Believers Eastern Church

Believers Eastern Church (previously Believers Church) is an Oriental Protestant Church of Indian origin with congregations and parishes worldwide. It is also a branch of the ministry Gospel for Asia. The church now follows an episcopal governance. The church holds Christ as the head of the Church () but also requires that bishops and ordained ministers swear to submit to its metropolitan and any successors of the metropolitan. It is governed by a committee of bishops, the synod, with one central bishop holding the honorary title of "first among equals" and follows Evangelical Christian doctrine. Believers Eastern Church is administratively based in the state of Kerala in southwestern India. In 2015, the church reported it was re-organized into 33 dioceses; a decrease from the 36 dioceses reported by Smith in 2009. According to Believers Eastern Church, it claims its membership consists of more than 3.5 million people in 10 countries speaking a hundred languages. The Church has 30 bishops, and the Metropolitan Bishop is Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan Metropolitan (formerly known as K. P. Yohannan).

History

Believers Eastern Church has its roots in Pentecostalism. The denomination was founded in 1993 as part of the Gospel for Asia apostolate. On 6 February 2003, K. J. Samuel, the Moderator Bishop of the Church of South India (a part of the worldwide Anglican Communion), along with the P.M. Dhotekar, Bishop of Nagpur of the Church of North India, and the Bancha Nidhi Nayak, Bishop of Phulbani of the Church of North India, consecrated Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan Metropolitan (formerly known as K. P. Yohannan) as a bishop in Anglican lines of apostolic succession; K.P. Yohannan thereafter became the first metropolitan of the Believers Eastern Church, and acquired an episcopal polity of ecclesiastical governance. Believers Eastern Church describes itself as being "Apostolic in origin, universal in nature, Biblical and evangelical in faith, ecumenical in outlook". It adheres to the Nicene Creed, biblical faith, and traditions of the historical church backed up with its own canonical constitution. The Episcopal Synod and the diocesan councils take the responsibility for planning and executing the mission, religious life and charitable programs of the Church. The Believers Eastern Church is divided as regions into dioceses, each with its own bishop. Each local church has members ranging from less than one hundred to a thousand with an average of hundred, and the number of parishes themselves are increasing. The Believers Eastern Church is divided into various dioceses under the leadership of a diocesan bishop or a vicar-general.

In 2009, the church ordained seven bishops. On 2 March 2017, Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan Metropolitan (formerly known as K. P. Yohannan) consecrated twelve bishops for the Believers Eastern Church.

Faith and practice

The liturgy used in Believers Eastern Church "includes prayers, Scripture readings and a confession of the Nicene or Apostles' Creed of the Church." The readings come from the Revised Common Lectionary, which has a three-year cycle; Believers Church observes the liturgical kalendar of Western Christianity, thus keeping Lent, for example. Believers Church administers the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. Women in churches of this denomination wear Christian headcoverings, in accordance with Believers Church's interpretation of . Communicants of Believers Eastern Church use the sign of the cross in their prayers.

Beliefs

The church accepts the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible as the inspired Word of God which is inerrant and the fundamental standard of faith,K.P. Yohannan (2004). ''Guiding Principles of Believers Eastern Church''. Believers Eastern Church Publications. pp. 197-199. and complete and final written revelation of God. It also adheres to the Nicene Creed. The church believes in the following doctrines:
* One eternal God revealed in the trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
* The divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, sinless life, crucifixion and resurrection, ascension and intercession of Holy Spirit.
* The outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon believers in Jerusalem after Jesus’ ascension, enabling them to preach the Gospel to the whole world.
* Separation of all mankind from God through man's sin.
* Immediate forgiveness of sins through repentance and acceptance of Jesus Christ.
* The person and work of indwelling and empowerment of the Holy Spirit through baptism for all believers.
* The practice of gifts of the Holy Spirit within scriptural guidelines for the common good (); Considers that agape love is more important than all the gifts, and without it, all exercise of spiritual gifts as worthless.
* Jesus Christ as the head of the church.
* The second coming of Jesus Christ and it will be personal and visible, which motivates active involvement of the laity in church activities.
* The resurrection of the body unto eternal life for the saved and unto eternal separation for the lost; But salvation, redemption and forgiveness are freely offered to all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Core values

For being distinguishable members of Believers Eastern church, and the message of the Word of God to be applied in an individual's life leading to a greater maturity in Christ, following are the official code of living.
* Knowing the Lord Jesus more fully and intimately.
* Being a people of integrity and excellence.
* Living in submission to God's Word.
* Being a people of faith.
* Being a people committed to prayer and worship.
* Having a servant lifestyle.
* Being a people of grace and love.
* Serving sacrificially.
* Being a people with passion for souls.
* Being a people who work together with the Body of Christ.

Religious orders

The Sisters of Compassion is a religious order of nuns within Believers Church that is dedicated to serving the "neglected of society".

Humanitarian services

Believers Eastern Church is involved in various social projects and has been lauded for "its humanitarian service towards the society at large.""Church devoted to literacy campaign."
''Times of India'' (May 25, 2011) The church's social service includes poverty alleviation, and promoting adult literacy. The church is also providing shelter to street children through a home called Asha Grih, which is licensed by the Indian Government."Believers Eastern Church turns new page in lives of lesser privileged"
''Echo of Arunachal'' (July 22, 2012) Additionally, Believers Eastern Church has a child development project called Bridge of Hope (BOH). BOH provides holistic development to needy children throughout South Asia. As of 2012, the project is helping 60,000 underprivileged children by providing them free education, a nutritious diet and school supplies. Bridge of Hope's 525 project centers are staffed by 2,400 individuals. Other major projects include the Believers Church Medical College Hospital, Believers Eastern Church Caarmel Engineering College and Believers Church Theological Seminary. Most of the funds for these social projects are sent over from the United States by the ministry Gospel for Asia, of which Believers Church is a part. The metropolitan of Believers Church, Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan Metropolitan (formerly known as K. P. Yohannan), is also the president of Gospel for Asia.

Court rulings

The Times of India has reported that "The Believers Church, founded by Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan Metropolitan (formerly known as K. P. Yohannan), and three NGOs associated with it have been barred from bringing in foreign funds to India with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) canceling their FCRA registrations." As of September 2017, GFA provided the requested documents for review to MHA and "Fr Panthapallil said though the MHA website has advertised that the registrations of the four organisations are cancelled, they are still under revision." In August 2017, The Hindu (a newspaper in India) reported that, "The Church of South India (CSI) has decided to pull out from the Kerala Council of Churches (KCC), an ecumenical forum of non-Catholic Protestant Churches in Kerala, in protest against the KCC decision to provide membership to the Believers Church. The latest development has to be viewed in the backdrop of the controversy over the episcopacy claims of the Believers Eastern Church that its head, K.P. Yohannan, was consecrated by the CSI Church." Narada News in India reported concerning that, "The CSI senate committee probed the issue. They came to the conclusion that their bishop was paid huge sums of money and a luxury car for this. The church sacked bishop KJ Samuel from the CSI for this deed."

There is also been an ongoing court case regarding the illegal filling in of wetlands in order to build the Believers Church Medical College Hospital. GFA has been paying a special tax because a "substantial" amount of its income is not used for intended purposes of the fundraising. An Indian court said, "It is not in dispute that substantial income of the assessee trust was not used by both the assessees for the purposes for which they were formed." Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan Metropolitan (formerly known as K. P. Yohannan) says that the claims were politically motivated and that the workings of Gospel for Asia and Believers Church are transparent.

GFA has been criticized for engaging in predatory proselytization while providing aid in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. The Hindu American Foundation condemned the organization for pressuring vulnerable tsunami victims to convert to Christianity, setting up illegal unregistered orphanages and forcing orphans recite the Christian prayers several times a day.

The operations of Gospel for Asia and Believers Eastern Church were scrutinized after Believers Eastern Church, under the guidance of Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan Metropolitan (formerly known as K. P. Yohannan), purchased a rubber estate in Kerala, India. Opponents said the church had diverted foreign funds to amass land for itself and for uses other than declared purposes. Further, it was alleged that the rubber estate, which Believers Eastern Church purchased from Harrison's Malayalam Ltd., was on leasehold from the government and not saleable. Hence, Believers Eastern Church was accused of illegally holding government land. At a later time, Harrison's Malayalam was accused of forging their land title, leading to continued debate about the legality of the sale.

Legal proceedings are still ongoing. "Former Ernakulam District Collector Dr M G Rajamanickam, who was appointed as the Special Officer of the government to confiscate the illegal and excess estate lands under the custody of various companies, had issued an order in May, 2015, confiscating the 2,268 acre of land from Believers Eastern Church." However, this ruling was appealed and now there is further complication because the local government wants to build an airport on this estate. News outlets are reporting that the local government wants to buy the property. However, it is also reported that "The government does not need permission from K P Yohannan to set up airport in the Cheruvally estate, BJP national executive member V Muraleedharan said." The BJP is currently behind a large scale anti-corruption crackdown on Black Money inside India. The final status of the estate for building the airport is still unsettled.

There is also been an ongoing court case regarding the illegal filling in of wetlands in order to build the Believers Eastern Church Medical College Hospital. GFA has been paying a special tax because a "substantial" amount of its income is not used for intended purposes of the fundraising. An Indian court said, "It is not in dispute that substantial income of the assessee trust was not used by both the assessees for the purposes for which they were formed."

Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan Metropolitan (formerly known as K. P. Yohannan) says that the claims were politically motivated and that the workings of Gospel for Asia and Believers Eastern Church are transparent. Further, the rubber estate is an investment to help fund social service activities among underdeveloped communities and not a personal land grab as opponents have stated.

Ecumenical relations

Believers Eastern Church is a member of the Kerala Council of Churches.
The Believers Eastern Church has also held ecumenical contacts with the Anglican Church in North America. In addition, Gospel For Asia frequently has and continues to solicit funding from evangelical churches, but does not disclose that Yohannan is a metropolitan, as most evangelical churches are congregational or elder-led and generally oppose a hierarchal structure with one person at the top (such as the Roman Catholic or the various Orthodox bodies).

Criticism

Suspension of FCRA licenses

In 2017, the Ministry of Home Affairs had suspended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licences of the church and three NGOs associated with Believers Eastern Church from receiving foreign funds. It is mandatory to have FCRA clearance from the Home Ministry for any organisation to receive foreign funds. The trust enjoyed exemption under the I-T Act, 1961 as charitable/religious trust, received donations from foreign countries ostensibly for helping the poor and destitute and evangelical purposes but was actually siphoning off such tax-exempted funds to engage in unaccounted cash transactions for personal and other illegal expenses in real estate transactions. The government has reconsidered the decision to allow prior permission to two NGOs after details verification.

Income tax raid and money seizure

The Income Tax officials conducted searches at around 60 premises associated with the Believers Church in November 2020. The I-T officials seized Rs 14.5 cr from the raid at the offices of Believers church. Out of the total amount, Rs 7 cr was recovered from the boot of a car owned by an employee of the hospital under Believers church. Rest of the amount was seized from various places including Delhi. I-T officials revealed that they are looking into transactions over the last ten years. The church had got around Rs 4,000 crore over the years and a chunk of it had gone into the construction of institutions and real estate dealings.

See also

* History of Pentecostalism in India

References

External links

Website of Believers Eastern Church (old website)

Website of Believers Eastern Church (new website)

Reporter Channel News: Merging of two Christian movements

{{Eastern Protestants

Religious organizations established in 1993
1993 establishments in India
Pentecostalism in India
Evangelical denominations in Asia
Pentecostal denominations in Asia