St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India (STECI) is an Oriental Protestant (Reformed Orthodox) episcopal denomination based in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It derives from a

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

in the

Malankara 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 ...

in 1961 and forms a part of the Saint Thomas Syrian Christian community. The church is engaged in active witnessing and building up of faith communities that will witness the love of

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

and serving people around in need. The headquarters of the church is at Tiruvalla, Kerala.

History

The St. Thomas Evangelical Church is one of several groups of

Saint Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala ( Malabar region) ...

claiming origins to St. Thomas the Apostle who, according to their tradition, came to India in AD 52. While STECI is considered to be an episcopal church, it is also deeply influenced by

evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

. Until 1961, the church's history was deeply connected to the

, and South Indian Christianity's contact with Evangelical British missionaries during British colonial times. The missionaries facilitated the translation of the Bible into

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

in 1811. This was the first

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

Bible in Kerala. Further changes introduced by the influence of missionaries led to a schism within the Thomas Christians. STECI clergy in 1961

Bishops

Bishop KN Oommen A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

(Late) *

Bishop P John Varughese A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

(Late) * Bishop Dr. TC Cherian (Retd.) * Bishop Dr. MK Koshy (Retd.) * Bishop A.I Alexander (Retd.) * Bishop Dr CV Mathew (Retd.) * Bishop Most Rev Dr Thomas Abraham (Presiding Bishop) * Bishop Rt Rev Dr Abraham Chacko (Prathinidhi sabha Adhyakshan)

STECI Boards

* Board for Evangelistic Work * Board for Youth Work * Board for Women's Work * Board for Sunday School Work * Education Board * Department of Music & Communications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas Evangelical Church Christian organizations established in 1961 Evangelicalism in India 1961 establishments in Kerala Evangelical denominations in Asia Christianity in Kerala Thiruvalla Saint Thomas Christians