Christmas Eve edifices.

[Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi]

Edifices of stone. Stately domes. Long aisles. Sombre organ music. And an echoing silence that seems to sing and speak. Delhi’s great churches strike awe with their architecture and history. Today, let us launch into Christmas Eve by offering an ode to two lesser-known churches—before arriving at the city’s greatest church.

Consecrated in 2010, the Catholic church of St Peter’s in New Palam Vihar is topped with a modest cross. The walls inside are framed with wood-cut images inspired from the final moments of Christ: “Jesus falls the third time,” “Jesus robbed of his garments,” “Jesus nailed to the cross,” “Jesus dies on the cross,” etc. The altar shows Jesus in white robes with two little winged angels in pink dresses.

Founded in 1980, St Dominic Church in South Delhi’s Poorvi Marg is a structure of brick. Its walls have the same stories to tell as the church in New Palam Vihar—they are decked with artworks depicting Christ’s final moments. The first frame on the left wall shows “The nailing.” The last frame on the right wall illustrates “Jesus dies.” The church’s ceiling is exceptionally beautiful, designed in the pattern of a honeycomb. The glass windows are tinted with shades of yellow and blue.

And now, an account of a Christmas Eve once witnessed in Delhi’s most historic church. The clues to its identity are scattered through the passage that follows.

For the special evening, the church’s main building was decked with blue and orange fairy lights, but the front lawn lay immersed in darkness. Exactly at midnight, the bell rang, and the ceremony started. To begin with, there were barely a handful of worshippers. Then two priests appeared. Soon, more people arrived. Almost all came with their families. One elderly man sat alone.
Immediately below the communion table lay the tombstone of a military adventurer who gave his name to the church. (In 1800, lying wounded on a battlefield, he had vowed to build a church if he survived. This church was the result.) At one stage during the mass, as the older of the two priests discoursed on a certain point in his homily, a little boy ran up the aisle. His mother followed him. A woman frowned at the indiscretion. Later on, passages were read from the Bible; carols were sung. The church was filled with the soft, barely perceptible hum of the congregation. The service ended after an hour. The worshipers solemnly greeted each other in low voices. Outside, a table with a white cloth had been set up. There were two trays of biscuits, and steaming chai was served in white plastic glasses.

Merry Christmas.

PS: Photo shows Holy Trinity Church, circa 1905