St. John the Baptist Church of Chinsura (
Armenian: ), is located in
Chinsura,
India. The church was built in 1695–1697 and is dedicated to
St. John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
. It is the second oldest Christian church in
Bengal, and the oldest Armenian church in India.
The church is well preserved due to its proximity to
Kolkata and the care committee of the
Armenian Churches.
The Armenian Church of Chinsura was started in 1699. A spire was added to the church in 1822, for which the Dutch resident of Bengal
Daniel Anthony Overbeek
Daniel Anthony Overbeek (6 February 1765 – 25 September 1840) was the last resident of Dutch Bengal between 1817 and 1825.
Biography
Daniel Anthony Overbeek was born to Daniel Overbeek (1727–1770) and Theodora Petronella Immens. Relativ ...
laid the foundation stone.
Each year on 13–14 January, the church celebrates the feast of John the Baptist, whose
relics (bones of the left hand) are thought to be in the
Armenian Church of Holy Nazareth
The Armenian Holy Church of Nazareth () is an 18th-century Armenian Apostolic church in Kolkata, India, serving as the centre of the Armenian Community in Kolkata and the seat of the Armenian Vicariate of India and the Far East. It is affiliate ...
, located 65 kilometers away, and delivered to the party in the Church Pilgrims. Armenians settled in
Chinsura in 1645, after the Dutch, who formed their colony in 1625.On March 1, 2007,
Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II visited the church.
See also
*
Armenians in India
Notes
References
*
Armenian diaspora in India
Armenian Apostolic churches in India
17th-century churches in India
17th-century Oriental Orthodox church buildings
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