Key facts
- An ancient tradition links the apostle Thomas to Taxila in the first century. Historians say there is no direct evidence, but the Taxila Cross is now the emblem of the Church of Pakistan.
- Jesuits from Goa built the first Catholic church in Lahore in the 1590s, with Emperor Akbar’s permission.
- Most of Pakistan’s Christians today descend from families who joined the church during Punjab’s mass movement (1868 to 1931), largely from the Chuhra community.
- At Partition in 1947, Christian members of the Punjab Assembly, led by S.P. Singha, voted for West Punjab to join Pakistan.
- The Church of Pakistan was formed in 1970 by Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran and Presbyterian churches. The 2023 census counted about 3.3 million Christians.
Christians are one of Pakistan’s largest religious minorities, and their roots in the land run deep. Many visitors and donors assume Christianity arrived only with the British. In fact, the story includes an ancient legend, a Mughal-era church, a 19th-century grassroots movement and a role in the creation of Pakistan itself.
This article traces that history in clear stages. It draws on church records, university research and historical accounts, and notes where tradition and evidence differ.
Did St Thomas bring Christianity to Taxila?
The oldest story connects Christianity in this region to Taxila, near today’s Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The Acts of Thomas, a Syriac text from the third century, says the apostle Thomas travelled to the court of King Gondophares in Gandhara. Gondophares was a real ruler: coins bearing his name were found in 1834.
A small cross with four equal arms was found by a farmer ploughing near Sirkap, the ancient city at Taxila. In 1935 it was moved to the Cathedral Church of the Resurrection in Lahore. Today the Taxila Cross is the emblem of the Church of Pakistan, and Christians hold a pilgrimage at Sirkap on 3 July each year.
The Friday Times notes that no direct material evidence has confirmed Thomas’s presence in Taxila, and many historians consider the account a legend. Even so, the tradition matters to Pakistani Christians because it ties their faith to the land’s ancient past.
Jesuits at the Mughal court
Firmer history begins in the Mughal era. Emperor Akbar invited Jesuit priests from Portuguese Goa to his court to discuss religion. With his permission, the Jesuits built a Catholic church in Lahore around 1597, the first in Punjab. Former bishop Michael Nazir-Ali writes that it stood near the Roshnai Gate and was funded in part by Prince Salim, the future Emperor Jahangir. The church was later demolished.
This early Catholic presence was small and centred on the court. It did not create a lasting local community, but it shows that Christianity had a place in Lahore’s history long before British rule.
Missions in the 19th century
As British rule spread across Punjab in the mid-19th century, Protestant missionaries arrived in larger numbers. Charles William Forman, an American Presbyterian, reached Lahore in 1849. In 1864 his mission opened the Lahore Mission College, renamed Forman Christian College after his death in 1894.
Anglican work grew at the same time. Thomas Valpy French opened Divinity College in Lahore in 1870 and became the first Anglican Bishop of Lahore in 1877. Church Missionary Society missionaries worked as far west as Peshawar. Schools, colleges and hospitals from this period still shape Christian life in Pakistan.
The Punjab mass movement (1868 to 1931)
The biggest change came not from missionaries but from villagers. A study in the Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization describes the Chuhra mass movement of 1868 to 1931 as the event that shaped the demographic and social structure of Pakistan’s Christian community.
The movement is often traced to one man. Ditt, a collector of animal hides from a village about 30 miles from Sialkot, was brought to faith by Nattu Lal, a convert baptised in 1872. Nattu took Ditt to missionary Samuel Martin in Sialkot, who baptised him. Ditt then returned to his village. Over the following decades, very large numbers of families from the same community became Christian.
Census figures show the scale. Christians in the areas that now form Pakistan numbered about 59,000 in 1901 and about 433,000 by 1941. Today an estimated 90 to 95% of Pakistani Christians trace their roots to the Chuhra community, which had long faced caste discrimination. The same study notes that after Partition, land loss and limited jobs pushed many Christians further into sanitation work.
Christians at Partition in 1947
Christian leaders backed the creation of Pakistan. According to Michael Nazir-Ali, when the Punjab Assembly voted in 1947 on whether West Punjab should join Pakistan, the vote was tied 88 to 88. The three Christian members, S.P. Singha, Fazal Ilahi and C.E. Gibbon, voted in favour of Pakistan.
Partition also brought a humanitarian crisis. At Forman Christian College, two dormitories were turned into refugee hospitals, which later led to the founding of the United Christian Hospital in Lahore.
Forming the Church of Pakistan
In 1972 the government nationalised private schools and colleges, including many run by churches. Forman Christian College became a government college until it was handed back to the Presbyterian Church in March 2003.
Meanwhile, Protestant churches moved towards unity. On All Saints Day in 1970, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran and Scottish Presbyterian churches united as the Church of Pakistan. It started with four dioceses: Karachi, Multan, Lahore and Sialkot. Four more were created in 1980: Hyderabad, Raiwind, Faisalabad and Peshawar. Its current moderator, Bishop Azad Marshall, was elected in 2021. The Catholic Church is not part of this union and has its own dioceses.
Timeline of Christianity in Pakistan
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 3rd century | Acts of Thomas places the apostle at Gondophares’ court |
| c. 1597 | Jesuits build the first Catholic church in Lahore |
| 1849 | Charles Forman reaches Lahore |
| 1864 | Lahore Mission College (later Forman Christian College) opens |
| 1868 to 1931 | Mass movement in Punjab |
| 1935 | Taxila Cross moved to Lahore Cathedral |
| 1947 | Christian members vote for West Punjab to join Pakistan |
| 1970 | Church of Pakistan formed |
| 1972 | Church schools and colleges nationalised |
| 2023 | Census counts about 3.3 million Christians |
Christianity in Pakistan today
The 2023 census recorded about 3.3 million Christians, or roughly 1.37% of the population. Most live in Punjab. For the numbers by province and city, read our article on the Christian population in Pakistan.
The community’s history explains both its strengths and its challenges. Christians built some of Pakistan’s best known schools, colleges and hospitals. At the same time, many families still face poverty and limited job options linked to old caste prejudice.
How CSIF connects to this work
CSIF was founded in Rawalpindi, a short drive from Taxila, to help Pakistani Christians write the next chapter of this story through skills and enterprise. Through the Christian Youth Startup Fund and the Future Founders Club, young people learn to build ventures instead of depending on low-paid work. Through Christian Women Entrepreneurs, women grow home-based and digital businesses.
To see the historic buildings this history left behind, read our guide to famous churches in Pakistan. Churches, foundations and companies abroad who want to stand with this community can partner with us.
