All Saints Church, Peshawar

All Saints' Church located inside the Kohati Gate of the old walled city of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, is a parish of the Church of Pakistan. It is an architecturally unique place of Christian worship that bears a striking resemblance to a saracenic mosque with minarets and a dome.

History

The Church was opened on St. John's Day, 27 December 1883.[1] Although original memorials in the church record early European benefactors and the names of mission staff, from the outset the church was described as a native Christian church built for the indigenous population of Peshawar. The first pastor of the church was the Rev. Imam Shah.

The foundation stone of the church was laid by Captain Graves whose widow presented the brass desk on the Lord's Table. A local architect, under the supervision of Church Missionary Society staff including the Rev. Thomas Hughes, was responsible for the design of the building. The building is cruciform in layout with the chancel at the west end. A plaque records: "This church is erected to the Glory of God and dedicated to the memory of All Saints in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 1883."[2]

2013 attack by terrorists
Main article: Peshawar church bombing

On September 22, 2013, two suicide bombers carried out an attack outside the church at the end of a Sunday service, killing 87 people and injuring 170.[3] 600 parishioners were on the front lawn of the church, having lunch, when two bombers detonated themselves, leaving the church scattered with body parts. Victims included an estimated 37 children.[4] TTP Jundullah, linked to the Taliban, said it had carried out the attack on the Christian congregation, saying, "We will continue our attacks on non-Muslims on Pakistani land."[5]

This was the second attack on churches in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a year, where another church in Mardan was burnt[6] exactly a year before this incident.

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References
  1. Hughes, Thomas (1885). All Saints' Memorial Church. Peshawar. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  2. All Saints’ Church Peshawar by A Jan
  3. Titus on Mission - Peshawar All Saints’ update by Titus Presler, 30 September 2013
  4. "Scores Are Killed by Suicide Bomb Attack at Historic Church in Pakistan," New York Times, September 22, 2013
  5. "Suicide bombing kills 78 at Pakistani Anglican church," Toronto Globe & Mail, September 22, 2013
  6. Pakistan Daily Times, 25 September 2013

Further reading
  • Jan, A. 'Mosque-like', brief, cursory article, in the Footloose section, The News on Sunday, April 15, 2008.
  • Hughes, TP. All Saints' Memorial Church, n.p, 1855.

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