The Diocese of Madras is a diocese of Church of South India in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

state of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

.The diocese is one among the 22 dioceses of Church of South India.

History

The year 1640 marks the beginning of the Diocese of Madras in the Church of South India, being the year of the founding of the city of Madras, and it was only in 1647 that a Chaplain of the merchant fleet of the East India Company came ashore to celebrate Holy Communion in a temporary chapel in the Fort St. George. With the consecration of the oldest Anglican Church on the east of the Suez Canal in 1680 in the precincts of the Fort, dedicated to St Mary the Blessed virgin, under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London, came established presence of the non-Roman Catholic Church in Madras. The next 150 years saw the growth of the Christian population in Madras. It became obvious that St Mary's Church in the Fort cannot serve the growing and spread-out Christian population. So in 1815 the Church of St George was built on the arterial road linking St Thomas Mount and Fort St George. On 28 October 1835 Daniel Corrie, the Archdeacon of Calcutta, was consecrated Bishop and installed in the Church of St George; it marked both the coming into being of the Diocese of Madras and the elevation of the parish Church to St George's Cathedral. In 1842, her jurisdiction was described as " Presidency of Madras; Ceylon".

About the Diocese

The Diocese of Madras consists of areas under Chennai (formerly Madras), Nellore, Chinglepet, North and South Arcot and the Tamil speaking areas of Chitoor district. It has around 80,000 members, with 120 presbyters. The diocese has 186 Pastorates and 1192 congregations.

Areas under Diocese of Madras

The Diocese of Madras is divided into four areas. *Madras North : 51 Pastorates and 140 congregations *Madras South : 49 Pastorates and 99 congregations *Central : 47 Pastorates and 592 congregations *Southern : 39 Pastorates and 361 congregations

Bishops of the Diocese

*1835–1837: Daniel Corrie *1837–1849: George Spencer *1849–1861: Thomas Dealtry *1861–1899: Frederick Gell *1899–1922: Henry Whitehead *1922–1941: Edward Waller *1941–1947:

Michael Hollis The Rt Rev Arthur Michael Hollis was an eminent Anglican clergyman in the mid 20th century. A member of a distinguished family, His father was George Arthur Hollis, bishop of Taunton, his brother Christopher Hollis MP and his father in law ...

*1947–1965: David Chellappa *1965–1974:

Lesslie Newbigin James Edward Lesslie Newbigin (8 December 1909 – 30 January 1998) was a British theologian, missiologist, missionary and author. Though originally ordained within the Church of Scotland, Newbigin spent much of his career serving as a mis ...

*1974–1990: Sundar Clarke *1990–1999: Masilamani Azariah (consecrated 2 January 1990) *1999–2014: Vedanayagam Devasahayam *2016–present: George Stephen Jayaraj

Notable churches of the Diocese

* St. George's Cathedral, Chennai The cathedral was built in 1815. St. George's occupies an important place in the history of Christianity in India. The architecture of St. George's Cathedral is renowned for its tall spire, pillars, marble statues, mural tablets and memorials inside. The Cathedral is a piece of architectural grandeur resting on a tier of steps.

References

External links

CSI Madras DioceseMemoirs of the first bishopCommunionDetails of the Cathedral
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madras Madras Religious organizations established in the 1640s Madras 1835 establishments in India Church of India, Burma and Ceylon