Bengali Christians

Bengali Christians ( bn, বাঙালি খ্রিস্টান) are adherents of Christianity among the Bengali people. Christianity took root in Bengal after the arrival of Portuguese voyagers in the 16th century. It witnessed further conversions among the Bengali upper-caste elite during the 19th century Bengali Renaissance.

Bengali Christians have made significant contributions to Bengali culture, commerce and society. The region is home to venerable Christian missionary institutions, including the Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa.

History

Christianity was established in Bengal by the Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century. Basilica of the Holy Rosary, Bandel is the first church known to have been constructed in 1599 at Hugli-Chuchura in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, India. Another is known to have been established from the historical records was in Ishwaripore, Jessore (erstwhile Chandecan) in 1600 under patronage of Pratapaditya which later was ransacked. Chittagong (erstwhile also referred to as Diang) with significant Portuguese and trading settlements had first hermitage and churches erected around this time. The Portuguese settlement in Chittagong hosted the first Vicar Apostolic in Bengal. The Portuguese from there moved to Arakan, where they would transport Hindu and Muslim slaves, about 42,000 in number from 1621 to 1624, and converted 28,000 of those enslaved peoples to Christianity. Jesuit missionaries also established churches in Bandel and Dhaka. In 1682, there were 14,120 Roman Catholics in Bengal. William Carey translated the Bible into Bengali in 1809. Many upper-class Bengalis in the British Indian capital Calcutta converted to Christianity during the Bengal Renaissance.

The Missionaries of Charity was founded by the Mother Teresa in Calcutta in 1950. It played a major role in supporting and sheltering refugees during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

Denominations

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church in Bangladesh is based in the Archdiocese of Dhaka, with dioceses in Dinajpur, Mymensingh, Sylhet and Rajshahi and Archdiocese of Chittagong, with dioceses on Barisal and Khulna .World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 368-371
*Province of Dhaka: Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dhaka
**Diocese of Dinajpur
** Diocese of Mymensingh
** Diocese of Rajshahi
** Diocese of Sylhet
*Province of Chittagong: Metropolitan Archdiocese of Chittagong
**Diocese of Barisal
** Diocese of Khulna

The Roman Catholic Church in West Bengal is based in the Archdiocese of Calcutta.
*Province of Calcutta: Metropolitan Archdiocese of Calcutta
** Diocese of Asansol
** Diocese of Bagdogra
** Diocese of Baruipur
** Diocese of Darjeeling
** Diocese of Jalpaiguri
**Diocese of Krishnagar
** Diocese of Raiganj

Anglican Communion

There are three dioceses of the Anglican Church of Bangladesh:
*Diocese of Dhaka
*Diocese of Kushtia
*Diocese of Barisal

St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata is the seat of the Anglican Diocese of Calcutta (1813) of the Church of North India (CNI).
*Diocese of Barrackpore
*Diocese of Durgapur
*Diocese of Calcutta

Other denominations

Other denominations include:
*Assemblies of God in India(AG)
*India Pentecostal Church of God(IPC)
*The Pentecostal Mission(TPM)
*House church of Bangladesh (HCB)
* Armenian Apostolic Church
* Bengal Orissa Bihar Baptist Convention
* Brethren in Christ Church
* Church of God (Anderson)
*El Shaddai
*New Life Fellowship Association
*United Missionary Church of India
*The Salvation Army
*Victory Family Centre (VFC)
*Bangladesh Methodist Church(BMC)
*Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha (BBCS)
*Bangladesh Baptist Church Fellowship (BBCF)
* Isa-e Church (Bangladesh)

Demographics

Bengali Christians are considered a model minority in South Asia and usually enjoy a high literacy rate, low male-female sex ratio and a better socio-economic status. Christian missionaries operate many schools, hospitals and shelters for the poor. They receive support from the Indian and Bangladeshi governments.

Dhaka, Chittagong, Barisal, Khulna and Northern District Side have significant Christian populations.

Culture

Lusophone heritage

Most Catholic Bengali Christians have Portuguese surnames. In a tradition similar to Bengali Muslims (who have Arabic and Persian names), Bengali Christians adopted Portuguese surnames due to the early influence of Portuguese missionaries in spreading Christianity. Common Catholic Bengali Christian surnames include Gomes, Rozario, D'Costa, Gonsalvez, Cruze, Dias, D'Silva and D'Souza among others.

Christmas is known as "Borodin" (Big Day) and is a public holiday in both Bangladesh and Indian West Bengal.

Notable Bengali Christians

movement.
* Golaknath Chatterjee,the Rev. Bengali Missionary and grandfather of Amrit Kaur
* Lal Behari Dey, Bengali Christian Missionary, writer and journalist
* Kali Charan Banerjee, Lawyer, Indian independence movement activist and founding member of the Indian National Congress.
* Kali Charan Chatterjee, Bengali christian Missionary and first moderator of the Presbyterian Church in India.
* Krishna Mohan Banerjee, Educationist, linguist and Bengali Christian missionary, First President of the Bengal Christian Association.
* Gyanendra Mohan Tagore, First Asian Barrister,
* Brahmabandhav Upadhyay, Bengali theologian, journalist and freedom fighter in the Indian independence movement

Religious Leaders

*Rev. Nirod Biswas, first Indian Anglican Bishop of Assam
*Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario
*Poulinous Costa, Archbishop
*Michael Rosario, Archbishop
*Moses Montu Costa, the late Archbishop of Chittagong
*Rt. Rev Samuel S Mankhin, Moderator Bishop, Dhaka Diocese
*Rt. Rev Shourabh Pholia, Bishop of Barishal Diocese
* Theotonius Amal Ganguly, former Bishop of Dacca
*Rt. Rev Hemen Halder, Bishop of Kushtia Diocese
* Joy Govinda Shome, theologian and founder of Calcutta Christo Samaj
*Alvin P Bhakta, Reverend
*Nathaniel Shetu Munshi Reverend
*Nibaron Das Bishop

Freedom Fighters

* Kali Charan Banerjee

Arts

* Michael Madhusudan Dutt, 19th century poet and playwright
* Toru Dutt, poet
* Badal Sircar, noted Bengali playwright and dramatist.
*Samar Das, musician
*Debabrata Biswas, musician
*Andrew Kishore, Bangladeshi playback singer
* Robin Ghosh, Bangladeshi playback singer and film music composer
* Tony Dias, Bangladeshi television actor and director
* George Lincoln D'Costa, Bangladeshi Metal Singer

Industry

* Samson Chowdhury, founder of Square Pharmaceuticals,Bangladesh
*Tapan Chowdhury (businessman)

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