CHAPTER I

Formation

CHAPTER 1

FORMATION OF

THE C.S.I. DIOCESE OF TINNEVELLY

The discoveries and conquests of new territories by the Spanish

and Portuguese were accompanied by their great efforts in

evangelisation. In order to avoid a clash of interests between them, the

Pope had drawn a demarcation line between their spheres of influence.

Accordingly, Spain obtained Central and South America and

Philippines. Portugal got Africa, Asia and Brazil. In India, Portugal

concentrated oil coastal areas only. The first Christian venture in

Tinnevelly region was that of the Catholic ministers of the Portuguese

Mission. In Greek, the Catholic means 'a universal community'.'

The fisherfolk of the eastern coastal area engaged in fishing,

marketing of fishes and dried fishes and pearl fishing. In 1532, the

MuhammadanS of the West Coast indulged in an armed struggle with

the fishermen and spoiled their profession. The fishermen were reduced

from the independent workers to the status of slaves and day-labourers

under the Muslim leaseholders. The fishermen could not continue the

sea venture. 2 At that time, Portuguese army established their bases at

Cochin, Quilon, Calicut, Goa, Bassein, Diu, and Damaun on the west

iaroslav Pelikan, The Riidle of Roman Catholicism, New York, 1952, p.24.2 Aloysius Soares, Catholic Church in India ,A Historical Sketch, Nagpur, 1964,

pp. 18, 44.

28

29

coast and Nagapatnam and Mylapore on the East Coast. 3 Hence, the

fishermen decided to meet the army men for help and left for Cape

Comorin and approached Joao de Cruz, a Portuguese patrol leader. He

admitted some fifteen fishermen leaders ( Patankatis) into his patrol

boats and brought them to Cochin at the end of 1535. He presented them

before Pero Vas, captain and the Vicar General Miguel Vas .4 They

sought the help of the Portuguse army men and missionaries with the

assurance of converting themselves to Christianity. Then they went to

Coimbatore and received baptism from the Rev. Michael Vaz of

Roman Catholic mission.

In response to the request of the missionaries, the Portuguese sent

an army from Cochin in February 1536 carrying Cruz, the Vicar

General, the Vicar of Cochin, three priests and the fishennen leaders to

help the helpless fisherfolk and dispersed the MuhammadOtiS oil

coast line from Kanyakuinari to Ramnad. The Rev.Michael Vaz also

accompanied the Portuguese army during this adventurous effort. As a

result of this timely help, the fishermen of thirty coastal villages

numbering about 20,000 had embraced Christianity and received

baptism. The fisher folk in the coastal areas affectionately called the

Catholic Fathers (priests) as Swarni or Padre and keenly obeyed the

George Menachery (ed.), Christian Encyclopaedia of India, Vol.1., Trichur, 1982,

p.14.George Mark Moares, A History of Christianity in India. D52-l542,

Bombay, 1930, pp. 143-146.of Christianity in India, Vol.1., Bangalore, 1984,A.MathiaS Mundadan, History

pp.391 -397.

30

religious orders taught by the Catholic Priests. Thus the Tinnevelly

region became the earliest mission territory of the Catholic Mission.6

King John of Portugal felt the heavy responsibility of finding

shepherds to lead the new converted Christians in Christian life. He

selected St.Francis Xavier of Company of Jesus to continue the pastoral

work in India particularly in the coastal areas. St.Xavier reached the

fishery coast in October 1 542. It was not easy for him to make the new

flock know and understand the tenets of Christianity and lead a true

Christian life .7

St.Francis Xavier of Jesus did the most effective work among the

fisherfolk between 1542 and 1544. He taught the Christians a prayer to

confess the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit in the sign of the

cross. He translated Christian instructions, the creed and the Lord's

Prayer into Tamil. He appointed catechists in the chief villages. Owing

to his strenuous effort, about 20,000 people embraced Christianity

(Roman Catholic denomination) in 30 villages. Among them,

Manappad, Alandalai, Virapandiyapatflam, Punnaikayal and Tuticorin

were the main coastal villages . 8 St.Francis did the Gospel Work until

November 1544. Then Fr.Antonio Crimanalis and Fr.Henri Henriquez

George Schurhammer, S-1, Francis Xavier His Life, His Tjjns, Vol-11., 1977,

Rome, pp.295, 300.A.M George Jagetheesan, Saint Francis Xavier, The St.Thomas Christian

E.ncv of India, Madras, 1982, pp.16-Y7.Paul Appasamy, The Centena[y jii.tQtY of the C.M.SJL]iwfleveth,

Palayarnkottai, 1923, p.3.

31

took so much effort to instruct the people systematically. Fr.l-lenriquez

gave religious instructions daily to the children, to girls in the morning

and to boys in the evening, to women on Saturdays and to men on

Sundays. This method of work tremendously increased the total number

of Catholic Christians. 9 After his death in 1600, there was no regular

parochial work among the Christians. Hence, the steady growth of the

Catholic mission in the coast areas was affected. 10

By 1600, Christianity was beginning to spread from the coast to

the interior areas. The Society of Jesus established its mission centre in

Madura under Father Gonzaluse Fernandez. The Missionaries of the

Society were called as Jesuit Fathers. Then it built churches in and

around Madura region." The Italian Jesuit, Robert de Nobili made an

experiment in Indianising Christianity." He wore a sacred thread, put on

the robe of the Indian Sanyasin, practised vegetarianism and called

himself a 'Roman Brahmin'. 1-le had his mission among the Brahmin

Hindus in Madura region-'3 From 1621, the Catholic population

progressed rapidly in the interior of Tinnevelly region. Tirukalur,

Palayam (Palamcottah), Kayathar, Kamaiyanayakaflpatti,

Vadakkankulam and Gurukalpatti became main Catholic centres in the

F J Western, The Early of The Tinnevelly Church, (An unpublished type writtenmaterial of the then Thshop of tinnevelly Diocese), Bishop Stephen Neill Studyand Reach Centre, Palayamkottai, 1950, pp2-23.

'° F.J.Western, Qp..cjt. , p. 27.Bishop R.Caldwell, A History ofTinnevelly, Madras, 1989, p.235.

12 New Catholic Encyclopaedia, Vol.X, New York, 1967, pp.477-478.13 P.Thomas, Churches Jn India, New Delhi, 1964, pp.4-5.

32

I nnevelly region with the efforts of Fr.BorgheSe and Fr.Constaflt

Beschi.' 4 The Roman religious authorities founded the congregation of

the Propagation of the Faith in 1622 with an aim to withdraw

missionary control from Spain and Portugal and to centralise the

Catholic mission in Rome. 15 This effort helped the mission to have the

Gospel work in India systematically. In about 1660, the Catholic

missionaries extended their work to the Ramnad region. 16 They laid

strong foundation of Catholic Mission in Tinnevelly region from 1690

to 1752.

Fr.Xavier, Fr. Peter Martin, Fr.Beschi, Fr.John Baptist Begola,

Fr.Thoinas de Fonseca, Fr. John Aloysious, Fr. Jacques Hartmann,

Fr.Joseph Kherening, Fr.Michael de Silva, Fr. Felix Maria Orti, Fr.

Laurence and Fr. Philip Pratt concentrated their Catholic Mission at

KamayanayakanPatti, Tenkasi, Kayathar, Pannikulam, Pettai and

Tinnevelly.' 7 There had been gradual growth in the missionary work

of the Catholic Mission in Tinnevelly; Madura and Ramnad region till

the intervention of the religious heads.

14 New Catholic Encyclopaedia, Vol.11, New York, 1967, p.364.1 5 Stephen Neil!, Gerald H.Andersofl, John Goodwin (eds.), C onc ise ictioiiof

the Christian World Mission, London, 1970, pp.4 14-415.

" F.).Western, QpcIt . , pp. l4-15.17 Adrian Caussanal, Historical Notes On The TinnevellY District, Vol.1

(An Unpublished manuscript of the Jesuit missionary and the founder of theSacred Heart of Jesus), Archives of the Society of Jesus, ChembagaflUr,

Kodaikanal, 1935, pp. 1-7.

INTERRUPTION IN THE GROWTH OF THE CATHOLIC

MISSION

The Catholic Mission in South India faced severe hindrances in

its work for the establishment of Catholic division fTorn its own Catholic

religious heads. It greatly impeded the growth of the mission. From

1609 to 1921 the Jesuits had to withdraw from the coast on account of

disagreement with the Bishop of Cochin. A considerable number of

Christians drifted back to Hindu practices and mingled among them.

The Dutch had a small group of its army and merchants at

Kayalpatinam region in that period. The Portuguese suspected that the

Dutch would strengthen its army in the coastal areas. Thirumalai

Nayakar helped the Portuguese to drive out the Dutch from

Kayalpatinam. Hence the Dutch attacked the Coast with ten ships and

captured Trichendur and burnt down Tuticonn in 1635. 18

In 1658, the Dutch captured the entire fishery coast from the

Portuguese and expelled the Catholic priests. In 1719, there was a sort

of rebellion against the Catholic missionaries by the fishermen. Then the

Portuguese Government stopped its support to the Catholic missionaries

in 1759 and cut off the financial support to the East Coast and interior

(Tinnevelly, Mudura and Ramnad) mission fields of Tinnevelly region.

Pope Clement XIV, the Catholic in Rome suppressed the Society of

Jebarathinam, Nayak's Period. History of Tamil Nadu, Tirunelveli, Madras,

983, p.242.

33

34

Jesus in 1773. 19 In this critical situation, the Portuguese ecclesiastical

authorities handed over their mission responsibilities to the French

Missionary Society (F.M.S.). This Society sent priests from Goa to these

regions. But the Goanese priests did not have fixed pastoral charges.

Moreover, they did not receive any help and supervision from their

heads. Hence, the Goanese priests lost their involvement in their duties.

Most of the churches had no regular pastoral supervision. As a result of

these factors, the Catholic congregations faced severe losses in numbers

and III It directly affected the growth of the Catholic mission in

Tinnevelly, Madura and Ramnad regions. 20

THEBEGINNINGS OF THE PROTESTANT MISSIONS IN

TINNEVELLY

The Protestant division, one of the major Christian

denominations, emerged in Germany in 1529 under Martin Luther, a

German priest. 21 Many North German states came under his influence.

Five princes and fourteen free cities signed a 'Protestatio' or 'Protestari'

at the meeting of the Reichstag at Speyer on 19d' April 1 529.22 In Latin

'Protestari' means "to profess" and "declare formally". The people of this

sect were called 'Protestants'. Luther founded the first Reformed Church

at Torgou in 1544 in Germany. This new sect spread all over the

F.J.Western, op-cit., pp.29 - 30.20

PP33 -21 Alan Richardson (ed.), A Dictionary of Christian Theology, Delhi, 1969,

pp.278-279.22 Vergilus Ferm (ed.), An Encyclopaedia of Religion, New York, 1945, p.616.

35

world. The chief characteristics of original Protestantism were the

acceptance of the Holy Bible as the only source of truth, the universal

priesthood of all believers of the Lord Jesus Christ and forgiveness of

sins solely through faith in Jesus Christ and not on the Catholic leader,

Pope. The Protestantism also ininimised the liturgical aspects of

Christianity and emphasised the preaching and hearing the world of God

24entirely from the Holy Bible before sacramental faith and practice.

The main Protestant denominations are the Anglican Communion,

Episcopalian in the U.S.A., Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists,

Pentecostals and Presbyterians. The Diocese of Tinnevehly is one of the

Protestant organisations in the Anglican Communion in South India.

In India, the English East India Company and Dutch East India

Company started their trade in 1600 and 1602 respectively. The Dutch

were the first to bring Protestant Christianity to Tinnevehly. In 1658, the

I)utch Company captured luticorin from the hands of the Portuguese.

They expelled the Catholic priest from the towns of Nagapatinam and

Tuticorin. The Fathers flew to the nearby forests for refuge and began to

live in huts. The Dutch also occupied the Catholic churches, removed

the religious images and church ornaments, and turned many of them to

warehouses. Moreover, they tried to convert the local fisher-folk to

Protest ant isin, by force. They built a church in 1750 and the whole

Delhi, 987,Man Thomson, Newp.12.

24 The Complete Reference Encyclopaedia, South Australia, 1994, pp.703-705.

36

structure is cruciform in shape. They did not share their church with

native people and not indulge in Gospel work intensively. 25 In due

course, the Protestant influence faded away because of lack of

continuous pastoral care.

FROM TRANQUEBAR TO TINNEVELLY

In 1621, Denmark installed a trading centre as Danish East India

Company at Tranquebar in the Tamil Country. 27 The King of Denmark,

Frederick IV purchased a small territory oil coromandal coast from

the King of Tanjore through his Chaplain Dr.Lukens, with an aim to

spread Protestantism in South India. He founded the Royal Danish

Mission (R.D.M.) Through the efforts of two Danish merchants, Crape

and Gedde, the Denmark King made a treaty with the King AchutapPa

in 1620, by which the Nayak ceded Tranquebar with fifteen

neighbouring villages - a strip of land of 25 square miles against an

3, Ill. In 1621, the Denmark installed a tradingannual tribute of Rs. centre as Danish East India Company. Frederick IV directed Professor

Francke of the Halle University to find suitable missionaries with an

aim to appoint them for the evangelistic mission of the Denmark at

selected BartholomaeI1 ziegenhalg and HenryTranquebar; Francke

Plutschau.2S

Frank Penny, The ad ras, T he His1904,p.581.

Missiona Action of the East India Company, London,26 Bishop R.CaldweII, p.cit, pp.237-238.27 G.0 Pope, A Text-book of Indian History, New Delhi,

1979, p.260.

28 j

A Sharrock, South Indian Mission, Westminster, 1910, pp.25-30.

37

These first Protestant Missionaries of South India -- Ziegenbaig

and Plutscliau -- came to Tranquebar oil July 1706 from Halle of

Germany through the Danish Mission. 29 A new epoch was opened in the

history of Christianity in South India. Realising the power of the printed

word and the need of scriptures and tracts in the local language in the

field of evangelism, Ziegenbaig learned the Tamil language from a

native man called Mudaliappan 30 andtook more efforts to translate the

Bible into Tamil. 31

The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (S.P.C.K.),

England sent a printing machine along with a printer, Tamil letters and

papers to Ziegenbaig in 1711. He printed the New Testament of the

Bible in Tarnil in 1714. He translated the Old Testament upto the

chapter Ruth, with the help of Mudaliappan. After rendering his

valuable service to the Tamil country for thirteen years, he breathed his

last in 1719. The Rev. Benjamin Schultz completed the translation

work of the ziegenbaig and printed the Old Testament in 1727. The

Tamil Bible is the first major prose work in the Tamil and the first

Asian language to have the Bible translated and printed. Johann Phillip

Fabricius, the successor of the Rev.SchultZ, introduced the first Tamil

29 J.A.Sharrock, South I than Mission, Westminster, 1910, pp.28-29° N.T. Sathianathan, A Sketch of Church History, Madras, 1910, pp.420 —421.

.S-9.1 N.C.Sargent The Dispersion of the Tamil Church, Madras, 1940, pp

38

hymn book. 32 These boosted the mission work and hastened the

sprouting of churches all over Tainil Nadu.

After Ziegenbaig, the other missionaries wanted to come out from

Tranquebar and extend the mission work in other parts of the Tamil

country. This desire extended upto Tinnevelly in due course. The King

of Denmark did not share their eagerness and stopped his financial help

to the missionaries. 33 The British East India Company also did not offer

their support to the Christian missionaries physically or financially.

They feared that the missionary activity might spoil their major purpose

in India, namely Profitable trade' .34 It was not possible for the

missionaries to continue the Gospel work with limited financial

resources or to seek the financial support from the local people in their

early stage of mission.

In this situation the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge

(S.P.C.K.) in England came forward to offer their timely help to the

missionaries. The S.P.C.K. was the oldest organisation for the Christian

religious work in the Church of England. The religious heads founded

the S.P.C.K. in 1698. His Majesty the King of England was the patron

of the S.P.C.K. its main aims were doing literacy campaign for poor

people, publishing Christian religious books and promoting Christian

* B S Kesavan, History of Printing and Publishin g. ifllflia, Vol.1, 1985, India,

pp.40-48.V.Henry Packianathan, pcjt., pp.IV - VI.

,14 Mathew Zachariah, Christian Education and Cultural Transfoim.tiQ.aitilfld-La,

Madras, 1981, p.3.

39

knowledge in foreign countries. The S.P.C.K. was the first Protestant

Mission that propagated Christianity in Tinnevelly area. It was

responsible for the establishment of Christianity in this area .36

The founder of the first Christian congregation of Tinnevelly was

the Rev.Christian Frederick Schwartz of Brandenburg, an S.P.C.K.

Missionary. 37 Induced by Schultz, one of the translators of the Tamil

Bible, at Halle in Germany, after 1746, he came to Tarnil Nadu as a

missionary. He reached Tranquebar oil July 1 750 and had his

missionary career under the Danish Mission. In 1 767, lie became the

S.P.C.K. missionary in Trichinopoly. He started a mission in Tanjore

with three catechists in I 772. Then he extended his missionary work to

Trichy region. He supervised the ministry of the catechists of

Tranquebar. Sonic of Schwar tz ? s catechists namely Savariinuthiu,

Rayappan, Gnanaprakasam and Savari rayan frequently visited

Tinnevehly and prepared the ground for establishing the Protestant

Mission in the Tinnevelly region.39

Businessmen of Tinnevelly area visited Trichinopoly frequently.

The Rev. C. F. Schwartz instructed them regularly and converted some of

Henry Otis Dwight & H.Allen Tupper & Edwin Munsell Bliss, Ib.EncyçJppedia of Missions, 2"

d edition, London, 1904, p.687.36 James Hough, The of Christianity in India, Vol.111, London, 1845,

pp.'-3.R Caidwel!, Records of the early History of the Tinnevelly Mission Lthe

S.C.Knithc S.P.G. in For6gn pri, 188!, p4.

Mildred E.Gbbs, The Analiçan C hurch ihd, Madras, 1972, p.!6.

James Hough, Qp cit., pp.!-2.

40

them to Christianity. A Trichinopoly Church Register of 1770 had a

name, Lakhsmanan alias Gnanapragasam, who belonged to Tinnevelly.

One of the journals of the Rev.Schwartz dated 1771 contained a note

about Tinnevelly and a name of Savarimuthu of Palan1cottah. Thus

Christianity began to sprout in the soil of Tinnevelly.4°

In the end of February 1778, the Rev. Schwartz made his first

visit to Palamcottah on the invitation of a European Sergeant to

solemnise the marriage and baptize several European children. During

this visit, he baptised Kohila, a royal Mahratta widow of Tanjore, on 3rd

March 1778 at Palamcottah41 with the converted name 'Clarinda 2 This

baptismal name was given to her at her request. 43 The local people

kindly called her as Pappathi Animal and Rasa (Royal) Clarinda.44

Clarinda was a member of the Mahratta royal family of Tanjore

and had been the wife of a Brahmin officer at the Tanjore Royal Court.

Col. Lyttleton, an English military officer, saved her from being burnt

alive (Sathi) with the corpse of her husband. San was prevalent among

the royal families in Tanjore and Pudukottai regions at that time. The

saved widow tried to go back to her family but her parents did not

40 R.CaldwelI, op-cit., pp. 14-25.41 Paul Appasarny, pcit., pp. 11-I2.42 In the Tinnevelly Church Register of 1780, her name was written in Tamil as

Clarindal. It was James Hough, the Garrison Chaplain at Palamcottah (1816-1820), who first spelt the name as Clorinda. (Paul Appasamy,Qp.&IL pp.1 1 - 12)Henry Packianathan, Qpçit., p.V.Paul Kadambavanam, The Foundation of the Diocese of Tirunelyli,Palyamkottai, 1960, pp.22 —23.

if

accept her in the family. This critical situation led the abandoned

woman to take refuge with the English and live with Lyttleton in

Tanjore. He taught her the doctrines of Christianity, which attracted and

comforted her so much. She approached the local Christian missionary,

the Rev. Schwartz and requested him to teach her more about

Christianity and give her baptism. But he refused her request on moral

grounds .45 At that stage, the English Army transferred Lyttleton to

Palamcottali Fort, where the English had a military garrison. They lived

together at Palamcottah. She sincerely nursed him when lie was

suffering from gout frequently. On accounting of this disease, he died

early and left her the whole of his property .46 With this wealth, she

carried on various philanthropic and religious activities. The Tinnevehly

Church calls Clarinda the mother of the Congregation of Tinnevehly.47

The S.P.C.K. sent the Rev.Phole to Tinnevelly to help the

Rev.Schwartz in the Tinnevelly mission till 1779. He ministered at

Palamcottah in June and July 1 779. The first Church Register of

Tinnevelly dated 1780 contained forty names of converted Christians.

The Rt.Rev.Robert Caldwell, the Bishop of Tinnevelly in the 190'

century found it in Tanjore. The year 1780 was the year of the origin of

the Tinnevelly congregation in the Protestant division.4

Paul Appasamy, op - cit., pp. 11-13.46 RCaldwelI, Qpcit., p.8.

V.Henry Packianathan, Qpçj , p. IV.

RCaIdwell, cp.çiL, pp.9-I2.

42

Clarinda was free from the curse of casteism. The first five names

were those of her household members from different castes. She

admitted the so-called lower caste and the marginalised people into the

Christian fellowship. The forty-member list of her first congregation

reflected this well. There were twelve different castes in that register

ranging from Brahmin, Vaduhan, Parayar, Pillais, Iluvas, Thattars,

Chetties, Pallar, Maravas, Panikars, Vellalars, Vannars and

Savalakarars. Most of them belonged to Tinnevelly, Palamcottah,

Parppanathapuram and Ukkirarnankottai. Thus the multi-ethnic flock

laid the strong foundation for the growing congregation. 49

Clarinda took great interest in nurturing the infant church and

worked enthusiastically for its growth. She acquired Bible extracts, and

Christian literatures from Tranquebar for her evangelistic work and

distributed them among literate for propagating Christianity. 50 In

December 1783, Clarinda left for Tanjore along with two assistants to

meet the Rev.Schwartz to get a pastor to Palamcottah. She met the

Tranquebar missionaries of the Rev.Schwartz because Schwartz was not

in Tanjore. In response to her request, they sent Visuvasi at the end of

January 1784. He was so irresponsible and unhelpful to Clarinda's

rninistry. 1 Therefore the Rev.Schwartz sent Gnanapragasarn in July

1784. In 1784, there were 51 Christian members in Palamcottah, 30

R.Caldwell, op.cit., pp.9-12.50 T.Packiamuthu The Holy Bible and Tinneiiy,l7S Anniversary Souvenir Qf

the Bible Society of India (1811-1986 , Palayamkottai, September 1986,pp.7-8.

' V.Henry Packianathan, pcit., pp.Vlll-IX.

43

members in Otlarampatti and 24 members in Therivilai. Clarinda herself

appointed Maria Savari as a catechist and met his salary from her own

resources. Meanwhile, Clarinda took more efforts to build a church at

Palamcottali. With the help of the local people and some English men,

she started the construction work in 1783. It took one and a half years

for completion. The Rev.Schwartz sent Karpagam Sathiyanatliafl of

Trichy in January 1785 to Palarncottah to see the condition of the infant

congregation. 52 Sathiyanathan returned to Tanjore with the invitation of

Clarinda to dedicate the new church. On 24th August 1785, the

Rev.Schwartz dedicated the new church. It was the first Protestant

church in the Palamcottah area . 3 In the second visit, he baptised more

than 100 converted Christians. He stayed at Palamcottah for three weeks

and did parochial work three times a day and encouraged the

congregation .

From 1785, Sathiyanathaii stayed in Palamcottah and did Gospel

work in Tinnevelly and its surrounding areas, Chanpathu, Mudalur and

Valaiyadi (Nazareth) areas. In September 1790, the Rev.SchWa11Z

called him back to Tanjore and gave special training in Church ministry

pcIt, pp. 11155'

P.S.KadambaVaflam, The Origin of the TinnevellY Church (Tamil), Tirunelveli,

1967, pp. 14-21.V.1Icnry Packianathan, gp ..cjt., pp.Vll1-1X.Before 1803, there was no name of Nazareth in the missionary records. in 1803the Rev.John Kohlhoff bought a large piece of land in West of Chanpathuvillage for Rs.28. The written bond (Kiraya pathira), had the heading as

Valalyadi Nazareathur'.(D.Atad0, Hi sto Ly

Mjic.fl, Nazareth,195 0 , p21).

for three months at Vallam. On 29th December 1790, lie ordained him

at Tranquebar to administer the congregation of Tinnevelly. He was the

first Indian Superintendent Missionary of Tinnevelly. The Rev.Joseph

Daniel Jaenicke accompanied him from 16th October 1791. 56 He was

the first resident missionary of the S.P.C.K. Mission in Tinnevelly. He

caine to Tranquebar, on 27th August 1788 from Halle in Germany and

was instructed and trained by the Rev.Scliwartz in the evangelistic field

and in Tamil language for doing Church ministry .57 From Palamcottah,

he undertook the evangelistic work with Sathiyanathan and his

Catechists and visited all the nearby villages in Tinnevelly more than

one time and spread the knowledge of the Gospel dedicatedly. 1-us

repeated itinerancies yielded fruitful result in his mission.SX

In 1791, the total members of the Church touched the figure four

hundred. The Rev.Jaenicke visited Padmanabapuram, Poovani,

Kal I akad u, Ambasamudram, Pabanasam, Courtal lam, Cheranmahadevi,

Pail chalamkurichi and Attur. Dr.J.P.Rottler came to Tinnevelly from

Tranquebar in October 1795. He resided in the house of the

Rev.Jaenicke and did Gospel work and Church ministry with

Sathiyanathan. Sathiyanathan requested the Rev.Schwartz to send a

helper to assist him in the church service. Hence, Schwartz sent David

of Kalangudi to Palamcottah in September 1796. His original name was

NI A Sherri ng, Histjy_cLProteStant_Missions in India, London, 1884,

p3 13.57 1bd., pp 311-3)

Joseph Mullens, Mission in South India, London,1854, pp. 100 - 101

45

Sundaranandan, who was instructed in Christianity and baptised by the

Rev.Kohlhoff in Tanjore.

David also did Gospel work at Vijayaramapurain and

Shanmugapuram with the assistance of Sathiyanathan. As a result of his

effort, in 1797, a group of forty people of these two areas accepted

Christianity. Their non-Christian neighbours persecuted the new

converted Christians and demolished their prayer house twice. The

people assembled under a tree for worship. Therefore, David decided to

shift the Christian families of these areas to a new place. In August

1799, he purchased a land near Adaiyal with the financial assistance of

Captain Everett, a friend of the S.P.C.K in Palamcottah and dug a well

and built a prayer house there. Then the converted Christians migrated

to this new place. Being the first entirely Christian settlement in

60Tinnevelly region, they named the village 'Mudalur' ('First Village').

The Rev. Schwartz died in 1798 after rendering a valuable service in

South India. The Rev. Gericke succeeded him as the head of the

S.P.C.K mission in South India. In 1800, the Rev.Jaenicke accompanied

him and did Gospel work by visiting all villages in and around

Palamcottah. He also established churches in Ramnad and Manapar

(Tuticorin). In 1800, he accompanied the Rev.Gericke and visited

Ramnad, Tuticorin and Madura. He passed away on 10th May 1800 in

Tanjore.

V . HenryPackiaflathafl, PP-1X-X11-60 Bishop R.CaldwelI, p.cit, pp.246-247

PERSECUTION OF POLIGARS

In 1801, the Poligars deployed in the Tinnevelly region began to

persecute the converted Christians of Tinnevelly. They suspected the

native Christians as supporters, traitors and spies of the British

Government since they severely opposed the British rule in India. They

tortured and plundered the Christians, destroyed some of the churches

and in some places, set fire to the religious books in churches. Many

Christians in Tinnevelly region left their houses and flew to nearby

forests. Many converted Christians abandoned Christianity and

backslided. 6 ' On 5th September 1799, the army of the East India

Company carried out the punishment of death against K.attabomma

Nayaka in vindication of the killing of company's troops and hanged

him near the old fort of Kayathar. 62 The English army demolished the

fort of Kattabomma Nayaka in Panjalamkurichi.63

In this critical time, Sathiyanathan left for Panjalamkurichi and

instructed the scattered Christians for one week. Then he visited

Madurai, Dindugal and Tanjore. During the period of last Poligar

rebellion, there was no Christian leader in Tinnevelly region to comfort

the people. Sathiyanathan also could not come back to Tinnevelly.

In 1801, the Tinnevelly region came under the control of the British

61 MASherring, gp.gt., p.3 15.62 Bishop R.Caldwell, opit, pp. 188-190.

Narpothag.m, September 1976, p.406.

Me

47

from the hands of Navabs. As a result of it, the threat of Poligars came

to an end. The Rev.Gericke came to Tiiinevelly in 1802 and encouraged

the Christians to stand firmly on their faith. He continued his

evangelistic work by visiting villages and baptised nearly 1300

persons. Sathiyanathan returned to Palamcottah at the end of 1802. In

1802, about 5474 people received baptism and joined the Church.

The Hindu neighbours continued the persecution also in 1802.

The non-Christians and the local government workers subjected the

converted Christians to cruelties and unjust harshness. They levied

double taxes on the converted Christians. They compelled the Christians

to renounce their faith oil Nearly, eight thousand converted

Christians backslid due to the persecution .65 The S.P.C.K. sent the

Rev.John Kohihoff to Palamcottah oil March I 803 to assist the

persecuted Christians in keeping up their morale. He met the Tinnevelly

District Collector and the Assistant Collector, who assured full

protection. Even then some miscreants burnt down the church at

Mudalur in 1803. Therefore, the S.P.C.K. of London approached the

Directors of East India Company regarding the prolonged persecution.

Then the Madras Government and the Directors of East-India Company

discussed this matter seriously and passed a resolution on 16th July

1805 to provide the necessary protection to the Christians and sent a

copy of the resolution to the Collector in Tinnevelly oil August

M.A.Sherring, cp&IL, pP.315316'65 NarpQihgm, September 1976, p.406.

FKOIaue

1805. According to the order, the Government ensured the missionaries

all protection and guaranteed the converted Christians the same

religious toleration and freedom enjoyed by the Hindus and Muslims.

This order temporarily put an end to the persecution, injustice and

machinations of the Hindu officials and neighbours.

The Rev.Kohlhoff purchased a land in the west of Chanbathu

village for Rs.28/- in 1803 for a Christian settlement with an aim to

protect the converted Christians from the hardship of their fellowrnen.67

The Missionaries carefully maintained the land records (Poomi

Pathiram) in order to avoid any dispute with the local people over the

mission properties. Discord and misunderstanding between him and his

Church Workers marred the last two years of Sathiyanathan in

Tinnevelly (1804 - 1805). They treated him as an alien. Moreover, he

received no support from the side of the Rev.C.S.KohlhOff and

Mr.Samuel Sawyer, who was a Portuguese merchant of East India

Company and a supporter of the S.P.C.K. in ministry. The Rev.Kohlhoff

found Sathiyanathan so advancing in age. Hence he ordained four new

Catechists. All these things induced Sathiyanathan to abandon his

ministry in Tinnevelly. Hence he left for Tanjore in 1806•6S He paid a

visit to Tinnevelly during the severe famine of 1810. He breathed his

last in 1815 in Tanjore.

James Hough, Qp . cit., pp.679-68 I.67 D A.ChristadosS, Histo of Nazareth Mission (Tamil), The Nazareth Circle

Jubilee Committee, Nazareth, 1950, P.11Paul Appasamy, Qp. cit., pp - 19-21

Gnatiapragasam, a Catechist, was the successor of Sathiyanathan.

He functioned on his own way. 1-lence, the Rev.Kohlhoff approached

the S.P.C.K. to appoint an assistant to him. But the S.P.C.K. was not in

a position to send any minister. Therefore, he invited Ringletaube, a

missionary of London Missionary Society (L.M.S.) from Tranquebar.

The L.M.S. offered him its limited support of 100 pounds to engage

some Catechists and supervise them. But the S.P.C.K. did not accept

this arrangement made by the Rev.Kohlhoff on 4th February 1 808 and

advised its missionaries not to have any contact with the L.M.S.

Therefore, Ringletope left Tinnevelly and began his ministry in

Travancore (South) in 1808. The S.P.C.K. appointed Vedanayagarn in

the place of Gnanapragasam. The S.P.C.K. transferred the Rev.Kohlhoff

to Dindugal. In remembrance of his effort, the people of a new Christian

settlement near Odangudy called their village, Christianagaram after

Christian S.Kohlhoff7°

The regions of Tinnevelly, Madura and Ramnad experienced

heavy flood from December 1810 to December 1811. It followed a

severe famine in 1812 and 1813. The people of these areas were

scattered to different places to earn their bread. An epidemic fever

called Dindugal or Coimbatore fever took a heavy toll of lives including

The L.M.S.was founded in London in 1795 with an aim to propagateChristianity among tribes. Later on, it extended its service all over thevor1d(W.T. Sathianathan, Qprcit. , p.412).

70 R CaIdwell (1), Lectures on the TinnevellyMiSSiPiL5, London, 1857, pp51-53.

50

that of Pastor Vedanayagam in 1813. During this critical period, the

non-Christians rose against the Christians in many places of Tinnevelly

region. They harassed them in many ways. Mr.Sarnuel Sawyer, the

suppoiter of the S.P.C.K., managed the salary disbursement for

Catechists of the S.P.C.K. mission iii Tinnevelly region. He came

forward to help them by providing a separate area as a refuge. He

bought a 150 acres of land located to the north of river Thamirabarani

and settled the poor persecuted Christians there in 1814, which was

named after him as Sawyerpuram. 7 ' The death of Mr.Sawyer72 in 181 5

deprived the Christians of the entire province of Tinnevelly of a kind

Christian supporter and helper.73

After the death of the Rev.Gericke in 1803, the Tinnevelly

Church had no proper religious heads or Catechists to administer the

Church. Till the arrival of the Rev.Jarnes Hough in 1816 at Palamcottaii,

the Christians in Tinnevelly region were almost neglected. Hence the

Church called this period as the dark period of the Tiiinevelly Church. 74

The Rev.l-Iough visited every church and encouraged the pastors and

congregations... He found that most of them had no Holy Bibles or Prayer

The Madras Diocesan Record, Vol VI, No.2., April-June 1892, p.55.Most of the Historians wrote that Mr. Sawyer died in 1816. This is an error dueto a mistaken entry in Paul Appasamy's 'The Centenary History of theC M S in Tinnevlly' (pp.21 -22). it should be 1815, as borne out by theinscription on Sawyer's grave situated in the Old Cemetery of the East IndiaCompany, adjoining Clarinda's Church, Palamcottah.James Hough, op.cit., p.251.D A Christadoss, History of Nazareth Mission, The Nazareth Circle JubileeCommittees, Nazareth, 1950, p.22.

51

books in their language, Tamil. Hence he immediately secured more

copies of the Holy Bible and religious books for them .75 He

concentrated not only on the evangelistic and parochial work but also on

the educational work. He established Anglo-Vernacular schools at

Thatchanallur, Melapalayarn, Tuticorin, Mudalur and a girl's school in

Nazareth. He founded a special school with a hostel for giving training

Christian students in Church ministry.76

The Rt.Rev.Thomas F.Middleton, the first Bishop of Calcutta

visited Palamcottah oil March 1816. It was a first ever visit of a

Bishop to Tinnevelly. Some thirty Christians of Palamcottah headed

by their Pastor Abraham welcomed him by singing a Psalm out of

the Tamil Prayer Book. The Tinnevelly Church offered a nice reception

to him at Clarinda's Church, Palamcottah. 77 This visit was a moral

boost and encouragement for the local Christians.

During the period of the Rev-Hough from 1816 to 1821, the

Church of Tinnevelly got tremendous growth. He built a church in the

fort of Palamcottah, later known as 'Christ Church'. He founded

theological seminaries at Palamcottah and Nazareth in 1818 and 1819

respectively. 78 He also undertook a survey of all the neighbouring

'Stephen Neil!, The Christian Church in India and Pakistan, London, pp.69-70.76 Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East, 1819-

1820, London, pp. 154-159.Lives of Missionaries - Southern India, First Series, The Committee ofGeneral Literature and Education, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge,

London, 1900, pp.279 —280.Paul Appasamy, Qpcit., pp.34-36.

52

villages in Tinnevelly region at the request of the Madras Committee of

the S.P.C.K. Mission. He found 3,100 native Christians in sixty-three

villages. After visiting these areas, the Rev.Hough submitted his survey

reports to the S.P.C.K. about the position of the Church in Tinnevelly,

the progress made by the Church, religious and social condition of the

Tinnevelly region in September 1818, September 1819 and August

1820. After analysing his reports, the S.P.C.K. allotted a considerable

amount every month for educational development service in Tinnevelly

region from 1820. The Tinnevelly Church people honoured him by

renaming a village as Houghierpuram.

The Rev.1-Iough fell ill in the beginning of 1820 hence he wanted

to leave Tinnevelly and requested the S.P.C.K. to appoint a new

missionary in his place. But the S.P.C.K. was not in a position to

appoint new missionaries to Tinnevelly because it had a few

missionaries in hand for South India. Therefore, the Rev.Hough

approached the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S.). The C.M.S. also

accepted the request of the Rev.Hough and decided to send a missionary

to Tinnevelly. The Rev.Hough paved the way for the Church

Missionary Society (C.M.S.) in Tinnevelly.SO

Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East, 1820-

1821, London, pp. 158-159.

11 bid.

53

ROLE OF THE C.M.S. AND THE S.P.G. MISSIONS

After the missionary service of the S.1.C.K. Mission in

Tinnevelly region, the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S.) and the

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (S.P.G.) played in a vital role

for the growth and strengthening of the congregation of Tinnevelly

District. The C.M.S. 8 ' and the S.P.G. Missions were founded in England

in 1799 and in 1701 respectively for the propagation of Protestant

Christianity all over the world. In the beginning, their missionaries for

Indian mission were all Germans and Danes of the Lutheran Church

trained in their own country and ordained according to their own rite.

Before sailing to India, they came to England for getting prior

insti-uctions regarding their mission in !ndia. 2 In South India, the

C.M.S. had the C.M.S. Corresponding Committee and the S.P.G. had

the Madras District Committee, both at Madras. They looked after their

respective mission's work in Tamil Nadu.

THE C.M.S. MISSION IN TINNEVELLY

The C.M.S. established its mission at Black Town, Madras in

January 1815 with two German missionaries, the Rev.Charles

Theophilus Ewald Rhenius and the Rev.Snarr. They already got training

in Taniil language at Tranquebar. The Rev.Rhenius established Madras

The Early name of the C.M.S. was 'The Society for Missions to Africa and theEast (S.M.A.E.)'. It was formed by the Eclectic Society of England (E.S.E.).

82 Eugene Stock, Histo of the Church Missiona Society, YQLL, London, 1899,

p 23

54

Bible Society in on 5UI November 1817 to published Gospel portions

and tracts ill Tamil language. It was a branch of the British and Foreign

Bible Society (B.F.B.S.) of England . 3 For administering the distribution

work, he established Madras Tract Society on 290I September 1 818.

Thus the Rev.Rhenius laid the strong foundation for the Gospel work of

the C.M.S. in Tamil country. In this time the C.M.S. received the

requesting letter of the Rev.Hough for extending its mission field to

Tinnevelly region.

In response to the request of the Rev.James Hough in the middle

of 1820, the C.M.S. Corresponding Committee in Madras sent the

Rev.C.T. E. Rhenius to Palaincottab on 7th July 1820 as the first C.M.S.

Missionary in Tinnevelly. The Rev.Rhcnius had already been brought

LIP in the spirit of the Tinnevelly Mission at the Missionary College in

Berlin because the founder of the College was a brother of the

Rev.J.D.Jaenicke, the first resident missionary of the S.P.C.K. Mission

in 1 mnevelly. Bernard Schmid accompanied him on 20th October

1820. In March 1821, the Rev.Hough was transferred to Poonthmalli

(near Madras). He handed over three C.M.S. churches and eleven

schools situated in and around Palamcottah to the Rev.Rhenius. In 1822,

83 S. V. Solomon, Histo of the Bible Society. 175th Anniversary of the BibleSociety of India, (1811 - 1986, Madras, 1986, p.6.Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East, 1820 -

1821, London, pp. 158-159.Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society, 1821-1822, London, pp. 142-

146.6 Tinnevelly Diocesan Council Report, 1954-1955, p.4.

55

the S.P.C.K. requested the Rev.Rhenius to administer their churches and

schools in Nazareth and Mudalur. He built the first C.M.S. Church at

Palamcottah in March 1822 87

The Rev.Rhenius was an expert in Tamil Translation works. He

evolved a simple and clear structure in his translation works. He started

revising the Tamil Bible in 181 5. He entirely modified the earlier

translation of Fabricius. The Fabricius work was a literal translation

with Greek and Hebrew structures, and had more Sanskritization which

made Tamil more complex. The Rev.Rhenius adopted the natural order

and idioms of Tamil and avoided spoken Tamil, which differed from

place to place. He changed the old practice of writing words together

and provided space between words. He finished the translation work of

New Testament in 1822. He founded the 'Native Religious Tract

Society' at Nagercoil in October 1822 to propagate Christian Religious

truths in Tinnevelly region. 90 He also prepared and printed separate

handbills for Moharnedans. He also prepared textbooks in Tamil

language for History, Geography, and Astronomy. 91

V.Henry Packianathan, Qp.cit., p.XXIV.Church Missionary Record, September 1830, London, p.200.A Committee of Anglican missionaries did not accept the Rev.Rhenius' revisedNew Testament in Tamil. It simply pointed out that he did not adhere closelyto the original and the translation was not in the pattern of the authorizedEnglish Version. [The 1 75th Anniversary Souvenir of Bible Society.of

India, (1811 -1986). Madras, 1986. pp. 9— 10.1° Rhenius Junior, Memoir of the

and Correspondence, London, MDCCCXLI, p375.91 Church Missionary Record, September 1830, London, p 200.

56

Ilis Tamil religious tracts and Tamil Bible were very much useful

in his evangelistic work among the neoliterates and the educated non-

Christians. During the cholera season, he distributed his special tracts on

hygiene also. He introduced the 'Tract Fund', which was called as

Pidi Ansi Kanikkai (the offering of the handful of rice). Accordingly,

Christian women took and saved a handful of rice every day from the

rice taken for cooking the daily meal. At the end of a certain period, the

rice thus saved was given to their local church as an offering. The

Rev.Rhenius concentrated more on evangelistic work by travelling all

over the district of Tinnevelly and established churches in villages. He

usually travelled in his white horse for preaching and catechising. He

followed a strategy to face opposition from the non-Christians in

establishing churches by setting up school at first and then converted

them into school curn churches. On seeing this, the people in other

villages also voluntarily requested hirn to found school in their villages

and showed no opposition for establishing churches. The Rev. Rhenius

opened 107 Primary Schools in Tinnevelly region within five years

from 1820. 92 Owing to his great effort, many people at Keelapattam,

Kok i rakul am, Kansapuram, M urappanadu, Sri vaigundam, Arul ur,

Sathankulam, Sevel, Al ankul am, Peykulam, Pandarapuram,

Chekkadivilai, Naduvakurichy, Appuvilai, Achampatti,

Valli amaipuram, Neduvilai (Mengnanapurarn), Padukkapathu,

Jason S.Dharmaraj,German Contribution to the TinnevellyiJirc h, A paper

presented in the Bishop Stephen Neil! Study and Research Centre,Palayamkottai, 1996, p.3.

57

Govindapatti, Oolakarai, Karisalpatti and Kadachapuram embraced

Christianity. 93 In 1825, the people of 125 villages in Tinnevelly

belonged to the C.M.S.

In 1824, the Rev.Rhenius purchased ftom his wealthy Hindu

friend and philanthropist, Vengu Mudelliar, a valuable land to the North

of the High Road in Palamcottah for a concessional price of Rs.750/-.

Oil 3rd of January 1826, he laid the foundation for a church in that

place, later known as the Holy Trinity Cathedral . 94 It was an imposing

landmark in the whole district of Tinnevelly. As a result of his effort,

new congregations emerged at Sattankulam, Neduvi Ilai,

Mengnanapuram, Idaiyankulam, Asirvathapuram, Nallur and Surandai.

Due to the missionary labour of the Rev.Rhenius, a considerable

number of Catholic Christians at Kayathar, Pannikulam and

Vadakkankulam joined in the Protestant churches. He established a new

Christian settlement for the persecuted Christians of Arulur

(Satankulam) in 1825 and named it as Kirubapuram (Village of

Grace)." He formed a new village in 1827 at a new site known as

Puliyurkurichi, out of money donated by Prussian gentleman, Count

Dohna of Schiodin, and called after him Dohnavur. 96 He created another

9 i'aulAppasafl1y, QiLQ! t. , p.44.Rhenius Junior, Qp..ct., pp.263-266.

95 The Statistics of the C.S.I.Diocese of Tinnevelly - 1980, South Church Council,Sathyanagararn Pastorate, p. 145.

96 D S George Mu11er,Porait of the DioceseTinneveUY,pa1aYamk0tt, 1992, p.7.

58

Christian settlement at Neduvilal and renamed it as Mengnanapuram,

97meaning abode of true divine knowledge.

The Rev.Rhenius converted a closed and abandoned school into a

chapel at Courtalum Rasta in 1831. He met the Hindu leaders and

philosophers at the chapel every Wednesday day evening answering

their questions on religious matters. Thus he earned many Hindu

friends. Non-Christians voluntarily came forward to know more about

Christianity and the literate received Gospel portions from the

Rev.Rhenius. 98 He was a well-equipped priest with the knowledge of

Hinduism. He offered special lectures of Hinduism. He offered special

lectures every Wednesday in Tinnevelly Town, a Hindu centre. The

local Brahmins and orthodox Hindus eagerly gathered near the

Nellaiappar temple for attending his lectures. He used to gather his

Catechists once a month at his headquarters to equip them in their parish

work and Gospel work. The Rev.Rhenius initiated the practice of

assembling the Christian members in the early morning and evening for

prayer in their local churches. 99 Moreover, he induced the native people

to support their own churches by initiating the 'Native Philanthropic

Society' in 1830 .The Society carried out external works of die mission,

such as land for the settling of converted Christians, for raising funds for

b S George Muller, V.Joseph Abraham, The Trail of the Tinnevelly.hurCh,

Palayamkottai, 1964, p.6.9? Church Missionary Record of the Church Missionary Society, September 1830,

London, p.202. JJJ L Wyatt, Madras, 1894, p.99.

59

the purchase of property for the mission, construction and maintenance

of the buildings. All the members of the Society were native Christians.

The Christian missionaries were the treasurers. He also introduced the

'Pool' Fund' in 1 832 to feed the poor people. He established the C.M.S.

Gospel Mission to enhance evangelistic work in new areas. Thus the

congregations were taught to support churches.°°

BREACH BETWEEN THE C.M.S. AND THE REV.RHEN1US

Owing to the untiring effort of the Rev.Rhenius, the frontier of

the C.M.S. was enlarged. It was not possible for a single man to look

after the entire area of the mission. Therefore, he approached the C.M.S.

to offer him permission to give ordination to his seven Catechists as

priests according to the rites of the Lutheran denomination. But the

C.M.S. advised him to follow the Anglican rites in the ordination

service and also pointed out that the Bishop iii India got the power from

the British Parliament to offer ordination to Indians in 1824. The

C.M.S. was not able to allow Lutheran system in its mission fields. But

the Rev.Rhenius was not satisfied with the reply of the C.M.S. He

showed his protest through a letter to the C.M.S. and published a

pamphlet against the C.M.S. in 1834, which questioned the principles of

the Church of England. Moreover, he himself conducted ordination

service and confirmation service against the Therefore, the

Thbenius Junior, pp.376 & 422.Eyre Chalterton, History of the Church of Engl4L—nd inincia London,

1924.p. 192.

r4ii

C.M.S. passed a resolution against the Rev.Rhenius, severing its

connection with him and communicated its decision to the C.M.S.

Conesponding Committee, Madras in a letter dated j301 February 1835.

The CMS accused him of 'Perversion of Ecclesiastical Records' and

'making garbled quotations against the C.M.S. Moreover, it appointed

the Rev.John Tucker, the Secretary of the C.M.S. Committee, Madras,

in his place. 1112

The Rev. John Tucker came to Palamcottah to take charge of the

mission on 28 0' May 1835. The Rev.Rhenius requested Mr.Tucker to

withdraw the resolution of the Home Committee. But Tucker said that

the later was unconditional and the Society alone had a claim on its

mission. Then the Rev.Rhenius declared that, in obedience to my Lord's

Words, "resist not evil", and "if any man will take away thy coat, let

him have thy cloak also". 103 Then, the Rev.Rhenius announced his

decision to quit the C.M.S. and left for Madras on 21st June 1835 with

three priests, namely the Rev.Schaffter, the Rev.Muller and the

Rev.Lechler and commenced his ministry in North Arcot. 104 He brought

with him fifteen Catechists and some youths from Timmevelly.'° 7 Then

the CMS appointed the Rev.George Pettitt, the Rev.Edward Dent and

Church Missionary Record, November 1835, London, p.263.

Rhenius Junior, Q.cIt., pp.478-481O4 Church Missionary Record, November 1835, London, p.263.

105 Rhenius Junior, Q.ciL, p.488.

reffil

Mr. Edward Sargent as the in-charge of various spheres of the mission

work of the C.M.S. in Tinnevelly in 1835.106

At the time of the resignation of the Rev.Rhenius, the C.M.S. had

ten thousand Christian members in 120 villages and 60 schools. The

Rev.Rhenius ministered most of these villages. West Tinnevelly was

drawn into the orbit of the C.M.S. at the time of the Rev.Rhenius. The

C.M.S. purchased a land of 30 acres in West Tinnevelly in 1 835 and

settled the converted Christians there and named the Christian

settlement 'Nallur' ('Good Place'). 107

Before leaving Palamcottah, the Rev.Rhenius submitted a letter to

the Church people, which requested them to give their full support to the

new priests. But Thavidu Pillai, Catechist of the Rev.Rhenius resigned

from the C.M.S., and visited many villages to collect the support of the

people to revolt against the C.M.S.' 08 About 90 Catechists out of 120

wrote to the C.M.S. Committee at Madras to restore him to Tinnevelly.

The Rev.Rhenius received a letter of calling on 25th August 1835 with

signatures of forty-three Catechists of the C.M.S. and got another letter

on 7th September 1835 with seventy-seven Catechists of the C.M.S.

Thus they wholeheartedly called the Rev.Rhenius back to Tinnevelly.

Rhenius Junior, cp..cit, pp.478-484.107 DS.George Muller, V.Joseph Abraham, çciL, p.8.

V.Henry Packianathan, Qpçt., pp.XXVI-XXVII.

The C.M.S. ousted these Catechists from their service but some of them

returned to their service after making an apology. 109

EMERGENCE OF GERMAN EVANGELICAL MISSION

The distressing accounts of his hard earned spiritual children and

their repeated entreaties to return made the Rev.Rhenius think that the

Christian flocks in Tinnevelly should be not scattered or backslid.

Hence, lie returned to Pa!amcottah after four months of his resignation

in June 1835 and established a separate mission namely German

Evangelical Mission (GEM) on the West bank of Tamiraparani river,

Titmevelly. He renamed his churches as German Evangelical churches.

He began to supervise the churches of his supporters with the assistance

of the Rev.Schafter, the Rev.MuIler and the Rev Lechler and some

Catechists. He received financial assistance from King Frederick

William III of Prussia and his friends in India and abroad for sustaining

the need of his churches. 110

The CMS had 176 congregations and the Rev.Rhenius had sixty-

seven congregations. Fifteen congregations remained neutral.' This

mission led to a longstanding conflict between the supporters of the

Rev.Rhenius and the supporters of the C.M.S. The supporters of the

Rev.Rhenius were called as Melpakkaihr ('Westerners') and the

109 A.N.Grover, The Present State of the Tinnevelly Misin, 2' edition, London,1836, pp. 13 —14.Rhenius Junior, Qpçt., pp.390-391J.T Tucker, AReview of the Tinnevelly Ouesiin, Madras, 1836, p. 46.

63

adherents of the Rev.Pettitt (C.M.S.) were called as Kizhpakkathar

('Easterners').1 12 The Rev.Rhenius purchased a large piece of land from

Ills Catechist, David Pillai and formed a new Christian settlement and

named it as Suvisesapuram ('Gospel Town') in 1836 . h13 Hence the

Rt.Rev.Daniel Corrie, the first Bishop of the Madras Diocese visited

Palamcottah oil January 1836 and had a peace talk with the two

factions. But his reconciliation ended in vain. 114 The mental illness

and strain in work spoiled his health too much. Therefore, he spent his

last da ys in the Bible translation works. After rendering his untiring

service for three years in his new mission, he passed away oil June

1 838H His last letter in the morning of the day of his death was about

raising funds for the Bible Society, which was founded by him in 1817

in Madras. Due to his relentless effort in the field of evangelism, 371

new churches were established in Tinnevelly region. The Church praises

him as 'the first Apostle of the Diocese ofTinnevelly'. 16

The body of the genius and dedicated man failed to receive a

place in the mission'ss graveyard at Adaikalapuram (Murukankurichli)

but (blind a place at a street of Adaikalapurarn.The funeral on morning

of 7th June 1838 was attended by Christians of both the factions,

European officials, traders and Hindu friends. After the death of the

auI Appasamy, çpcit., pp.64 - 65.13 Ibid.. p,67.

114 M.A,Sherring,,p.cit., p.329.115 Henry Bower, HiStQ ofChristianit.y in India, London, 1879, pp. 122 - 123.116 \

7 .Henry Pachianathan, Q,p,,cit.,p.XXI.

64

Rev.Rhenius, the spirit of division began to fade away from the minds

of' the two warring groups. The Rev.Schaffler and the Rev.Muhler

returned to the C.M.S. in 1838 and 1840 respectively.' 17 The

C.M.S. also financially supported the wife of the Rev.Rhenius,

every month. 118 These actions united the 'Melpakkathar' and

'Kizhpakkathar'. 119

After the year 1840, the propagation work faced a slight threat

from the side of some rivalries of Christianity. In 1840, many Hindu

people accepted Christianity in Nazareth, Muthalur, Karaichutru

(Idaiyangudi area), Pannaivilal, Palarncottah, Nallur, Dohnavur,

Sathankulam and Mengnanapuram. This great mass movement also

shook 'l'iruchendur, Alwarthirunagari, Perumkulam, Srivaikundam and

Era]. Hence the Brahmin Hindus of these live areas immediately formed

Viboothi Sangam (The Society of Temple Ash) at Tiruchendur in

1 84 1 The main aims of the Sangm were to prevent the Hindus from

accepting Christianity, to harass the converted Christians for inducing

them to abandon Christianity and to threaten the Christians for

preventing them from doing propagation work. The Viboothi Sangam

got support from the Salai Them Sangm (The Society for Diffusing the

Philosophy of Four Vedas) of Madras, with propagated false news and

thoughts against Christians and Christianity through its Tamil

F17 Eugene —s tock , g Vol.1., pp.320 -321.

118 Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society, 1830— 1839. London, p.78.

' '9 Paul Appasamy, Qp..çt., pp.63 - 68.

resi

NewsPaper 'Desabimani'. They conducted a mock Christian worship

service, substituting Puranas for the Holy Bible, ending the service with

a doxology and a benediction in which Brahma, Vishnu and Siva were

substituted for the Christian Trinity. 120

In 1942, the Sangam engineered persecution and riots at Era! and

Nallur. Its members looted the houses of the converted Christians. They

collected heavy fine from them in Southern East Tinnevelly and

captured the Christians and dragged them to the main temple at

Tiruchendur and compelled them to wear the temple ash on their fore-

head. Owing to their harassment, nearly one thousand Christians at

Mengrianapuram abandoned Christianity. Their next target was

Nazareth. In this critical situation, the Rev.Caeminerer directly

approached the Tinnevelly Collector, the Sub-Collector, police officer

and a local judge. After enquiring the affected people, the police took

action against the Viboothi Sangam and ended their atrocities within a

year.121

In North Tinnevelly, the converted Christians faced the

harassment of the non-Christian neighbours. Zamindars, Mirasudars and

Brahmins persecuted the new converted Christians by preventing the

availability of services of village washerman, hairdressers and the local

shop owners. They did not allow the Christians to take water from the

120 Paul Appasamy,W--cit., pp.6i - 68.121 1bid.,pp.86 - 87.

village wells and ordered the non-Christians not to read Christian

literatures or handbills. They levied fines oil offenders. They

severely harassed the converted Christian at Karisal, Odakarai and

Sadaiyappapurarn. They looted the properties of the Christians and fired

their houses, churches and farms. Owing to the destruction of crops by

lire, they faced severe poverty. In 1 857, nearly 1000 converted

Christians abandoned Christianity and backslide. Yet the missionaries

did not lost their interest in the Gospel work. 122

STATION MISSIONARY SYSTEM

The C.M.S. felt the need of changing the pattern of doing

missionary work. Till the time of the Rev.Rhenius, it followed a unified

direction of mission from Palamcottah. In 840, it introduced a 'Station

Missionary System'. Accordingly, it stationed all the missionaries at

different centres and brought them under the direct control of the C.M.S.

Committee, Madras. 123

The Rev.George Pettitt the successor of the Rev.Rhenius, was in

charge of the mission at Palamcottah. He built new churches at

Aiwaneri, Dohnavur, and Pannaivilai. He himself drafted the plan and

constructed the magnificent steeple of the Holy Trinity Cathedral,

Palamcottah in 1845. He enthusiastically involved in the masonry and

also fixed the spire by his own hand on top of the tower. The people of

122 Narpothagarn, February 1954, p.55." D.S.George Muller, Qp.cit., p.22.

Me

Tinnevelly called the church as Oosi Kopuram ('Steeple Tower'). H

started a theological seminary at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in 1846,

which trained selected youngsters as priests. He always carried a

medicine box with him during his visits for evangelistic work. Hence

the people call him as 'Cholera Doctor'. The Rev.John Thomas, a Welsh

lawyer, came to Tinnevelly as a C.M.S. missionary, giving up his

profession for doing Gospel work in India in 1837. 124

The Rev.Thornas was the chief Pastor of scattered flocks in 124

villages around his central station of Mengnanapuram. During his

period, it had been thought that Indian ministers should know English,

Greek and Hebrew and all kinds of theology. In 1846, there were

eighteen missionary clergymen in Tinnevelly district and only one

Indian Clergy. Hence the Rev. Thomas decided to change the custom

and selected some of the best village workers and offered them a short

course in theological training in their own language, Tarnil and ordained

them for village ministries. The first batch, six local men, got ordained

in 1849. During the 'Rhenius Rift', the people of Mengiianapuram gave

more importance to Church unity than personality. When the division

disappeared, the Rev. Thomas built a church at Mengnanapurarn and

named it "C.M.S.Unity Memorial Churchi". 12 He established schools

for boys and girls in 1 842 and 1844 respectively.

m Ei UCh Missionary Records of the C.M.S., London, 1836, p:150.125 5O1 Anniversary Souvenir of St.Paul's Church, Mennpapuram, 1847-

1997, Tirunelveli, 1997, pp. 17 —18.

A terrible storm completely demolished the whole village of

Mengnanapurain on 2' December 1845. The Rev.Thomas visited all the

affected areas and comforted the people and immediately rebuilt the

village with regular streets intersecting each other. He planted coconut

trees on both sides of the streets and planted other trees in vacant places.

Thus he made the village look beautiful. 116 He built a church with an

imposing tower of 192 feet high, on the site of an earlier Hindu temple,

offered by the local converted Christians. Hussey, an efficient London

architect designed the structure of the church, on the model of the

church at Goodmastone, in Kent, England. The Rev.John Thomas

imported a big church bell from England and installed it on the top of

the tower with a beautiful spire. The Bishop of Tinnvelly dedicated the

church on 22' January 1885.1 27 After rendering a dedicated service for

33 years, the village clergyman breathed his last on 28 1 March 1 870.

The Rev.J.T.Tucker established sixty village churches mostly on

sites of earlier Hindu temples, voluntarily donated by the local people,

in and around Pannaivilai. He baptised over two thousand converts. He

worked here for 20 years from 1845 to 1865. 128 The Rev. Thomas

1 l 50th Annjversar Souvenir 0f St. Paul's Church. Mengnanapuram, IS'L

192.7 Tirunelveli, 1997, p.18127 Centenary Souvenir of St.Paul's Church. Mengnanapuram

th, 29 January

1985, Tirunelveli, pp. 19 —20..121 D.S.George Muller, Portrait of a Diocese - Tinnevelly, Palayamkottai,

1992,pp.8 -9.

Gajetan Ragland, 129 one of the notable missionaries of the C.M.S. came

to North Tinnevelly in August 1846 ° and did Gospel work in

Virtidupatti (modern Virudunagar) and Sivakasi areas. He introduced

itinerancy Gospel work in North Tinnevelly mission. 131

His first church was at Kalpothu village in North Tinnevelly. As a

result of his dedicated service, Satchiapuram ('Village of Witness') a

Christian settlement came into being. In 1842, the C.M.S. appointed the

Rev.Edward Sargent as a missionary in Tinnevelly. Prior to this

assignment, lie served at Palamcottah as a Lay Catechist under the Rev.

George Pettitt and also served at the Tinnevelly Training School from

1835 to 1839. He began his missionary career at Suviseshapuram. He

introduced the 'Local Church Fund'. Accordingly, every church itself

collected money from its own church members. The church used the

Local Church Fund' for church maintenance and for local evangelistic

work. Sargent was well versed in Greek, Tamil and English. In 1849,

he started a monthly magazine called 'Narpothagarn" - 'Friendly

Instructor' in Tamil and English. In 1852, the C.M.S. transferred him to

The Rev.Ragland was a great scholar in Mathematics and English from theCambridge University, England; He received three cups for his Excellency ineducation in 1840. During his missionary period, he presented them to somechurches as serving cubs for communion service. One cub was at a church inSankarankoil with an inscription, THOMAS GAJETAN RAGLAND,"PRAEMIUM LITERATIM 1840." (S.Paul Manickam, Rev.Thomas GejinRagland, Palayarnkottai, 1974, pp.6, 14. )

130 Church Missionary Inteligencer, The C.M.S., Vol.V1, London, September

1855, p.200.131 Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society, 1850— 1851, London,

p.ClxxvIl.

VLO

Palaincoitali. He endeared himself very much to the Hindu neighbours.

His way of presenting the sermon attracted them very much. It made

them attend the church regularly. For their convenience he provided

three brick built benches near the church. He built the Lower Houses

next to the Diocesan Book Depot in 1864 to accommodate the church

workers. His wife, Elizabeth Sargent started a Girls' Boarding School

and a nursery school at Palamcottah.'32

The Rev. Sargent bought many land properties for the

C.M.S., with the help of his friends in England. In 1869, he purchased

an entire village called Aathaliyoothu with the financial help from Miss

Tucker and established a Christian settlement there with newly

converted Christians and renamed the village as 'Tuckerammalpuram'.

Palamcottali was the largest C.M.S. Centre in the World. 133 Thus the

C.M.S. managed to propagate Christianity all over Tinnevelly District.

THE S.P.G. MISSION IN TINNEVELLY

The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts

(S.P.G.) began its operation in India from December 1820 by

establishing the Bishop's College at Calcutta for training its missionaries

at Calcutta and began to select needy places for Gospel work. At that

time, an opportunity knocked at the door of the S.P.G. for extending its

mission in Tinnevelly region.

132 Bishop Sargent Centena Souvenir, Palayamkottai, 1990, pp.4,12,19-21.The Madras Diocesan Record, Vol.V1I. No.3. July 1893, Madras, p. 102.

71

The S.P.C.K. was not able to concentrate fully oil evangelistic

work in South India because of the lack of priests in hand to administer

its large missionary field spread all over the world. 134 The Tinnevelly

Church was under the control of the Tanjore Mission of the S.P.C.K.

Therefore, the Committee of the S.P.C.K. passed a resolution at its

general meeting on 7th June 1 825 to transfer its missionary fields and

properties in South India to the S.P.G. The S.P.G. also accepted this

proposal. The S.P.G. founded the Committee for its South India Mission

at Madras on 15h May 1 826. The Secretary of the Madras Committee

of the S.P.G., the Rev.W.M.Roy sought the advice of the

Rev.J.C.Kohlhoff and the Rev.Haubroe in Tanjore regarding this matter.

They advised him to leave the Tinnevelly mission in the nominal care of

the Tanjore Mission until a missionary (S.P.G.) could be appointed

permanently to Tinnevelly. Hence, the S.P.G. requested the Tanjore

Mission to look after the Tinnevelly Mission temporarily. The Tanjore

Mission handed over the responsibility of administering the Tinnevelly

mission fields to the Rev.Rhenius and the Rev.Schrnid of the C.M.S.

They submitted a report to the S.P.G. on 7th February 1829 about its

field spread over 69 villages. It had 20 Catechists, 3626 church

members and 15 schools with 262 students. After analysing the report,

the S.P.G. decided to begin its operations in the east of the Tinnevelly

district at its meeting on 23 rd July 1829 at Madras. The S.P.G. had a

A.Westcott, Our Oldest Indian Mission, Madras, Diocesan Committee oltheSociety for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Madras, 1897, pp.46 - 48.

72

'Special Tinnevelly Fund' for doing evangelistic work in Tinnevelly

region. -

The Rev.David Rosen, the first S.P.G. missionary, came to

Palarncottah on 5th November 1829 and took over the charge from the

Rev.Rhenius. He ministered in and around Nazareth till 17th September

1830. The S.P.G. Mission extended its mission field to Pillayanmanai,

Agapaikulam, Valaiyadi, Mukuperi, Pragasapuram, Oyyangudi,

Mudalur, Pudukottai, Puthiamputhur, Nagalapuram, and Idaiyangudi.

Then he left for Tranquebar on leave and returned to the field on 3 1 St

March 1835. During this period, the Rev.Adaikalam, a local priest

supervised the S.P.G.Mission fields. The Rev.Rosen divided the entire

S.P.G. fields into four divisions as Ukkirankottai, Nazareth, Mudalur

and ldaiyankudi areas and appointed Catechists for them.

In 1836, the S.P.G. sent the Rev.J.L.Irion for assisting the

Rev.Rosen in Nazareth and Ukkirankottai. Then the Rev.Charles

Hubbard came to Palarncottah as S.P.G. missionary. He established an

Anglo-Vernacular School in Palamcottah. 136 The S.P.G. Mission

transferred him to Madurai in the beginning of 1838. From 25th May

1838 the Rev.A.F.Caemmerer laboured hard for two decades in

Nazareth and raised Nazareth to its pre-eminence in the S.P.G. Mission.

Report of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel work in Foreign Parts,1845, London, p.XX)(I.

1-16 Eugene Stock, The History of the Church Missionary Society, Vo li . , 1899,

London, p.319.

73

The Rev.G.l-leyne did Gospel work iii Mudalur area from March 1839

to the end of 1845. The Rev.Christian Samuel Kohihoff also ministered

in Madulur and Odangudy for 15 months from 5th April 1839. A large

number of people in the village of Odangudy embraced Christianity and

joined in the Church due to the effort of the Rev.Kohlhoff within this

short period. They gratefully renamed their village as Christianagaram

after KohIlioffs first name, Christian. In 1841, the people of five

villages, after renouncing their former religious faith, handed over their

idols to the Rev.Caemmerer, which were sent to the S.P.G. Madras as a

witness of the mass movement. Since then the S.P.G. churches had

extended their ministry to the neighbouring villages of Nazareth. ' ^zThe second Bishop of the Diocese of Madras, the

Rt. Rev. G.J.T.Spencer came to Tinnevelly in January 18411 and visited

Sathankulam, Mudalur, Nazareth and Palamcottah and spent two weeks.

He appreciated the flourishing development of the church in Tinnevelly

with the committed service of the S.P.G. and the C.M.S. In 185 1, there

were 34,928 Protestant Christians in Tinnevelly (The C.M.S. Mission:

24, 613 and the S.P.G. Mission: 10,315). 138

The Rev.Caemmerer formed a Native Church Building Society at

Nazareth in 1855, which mobilised funds for building new churches in

villages. This system benefited more poor villages to build their

V.Henry Packianathan, Qp.cit., pp.XXII & XXXXIV.138 Ibid.,pp.XXI & XXX)UII.

74

churches with the local support. He offered religious instructions to the

educated Christians through literature and enriched their knowledge in

Christianity. 139 He translated and composed several Tamil books for the

use of native Christians. They were: Bogatzky's Golden Treasury;

Exposition of the Gospel Lessons throughout the year, 2 Volumes;

Historical and Geographical Index to the New Testament; Analysis of

the New Testament; New Testament History; Nicholl's Sunday

Exercises; Harmony of the Gospels; Titles and Characters of our

Blessed Lord. He had written an Analysis of Ecclesiastical History and

the Exposition of the Book of Psalms. Financial strain prevented him

from printing the last book at Tinnevelly. The S.P.G. utilised his books

for strengthening the religious knowledge of the Tamil converted

Christians. 140

He followed strict Christian principles in the Church

administration. He keenly maintained discipline in the administration of

schools and churches. He never bothered about any opposition. He

dismissed a teacher Catechist called Arumainayaham from a S.P.G.

school at Mookuperi as a disciplinary action. 141 The local term for

teacher was Chattampillai. At that time, the Rev.Caldwell, the

missionary of Idaiyangudi, published a book called 'Tirunelveli Chanar'

ITTReport of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1855,London, p. CXII.

° lbdReport of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1858.London, pp98 - 99.

75

in England in 1894. He explained the real condition of the Chanar

people at Tinnevelly region elaborately. It unexpectedly raised

opposition against the Rev.Caldwell. The dismissed Arumainayaharn

Chattampillai utilised the situation and took the Caidwell's book as his

main instrument to induce the Christians at Prakasapuram and

Mookuperi against the missionaries. The rivals joined together and

established all church. Moreover, they built a church for

them at Prakasapuram in 1 857 and named it Hindu Yeha Ratchiir

Saba] KQyji (Hindu church of the Saviour of the World). The people

called his church as Chattampillai Sabai (Teacher's Church) or

Sabai. The Christians at Prakashap Lira in, Mukuperi, Oyyankudi,

Kulathukudi, Panrimadal and VahuthankupPam joined the new

denomination. They followed the Jewish way of worship. They changed

their Sabbath day from Sunday to Saturday. 142 The head of the sect,

Arumainayagarn registered all the properties of the church in his name

and utilised the offerings for his family welfare. It led to severe internal

conflict. The members began to leave the Chattampillai Sabai group

gradually. 143 In the long run, this new denomination lost its importance

among the local people. The old church members maintained and

continued the church service at the same place with the same

doctrines. 144

of the Gospel in14. Report of the Incorporated Soc i ety for the Propagation

Foreign Parts, 1858, London, pp.98 —99.143 D.AChristadOSs, 9.p.61—t , pp.90 - 93.

The Statistics of the C.S.1.DioceSe of Tinnevelly, East Church Council,

Prakashapurafli Pastorate, 1980, p.96.

76

In 1858, the Rev.Caemmerer was transferred to Tanjore. Henry

Pope, the brother of Dr.G.U.Pope, was the successor of the Rev.

Caemmerer. But he resigned his post within a year for working in a

school at Ooty, which was started by the Rev.G.U.Pope. In 1859, the

Rev.Thomas Brotherton became the head of the Nazareth Mission. He

was well versed in Hebrew language. The church utilised his talent for

Bible translation. He formed two District Committees with local church

members to administer the churches and schools located in their

respective areas. He instructed the Committees to meek the expenses for

the churches and schools from the local church income only. Thus he

educated the people about self-reliance and self-support. 145

He was followed by the Rev.Dr.Strachan in 1870, who was a

Gold medallist of Edinburgh University. He was the founder of the

Medical Mission of the S.P.G. in Tinnevelly region. He established a

Dispensary iii Nazareth in 1870. Every day nearly 150 patients visited

the Dispensary. He served the people with kindness and love. The

medical staff gave tickets for the patients, and the patients were

consulted in that order. He commenced the day's work with two short

religious services, one for men and the other for women. He read and

briefly explained the Jesus' parables and miracles from the Gospels of

the Holy Bible. Then he conducted prayer for the sick for their recovery

in soul and body. Through his medical mission, the Church earned so

D.AChristadoss, op-cit., p92.

77

many souls. 146 In March 1876, the S.P.G. transferred him to Santhom,

Madras and appointed the Rev.Arthur Margoschis in his place in 1876.

Nazareth, Mudalur and Christianagaram were under the care of the

Rev.Margoschis. 147 He worked hard in Nazareth till the year 1908.

The Rev.Margoschis was the architect of the modern Nazareth.

In the early days, there were so many little narrow streets in Nazareth.

The houses were also in disorder. Hence he made some rearrangement

in the residential area of Nazareth. He helped the people to build their

houses in order with straight streets. The people demolished their old

houses and built modern houses according to the plan of

Rev.Margoschis. He himself formed the fifth street of Nazareth with

the help of the people. This well planned rearrangement made Nazareth

village as an attractive one. He selected Mr.Packianathan and financially

helped him to open a shop for selling groceries and all necessary

household articles. This was the first shop of Nazareth. He introduced

'Tuesday Market' (Chevvai Santhai) in 1872. On every Tuesday, the

village traders assembled in an open place for selling their goods and

cattle. He laid a broad road from Nazareth to Aiwarthirunagari. He

succeeded in establishing a post-office at Nazareth. These steps made

Nazareth as a main business centre in Tinnevelly region. 148 Thus he

developed Nazareth into a Modern Christian settlement.

' The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, Report of theYear 1872, London, pp.72-75.The Madras Diocesan Record, Vol.VI. No.3., July 1892, p127.

148 Ibid.

YN

He extended his missionary work to Alwarthirunagari also and

converted many Caste Hindu people like Pillairnar, Nayakar and

Brahmin families to Christianity. Among them, A.N.Sathiya Nathan

and Pattabiraman received training in theology and ordained as

priests of the S.P.G.Mission. The Arya Samaj of Madras sent its Hindu

missionaries to prevent the Hindus from accepting Christianity. They

adopted Ijithu Purana Vubathesm (Teaching Hindu doctrines), Kiristhu

Marka Vasai (abuse on Christianity) and Missanary Thuvesam (create

aversion of Christian missionaries). Their effort considerably reduced

the rate of accession of converted Hindu to Christianity. 149

Moreover, he founded the Art Industrial School in Nazareth with

an orphanage, which offered great help to the large number of orphans,

left by the great famine of 1877. It was a unique one in the whole state

of Madras. He established a training school for women in 1877 and high

school for girls in Nazareth, in 1886, which was first of its kind in the

Madras Presidency. In 1889, he also started a high school for boys. He

newly introduced the S.P.G. Widows' Association and Nazareth

P.G.) Kristhava Marana Vuthavi Nidhi Sang (The S.P.G. Nazareth

Christian Death Aid Fund) in April 1884 with an aim to offer financial

help to the widows of the converted Christians. The Rev.MargoChiS

renovated the old hospital of Strachan and dedicated it as St.Luke's

D.AChristadoss, sit-, pp.fl5 - 120.

79

Hospital in 1892. He personally attended to the patients and prescribed

medicines for them. 150

The S.P.G. appointed the Rev.G.U.Pope as its missionary for

Sawyerpuram in 1842. He built the first church at Sawyerpuram and

opened it on 25 April 1 844 without any grant from foreign societies.

On the same day he formed the Church Building Society of

Sawyerpuram with an aim to mobilise funds for building churches in

poor Christian villages. The first beneficiary of this Society was

Puthiamputhur. He established adult Sunday schools in almost every

village where a Catechist was stationed. The Sunday Sermon

recapitulation, Epistle and Gospel were the main subjects in these

schools. 151

He founded a Theological Seminary there in 1844. It was a

training school for the S.P.G. mission in Tinnevelly. It gave religious

training to the local people and prepared them as native missionaries.

The Rev.G.U.Pope taught Theology, English, Tamil, Greek, Hebrew,

Latin, Geography, Arithmetic, Geometry, Ancient History, Church-

History, Logic, Scriptures and Music in the Seminary. The Oxford

University, London contributed to the formation a library of the

150 The Report of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,

1895, Westminster, p.71.'' Report of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1845,

London, p. X)QclV.

ii1

Seminary. 152 He was the Principal of the Sawyerpuram Seminary from

1843 to 1850. 153

Pope started an association called "The Native Gospel Society" in

January 1845 for carrying on Gospel work in the surrounding areas. The

converted Christians themselves converted their village temples into

Christian Prayer-houses amidst severe opposition and persecution.' 54ersecution.154

He established Churches in Subramaniapuram and Pudukottai in midst

severe opposition from the head and Jamindar of these villages. He

boldly built the churches at nights because in the day time the workers

involved in the construction work were beaten up and persecuted by the

rivals. He visited all affected villages and encouraged the people to

stand firm in Christian life and served earnestly in Sawyerpuram areas

till 1854.155

Another main missionary of the S.P.G. was the

Rev.H.C.Huxtabie. He reiterated the S.P.G. to appoint native Christians

in positions of less responsibility until their ability had been fully

matured with an aim to boost the growing of the infancy of the

Tinnevelly Church. At Sawyerpuram, he employed thirty native

teachers in the mission field. They received special training in the

Henry Bower, Qpçjt., pp. l4O- 143.153 Frank Penny, The Church in Madras ,V01.II1, London, 1912,p.369.154 50th Commemoration Souvenir of Pope Memorial Higher Secon dary S.chOOI

Sawyerpuram. 1844— 1994, Sawyerpuram, 1994,p. 12.155 Henry Bower, Qp.&it., pp. '40-'43

81

Sawyerpuram Seminary. He also founded a Dispensary in

Sawyerpuram. 156

The Rev.H.C.Huxtable founded a Dispensary in Sawyerpuram in

1854. The Dispensary served a lot to the people in and around

Sawyerpuram during the outbreak of epidemics, following the severe

drought and famine of 1877 - 1879. The Rev.G.U.Pope extended his

ministry to Pudukottai and Puthiamputhur also. 15' Then the S.P.G.

Mission spread from Puthiamputhur to Nagalapuram. Idalyankudi was

an old Christian village, which had earlier come under the influence of

Gericke and Sathiyanathan. But the early converts had relapsed into

Hinduism due to the inadequate supervision. The Rev:Robert Caldwell

worked hard in Idaiyankudi areas from 1841. Owing to his untiring

effort, this entire village again accepted Christianity and all people

joined the church. 158

He made Idaiyankudi a well-planned model village with long

streets and planted trees along the streets. The church, schools and a

house for the ministry were built under his direct supervision. He built a

few model houses for the local people for adopting the pattern in their

construction work. Before drafting the plan, lie climbed to the top of

Report of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1855,

London, p. CVIII.' Report of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 1879, London,

p. XXX VII.J.L,Wyatt, Qprcit. , 1894, pp.87 - 88.

nearby trees to see the places around. He planted trees in every Street,

sunk wells in various places to supply water to the entire village and laid

roads to connect the village in four directions. Owing to the economic

value of the trees, he particularly planted palmyra and coconut trees.

The Bishop of Hong Kong praised this village as "a kind of model

Christian settlement", during his visit in Tinnevelly in 1853. 159

The Rev.Robert Caldwell formed a "Church Building Society" at

Idaiyankudi in 1844 to raise funds for building churches. He established

schools for boys and girls in Idaiyankudi. He was the pioneer in giving

mid-day meals to 171 students for a very nominal fee. Mrs.Eliza

Caldwell opened schools for girls in Idaiyankudi and taught girls to read

and write. She also introduced lace making among women. 160

Besides doing evangelistic and parochial work, lie indulged in

writing valuable books. In 1842, lie revised the old Tamil version of the

Prayer Books. In 1849, he wrote a pamphlet descriptive a particular

people of this area, when he laboured, entitled "The Tinnevelly

Shanars". 161 In this pamphlet, he described the demonolatry, their

position in the Hindu caste scale, and their standard of life with an aim

19 C.F.Pascoe , Two Hundred Years of the S.P.G.: An Historical Account of theSociety for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts 1701-1900, 1901,London, p.541.

160 J.L.Wyatt, op.cit., 1894, pp.87 - 88.'' In 1881, some educated men from the Shanars (Nadars) community rose

against Dr.Caldwell and his pamphlet. They prepared a petition with thesignatures of their supporters and sent it to the head office of the Society forthe Propagation of the Gospel, Madras. But their effort yielded no result.(J.L.Wyatt, op.cit., p.85).

C)O3

to awaken sympathy for them among the English people 162 to raise

funds for the purpose of educating the Shanars and elevating their

position. It was written according to the information collected from the

educated Hindus and the local Shanars of that time. 163

His largest work was entitled "A Comparative Grammar of the

Dravidian or South Indiaii Family of Languages". He published it in

1856. It was the magnum opus of the Bishop, analysing the Grammar

of eighteen languages of South India. His other books were: "A Political

and General History of the District of Tin.nevelly - upto A.D. 1801", and

"Records of the Early history of the Tinnevelly mission of the S.P.C.K.

and the S.P.G."

The Rev.Caldwell utilised the money donated by Lord Napier

(Governor of Madras) and Lady Napier for planting 1000 Palmyras at

ldaiyankudi. He also developed a land on a hill slope called Fenton

Estate with the donation of £100 by the Rev.J.M.Fenton of England. He

utilised the iicome from these lands for the church growth and for the

welfare of the schools. 16

162 R.CaldwelI, Tinnevell y Shanars, Vepery, I 849,pp.27 - 48.163 J.L.Wyatt, pc1t., pp.84 - 86.64 The Report of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign

Parts, 189I, Westminster, p.44.165 D.S George Muller, The Tinnvelly Bishopric - Backround to its Formation, A

Paper presented at the Bishop Stephen Neill Study and Research Centre,Palayarnkottai on 13 'h 1996, p.25.

THE BISHOPRIC OF CALCUTTA AND INDIAN CHURCHES

The ecclesiastical supervision of all churches in India in the

Anglican Communion was under the control of the Parliament in

England till 1813. According to the Act of 1813, the British Parliament

provided one single Bishopric of Calcutta and three Archdeaconries in

Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. The Archbishop of Canterbury

consecrated the Rev.Thomas Fanshawe Middleton as the first Bishop of

Calcutta at Lambeth Palace, England on 8th May 1814. 166

The Bishopric of Calcutta comprised India, Ceylon, the English

settlements in the Straits, the trading centres of the East India Company.

in China, St. Helena Island, Cape of Good Hope and the English

Settlements in Australia. It was not possible for a single Bishop to

administer these large areas without any assistance. Therefore, the

Missionary Societies -- the C.M.S. the S.P.G. and the S.P.C.K. passed

resolutions in 11831 to request the English Government for providing

two more Bishoprics in India. In response to their request, the House of

Commons appointed a Select Committee in 1 832 to analyse the

ecclesiastical need of India, which recommended for the creation of one

more Bishopric in India. The British Parliament passed a bill in 1833.

Accordingly, the Bishopric of Calcutta separated the Archdeacollly of

Madras and declared it as the Diocese of Madras on 10th October 1835

CFPascoe , pcjt, pp.65 - 67.

and the Rev. Daniel Corrie became the first Bishop of Madras and the

Rt. Rev. Daniel Wilson, the fifth Bishop of Calcutta, became the

Metropolitan of India, Burma and Ceylon.167

SEPARATE DIOCESE FOR TINNEVELLY

All the churches in Tinnevelly area functioned under the control

of the Diocese of Madras. In 1861, the fourth Bishop of the Madras

Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Frederick Gell, felt that the congregations in

Tinnevelly had attained the status to function as a separate Diocese.

Moreover he found it difficult to visit Tinnevelly frequently. As the

Church administration grew, it was rather difficult to manage the affairs

of Tinnevelly from Madras. Therefore, he wanted to separate Tinnevelly

from the Diocese of Madras. At that time, the three Dioceses in India,

namely Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were part of the Church of

England. Only the British Parliament had the power to form new

diocese in their colonies. This regulation delayed the eager effort of the

Bishop. 16

Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Canterbury, England obtained a

legal opinion that he might appoint a Bishop who could be authorised by

the Crown of England to act as a Suffragan Bishop of Calcutta, Madras

and Bombay. Accordingly, he selected the Rev.Sargent as a Suffragan

Bishop of Tinnevelly. Bishop Gell (Madras) recommended the name the

l67 The Madras Diocesan Record, VoI.VII.,NO.4, November, 183 5,p. 130.161 V.Henry Packianathan, Part 11, p.1.

Rev.Caldwell to appoint as an Assistant Bishop, in his letter to the

Archbishop on 22nd May 1873. Finally, it was decided to appoint both

of them as in charge of the C.M.S. and the S.P.G. wings of the

Tinnevelly Church. But the Metropolitan Bishop Milman opposed this

proposal on the ground that it would initiate a division within the

Church. '

In this juncture, the British Parliament passed a Colonial Clergy

Act in 1874, which gave the Metropolitan and the Bishops in India the

right to consecrate Bishops in India. This enabled the Rt.Rev.Gell, to

take further steps in the matter of appointing ecclesiastical heads for

Tinnevelly. In Tinnevelly area, the C.M.S. Mission and the S.P.G.

Mission were doing evangelistic work. Hence the Bishop Gell decided

to appoint one member each from the C.M.S. and the S.P.G. missions.

He chose the already selected candidates the Rev.Edward Sargent and

the Rev.Robert Caldwell to look after the C.M.S. and the S.P.G.

Churches respectively. The Rev.Sargent served in the C.M.S. for 42

years and the Rt.Rev.Caldwell served in the S.P.G. for 36 years. They

maintained good relationship with each other. 170

They both involved in the revision work of the Tamil Bible and

Tamil Prayer book from 1858 to 1872 with the assistance of the

Rev.Kohthoff, the Rev.Brothertofl, the Rev.Scuder, the Rev.Burges, the

V.I-1enry Packianathan, Qçit., Part 11, P. 1.171 Ibid.

87

Rev.Tipps and the Rev.l-!enry Bower.The Rev.Winslow also sent his

suggestions from Ceylon. They all met in Courtallam, Kodaikanal and

Palamcottah for the revision work. 17 'Tile principal reviser was Henry

Bower, 172 a Eurasian scholar and a S.P.G.missionary. His revised Tamil

Holy Bible is famously called as "Bower Ai yaar Vethahamam".

The Bishop Rt.Rev.Johnson consecrated the Rev.Sargent and the

Rev.Caldwell as Bishops of Tinnevelly on I lth March 1877 at

Calcutta. 173 They functioned as Suffragan Bishops of the Bishop of

Madras Diocese, the Rt.Rev.Gell. The congregation of Tinnevelly

became the offshoot of the Madras Diocese. 174 According to the

statistics of 1879, the C.M.S. had about 34,484 Christians in 875

villages and the S.P.G. had about 24,719 Christian in 631 villages. '7

The Rt.Rev.Sargent administered all the S.P.G. churches till 1889

and the Rt.Rev.Caldwell administered all the C.M.S. churches till

1891 176 During that time, North, South, Mid and West Church Councils

Henry Bower, Qpcit., p.!47.172 His valuable work in Tamil was "Biblical and Theological Dictionary"

published in 1841.1t was a Cyclopedia of Religious and Secular Knowledge.Besides being a Dictionary of the Bible, it contains valuable intbrrnationregarding Christian doctrines and evidences, general and ecclesiastical historyand geography, and various religious systems of the world. ( Henry Bower,Biblical and Theological Dictionary, Vepery, 1889, pp-vi - vii ).

173 J.L Wyatt, Qpçjt., pp. 165 -167.74 V.l-lenry I ) ackianthan, ociL, pp XXXX-XXXXI

17 5 Bicentenary of the Tinnevelly Church (1780-1980), çpnm.QratIPJ]

Souveni.t,The Diocese of Tinnevelly, Palayamkottai, 1980, p. A.6."c' Eugene Stock, The History of the Church Missionary Society, Vol-II I , 1899,

London, pp.457 - 458.

roxelDub

were formed in Tinnevelly.' 77 A joint meeting of the C.M.S. and the

S.P.G. clergy and Lay delegates was conducted to have close interaction

among themselves regarding the appointment of single Bishop to

Tinnevelly region. 178

The system of separate Bishops for the S.P.G. and the C.M.S.

areas increased the spirit of separatism in the minds of the people of the

two sides. There was no cordial relationship among them. The

Missionaries of the each Society also strictly avoided travelling through

the lands of other Society. This poor condition became a stumbling

block for the unity and the growth of the Church in Tinnevelly region.

Hence the Metropolitan of India, Rt.Rev.Johnson decided to bring the

Tinnevelly region under the control of a single Bishop. Therefore he

visited Tinnevelly early in 1894. On 1 st February 1894 he met all the

C.M.S. and the S.P.G. missionaries and clergymen in Palamcottah and

explained the proposal in detail. They all agreed to this proposal and

gave their assurance to serve under this jurisdiction of the new Bishop.

But the Committees of the S.P.G. and the S.P.C.K. refused to contribute

towards the stipend of an Assistant Bishop. At the intervention of the

Archbishop of Canterbury, these two missions agreed to offer their

financial assistance to the new Bishopric. After removing all the

V.Henry Packianathan, pp.cit., p.XXXXI.78 The Madras Diocesan Record, Vol.V1. No.2, April-June 1892, p.57.

hurdles-legal and financial, the ball was in the court of the Bishop of

Madras. 179

In October 1896, the Bishop of Madras separated Tinnevelly

from the Diocese of Madras and named it as the 'Diocese of Tinnevelly'.

The Episcopal supervision of Tinnevelly and Madura region was under

the control of the Bishop of Madras. He selected the Rev.W.W.Elwes,

Archdeacon of Madras for Tinnevelly Bishopric with his acceptance.

But the poor state of health of Elwes' wife pressed him to withdraw his

acceptance. Then the choice fell on the Rev.Samuel Morley, Chaplain of

the Bishop in Madras. On 28th October 1896, the Rt.Rev.Johrison

ordained the Rev.Morley at Cathedral Church in Madras as the first

Bishop of the newly formed Diocese of Tinnevelly. But it was officially

called as the 'Bishopric of Tinnevelly. In 1896, all the four Church

Councils came under the Central Church Council and the Bishop, the

Rt.Rev.Morley became the head of the Church Councils. In 1898, there

were 60,000 Christians in the Diocese of Tinnevelly.18°

The Tinnevelly Church celebrated the first Centenary of the

C.M.S. at the campus of St.John's Middle School, Palamcottah from 11

to 13th April 1899. It submitted an Address of Thanks to the C.M.S. for

its pioneer labours in Tinnevelly in the meeting. It also sent a portion of

the offering collected on the celebration day to the C.M.S. along with

The Madras Diocesan Record, Vol.V11I. No.3, July 1894, pp.80 - 83.180 A.J.Appasamy, Qprcjt. , pp.2.7, 3.15, 3.16, 3.24 & 43

all

the Address of Thanks in an artistic sandalwood casket. To

commemorate the occasion, the Tinnevelly Bishopric built a Centenary

Hall at Palarncottah with capacity to accommodate 3000 people, with

the available offering money Rs.35,000/- The representatives of the

Madura American Mission, the S.P.G. Mission and London Missionary

Society (L.M.S.) participated in the ceremony. 181

The Church celebrated the Bicentenary of the S.P.G. at

Sawyerpurarn on 4th February 1901. The missionaries and leaders of the

C.M.S. and 28 clergymen participated along with 5000 people. 182 The

S.P.G. issued a commemoration souvenir, "History of the S.P.G. from

1701 to 1901". The congregation of Nazareth collected and sent a sum

of Rs.34651- to the S.P.G. Bi-centenary Fund. 183 Thus the

Rt.Rev.Morely utilised the ceremonies for enhancing the spirit of union

among the members of the C.M.S. and S.P.G. wings.

The Rt.Rev.Morely encouraged the Tinnevelly congregation in

their effort of establishing the Indian Missionary Society of Tinnevelly

(1.M.S.T.) in 1903. He did not give the section of financial

administration to Tamil clergy. He engaged them only in parochial

works. He advised the people against the dowry system, caste system,

extravagant wedding ceremonies and drinking alcohol. He introduced a

181 v Henry Packianathan, QQ ct., pp.2-3.182 Ibid., pp.6-7.

George Muller D.S. & Joseph Abraham V., The Trial of the TinnevelityChurch, Paiayamkottai, 1964, p.13.

special children's offering called 'the Children's Birthday Present'. It

offered a practical training to the children in giving and induced and

interest in mission work. 184 He dedicated 26 new churches on 23rd

October 1903 and he voluntarily retired from the service.' 85

The Rt.Rev.Dr.Arthur. Acheson Williams succeeded the

Rt.Rev.Morely on 2' February 1905.186 He spent a major part of his

salary for the education of the poor students. In the beginning, he found

that the prevailing spirit of separatism among the C.M.S. and S.P.G.

missionaries was the main hindrance for the growth of the Church in

Tinnevelly. The C.M.S. missionaries stayed with the S.P.G.

missionaries but they hesitated to enter the S.P.G. churches. The S.P.G.

missionaries also followed the same practice. He convened a special

meeting at Centenary Hall, Palamcottah on 28th January 1908 with an

aim to unite the two societies officially. The Church people welcomed

the steps taken by the Bishop. In this meeting a committee of 30

members was formed under the leadership of the Bishop. 187 The

Comniitee passed the following resolution in its first meeting held on

the 2nd April 1908:

1. A common prayer book to be issued.

Report of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1900,London, pp.72-73.Henry Packianathan, op.cit., pp.7-8.

156 The Madras and Tinnevelly Diocesan Magazine, Vol.VI., January 1909,Madras, p.X1.V. Henry Packianation, op.cit., pp. 12 - 13.

2.The system of transferring the clergy from the C.M.S. and the S.P.G.

field and vice versa to be implemented.

3.1 -he priests of the both sides to be allowed to conduct the worship

services and preach the Holy Bible in all churches irrespective of the

Church Missionary Society and the Society for the Propagation of

Gospel and

4.A common magazine for the Diocese to be issued.188

All the dreams of the Rt.Rev.Williums for Church Union were

fulfilled by his successor the Rt.Rev.Henry Waller, who was ordained

Bishop of Tinnevelly at Calcutta on 28th November 1915 . 189 From that

day, he spent most of his time to work out the schemes of

Diocesanisation. He formed a consultative committee in 1916 with the

leaders of both the C.M.S. and the S.P.G. areas in the Diocese of

Tinnevelly for drafting the Union Scheme. This committee offered its

consent for translating the clergy from the C.M.S. to the S.P.G. field and

vice versa. The Bishopric of Tinnevelly issued a common magazine for

the Diocese and introduced a Common Prayer Book in churches in

1916. Then it formed the Diocesan Council and the Diocesan Executive

Committee anew.' 90

V. Henry Packianation, op.cit., pp. 12 - 13.' Euguene Stock, The History of the Church Missionary Society, VoI.IV.,

London, 1916, p.249.190 \

7 Henry Packianathan, pcit., pp.25 - 27.

'L)

The Tinnevelly Bishopric convened the first session of the

Diocesan Council on 11th October 1917. It consisted of 93 clergymen,

135 church members and 40 spectators. It elected the Rev.W.E.Evans

and G.Devadason as Clerical Secretary and Lay Secretary respectively.

The first meeting of the Diocesan Executive Committee was held under

the leadership of the Bishop at Nazareth on 7th April 1918, when the

constitution for the new Diocese began to be evolved.19'

The Bishopric of Tinnevelly constituted the "Tinnevelly Diocesan

Trust Association" (T.D.T.A.) in April 1918. It brought the properties of

the C.M.S. and the S.P.G. under the supervision of the T.D.T.A. The

Bishop appointed the Rev.G.S.Maduram as Diocesan Treasurer. He

managed all financial matters of the T.D.T.A.'92

The Rt.Rev.Henry Wailer conducted combined religious

meetings for the preachers of the C.M.S. and the S.P.G. in April 1917.

The C.M.S. and the S.P.G. had their own Theological Seminaries at

Palayapettai and at Nazareth respectively. He united these two religious

institutions into a Diocesan Theological College, Nazareth in 1921. This

step greatly reduced the gap between the outgoing priests of the both

missions. Hereafter they easily mingled together in parochial works.

There was a Selection Board for selecting the candidates from both

191 bSGeorge Muller, The Tinnevelly Bishopric ,ACentenary Survey ii96-

l99),Palayamkottai, 1996, pp.47 —48.192 \'.Henry Packianathan, 9pciLpp27 - 28.

sides for the three-year course in Theology.' 93 This remarkable step

further united the members of the C.M.S. and S.P.G. members and

tremendously reduced the difference of opinion among the priests.

The C.M.S. began its missionary services in Tinnevelly from

1820. On the eve of 'Diocesanisation', the members of the C.M.S. and

the S.P.G. celebrated the ceremony of the Centenary of the C.M.S. at

Centenary Hall, Palamcottah from 22nd to 25th February from 22nd to

25th February 1921. The Bishop planted three trees in front of the Holy

Trinity Cathedral, Palamcottah as a commemoration of the ceremony.

Nearly 20,000 people participated from all over Tinnevelly District. The

Metropolitan of the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon, Bishops of

Travancore and Dornakal participated. At the end of the second day

meeting, the representative of the C.M.S., Madras donated all the

properties of the C.M.S. in Tinnevelly and Madura regions to the

Diocese of Tinnevelly.' 94 During his period, the Southern areas of

Tinnevelly had nearly reached self-support. Hence, the Diocese gave

most of the foreign grants for to the northern areas of Tinnevelly, which

was a very backward area with very poorer people. '9

The Rt.Rev.Waller was transferred to Madras as the Bishop of

Madras Diocese at the end of 1922. The Rev.Norniafl Henry Tubbs

A.J.Appasamy, op-cit., p.4.2.194 V.Henry Packianathan, Qp&IL,pp.28 —32.195 Report of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1921,

pp. 122-123.

95

succeeded him. The Bishop Wailer adopted a democratic and a

constitutional way in electing the Bishop of Tinnevelly. He placed the

matter before the Tinnevelly Diocesan Council, comprising English

clergy, missionaries and Indian clergy, both the C.M.S. and the S.P.G.

Though there was a large majority of Indians in the Council, they

elected an English missionary, the Rt. Rev.Tubbs, out of twelve names.

This was the visible sign of the emergence of the local-self government

in the Diocese of Tinnevelly.'96

The Rt. Rev.Tubbs was consecrated as the Bishop of Tinnevelly

Diocese at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Palamcottah on 25th July 1923. This

was the first Bishop consecration Ceremony held in Tinnevelly.197

When Rt.Rev.Tubbs took the charge of the Diocese, a cordial

relationship was prevailed between the churches of the C.M.S. and the

S.P.G. in the worship service and administrative matters. It was the

result of the untiring efforts of the first two Bishops of the

The effort of the Rt.Rev.Waller towards the Diocesanisatiofl

scheme was not fulfilled due to his unexpected transfer to Madras in

1922. The responsibility of fulfilling the scheme was on the hands of the

Rt.Rev.Tubbs. Due to his effort, the C.M.S. and the S.P.G. sent their

representatives to discuss this matter elaborately before accepting the

196 Annual Report of the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East,1922-1923, London, pp.53 —54.Annual Report of the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East,London, 1923 - 1924, London, p.48.

"< V. Henry Pack ianathan,Q cit., p.35.

scheme. The Bishop convened the historic session of the Diocesan

Council on 11th March 924 to formally mark the birth of the Diocese

of Tinnevelly. A hundred Clergymen, 147 Church representatives and

five spectators participated. All the members (except five) voted in

favour of the Diocesanisation scheme. Accordingly, the new Diocese

established a Central Diocesan office at Palarncottah. It formed newly

the North Central and South Church Councils for administrative

convenience. In accordance with the decision of the Diocesan Council,

the new Diocesan constitution came into force on l November 1924.199

Around one hundred villages with 6,300 people accepted ChristianitY

that year. it was a great mass movement of the year 1924.200

The Church Council conducted their first meetings on 13th, 17th

and 20th February 1925 . 201 As a result of the Diocesanisation scheme,

the C.M.S. and the S.P.G. missions were amalgamated. The Tinnevelly

Book Society of the C.M.S. Mission had been publishingrpothagll2

(Friendly instructor) from the month of February 1 849. After the

amalgamation of these two missions, it became the monthly magazine

of the Diocese of Tinnevelly. 202 The Diocesan Synod was formed on

14th March 1928 with the approval of the Diocesan Council. It looked

after the religious matters of the Diocese and advised the Bishop. At the

Tinnevelly Dioecsan Council Report, 925,p.8.200 Report of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,

1924,LondOfl, p.135.201 TinnevellY Diocesan Council Report, 1925, p.8.202 V Henry Packianathan, pp.21 - 22, 33 - 37.

97

same time, all the Churches in India were under the control of Church of

England. The Bishopric of Tinnevelly did not get the official permission

from the Church of England before declaring itself as the Diocese of

Tinnevelly. Therefore the official name of the Diocese remained as the

Bishopric of Tinnevelly.203

INDEPENDENCE TO THE DIOCESE OF TINNEVELLY

In December 1927, Indian Anglican Churches got Independence

from the Church of England. It led to the birth of the Church of India,

Burma and Ceylon . 2(A They came under the control of the Metropolitan

Bishop of Calcutta. The doctrine and the ecclesiastical organiSati011

were mostly on the model of the Church of England .205 Hence these

Churches had a name 'Church of England in India' or Anglican

Churches. On 1st March 1930, the General Council of the Church of

India, Burma and Ceylon met at Calcutta and drafted a Constitution for

the Church. Under which, the Bishopric of Tinnevelly was

reorganised as a fully self-governing independent body. 206 The official

name of the Tinnevelly Bishopric was changed into 'The Diocese of

Tinnevelly'. 207 Till then, it was officially called the Bishopric of

Tinnevelly. And it used the official seal of the Diocese of Madras. From

203 Tinnevelly Diocesan Council Report, 930, pp.I - H.

204 j P . Alexander, History of the Church of South JadI Tirunelveli, 1972, p.S3

° W.J Noble, Christian Union in South India, London, 1936, pp.67-68.

0( The Constitution, Canons and Rules of the Church of India, Burma, and

Ceylon - 1930, Calcutta, pp. 6-9.207 Tinnevelly Diocesan Council Report, 1930, pp.I & Il.

DYN

March 1930, a new seal was officially introduced for the Diocese of

I inrievelly. 208 The Bishop was called as The Bishop of Tinnevelly

instead of 'The Bishop in Tinnevelly'. The important event of the year

1931 was the first meeting of the Diocesan Synod and the Diocesan

Council, since the Church in India obtained its freedom. In the first

meeting, the members freely indulged in lobbying, which indicated the

beginning of the constitutional government of the independent Church

with democratic character.209

The Tinnevelly Church members arranged a special dinner at

C.M.S. Centenary Hall, Palamcottah with the permission of the

Diocesan Church Council in the evening of 16th April 1931. It was

conducted with aims to celebrate the Independence and to thank the

Christian Missionaries of the C.M.S., the S.P.G. and the S.P.C.K. for

their selfless service in the Diocese of Tinnevelly. The Conductors

cheerfully welcomed the missionaries with garlands.Only Indian food

was served and a music programme was also arranged for the dinner. 210

EMERGENCE OF THE CHURCH OF SOUTH INDIA (C.S.I.)

The C.M.S. and the S.P.G. merger in Tinnevelly was a significant

forerunner of the Church Union in South India. The South India United

Church (S.I.U.C.) also expressed its support for the union and reiterated

Narpothagam, March 1931, p.60.209 Tinnevelly Diocesan Council Report, 1931, pp.1 -2.210 Narpothagam, May 1931, p.108.

WAVA

the need for Church Union . 21 ' The S.I.U.C. was itself a united Church,

which had come into being in 1908 as a result of a federal type of union

among the churches associated with the Congregationalists and the

Presbyterian. The World Missionary Conference at Edinburgh in 1910

reiterated the need for mutual co-operation and union among churches.

It initiated the inter-denominational negotiation for Church Union in

India. From 1916, the churches began to have joint evangelistic

programmes and religious meetings though they had different church

politics, forms of worship and doctrines. It led to the first Ministers'

Conference on Church Union held at Tranquebar in May 1919. The

Diocese of Tinnevelly also expressed its full co-operation to the

proposal of Church Union. After considering the pros and cons of the

Church Union, The Diocesan Council gave its general approval iii 1934

for the steps taken by the Diocese towards the union of the Churches in

South India.212

According to the statistics of 1941, the total number of Christians

in Tamil Nadu was about 1,308,000. They were under various

denominations. In1n due course, they wanted to form an inter-

denominational union. Some Christian denominations in South India

like the Anglican and the Methodist accepted the proposed Scheme of

211 Tinnevelly Diocesan Council Report, 1934, pp.59 -60.212 Tinnevelly Diocesan Council Report, 1936, p.64.213 Hugald Grafe, History of Christianity in India. Volume IV, Part 2, Bangalore,

1990, p.135.

100

Union. 214 The South India United Church expressed its wil1ingnesso

join the Union. These four denominations then came under one fold as

'The Church of South India' (C.S.I.).215 Later, on 27th September 1947

the C.S.I. was inaugurated at St.George's Cathedral, Madras .216 The

C.S.I. had the Dioceses of Tinnevelly and Madura-Ramnad,

Kanyakumari, Coimbatore, Tiruchinopoly-Tanjore, Madras, North

Kerala, South Kerala, Krishna-Godavari, Medak, Mysore, Royalaseema,

Dornakal as well as Jaffna in Srilanka.217

The Anglican Church of England did not accept the formation of

the Church of South India wholeheartedly because it expected only a

unified Church for the whole India. Hence, the Church of England

limited its expression by sending greetings to the C.S.I. It allowed the

priests of the C.S.I. to preach and to conduct worship service in the

Anglican churches of England from the year 1955.2

BIFURCATION AND FORMATION OF THEMADURA-RAMNAD DIOCESE

During the process of the formation of the Church of South India,

many Lutheran and American Mission churches in Madura and Ramnad

214 CSMjlford, South India's New Church, London, 1947,p.5.215 Cyril Bruce Firth, An Introduction to Indian Church History, Madras, 1992,

p.239.216 Bengt Sundkler, Church of South India, The Movement Towards

1900/1 947, London, 1962, p.339.217 J . P.Alexander, Church History (From A.D. 1517 to Date), Tirumaraiyur, 1968,

P.101.218 hg?rn, September 1955, pp.288 -290.

101

districts accepted the C.S.I. As a result, there was every possibility for

the formation of a new Diocese in the districts of Madura and Ramnad.

The Church of South India decided that all the Circles of Tinnevelly

Diocese in the districts of Madura and Ramnad should be handed over

to the proposed Diocese of Madura and Ramand. 219 The Diocese of

Tinnevelly was willing to hand over the churches, educational and

medical institutions to the newly organised Diocese of Madura-

Ramnad 220

During the emergence of the Church of South India, the Diocese

of Tinnevelly had three Church Councils, namely the North Church

Council, Mid Church Council and South Church Council. The North

Church Council had Ramnad, Kilanjunai, Kilakarai, Satchiapuram,

Vagaikulam, Pottalpatti, Kovilpatti, Pannikulam, Kulathur and

Puthiamputhur Circles . 22 'The Diocese of Tinnevelly transferred the

following areas in the North Church Council to the new Diocese of

Madura-Ramnad: Ramnad, Ki lanj unai, Ki lakarai and Satchi apuram

Circles, as well as Madura, Kodaikanal, Sattur and Panniadipatti

Pastorates in Kovilpatti Circle.222

The Bishop of Tinnevelly 'informed the managers of hospitals and

correspondents of schools in the transferred areas that their future

219 Tinnevelly Diocesan Council Report, 1946-1947, p.12.220 Tinnevelly Diocesan Council Report, 1947-1948, p.8.221 Tinnevelly Diocesan Council Report, 1930, pp.29-38.222 Tinnevelly Diocesan Council Report, 1947-1948, p.8.

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responsibility was to the new Bishop of Madura-Ramnad. 223 It was also

further decided to transfer the Bishopric Endowment Fund to the

Diocese of Madura-Ramnad. 224The Diocese of Tinnevelly decided that

there was no necessity to transfer the properties in Madura and Ramnad

areas to the Diocese of Madura-Ramnad immediately .225

After the scheme of bifurcation, the Bishop of Tinnevelly, the

Rt.Rev.G.T.Selwyn visited the Pastorate centres and a number of

villages in all the transferred Circles in June, August and September in

1947. The new Madura-Ramnad Diocese had not constituted a body to

take over the management of High Schools and hospitals in the

transferred areas. It took two years to complete the process .116 The

Diocese of Tinnevelly formed a Sub-committee at Pope's Memorial

High School, Sawyerpuram to study the working of the bifurcation

scheme in the Diocesan schools in Madura and Ramnad districts.

Headed by R.Rajanayagam, the Treasurer, James Gnanamuthu, Sam

Victor, Annie Pandian, G.Timothy and Miss L.M.Evans were the

members of the Sub-Committee.227

The Education Standing Committee recommended to the

Executive Committee to hand over the management of Tinnevelly

Executive Standing Committee, 52nd meeting, 18th September 1947, p.5.224 Ibid., p.6.22' Ibid., p.7.226 Tinnevelly Diocesan Council Report, 947-1948, p.8.227 Educational Standing Committee, 72nd meeting, 25th February 1947, p.2.

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Diocesan Schools in the Madura-Rainad Diocesan area. 22 On account

of the bifurcation of the T.D.T.A., the C.M.S. and the S.P.G. institutions

in Madura and Ramnad were transferred to the Diocese of Madura-

Ran-mad which began its function from 1st April 1949.229

The Executive Standing Committee decided to vest the

administrative control and management of the following educational

institutions and hospitals to the Diocesan Council of Madura-Ramnad:

Hospitals: St.Martin's Hospital-Ramnad and S.P.G. Hospital-Kilanjunai.

Schools: Schwartz High School - Ran-mad,

St.Andrew's Girls High School -Ramnad.

C.M.S. High School - Srivilliputhur, and

C.M.S. Girls' Boarding School - Satchiapurarn.23°

The total number of elementary schools handed over was fifty-six

and these elementary schools were renamed as 'C.S.I. Elementary

Schools. 231 The primitive body of the Diocese of Madura-Ramnad was

unable to indulge in social work in the beginning. Therefore, the Sub-

Committee of the Executive Committee decided that till the proper

functioning of the Madura-Ramnad Diocese, the responsibility of giving

scholarships to school children in the Madura and Ramnad areas should

be continued by the Diocese of Tinnevelly.232 The Diocese invited the

Education Standing Committee, 75th meeting, 24th February 1948, p.24.229 Executive Standing Committee, 57th meeting, 30th March 1949, pp. 1 0-1 1.230 Ibid.,pp. 11-12.231 Ibid.112

1 i.

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correspondents of the schools in Madura-Ramnad Diocese to the

Education Standing Committee of the Tinnevelly Diocese as regular

members. 233The teachers transferred from the Diocese of Tinnevelly to

the Diocese of Madura-Ramnad were also transferable. The Secretary of

the Education Standing Committee prepared a list of such teachers. 234

The Tinnevelly Diocesan Executive Committee planned to

transfer all the Special Funds, Local Church Funds and uninvested sums

in the name of the Institutions and Circles to the Diocese of Madura-

Ramnad. 235 These two Dioceses settled their financial matters in the

presence of the Moderator of the Church of South India. 236 The

Executive Standing Committee decided to send the registers of baptism,

marriage and burial to the Diocese of Madura-Ramriad from the Diocese

of Tinnevelly. 237 It passed a resolution to transfer the entire management

and enjoyment of all lands in the Tinnevelly Diocesan Trust Association

(T.D.T.A.) in the districts of Madura and Raninad to the Diocese of

Madura-Ramnad in 1950 . 238 The bifurcation was completed before the

year 1952 . 239 Then the entire area of the district of Tinnevelly became

the area of the Diocese of Tinnevelly. Thus, the edifice of the Diocese of

Tinnevelly was gradually constructed brick by brick..

Education Standing Committee, 75th meeting, 24th February 1948, p.24.234 lbid.,p.25.215 Executive Standing Committee, 57th meeting, 30th March 1949, p.12.116 Finance Sub-Committee, 92nd meeting, 5th March 1949, p.5.237 Executive Standing Committee, 65th meeting, 28th September 1951, p.8.2111 Property Standing Committee, 67th meeting, 14th September 1950, p.2.239 Tinnevelly Diocesan Council Report, 1952- 1953, p.28.

EPISCOPACY IN TINNEVELLY

The Rt.Rev.Sarnuei Morley (1896-1903), the Rt.Rev.Arthur

A.Wiliiarns (1905-1914), the Rt.Rev.E.H.M.WalIer (1915-1922), the

Rt.Rev.Nonnan H.Tubbs (1923-1928), the Rt.Rev.F.J.Western (1929-

1938), the Rt.Rev.Stephen Neill (1939-1945), the Rt.Rev.A.G.Jebaraj

(tile first Tamil Bishop of the Diocese) (1953-1970), and the

Rt.Rev.Thomas Garret (1971-1974) were the Bishops of the Diocese of

Tinnevelly. The Rt.Rev.S.Daniel Abraham was the tenth Bishop and the

second Tamil Bishop of the Diocese, from 1975 to 1984. Owing to the

untiring efforts of these all Bishops, the Diocese of Tinnevelly rooted

deep in the soil of Tinnevelly and spread its branches everyside and

began to give fruits for the people of Tinnevelly and the surrounding

areas.

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