Hyderabad: St Luke’s Hindustani Church continues century-old tradition of Sunday Services in Urdu

St Luke’s Hindustani Church in Hyderabad, dating back to 1905, continues its tradition of conducting Sunday services in Urdu, reflecting the Nizam-era linguistic heritage. The church also offers Hindi services, with Urdu inscriptions and an Urdu Bible preserved inside

Hyderabad: A church service in Urdu. You have heard it right! The St Luke’s Hindustani Church, in Chirag Ali lane, Abids conducts its service in Urdu language every Sunday.

The Church dating back to 1905, was constructed on 1.5 acres of land said to be gifted by Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan to the Christian Missionaries Society of London.

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The story goes that in 1900, three missionaries had arrived from London and studied the local traditions and languages in Hyderabad for quite some time. They sought land for construction of a Church and the Nizam government had gifted the land.

On Sunday, the service at the Church is conducted in Urdu by Reverend Samuel Herald Christian, who is the Presbyterian in charge at the church.

“During Nizam era, Urdu was the first official language in the State, irrespective of their religion or native language, had to learn Urdu,” Reverend Samuel Herald Christian told Telangana Today.

The plain and simple rectangle structure was originally built as a chapel, a small place of worship with an altar, known as the ‘Norman Miller Memorial Chapel’. It was taken over by the Church of South India (CSI) Trust Association on September 27, 1947, and renamed St Luke’s Hindustani Church.

The church still continues its age-old tradition of holding services in Urdu. The inscriptions inside the church are in Urdu and it even has an Urdu Bible. Recently, Hindi services were also included. The weekly service takes place at 10.30 am on Sundays.