Photo Features

Oldest church in town preserves splendour

Photos and text by Helen Cheng, Cheung Lok-sze, Melody Chu and Kitty Lam

Built in 1847 during Queen Victoria 's reign, St John's Cathedral is the oldest church in Hong Kong . With its quaint architectural style and cultural heritage, the Anglican cathedral stands out in Central, the heart of this financial city.

“It is a beautiful church that is blessed by God,” said Desmond Cox, an Australian minister at the cathedral, which was completed construction in 1849.

St John's Cathedral was one of the earliest worshipping places erected by the Anglican Church for western believers soon after Hong Kong became a British colony in 1841.

Many western missionaries came to the territory after the colonisation and they treated it as a base for their evangelical work, according to Ying Fuk-tsang, an assistant professor of the Divinity School of Chung Chi College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong .

As time went by, more Chinese became Christians. Churches also provided services to Chinese followers.

During the Japanese occupation in 1941, many western missionaries fled from Hong Kong while some others were sent to concentration camps.

In July 1944, St John's Cathedral was converted into a clubhouse by the Japanese. Many of its original fittings, including the stained glass, were stripped out. Thanks to the bishop at the time, the cathedral's furniture was moved to St Mary's Church, St Paul's Church and the French Convent in Causeway Bay as well as the Bishop's House in Lower Albert Road before any damages were made.

Still, an air raid in 1945 blew up half of the furniture stored in the French Convent. The rest was later returned to the cathedral.

When World War Two ended, St John's Cathedral was restored and rebuilt in the shape of a cross, with a plain and unadorned style adapted from the 13th century early English and decorated Gothic architectures, which was a popular revivalist design for churches at the time.

The cathedral was declared a monument in 1996 and was selected as one of the best architectures in the city by the Hong Kong Institute of Architects in 1999.

Henry Lo Ka-yu, research development officer at the Chinese University 's architecture department, said the architectural decorations of St John's Cathedral could be regarded as the most detailed among other existing churches in the city. “From the small details such as the design of the corners, I can see the elaborate effort of the designers,” he said.

Churchgoers also find the cathedral impressive. “It is surprised to find a classical cathedral in a concrete jungle,” Amanda Yeung Kit-fong said.

Yeung, who attends services at St John's Cathedral regularly, said she felt pleasant when she came there. The ringing of the church bells and the flowers planted in the grounds made her feel relaxed.

A flower arranger at the cathedral, Grace Fung Shuk-yun, said the church had a great influence on her when she got a disease and could not stand or walk five years ago. “It was faith which made me strong,” said Fung, who was baptised at the cathedral. Slowly she began to recover and help with the flower arrangement.

Over the years, the cathedral has become more multicultural, and more Asian people come for church services, the worshippers said. To cater for the non-English speaking faithful, the cathedral also has services in Cantonese and Mandarin as well as a sung Eucharist for Filipinos every Sunday.

Unlike in the colonial past when most of the churchgoers were westerners, St John's Cathedral now gathers people of different social and cultural backgrounds. “It is the Lord who tells us that all people are welcomed here,” Fung said.

At present, the number of Protestants and Catholics in Hong Kong accounts for about seven per cent of the city's population. The Christian figure has been stable, according to Lai Pan-chiu, chairman and professor of the cultural and religious studies department at the Chinese University .

However, the worshipping places of churches or congregations are no longer confined to traditional church buildings.

Lai noted that some religious organisations bought deserted old cinemas to rebuild them into churches. Other communions turned flats in business or residential areas into halls for religious services to save costs.

The ways of worshipping and preaching have also been updated to keep up with the modern lifestyle and technological development. Some churches use PowerPoint presentations to preach. Hymns now are shorter and some are sung in a rock style. “There are a lot more varieties in the forms of worshipping nowadays,” Lai said.

However, not all believers adapt to the new ways. “I am not accustomed to the modern churches after coming here,” said Fung at St John's Cathedral. She said she preferred the solemn services at the cathedral, although she respected the trendy style of praying and praising God, such as in the form of dancing.

St John's Cathedral, in fact, has its own forms of praise too. There are music concerts during lunchtimes and evenings. The Wednesday lunchtime recitals have been going on to promote local performing arts since 1970.

Surviving and witnessing all the changes in the city, the cathedral remains steadfast in its religious mission. It offers various social services to the community and the underprivileged. For example, it has units to look after migrant workers in Hong Kong , especially those workers who are being abused by employers. “We fight for social injustice,” Cox said.

The cathedral has a non-profit making and community-based HIV education centre that aims at raising public awareness towards AIDS, and a shop called Castaways, which sells donated second-hand clothes, with all the profits going to the cathedral's charities.