St Luke's Church struggles for survival

Amid the cool breezes and pine-covered hills of Abbottabad stands St Luke's Church - more than just a place of worship.

It is a quiet witness to over 150 years of history. The scent of aged wood, the gravity of its stone walls, and the tall arched doorways transport visitors to a time when Abbottabad was emerging as a colonial military cantonment. Abbottabad was founded in 1853 by British officer Major James Abbott as part of the British Empire's strategic expansion along the northwestern frontier.

St Luke's Church, Abbottabad, is an Anglican church that presently comes under the Diocese of Peshawar, Church of Pakistan. Before the creation of Pakistan in 1947, it functioned under the Church of England during the British colonial period.

Like other cantonment towns, churches were built to cater to the spiritual needs of British officers and their families stationed there. Constructed in the 1860s, St Luke's Church soon became a central place of worship for the Christian community in the Hazara region.

Historical records, including the Gazetteer of the Hazara District (Government of India Press), note the presence of church establishments in key colonial settlements across the frontier.

Architecturally, the church is an example of Victorian Gothic Revival style, a prominent ecclesiastical design movement of 19th-century Britain. The structure features pointed arch doorways and narrow lancet-style windows, characteristic of Gothic influence, along with a steep, slender spire that draws the eye upward in traditional Anglican symbolism.

Constructed in grey stone masonry, the church reflects the restrained elegance typical of British cantonment churches—simpler than medieval European cathedrals, yet dignified and enduring.

Its architectural form combines spiritual symbolism with colonial-era functionality, standing today as both a place of worship and a historical monument rooted in the layered history of the region.

According to the Punjab & Frontier Church Records (Colonial Period Archives), British architects working in northern India frequently incorporated local stone and deodar wood to adapt structures to climatic conditions. This fusion of imperial design and indigenous materials lends St Luke's Church both historical dignity and regional character.

With the creation of Pakistan in 1947, British officials departed, but the church bells did not fall silent. The local Christian community assumed responsibility for the building. Today, Sunday services, Christmas gatherings, and Easter celebrations continue within its historic walls, as documented in the District Census Report Abbottabad (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics).

In a predominantly Muslim city, the continued preservation of St Luke's Church stands as a testament to interfaith coexistence and communal harmony.

The devastating 2005 earthquake damaged numerous historic structures across Hazara. While St Luke's Church escaped large-scale destruction, visible cracks appeared in its walls, prompting necessary repairs.

Rehabilitation efforts were undertaken with community support, as referenced in the ERRA Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Reports (2006). Yet the episode raised a pressing question: Does the region possess a comprehensive framework for safeguarding its historic places of worship?