The Coimbatore Diocese is one of the 24

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

s of the

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 ...

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).

Office Bearers of the Diocese

President = Rt.Rev. Timothy Ravinder Dev Pradeep Vice President = Rev. Jacob Livingston Hon Secretary = Rev. Prince Calvin Hon Treasurer = Mr. Amirtham (A-1 )

History of the Diocese

Antony Watson Brough (1861-1936), a missionary who came to

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1894, has played a major role in the history of the Diocese, served at

for two years, moved to Erode in 1897 and established a hospital in Erode, particularly to look after the health needs of Muslim women. Though the hospital is now called CSI Hospital, it is popularly known as Gosh Hospital. It is next to the church, named in his memory, on Brough Road. He also set up one more hospital in Chennimalai, in memory of his son, who died on the battlefront during World War I. In all, Brough established 94 schools in and around Erode and two hospitals. The diocese was formed at Brough Memorial Church,

Erode Erode () is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in the state, after Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruppur and Salem. It is also the administrative headquarters of the E ...

, on 27 September 1950.

About the Diocese

CSI Coimbatore Diocese is the largest in terms of area, covering the Nilgiri,

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

Namakkal Namakkal () is a special grade municipality and the headquarters of Namakkal district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the first ISO 14001-2004 certified municipality in Asia for environmental management, specifically the provision a ...

Dharmapuri Dharmapuri is a special grade town in the north western part of Tamil Nadu, India. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Dharmapuri district which is the first district created in Tamil Nadu after the independence of India by splitti ...

and

Krishnagiri Krishnagiri () is a city in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, and it serves as the administrative headquarters of Krishnagiri District formed in 2004. It is located at the bottom of Krishnadevaraya Hills, and the town is fully surrounded by hill ...

. The diocese has 105

pastorate A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

s, 112

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

s and a membership of 150,000.

Bishops of Coimbatore CSI Diocese

* Aiyadurai Jesudasen Appasamy (1950-1959) * S J Samuel *

Jeevaanandam Thangamuthu Jeevaanandam Thangamuthu was the third Bishop of Coimbatore. Notes 20th-century Anglican bishops in India Indian bishops Indian Christian religious leaders Anglican bishops of Coimbatore {{Anglican-bishop-stub ...

* William Moses *

Manickam Dorai Manickam Dorai was the fourth Bishop of Coimbatore. Notes 21st-century Anglican bishops in India Indian bishops Indian Christian religious leaders Anglican bishops of Coimbatore {{Anglican-bishop-stub ...

(2000-2010) * Timothy Ravinder Dev Pradeep (2013– ...)

Cathedral and other major CSI churches in the diocese

Coimbatore

*CSI Immanuel Church,

Avinashi Road, Coimbatore Avinashi Road, is an arterial road in Coimbatore, India. Running from east to west, the road starts at Avinashi Road flyover, Uppilipalayam flyover and ends at Neelambur by-pass junction where it joins NH 544, Beyond Neelambur Junction, the road ...

CSI Immanuel church is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

church of the diocese. The church is one among the oldest churches in

built in the year of 1830. The church is located in Avinashi road at Gopalapuram. The church underwent a major renovation work in the year 2006. *All Soul's Church, Race Course, Gopalapuram, Coimbatore Between 1863 and 1869, 8.5 acres were acquired from Anga Naicken and Rangaswamy Gounder in Race Course, at a total cost of Rs. 1488. Prison Superintendent James Grimes and Survey Superintendent Colonel Hessey supervised the construction which began in 1866. In less than Rs. 20,000, All Souls' was built and furnished. The All Soul's Church was consecrated for worship on 27 January 1872 by Gell and Henry Pope was the first resident Chaplin. The church is a successor of the seventeenth century All Souls' Anglican Chapel. Cruciform shaped chancels accommodate the choir on side and the congregation on the other. The chancels have a low wooden roof, double sided gabled entrances supported by a single column and two pointed arches. The arch openings lead to a 12 feet wide hall culminating in the raised sanctuary. A king post truss supports the steep tiled timber rafter roof. The roof has an intricate woodwork with the lower beams of the truss ending in cross shapes. The walls are of Ashlar masonry and the windows are made of exquisite stained glass. A porch was added at the western end in 1902, in memory of King Edward VII. *CSI Christ Church, Coimbatore The foundation was laid on 15 October 1898 by

Frederick Gell Frederick Gell (24 September 1820 – 25 March 1902) was an eminent Anglican clergyman and Bishop of Madras 1861-1899. Gell was born in 1820, the son of Philip Gell, rector of Derby. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he gradua ...

, Bishop of Madras and the church was dedicated on 11 June 1910. The church was extended in the year 1970. *Christ Church, Coimbatore

Nilgiris

St. Stephen's Church, Ooty St. Stephen's Church is located on the road to Mysore in Ooty, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the oldest churches in the Nilgiris district. History The church dates back to the 19th century. Stephen Rumbold Lushington, the t ...

St. Stephen's Church is located on the road to

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

Ooty Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and so ...

and it is one of the oldest churches in the

Nilgiris The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

district. *Wesley Church, Coonoor * C.S.I WEesley Church Hulical Pastorate, Glendale Estate, Coonoor

Salem

Christ Church, Salem Christ Church is located on Fort Road, near the District Collectorate, in the heart of Salem City, Tamil Nadu, India. The church has been serving the community for the last 140 years, since its consecration in 1875. The church services at Chri ...

Christ Church is located on Fort Road, near the District Collectorate, in the heart of

City,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, India. The church has been serving the community for the last 140 years, since its consecration in 1875. The church services at Christ Church are conducted both in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

. The church was designed by architect

Robert Fellowes Chisholm Robert Fellowes Chisholm (11 January 1840 – 28 May 1915) was a British architect who pioneered the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture in Madras. Early life Chisholm was born in London on 11 January 1840 (or on 3 November 1838, according ...

, who was a pioneer of the

Indo-Saracenic Indo-Saracenic architecture (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal, or Hindoo style) was a revivalist architectural style mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century, especially in public and government ...

architecture, and also designed the Senate House buildings of the

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigiou ...

and the

Madras Presidency College Presidency College is an art, commerce, and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. On 16 October 1840, this school was established as the Madras Preparatory School before being repurposed as a high school, and then a gra ...

*C.S.I. Nathaniel Memorial Church,

Sankagiri Sangagiri or Sankagiri is a panchayat town in Salem district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is situated on the National Highway 544, on the Coimbatore - Salem section. Sangagiri is known for Sangagiri fort, lorries and lorry building i ...

, Salem

Others

*'
CSI Brough Memorial Church

The construction of the church started in 1930 and it was completed in the year 1933 by Antony Watson Brough. The church was dedicated in 1933 by

Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah Bishop Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah (17 August 1874 – 1 January 1945) (also transliterated as Vedanayakam Samuel Azariah) was an Indian evangelist and the first Indian bishop in the churches of the Anglican Communion, serving as the first bishop ...

. Built with lime mortar with egg and the stones were brought from

Karur Karur () is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Karur is the administrative headquarters of Karur district. It is located on the banks of River Amaravathi, Kaveri and Noyyal. Karur is well known for the export of Home Textile products to ...

, it is constructed in the

style architecture.CSI Brough Memorial Church's Facebook Page
/ref> * CSI St. Johns Church, at Kosavampalayam Road,

Palladam Palladam () is a town and First Grade Municipality in Tirupur district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the headquarters of Palladam Taluk of Tirupur district. Palladam is located on National Highway NH 81. Palladam is a major Town with ...

* CSI Yesu Ratchagar Church,

Kangayam Kangeyam () is a town and municipality in Kangeyam taluk, Kangeyam Taluk of Tiruppur district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is situated on National Highway 81 (India), National Highway 81. Kangeyam is an ...

* C.S.I Christ Church,

* CSI Christ Church Mettur Main road Bhavani It is one of the main churches established by the London mission.once it belonged to the SIUC.

Educational institutions in the Diocese

;Arts & Science Colleges *Bishop Appasamy College of Arts and Science *Bishop Appasamy College of Education ;Engineering College *

CSI College of Engineering CSI College of Engineering (CSICE), Nilgiris is a self-financing engineering college situated in the Ketti Valley of Tamil Nadu, India. It was established in 1998. It is a self-financing institution, offering degree level courses in different d ...

, Ketti ;Polytechnic College *CSI Polytechnic College, Salem ;Technical College *CSI Technical and Vocational Training College for Women,

;Teacher Training Institute *CSI Teacher Training Institute for Women, Hasthampatti, Salem ;Primary and secondary education *Nursery schools -13 *Primary and middle schools -69 *High schools -5 *Higher secondary Schools -10 *Matriculation schools-3 ;Matriculation higher secondary schools *CSI Boys Higher Secondary School (Formerly Known as London Mission High School & Union High School), Coimbatore *CSI Girls Higher Secondary School,

*CSI CMM Higher Secondary School, Ooty ;Kindergarten teacher training *Kindergarten Teacher Training Institute, Gopalapuram, Coimbatore

Medical institutions in the Diocese

; Hospitals *CSI Kosha Hospital, Erode. *Herbert Brough Memorial Hospital, Chennimalai. ; School of Nursing *CSI School of Nursing, Erode.

References

External links

CSI Christ Church CoimbatoreCSI SynodCSI Teacher Training Institute for Women
{{Churches in India 1950 establishments in Madras State

Christianity in Tamil Nadu

Coimbatore district Dharmapuri district Erode district Krishnagiri district Namakkal district Nilgiris district Christian organizations established in 1950 Salem district