The Communion of Churches in India (CCI) is an organisation constituting three Indian

high church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...

denominations: 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 ...

(CNI), the

Church of South India 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 Pr ...

(CSI), and the

Mar Thoma Syrian Church The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian ChurchS. N. Sadasivan. A Social History of India'. APH Publishing; 2000. . p. 442. and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar ...

(MTC). They consider themselves to be part of the

one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church The Four Marks of the Church, also known as the Attributes of the Church, describes four distinctive adjectives of Christian tradition, traditional Christianity, Christian ecclesiology as expressed in the Nicene Creed, Niceno-Constantinopolitan Cre ...

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

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 ...

; even while maintaining each Church's autonomy and traditions. These three Churches are in

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but ...

with one another. They also mutually recognize and accept each other's

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, interpretation of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

creeds A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

and

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

Formation and history

The origins of CCI goes back to the independent internal Theological Commissions appointed by the

, the

and the

to explore ways and means to enhance cooperation amongst them and bear Christian witness, in India. This idea of the independent commissions was originally proposed by the

and accepted by the

and the

Mar Thoma Church The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian ChurchS. N. Sadasivan. A Social History of India'. APH Publishing; 2000. . p. 442. and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar ...

. The independent Theological Commissions later decided to work together as a Joint Theological Commission. The first meeting of the Joint Theological Commission was held in January 1975 at

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, which discussed the questions on faith, orders etc. The Commission also explored the possibilities of manifesting the unity of the three Churches, in the ultimate fulfillment of the "Mission of the

Christian Church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym fo ...

", in

. During their third meeting in September 1976, the Joint Theological Commission passed the proposal for a new model of union for these three Churches, which was accepted and a new Joint Council was inaugurated in July 1978, at

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...

. One of the recommendations of the Joint Council was a common name, under which the three Churches will function together. This question was discussed by the different Churches. The CSI suggested the name "Church of India". The CNI and the MTC did not accept it, as a new Church did not come into existence. The MTC came up with "The Council of Churches in Communion - C.N.I., C.S.I., M.T.C.", in order to express clearly the bond of unity realized by the

between these Churches. The Joint Council did not accept that, either. During the Joint Council meeting held at Charalkunnu, Kerala in November 1999, the name 'Communion of Churches in India' was unanimously recommended by all three denominations, to reflect their growth in unity, over the years. The new name was adopted and announced at the Joint Council Meeting held in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

in November 2000.{{cite journal , title=Historical Background , journal=Communionofchurchesinindia.org.in , url=http://communionofchurchesinindia.org.in/history.html

Purpose

The CCI: * Aims to serve as a common organ for visible manifestation of unity, witness and service. * Will assist the churches to address the issues affecting and threatening life. * Will focus on issues of peace, justice and integrity of creation. * Will explore new avenues to share and affirm God’s love through diakonia. * Will seek other churches in India to consider joining this union It has also appointed three commissions to explore the ways of working together: (1) Commission on Mission to find out the possibility of opening new mission centers in different language areas of India in cooperation with one another (2) Commission on Theological matters: to study the implication of closer relationships (3) Commission on Peace and Justice: to consider national and international issues pertaining to Justice and Peace and the response of the Church to such situations.

Administration

* Most Rev. A. Dharmaraj Rasalam, Moderator, CSI * Most Rev. Dr. P. C. Singh, Moderator CNI * His Grace The Most Rev. Dr. Theodosius Mar Thoma, The 22nd Mar Thoma and Malankara Metropolitan and the primate of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church. * Rev. Dr. D. R. Sadananda, Hon. Executive Secretary, CCI (General Secretary, CSI) * Adv. Prakash P. Thomas, Hon. Treasurer, CCI (Treasurer, MTC) * Executive Committee of 18 members including the chief executives of the three Churches * Commissions and Committees to organise programmes and activities among bishops, pastors, youths, women, and children * The CCI publishes a common

Lectionary A lectionary ( la, lectionarium) is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christianity, Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evang ...

and Diary for the regular use of congregations and individuals each year. The second Sunday of November is set apart as Unity Sunday in all three churches to celebrate the unity that has been already attained and local parishes are encouraged to conduct joint services.

References

Churches in India

Formation and history

Purpose

Administration

See also

References