It’s a tale of two Sundays, 163 years apart. Once again, a battle has forced one of the oldest churches in northern India to shut down for almost two months. The last time the British-built St John’s Church shut doors was in 1857 when the first war of Indian independence, or the Sepoy Mutiny, broke out. This time, the war against coronavirus has forced it to close.

It was the evening of Sunday on May 10, 1857, when the Revolt against the East India Company erupted in Sadar Bazar area of Meerut. Soon, it spread across northern India.

In all, 50 Europeans were killed on that day. Many of them were caught unawares as they were heading towards St John’s Church, located on the British side of the cantonment for Evening Sunday Church service.

All those Europeans stayed in the civilian side and had to cross the main city drain that divided British infantries from the rest.