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The Church of South India (CSI) came
into being in 1947 based on a formalized union of various church traditions
being practiced in
India, including the Anglican, Presbyterian,
Methodist and Episcopal traditions.
The CSI has around 4 million members and 14 000 congregations in 21 dioceses. It
also CSI runs 2000 schools, 130 colleges and 104 hospitals. In the 1960s, the
Church became conscious of its social responsibility and started organizing
rural development projects. There are more than 50 such projects all over
India, 50 training centers for young people,
and 500 residential hostels for a total of 35,000 children.
CSI History
(Excerpt from A
Brief History and Interpretation
By J. Russell Chandran)
When the Church of South India (CSI) was
formed on 27th September 1947, it was acclaimed as the most
significant event in the Church Union movement in
India, because for the first time after
centuries of historic divisions, churches with Episcopal and non Episcopal
ministries were brought together in a united Episcopal church.
Four different church traditions had been brought
together in the CSI, namely, Anglican (Episcopal), Congregational,
Presbyterian and Methodist. All these churches had been established in
India through the missionary work of churches in Europe,
America and
Australia, which had started their work in
India at different periods from the beginning
of the eighteenth century.
The Anglican Church was established through the
work of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) and the Society for the Propagation
of the Gospel (SPG), both closely linked with the Church of England. The
congregational churches were established through the missionary activities of
the London Missionary with missionaries from
Great Britain and
Australia, and the American Board of
Commissioners of foreign Missions (ABCFM) ). The Presbyterian Churches through
the work of the Church of Scotland Mission, the Dutch Reformed Church in
America and the Basel Mission in
Switzerland and
Germany. They also had Connections with the
Presbyterian Churches in
England and
Australia. The
Methodist
Church was established by the Methodist Missionary Society of
the
Methodist
Church in Great Biitain.
With the growth of
nationalism during the latter part of the
19th century, there developed among Indian Christians also a concern for
self-reliance and independence. There was further the growing awareness that the
divisions among the churches in
India were not the making of Christians in
India, but brought by the different missions
from abroad. Several efforts were made to bring about a united, indigenous
Christian church in
India free from dependence on denominational
links with churches in the west. None of these had lasting results.
However, faced with the challenge of the mission
frontier and the necessity of better credibility, the churches themselves began
to be increasingly aware of the scandal of disunity and sought ways of
overcoming it. As a result, different kinds of mergers or unions among churches
were beginning to take place. In October 1901, a Federal Union took place
between the Presbyterian missions in South India, the United Free Church of
Scotland Mission, the American Arcot Mission of the American Dutch Reformed
Church and the Base] Mission. In 1904, the Congregational churches of the London
Missionary Society in South India and the Congregational churches of the
American Board Missions in South India and
Jaffna came together in a Federal Union. In 1908, these
two bodies, the Presbyterian and the Congregational, came together to form the
South
India
United
Church (S.I.U. C.).
Following the International Missionary Conference
held at
Edinburgh in 1910, there was even greater impetus for co
operation and union among churches. One of the direct consequences in
India of the Edinburgh Conference was the
formation of the National Missionary Council in 1914, (Which later became the
National Christian Council of Churches). The National Missionary Council
organized Regional Christian Councils. One of the objectives of the Regional
Christian Councils was the strengthening of the evangelistic outreach as a joint
or cooperative activity of all the churches. The experience of such joint
evangelistic programs of the Madras Regional Council led the churches to raise
the question afresh as to whether there was any valid reason for the churches to
remain divided when they had the same Gospel of Jesus Christ to proclaim in
their evangelistic mission. As a result of this realization, an informal meeting
of pastors of the Lutheran, Methodist, South India United Church, and Anglican
churches convened by the Rev. V.S. Azariah (later Bishop of Dornakal) and the
Rev. V. Santiago took place at Tranquebar. This conference issued a call
for union among the churches and a Joint Committee was set up for considering
negotiations for union The Lutherans did not join this committee and only the
other churches, the Anglicans, the Methodists, and the SIUC participated in the
negotiations, which followed. The first meeting of this committee was held in
1920 and following it many meetings were held to consider different issues,
until the churches could agree on a common basis for union.
Quite early in the negotiations it was agreed
that the Lambeth Quadrilateral could be a satisfactory basis for the union of
the churches. This meant that the four basic principles would be: (1) the Holy
Scriptures of the Old and New Testament as containing all things necessary to
salvation and as the supreme and decisive standard of faith; (2) the two creeds,
the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed as witnessing to and safeguarding this
faith; (3) the two Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and (4) the
ordained ministry with the historic episcopate.
The first three could be accepted without any
controversial question. But the fourth became problematic because of the fact
that while the Anglican Church had the historic episcopate, and all its
ministers were ordained by the Episcopal laying on of hands, the other churches
in the negotiations did not have an Episcopalian ordained ministry. Finally, an
agreement was reached that in so far as God had blessed all the ministries with
undistinguishing regard, all who were already ordained in any of the uniting
churches would be received as ministers in the United Church and that all new
ordinations would be by Episcopal laying on of hands.
It took about 20 years to reach the
agreement. It took a few more years for the churches to take their formal
decisions accepting the scheme of union. The Methodists gave their vote in 1941.
In 1945, the General Council of the
Church of
India,
Burma and
Ceylon (the Anglican Church) gave their consent for the
four Anglican dioceses in
South India to go into the union. In 1946, the General Assembly of
the
South
India
United
Church decided to accept the scheme. These decisions
made it possible for the
Church of
South India to be inaugurated on 27th September
1947.
(b) Membership
At the time of inauguration the total membership
of the CSI was a little over one million, made up as follows: Methodists
220,000, SIUC 290,000, and Anglicans 500,000. At present the total membership is
over 1,500,000.
The CSI practices infant baptism for children
born in Christian homes. For others, believers' (or adult) baptism is given.
Baptized children are members of the church and share in the privileges and
obligations of membership so far as they are capable of doing so. The full
privileges and obligations belong to those who, after attaining to years of
discretion, receive confirmation of their baptism. Normally, members are
confirmed by the laying on of hands by a bishop. Confirmation may also be given
by a presbyter authorized to do so.
(c) Ordained Ministry The ordained ministry of the church conforms to the
traditional pattern of the threefold ministry of bishops, presbyters and
deacons. At the beginning only men could be ordained to the ministry. But the
consideration of the role of women in the ministry has led the church to decide
in favour of ordaining women also. In 1970 it was decided to admit women for
ordination as deacons. from 1982, ordination to the presbyterate is also
possible for women.
d) Administrative Structure
The administrative structure of the CSI consists
of 21 dioceses. The following are the Dioceses:
Diocese
Headquarters
1.
Coimbatore
Coimbatore
2. Dornakal
Dornakal
3. East
Kerala
Melukavumattom
4. Jaffna
Vaddukoddai,
Sri Lanka
5. Kanyakumari
Nagercoil
6. Karimnagar
Karimnagar
7. Karnataka Central
Bangalore
8. Karnataka North
Dharwar
9. Karnataka South
Mangalore
10. Krishna-Godavari Vijayawada
11.
Madhya Kerala
Kottayam
12. Madras
Madras
13. Madurai-Ramnad
Madurai
14. Medak
Medak
15. Nandyal
Nandyal
16.
North Kerala
Shoranur
17. Rayalaseema
Anantapur
18. South Kerala
Trivandrum
19. Tiruchirapalli-Thanjavur Tiruchirapalli
20.
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli
21.
Vellore
Vellore
Each diocese has a bishop. A Diocesan Council,
consisting of all presbyters in active service and lay representatives of
congregations and presided over by the bishop, forms the policy making body for
the whole church and meets once in two years. The presiding Bishop of the Synod
is called the Moderator and is elected normally to hold office for two years. He
is the administrative head of the CSI.
(e) Headquarters
The headquarters of the Church is located at
Madras.
(f) Missions and Committee,
For proper guidance of the life and work of the
Church the CSI Synod has set up various Commissions and Committees. The
following are some of the important ones:
(1) Ministerial Committee:
which deals with issues relating to the ordained
ministry.
(ii) Theological Commission:
which deals with questions relating to the faith
of the Church.
(iii) Liturgy Committee:
for advising the Church on matters relating to
worship and orders of service for different occasions.
(iv)
Board of
Mission and Evangelism:
for promoting missionary outreach both within the
CSI area and outside.
(v) Union Negotiations Committee:
for negotiations with other churches towards
wider union.
(vi) Commission on Political Questions:
for considering issues of justice and peace from
the perspective of the Church's witness to the Gospel.
(g) Order of Women and Women's
Fellowship
Soon after the inauguration of the CSI, a
religious Order for Women was organized under the leadership and initiative of
Sister Carol Graham who had been a deaconess of the Anglican Church before
Church Union. The Order of Women has both active members and associate members.
The active members take a vow of celibacy and are committed to observe a rule of
life and are engaged in some form of full time Christian service.
In order to promote the participation of women in
the life and mission of the Church, a volunteer Women's Fellowship has been
organized. For both the Women's Order and the Women's Fellowship, Vishranti
Nilayam at
Bangalore is the Headquarters.
(h) Theological Education
The
Church of
South India supports five theological colleges in South India,
the
United
Theological
College,
Bangalore,
Andhra
Christian
Theological
College in Secunderabad, Tamilnadu Theological Seminary at
Madurai,
Kerala
United
Theological
College at
Trivandrum and the
Karnataka
Theological
College at Mangalore. Candidates for the ministry
are normally trained in one or other of these theological colleges.
(i)
Mission and Evangelism
Apart from the evangelistic work of the different
dioceses within their own respective areas, some dioceses also have missionary
outreach in the areas of other dioceses. The Indian Missionary Society,
organised by the members of the Tirunelveli Diocese, continues to work in
Dornakal Diocese among tribals, Hindus and Moslems. South Kerala Diocese is
supporting a missionary in Nirmal Mission in Medak Diocese. The Madurai Ramnad
Diocese also is participating in this mission.
It has also opened another mission field at
Etturnagararn in Karimnagar Diocese. The Madhya Kerala Diocesan Youth Fellowship
has missionary work in the Parkal area of Andhra Pradesh. The CSI also has an
overseas missionary programme. The first missionaries under the Synod auspices
were sent to Papua. The Rev. and Mrs. Satya Joseph were the first CSI
missionaries to Papua. When the continuance of this mission was prevented by
legal impediments imposed by
Australia, it was decided to send missionaries to
Thailand to work in co-operation with the United Church of
Christ in
Thailand. The Rev. and Mrs. Paul Manickam were
sent as the CSI missionaries. After the death of the Rev. Paul Manickam, Mrs.
Manickam is continuing as a CSI missionary.
(j) Enrichment through
Union
Even though each of the uniting churches ceased
to exist, the experience has been one of death and resurrection to a life
greatly enriched through the
Union. According to the Governing Principles, "For the perfecting of
the life of the whole body, the Church of South India needs the heritage of each
of the uniting churches, and each of those churches will, it is hoped, not lose
the continuity of its own life but preserve that life enriched by the union with
itself of the other two churches. The
Church of
South India is thus formed by a combination of
different elements, each bringing its contribution to the whole, and not by the
absorption of any one by any other. It is therefore, a comprehensive church".
The
Church of
South India has in its life sought to preserve whatever was
regarded as valuable for the
Universal
Church in the Anglican, Congregational, Presbyterian
and Methodist traditions. It is also the intention of the
Church of
South India to conserve
all that is of spiritual value in its
Indian heritage, to express under Indian conditions and in Indian forms the
spirit, the thought and the life of the Church Universal".
(k) Liturgical Developments
The CSI Synod Liturgical Committee has developed
several new orders for worship for different occasions. The order for the
Communion Service known as the CSI Liturgy has been internationally acclaimed as
an important model for new liturgies. The Committee has also produced three
different cycles for lectionaries for daily Bible readings and "propers" and
collects for Communion services. The different orders of service are put
together in a Book of Common Worship. In addition, the Committee has also
brought out a Supplement to the Book of Common Worship.
(1) Ecumenical Relations
The
Church of
South India has been a member of the World Council
of Churches from the beginning and is represented in several of its important
committees and commissions, particularly in the Central Committee and the. Faith
and Order Commission. The CSI also participates in the World Reformed Alliance,
the Wider Episcopal Fellowship, the Lambeth Conference, etc.
(m) Wider
Union
In the constitution of the CSI in 'the section on
Governing Principles under the heading: "The Purpose and Nature of the Union" it
is said that "in every effort to bring together divided members of Christ's Body
into one organization, the final aim must be the union in the Universal Church
of all who acknowledge the name of Christ., and that the test of
all
local schemes of union is that they should
express locally the principle of the great catholic unity of the Body of
Christ". Because of this conviction at the very first meeting of the Synod of
the CSI, it was decided to send an invitation to all other churches in
South India for joining in negotiations for wider union. The
Baptists and Lutherans accepted the invitation and Joint Theological
conversations were started. The Baptists withdrew after one meeting. But the
CSI-Lutheran Joint Theological conversations continued and as a result of their
recommendations a Joint Inter-Church Commission was set up in 1956, for working
out a plan for a united church. This Commission drew up a constitution for a
united Episcopal church in which the CSI and the five Lutheran churches in South
India will come together under the name of The Church of Christ in
South India.
No definite action has been taken yet for
implementing the plan. Meantime the CSI has also had conversations with the
Baptists and Methodists. When the negotiations for the Church of North India
were going on, there was an understanding that as soon as it was inaugurated the
Church of
South India and the
Church of
North India would establish relationships of full communion With
each other and start conversations towards union for becoming a united church
for the whole of
India.
Excerpt from
A Brief History and Interpretation
By J.
Russell Chandran
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