St. John in the Wilderness is a Protestant church dedicated to

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. It was built in 1852 and is located near Dharamshala,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, on the way to McLeod Ganj, at Forsyth Gunj. Set amidst deodar forest, and built in

neo-Gothic architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

, the Church is known for its Belgian stained-glass windows donated by Lady Elgin (Mary Louisa Lambton), wife of Lord Elgin. The Church is under Diocese of Amritsar. Rev.Khojee is the presbyter in charge of this church Though the church structure survived the

1905 Kangra earthquake The 1905 Kangra earthquake occurred in the Kangra Valley and the Kangra district of the Himachal Pradesh, in India on 4 April 1905. The earthquake measured 7.8 on the surface-wave magnitude scale and killed more than 20,000 people. Apart from ...

, which killed close to 19,800 people, injured thousands in the Kangra area, and destroyed most buildings in Kangra, Mcleod Ganj and Dharamshala; its spire,

Bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

, was destroyed. Later, a new bell, cast in 1915 by Mears and Stainbank, was brought from England and installed outside in the compound of the church.Tourism History
''

Kangra district Kangra district is the most populous district of Himachal Pradesh, India. Dharamshala is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Kangra is known for having one of the oldest serving Royal Dynasty in the world, the Katoch of ...

'' Official website.

Memorial

Its churchyard is the final resting place of Lord Elgin, who served as Governor General of the Province of Canada, oversaw the creation of responsible government in Canada, and later, while in China, ordered the complete destruction of the

Old Summer Palace The Old Summer Palace, also known as Yuanmingyuan () or Yuanmingyuan Park, originally called the Imperial Gardens (), and sometimes called the Winter Palace, was a complex of palaces and gardens in present-day Haidian District, Beijing, China. I ...

. He became Governor-General & Viceroy of India in 1861 during the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, though he soon died at Dharamshala on 20 November 1863, and was buried there.

Gallery

Image:Stjohnsign.JPG, Church of St. John in the Wilderness. Image:Stjohnwilderstainglass.JPG, Stained glass window inside the church Image:St. John in the Wilderness churchyard, McLeod Ganj, India - September 2014.jpg, The churchyard

Other church

There is a church by the same name in

Nainital Nainital (Kumaoni language, Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a town and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the Uttarakhand High Court, High Court of the state being ...

as well, built in 1844.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John in the Wilderness Churches completed in 1852 19th-century Anglican church buildings in India Gothic Revival church buildings in India Buildings and structures in Dharamshala Churches in Himachal Pradesh 1852 establishments in India British-era buildings in Himachal Pradesh