Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church is a major

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

Christian denomination in

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 ...

. It was established in 1882. At that time, the founder of The Schleswig Holstein Evangelical Lutheran Mission Society of Germany (SHELM) in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

was

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 ...

Christian Jensen, who was praying for the people of India. Pioneer missionaries Rev. Ernest Pohl and Rev. Herman Bothmann came to India and reached the

Koraput district Koraput is a district of India in southern Odisha, with headquarters at Koraput. The district is located in the Eastern Ghats and is known for its hilly terrain, rich and diverse types of mineral deposits and its tribal culture and traditions. Th ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

on 31 May 1882 and started mission work.

Foundation

In late 19th century, when the missionaries arrived, they faced several challenges; one of them was laying the foundation of a church. At first they visited the king of

Bastar state Bastar state was a princely state in India during the British Raj. It was founded in the early 14th century by Annamaraja, a brother of the last ruler of the Kakatiya dynasty, Prataparudra II. It is today used to refer the same region, called ...

in Jagdalpur to seek approval for constructing a church and preaching

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in the region but were denied permission for the purpose. However, they later went to the neighbouring Jeypore state which was ruled by Maharaja

Vikram Dev III Maharajah Sir Vikram Dev III KCIE or Vikram Dev was the king of Jeypore, Kalinga from 1889 – 1920. He is well known for his administration, altruism, education reforms, tribal welfare and various construction works that developed the kingdom ...

and he granted them the permission and a plot where accordingly, the JEL Church was constructed in 1909. The Germans were able to learn the local language, culture, customs, and the traditional system of the natives. The first woman, Asimuti Behera of the village Joba under the Kotpad mission station, was baptized by the missionary Timmke on 6 December 1886. A minority of local populace also volunteered for the mission programmes.

Service

Apparently, it was from Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church that

spread to other parts of southern Odisha such as

Malkangiri Malkangiri historically known as 'Malikamardhangiri' is a town and a Municipality in Malkangiri district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Malkangiri district. Malkangiri is the new home of the East Pakistani refuge ...

, Nabarangpur, and

Rayagada Rayagada is a municipality in Rayagada district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of Rayagada district. History The city of Rayagada was founded by King Vishwanath Dev Gajapati (1527-1531 CE) of the Suryava ...

. Subsequently, the community members set up three major Christian hospitals in Bissam Cuttack, Nabarangpur, and Lamtaput in

to serve people from all religious backgrounds. Now the church has more than 250,000 members. It has its own rules and regulations approved by IGR of Odisha, as per the society registration act of 1952, and the synod has four elected officers:

Bishop 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 ...

, Synod Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer. They serve for a term of four years. The current office holders are as Bishop of JELC,Rt. Rev. Bidhan Kumar Nayak, Synod Chairman Rev Anant Nag, Secretary Mr Praful Bhatra, Treasurer Mr Jasbir Paul.The headquarters of JELC function in Pohl & Bhothmann Bhavan, JELC central office, pin code -764001. Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church.is associated with the

National Council of Churches in India The National Council of Churches in India is an ecumenical forum for Protestant and Orthodox churches in India. History The Council was established in 1914 as the "National Missionary Council." In 1923, the Council constituted itself as the "Nat ...

, United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India,

Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; german: Lutherischer Weltbund) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish ...

, and

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...

. JELC has its unofficial Oriya-language Lutheran Hymns Book Android App, offered by Premasis Satman.

References

;Notes ;Further reading * * * *

External links

* {{coord missing, Odisha Lutheran World Federation members Lutheranism in India Affiliated institutions of the National Council of Churches in India Lutheran denominations Organisations based in Odisha Christianity in Odisha Education in Odisha Schools in Colonial India 1882 establishments in India

Foundation

Service

See also

References

External links