Esther John
Encyclopedia
Esther John (Urdu
: ) was a Pakistani Christian nurse who was allegedly killed by a Muslim radical. Since her death she was honored by the Anglican church among ten notable Christian martyrs of the twentieth century demonstrated in a series of statues above one of the doorways of Westminster Abbey
.
: ) on 14th of the December 1929 in British India. During her education in Missionary she studied Christianity. During Reading of The Book of Isaiah
she left Islam
and adopted Christianity
. She faced many problems from her family, who migrated to newly born Pakistan
in 1947. She had to leave her home and family and move to Chichawatni
. Here she started welfare work, and was very famous in the area. She was found dead on 2nd of February, 1960.
A statue to Esther John was unveiled in July 1998 and stands above the west entrance to the Abbey.
"In an age where conversion to a new faith provokes fear and hatred
"Leave all other ties, Jesus is calling."
ESTHER JOHN was born Qamar Zia, on 14 October 1929, one of seven children. As a child she attended a government school and, after the age of seventeen, a Christian school. There she was profoundly moved by the transparent faith of one of her teachers, and she began to read the Bible earnestly. It was when reading the 53rd chapter of Isaiah that she was suddenly overtaken by a sense of conversion to this new religion.
When India was partitioned Qamar Zia moved with her family into the new state of Pakistan. Here she made contact with a missionary, Marian Laugesen in Karachi. Laugesen, at her request, passed on to her a New Testament. Her Christian faith grew privately, even secretly. Then, seven years later, she ran away from home, fearful of the prospect of marriage to a Muslim husband. She found her way back to Laugesen in Karachi.
For a while Qamar Zia worked in an orphanage there, and it was at this time that she took the name Esther John. Her family still pressed her to return and to marry, but on 30 June 1955 she took a train north to Sahiwal, in the Punjab. Here she lived and worked in a mission hospital, stayed with the first Anglican bishop of Karachi, Chandu Ray, and celebrated her first Christmas. Finding a vocation to teach, she entered the United Bible Training Centre in Gujranwala in September 1956. In April 1959 she completed her studies there and moved to Chichawatni, some thirty miles from Sahiwal, living with Associate Reformed Presbyterian missionaries Dr. and Mrs. Bonner Dale White. She evangelized in the villages, travelling from one to the other by bicycle, teaching women to read and working with them in the cotton fields. At times her relationship with her distant and perplexed family appeared calm; at others anxiety and tension brewed.
Her death was sudden and mysterious. On 2 February 1960 Esther John was found dead in her bed at the house where she lived at Chichawatni. She had been brutally murdered.
Her body was taken to the Christian cemetery at Sahiwal and buried. Later, a memorial chapel was built in front of the nurse's home in the grounds of the hospital there. Today, Esther John is remembered with devotion by the Christian community with whom she lived and worked"
The list of ten martyrs is given below:
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
: ) was a Pakistani Christian nurse who was allegedly killed by a Muslim radical. Since her death she was honored by the Anglican church among ten notable Christian martyrs of the twentieth century demonstrated in a series of statues above one of the doorways of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.
Brief
She was born Qamar Zia (UrduUrdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
: ) on 14th of the December 1929 in British India. During her education in Missionary she studied Christianity. During Reading of The Book of Isaiah
Isaiah
Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...
she left Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and adopted Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. She faced many problems from her family, who migrated to newly born Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in 1947. She had to leave her home and family and move to Chichawatni
Chichawatni
Chichawatni is a town in the Sahiwal District of the Pakistani province of Punjab. Situated near the Grand Trunk Road, it lies approximately from Sahiwal, the district capital.-Etymology:...
. Here she started welfare work, and was very famous in the area. She was found dead on 2nd of February, 1960.
- Ten 20th century Christian martyrMartyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
s from across the world are depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster AbbeyWestminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Unveiled in 1998 by Her Majesty The Queen of UK. She was also chosen in ten martyrs.
A statue to Esther John was unveiled in July 1998 and stands above the west entrance to the Abbey.
"In an age where conversion to a new faith provokes fear and hatred
"Leave all other ties, Jesus is calling."
ESTHER JOHN was born Qamar Zia, on 14 October 1929, one of seven children. As a child she attended a government school and, after the age of seventeen, a Christian school. There she was profoundly moved by the transparent faith of one of her teachers, and she began to read the Bible earnestly. It was when reading the 53rd chapter of Isaiah that she was suddenly overtaken by a sense of conversion to this new religion.
When India was partitioned Qamar Zia moved with her family into the new state of Pakistan. Here she made contact with a missionary, Marian Laugesen in Karachi. Laugesen, at her request, passed on to her a New Testament. Her Christian faith grew privately, even secretly. Then, seven years later, she ran away from home, fearful of the prospect of marriage to a Muslim husband. She found her way back to Laugesen in Karachi.
For a while Qamar Zia worked in an orphanage there, and it was at this time that she took the name Esther John. Her family still pressed her to return and to marry, but on 30 June 1955 she took a train north to Sahiwal, in the Punjab. Here she lived and worked in a mission hospital, stayed with the first Anglican bishop of Karachi, Chandu Ray, and celebrated her first Christmas. Finding a vocation to teach, she entered the United Bible Training Centre in Gujranwala in September 1956. In April 1959 she completed her studies there and moved to Chichawatni, some thirty miles from Sahiwal, living with Associate Reformed Presbyterian missionaries Dr. and Mrs. Bonner Dale White. She evangelized in the villages, travelling from one to the other by bicycle, teaching women to read and working with them in the cotton fields. At times her relationship with her distant and perplexed family appeared calm; at others anxiety and tension brewed.
Her death was sudden and mysterious. On 2 February 1960 Esther John was found dead in her bed at the house where she lived at Chichawatni. She had been brutally murdered.
Her body was taken to the Christian cemetery at Sahiwal and buried. Later, a memorial chapel was built in front of the nurse's home in the grounds of the hospital there. Today, Esther John is remembered with devotion by the Christian community with whom she lived and worked"
The list of ten martyrs is given below:
-
- St. Maximilian KolbeMaximilian KolbeSaint Maximilian Maria Kolbe OFM Conv was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar, who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the Nazi German concentration camp of Auschwitz, located in German-occupied Poland during World War II.He was canonized on 10 October 1982 by Pope John Paul II, and...
- Manche MasemolaManche MasemolaManche Masemola is a Christian martyr, of the Pedi tribe, who lived in Marishane, a small village near Pietersburg, in South Africa...
- Janani LuwumJanani LuwumJanani Jakaliya Luwum , was the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda from 1974 to 1977 and one of the most influential leaders of the modern church in Africa. He was murdered in 1977 by either Idi Amin personally or by Amin's henchmen.-Early life and career:Luwum was born in the village of Mucwini in...
- St Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia, Russian Grand Duchess
- Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
- Óscar RomeroÓscar RomeroÓscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was a bishop of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding Luis Chávez. He was assassinated on 24 March 1980....
- Dietrich BonhoefferDietrich BonhoefferDietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. He was involved in plans by members of the Abwehr to assassinate Adolf Hitler...
- Esther John
- Lucian TapiediLucian TapiediLucian Tapiedi was a Papuan Anglican teacher who was one of the "New Guinea Martyrs." The Martyrs were eight Anglican clergy, teachers, and medical missionaries killed by the Japanese in 1942 .-Early life:Tapiedi was born around 1921,“the nephew of a suspected sorcerer of Taupota...
- Wang ZhimingWang ZhimingWang Zhiming was a Miao pastor little known outside his home in Wuding County, Yunnan, China at the time of his execution on December 29, 1973. Since then, he has received two unique honors. In 1981, he became the only Christian martyr of the Cultural Revolution to have a monument erected at his...
- St. Maximilian Kolbe