|
|
|
|
|
| |
DIOCESE |
|
| |
The history of the Protestant Missions in South Kerala
begins with the arrival of William Tobias Ringeltaube on 25
April 1806 at Mylaudy near Cape Comorin. As missionary work
was already started in Tranquebar, a Danish colony,
Ringeltaube travelling in a Danish ship arrived at
Tranquebar, invited by Vedamanikan Maharasan the first
convert from this region. Travancore was then a native state
under British protection ruled by its Maharaja. It was with
great difficulty and largely through the intervention of the
British Resident in Travancore, Colin Macaulay, that
Ringeltaube obtained permission to construct a Church at
Mylaudy. In May 1809 the foundation stone was laid for the
Church. The construction of a modest structure was dedicated
in September that year. The Mylaudy Church was the first
protestant church built in the erstwhile princely state of
Travancore, and it formed the nucleus of the
present South Kerala Dioceses of Kanayakumari and South
Kerala.
The South India United Church (SIUC) was inaugurated on 25
July 1908 at Davidson Street Church, Madras, uniting the
Congregational and Presbyterian Churches in South India. It
consisted of 9 church councils: Travancore, Madurai, Jaffna,
North Tamil (Coimbatore), Kanara, Telugu, Madras, Arcot and
Malabar. The South Travancore diocese was formed from the
South Travancore Church Council when the SIUC united with
the Anglican and Methodist Churches to form the CSI in 1947.
The Rt. Rev. A. H. Legg, the last LMS missionary stationed
here, was consecrated our first bishop at St. George's
Cathedral, Madras on 27th September 1947 and his
installation in the diocese was held at Trivandrum on 13th
October of that year.
In 1959, the diocese was bifurcated into South Kerala and
Kanyakumari dioceses, with Rt. Rev. Legg continuing as
bishop of South Kerala. The succeeding bishops are:
Rt. Rev. William Paul Vachalan (1967-1972)
Rt. Rev. I. Jesudasan (1973-1990)
Rt. Rev. Dr. Samuel Amirtham (1990-1997)
Rt. Rev. Dr. J. W. Gladstone (1997-2011)
Rt.Rev.Dharmaraj Rasalam (2011-2023)
| |
|
|
| |
SYNOD |
|
| |
In 1919, representatives of the SIUC, the Anglican Church
and the Methodist Church met at the New Jerusalem Church in
Tranquebar (built by Ziegenbalg in 1717 - 18) and drafted
the Tranquebar declaration, a manifesto for Church union.
The Lutherans initially participated but backed out. The
Anglicans negotiated on the basis of the Lambeth
Quadrilateral, a four fold basis of union adopted at the
1888 Lambeth conference: the Scriptures as the ultimate
standard of faith, the tow Creeds Apostles' and Nicene, the
two sacraments of baptism and the Lord\92s Supper, and
recognition of the historic episcopate. After several
decades of negotiations , the General Assembly of the SIUC
at Tambaram in 1946 approved the scheme of union. The Church
of South India was inaugurated on 27th September 1947. It
was for the first time in Church history that non-episcopal
Churches such as the Congregational and Presbyterian
Churches had formed a union with Episcopal Churches such as
the Anglican and Methodist Churches. The principle followed
was not `absorption' (of the other Churches into say, the
Anglican tradition) but `comprehension' (of various
traditions into a comprehensive union). It initially had 14
dioceses, which by bifurcation or addition have grown to 22
dioceses. The original 14 dioceses were formed by the union
of the aforementioned nine Church Councils of the SIUC; the
South India province (Madras, Trichinopoly, Hyderabad and
Mysore districts) of the Methodist Church; and the Madras,
Dornakal, Tinnevelly and Travancore-Cochin dioceses of the
Church of India, Burma and Ceylon (Anglican Church). The
SIUC met for its last General Assembly at Tambaram on 26th
September 1947 and dissolved itself. Thus in 1947, the
Travanore Church Council of the SIUC became the South
Travancore diocese of the CSI (the Church Council and
Mission Council were finally amalgamated into the Diocesan
council), and its President, Rev A.H Legg, was elevated as
bishop. On 2nd June, 1959, the diocese was bifurcated into
the South Kerala and Kanya Kumari Dioceses. It is noteworthy
that these dioceses, though they accepted episcopacy, do not
have cathedrals. Incidentally, the CSI, while accepting `the
historic episcopate in a constitutional form' as part of the
basis of union, specified that the bishop is "called to feed
the flock of God... Not as lord either in act or title, but
an example to the flock." This means that the concept of
bishop as lord or monarch (thirumeni) was not envisaged in
the basis of union. The dioceses of the CSI send
representatives to the Synod (the bishops are members
ex-officio), which meets every two years and elects a
moderator from the bishops.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
But even if you
should suffer for what is right, you are
blessed. "Do not fear what they fear ; do not be
frightened." Take Courage
1 Peter 3:14
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
