Nandyal Diocese is a diocese of

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 ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

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

in India.

History

The first

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

who came to

Nandyal Nandyal is a city and District headquarters of Nandyal district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Nandyal mandal in Nandyal revenue division. Demographics In the 2011 census of India, Nandyal ...

were Arthur Inman and Alfred Briton in the year 1881. These two missionaries were responsible to establish the SPG High School in 1884 and to build the Holy Cross Church in 1905 in Nandyal. These two missionaries who resided in Nandyal lived in tents and went about preaching the gospel in and around Nandyal in various villages and building churches. Their mode of travel in those days were bullock carts on most primitive roads or cart tracks. They learned the local language

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

and traveled extensively beyond Nandyal to place like

Kurnool Kurnool is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of Rayalaseema".Kurnool is also known as The City of Gem Stones. It also se ...

Giddalur Giddaluru is a town in the Prakasam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of the Giddaluru mandal in Markapur revenue division. It was part of kurnool district till 1969 later it was merged into Prakasam ...

, Kalasapad, Atmakur and

Nandikotkur Nandikotkur is a municipality and mandal in Nandyal district of Andhra Pradesh, India. Geography Nandikotkur is located at . It has an average elevation of 292 meters (961 feet). The nearest river is Krishna river. Nandikotkur is a mandal (equi ...

and planted churches in the villages. In this church first SPG Telugu Graduate Priest Rev. David Gnanamuthu served from 1912 to 1923, he came from Medras Christian Theological College, Madras (1885 to 1890) and his son Re. John Yesudas Gnanamuthu served in this diocese. When Dornakal diocese (of which it was then a part) joined the united Church of South India in 1947, Nandyal instead chose to remain in the Indian Anglican church, under the Diocese of Calcutta. Nandyal

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 ...

was formed on 29 April 1963, initially as part of

Church of India (CIPBC) 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 ...

; with that church, it united into 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 ...

in 1970, and the Nandyal diocese eventually joined the

on 6 July 1975. The cathedral church of the diocese is CSI Holy Cross Cathedral in

Bishops

In 1950,

Arthur Partridge The Diocese of Calcutta, Church of North India was established in 1813 as part of the Church of England. It is led by the Bishop of Calcutta and the first bishop was Thomas Middleton (bishop), Thomas Middleton (1814–1822) and the second Regi ...

was consecrated Bishop in Nandyal, an

assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case they ...

in the Diocese of Calcutta; he served until Nandyal diocese was erected and returned to the UK. * 1963–1967,

Clement Venkataramiah Clement William Venkataramiah was Bishop of Nandyal. Venkataramiah was educated at St Augustine's College, Canterbury; and ordained in 1930. He was the Warden at the SPG High School at Giddalur from 1930 until 1941; and Chaplain at Igatpuri ...

* 1967–1974,

Ernest John Ernest John was BishopThe Church of England Year Book, Volumes 88-92, Church of England Church Information Office, 1971, p.233./ref> - in - Diocese of Nandyal, Nandyal from 1967 to 1974. In 1967, the Most Reverend P. Solomon, then Moderator ...

* 1977–1985, Pabbathi John * 1985–1992,

Ryder Devapriam Ryder Devapriam (3 July 1931 – 4 September 1992) was systematic theologian who taught during the 1960s and the 1970s at the Andhra Christian Theological College, a Protestant Regional Theologiate in Secunderabad, affiliated to the nation's fi ...

* 1994–2005, Rt.Rev. Dr. Gondi Theodore Abraham * 2006–2012, P. J. Lawrence * 2013 onwards, E. Pushpa Lalitha

Notable ecclesiastical personalities

Bunyan Joseph Bishop Bunyan Joseph (20 August 1894 – 25 October 1986) was the first and only electedChurch of South India, ''Order of Service for the Consecration of the First New Bishops of The Church of South India'', Printed at London Mission Press, Na ...

, Bishop of erstwhile

Anantapur-Kurnool Diocese Rayalaseema Diocese is a diocese of Church of South India in Andhra Pradesh state of India.The diocese one among the 22 dioceses of Church of South India. History Rayalaseema diocese was carved on 15 July 1950 out of then Cuddapah Diocese and ...

(integrated into

Rayalaseema Diocese Rayalaseema Diocese is a diocese of Church of South India in Andhra Pradesh 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 populo ...

), * B. E. Devaraj, translator of the Bible into Lambadi language, * Pabbathi John, First Bishop of Nandyal Diocese

Nandyal Diocese Nandyal Diocese is a diocese of Church of South India in Andhra Pradesh state of India. The diocese is one among the 22 dioceses of Church of South India in India. History The first missionaries who came to Nandyal were Arthur Inman and Alf ...

, *

Emani Sambayya Canon Emani Sambayya (1905–1972) was an Anglican Priest, who was born in Bodipalem in Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh.Cecil Hargreaves, ''Three Assignments in the Church'', Indo-British Review, Indo-British Historical Society, Chennai, 1988. ...

, non-episcopal commissary to Nandyal,Constance M. Millington, ''An Ecumenical Venture: The History of Nandyal Diocese in Andhra Pradesh, 1947–1990'', Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 1993
p. 96.
/ref>

Educational institutions in the diocese

The SPG High School, Nandyal, was established in the year 1882.

References

External links

{{Churches in India