Why was a church built in the name of Mughal emperor Akbar, read this interesting story

Author: Atanu Singh

18 February 1580, this was the date when three Jesuit priests reached Agra to meet Emperor Akbar. Seeing Emperor Akbar’s eagerness to learn about other religions, these three Portuguese priests had traveled a long distance from Goa to Agra. Seeing Akbar’s generosity, the three priests thought that perhaps the Emperor would change his/her religion.

Akbar Church
Akbar welcomed these priests with respect, but did not agree to conversion. Instead, he/she proposed that why not arrange a debate between Jesuit priests and local religious scholars. It can be said that it was due to such incidents that Christianity and culture spread in Agra. Agra was the capital of the Mughal Empire at that time and traders and other people from countries like France, Portugal, England, Italy used to come and go there frequently. Under their influence, some local people started adopting Christianity. Then the need for a church was felt, so Akbar donated land near an Armenian settlement for it. In this way, ‘Akbar Church’ was established in 1598. This church is a great example of friendship between two Abrahamic religions.

Plays on Jesus
According to historian RV Smith, on Christmas morning, Emperor Akbar himself used to visit this church along with the nine jewels of his/her court. In the evening, the women and princesses of the harem used to come. This was the period when the plays of Jesus’ birth started being staged in India, in which Europeans played the roles. Emperor Akbar used to enjoy these plays as a spectator. This tradition continued even during the reign of Emperor Jahangir after Akbar. And, with time, the organization of the play became more grand. For this, vigorous rehearsals were done in the Phulatti area. The Mughal royal family got deeply involved in all this and it also had a great impact on them. Things reached such a point that in the year 1610, three nephews of Jahangir were baptized in this church.

Abdali’s attack
During the reign of Shah Jahan, the picture of brotherhood and friendship between the Islamic Mughal court and the Western Christians started fading. Jesuit priests had to suffer the consequences of Emperor Shah Jahan’s clash with the Portuguese. They were imprisoned. Later, they were released in 1635. The church was demolished the same year. It was rebuilt at the same place in 1636 with some changes. When the Mughal Sultanate was on its decline, Ahmed Shah Abdali attacked India. his/her troops destroyed Akbar’s Church. A European adventurer Walter Reinhart rediscovered this church. he/she played a major role in its reconstruction and expansion. Many people say that Walter Sahib’s wife, Begum Samru, was baptized in this church.

Tomb in the churchyard
Needing more space for prayer meetings, a bigger church was built next to it in 1848, which is now a cathedral. Around the same time, some Protestant churches started coming up in Agra. The most important of these is St. John’s Church in Sikandra. It is also known as the ‘Mission Church’. During the colonial period, the campus of this church was quite extensive. The tomb of Mariam Uz-Zamani, a Begum of Akbar, was within this campus.