St. John’s Parish Church - a historical perspective
Of all the old historical churches in Barbados, St. John’s Parish Church is probably the most popular with tourists primarily because of its spectacular setting. Located in the eastern parish of St. John, this classical gothic church is perched on a cliff with commanding views of the Atlantic Coast
St. John’s Parish Church dates back to 1836, replacing a stone version of the church which was destroyed by a hurricane in 1831. Located in the rear of the church is a cemetery populated with the expansive gravesites of members of the white aristocracy and plantocracy of the mid 19th to early 20th century. Buried on these hallowed grounds is Ferdinand Paleologus, a descendent of the last great Greek Emperor. Paleologus emigrated to Barbados and died there in 1678. In contrast to this “high rent burial ground for the dead” with its elaborate vaults and mausoleums is the cemetery for the lower classes, located directly across the street from the church. In this ‘other cemetery”, simple, bare bones gravesites are the norm for the ex -Africans slaves and their descendants who lie buried there. These separate burial grounds for the whites and the blacks are reflective of the social structure of those earlier days. In modern day Barbados, social and economic barriers have been removed allowing everybody, both and black and white, an opportunity to advance and better themselves. In today’s Barbados, money and privilege have no color.
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