St John’s Cathedral

Do you know the land where St. John’s Cathedral sits on is the only piece of land in Hong Kong island that is not owned by the Hong Kong government? While all other land on this island are government-​owned and on lease to the users (when it is said that a developer ‘bought’ a piece of land, it only bought the using right to the land, within a certain period of time), this piece of land is actually under freehold, i.e. the using right is forever belonging to the owner.
On this land is the declared monument (declared in 1996), St. John’s Cathedral built in 1847, being the second oldest building remaining in Hong Kong. It was built in the Gothic Revival style, though mainly unadorned and built with local labour of the time. It was used as a Club for the Japanese during Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong from 1941 – 1945, during which much of its original fittings were taken down, including its original stained glass designed by William Morris, an English firm. One notable thing is that it is believed that the current wooden main door is made out of the wood from the HMS Tamer ship wreck, sunken during the war.

Despise the recent senseless statements made by the arch bishop of the Hong Kong Anglican Church, I was brought up in a christian school under this church. As many christian schools often do, we had 2 mass services throughout the year during Christmas and ascension day; we would gather in this cathedral and sing hymns pray and worship, you can say it’s basically the same stuffs you do during your ordinary Sunday worships, but it was a lot more elaborated.
I still remember going to the cathedral the first time in my first year of secondary school and was totally impressed by the splendor and glamour of this piece of colonial architecture; the stain glass, the super tall ceiling everything seems so sacred and holy. It gives that religious feeling and inner calmness that no other modern day churches could provide.
Several years later, I have got into the choir and was able to sit behind the altar; it was a totally different view point. The spaciousness and the openness of the cathedral is beyond compare; last but certainly not least, there is an organ sitting at the corner next to the alter, when the music starts playing, boy you will start to grasp the true meaning of soul cleansing.
Christmas service has always been more enjoyable than the Ascension day one mostly due to the weather. There are little to no air conditioning in here; seriously who would expect air conditioning from a building that stood over 150 years? During Christmas, the cathedral helps to shield off the bitter cold outside which make the whole experience more warm and cozy, whereas during ascension day, it would be in the middle of summer, the fans that hanging from the ceiling do little in cooling down the temperature and the entire service is conducted in this stuffy, almost enclosed area. No wonder students at my times do not particularly enjoy the services.
Truth be told, I have always wanted to join the pianist chamber of my secondary school so that I could have to chance to play on the organ. I see playing the toccata and fugue of Bach from a real organ instead of a piano as a major achievement in life yet this has unfortunately remained as a far fetched hope that has never been achieved.
So my secondary school years have been a long ago past and I have not been to this cathedral for 7 years. However, this is always a place where my fond memories lie, good old secondary school days.