Church of South India

Church of South India, united Protestant church that is part of the Anglican Communion. The Church of South India was formed on September 27, 1947, through a union of the Anglican Church of India, Burma (Myanmar), and Ceylon (Sri Lanka); the South India province of Methodism; and the South India United Church, itself a 1908 merger of Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, and Congregationalist groups. Other, smaller groups joined later. It has a membership of about 4.5 million with approximately 15,000 congregations. It has 24 dioceses and is in full communion with the see of Canterbury.

History

The Church of South India was the first union since the Reformation between episcopal and nonepiscopal churches, which generated continuing controversy. It was later followed by similar united churches in North India (1970), Pakistan (1970), and Bangladesh (1974). It was formed to unite different Protestant church traditions in southern India that had been divided over denominational and missionary lines for centuries. It was created from decades of ecumenical negotiations between Protestant missionary societies and Indian church leaders. In 1919 representatives of Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregational traditions began negotiations to reconcile differences in church governance, ministry, and doctrine.

During these negotiations, efforts were also made to include Baptist and Lutheran churches in the union. Discussions with Baptists were unsuccessful. Although conversations with Lutherans resulted in some agreements on doctrinal points, differences over church organization and episcopal structure prevented them from entering the union. Following the union, representatives of the uniting churches provided for a 30-year transitional period, during which the participating traditions were expected to grow into full doctrinal and structural unity. On the day of the merger, nine new bishops, drawn from all the traditions, were consecrated to serve with the five Anglican bishops already in office.

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Doctrine and worship

The Church of South India affirms the authority of the Bible in matters of faith and life and accepts the Nicene Creed as the authorized summary of Christian belief. As a united Protestant church within the Anglican Communion, it maintains the historic episcopate as the basis for church government and recognizes the two sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion.

At the time of the union, no attempt was made to impose liturgical uniformity at once on all the local churches, which were to continue using their existing forms of worship while common patterns were gradually developed. In subsequent years the church issued orders for Holy Communion, baptism, and other services. Although these forms were not mandatory, their use expanded steadily as shared liturgical practices emerged.

Organization and governance

The Church of South India’s 24 dioceses are located in the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. The church has congregations in North America as well.

Each diocese is governed by a bishop, and the church, as a whole, is overseen by a synod. Its presiding bishop is the Moderator of the Church of South India and is elected by the synod from among the diocesan bishops and serves as the church’s chief representative.

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