The Church of South India (CSI) is a
united Protestant Church in
India. It is the result of union of a number of
mainline Protestant denominations in
South India after independence.
The Church of South India is the successor of a number of Protestant denominations in India, including the
Church of England;
Church of India, Burma and Ceylon
The Church of India, Burma and Ceylon (CIBC) was the autonomous ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in British India.
The first Anglican diocese in India was established in 1813, the Diocese of Calcutta, which became the metropol ...
(
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
); the
United Church of Christ (
Congregationalist); the
British Methodist Church; and the
Church of Scotland after
Indian Independence. It combined the South India United Church (union of the British
Congregationalists
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
and the British
Presbyterians); the then 14 Anglican dioceses of South India and one in Sri Lanka; and the South Indian District of the
Methodist church
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
.
The Church of South India is a member of the
Anglican Communion,
World Methodist Council and
World Communion of Reformed Churches.
It is one of four
united Protestant churches in the Anglican Communion, World Methodist Council and World Communion of Reformed Churches, with the others being the
Church of North India
The Church of North India (CNI) is the dominant united Protestant church in northern India. It was established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together the Protestant churches working in northern India. It is a province of the worldwide Anglica ...
, the
Church of Pakistan, and the
Church of Bangladesh.
The inspiration for the Church of South India came from
ecumenism
Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
and the words of
Jesus Christ as recorded in the
Gospel of John (
17.21). Just like the
United Church of Christ (
Congregationalist), one of their forebearer denominations, their motto is:
"That they all may be one" is also the motto of the Church of South India.
With a membership of nearly four million,
it is the second-largest
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
church based on the number of members in India.
History
Origins
Four different church traditions were brought together in the CSI; Anglican, 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 18th century.
The Church of South India Scheme was the first practical attempt of its kind toward a union, on the basis of the following points enunciated in the
Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral:
* The Holy Scripture of the Old and the New Testaments as containing all things necessary to salvation and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.
* The Apostles' Creed as the Baptismal Symbol and the Nicene Creed as sufficient statement of the Christian faith.
* The two sacraments, ordained by Christ Himself — Baptism and the Supper of the Lord — ministered with the unfailing use of Christ's words of Institution and elements ordained by Him.
* The
Historic Episcopate
The historic or historical episcopate comprises all episcopates, that is, it is the collective body of all the bishops of a church who are in valid apostolic succession. This succession is transmitted from each bishop to their successors by the ...
, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying need of the nations and people called of God into the union of His Church.
The first three points could be accepted without any controversial question. But the fourth became contentious, as the Anglican Church maintained
episcopal polity within the
historical episcopate and believed that all its bishops and priests could trace an unbroken line of succession from
St. Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupation ...
; whereas the rest of the churches in the negotiations conformed to other