In pics: Srinagar's oldest church, closed for decades, opens ahead of Christmas

The once buzzing church saw decline in number of worshippers in the early 1990s, when violence erupted in Kashmir. The minuscule Christian population in the Valley usually visit the Holy Family Catholic Church.

The Saint Lukes church - one of the oldest in Kashmir - opened for public on Thursday, three decades after it was shut down. The development comes days ahead of Christmas.

Christians offer prayers inside the Saint Lukes church in Srinagar, which opened for public on Thursday. (PTI Photo)

The church is located near the Chest Diseases Hospital on the foothills of the Shankaracharya hillock in Dalgate area of Srinagar. A prayer was held on Wednesday, a day before its official opening.

People walk past the St. Lukes Church in Srinagar ahead of its opening, on Wednesday. (AP Photo)

The renovation of 125-year-old church was undertaken by Jammu and Kashmir tourism department under the "Smart City" project.

Church official Kennedy David Rajan told news agency PTI that the Christian community is happy to see the Church being re-opened after its renovation.

Labourers engaged in the restoration work at Saint Lukes Church. (PTI Photo)

Grace Paljor, principal of a private school in Srinagar, said the community was glad that more than century-old church has been restored to its old glory, and prayers held there after three decades.

The once buzzing church saw decline in number of worshippers in the early 1990s, when violence erupted in Kashmir.

The Christian community holds prayers inside the Saint Lukes church. (PTI Photo)

The minuscule Christian population in the Valley usually visit the Holy Family Catholic Church, a Roman Catholic Church, at M A Road, and the one at Church Lane in Srinagar for Sunday mass and Christmas mass.

There are churches in Baramulla and Gulmarg as well in the valley.