St. John's Church, Meerut 3.33

The Saint John the Baptist, or John's Church, is a parish church in the diocese of Agra of Church of North India, and is located Meerut, India. The church building was built from 1819 to 1821 and is the oldest Church in North India. Near to this church lies St. John's Church cemetery. The grounds contain trees and greenery.The parish motto Unity, Witness and Service found at the entrance serves to remind parishioners and guests alike of the purpose of this church.HistoryThe parish was founded in 1819 to serve the military garrison stationed locally. Its founder was British Army chaplain, the Rev. Henry Fischer, a Church of England clergyman, posted to Meerut, India.Oldest church in North IndiaThe parish church of St John the Baptist is the oldest church edifice in the northern half of India. It still houses a huge but non-functioning pipe organ, which employed manually operated bellows to supply the organ with air. The wooden pews and kneelers, brass eagle lectern, marble baptistry, and stained glass windows all date back nearly two centuries.ArchitectureSt John's church building conforms to a style of English parish church architecture popular before the Gothic Revival, and is modelled on the Palladian or classical style, which was well suited to local conditions with a large open interior space for worship in which air could circulate freely in sometimes stifling temperatures. It includes an upper seating area (balcony), no longer in use. Dating back almost 200 years, renovations have changed little to the church fabric, making it a fine example of an Anglican parish church of the early 1800s.