in India]]
[[Category:Gothic Revival church buildings]]
[[Category:1858 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 1858]]
[[Category:Anglican church buildings in India]]
[[Category:19th-century Anglican church buildings]]
[[Category:19th-century churches in India]]

Afghan Church - Revision history

>Jonathan901 at 02:48, 23 April 2021