Source: CNN
Isambard Wilkinson was previously the Islamabad correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and is the author of ‘Travels in a Dervish Cloak.’
St George’s Cross billows above the castellated twin towers of the Cathedral Church of the Resurrection. Inside, beams of light pour through stained-glass windows onto choir stalls and memorial plaques engraved with names like Sir Alexander Hutchinson Lawrence.
This Anglican church could easily have been built in an English shire. But it stands at the traffic-choked center of the Pakistani city of Lahore, sharing a skyline with Mughal-era domes and minarets.
The Sacret Heart Cathedral in Lahore, designed by Belgian architect Edouard Dobbeleers. Credit: Isambard Wilkinson
“We have faced many problems over the years,” said the dean of Lahore, Shahid Mehraj, during a tour of the building. “But the flag of St George is still flying. We are still here.”
Although more than 95% of Pakistanis are Muslim, a reported 1.6% of the country’s 208-million population is Christian.
Most are descended from low-caste Hindus who converted in the 19th century, when many of the country’s hundred or so British colonial-era churches were built.
From the mountains of Malakand — home to what was once British India’s northernmost church — to the southern seaport of Karachi, Pakistan has numerous examples of outstanding Christian architecture.
Categories: Asia, Christianity, Pakistan, The Muslim Times