Snehasis at 00:24, 21 January 2026

2026-01-21T00:24:20Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox church
| name = [[Church of South India|CSI]]-Garrison Wesley Church
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| location = [[Secunderabad]]
| country = [[India]]

| denomination = [[Church of South India]] (''A [[United and uniting churches|Uniting church]] comprising [[Wesleyan Church|Wesleyan Methodist]], [[Congregational]], [[Lutheran]], [[Calvinist]] and [[Anglican]] missionary societies – [[United Society|SPG]], [[English Wesleyan Mission|WMMS]], [[London Missionary Society|LMS]], [[Basel Mission]], [[Church Missionary Society|CMS]], and the [[Church of England]])''
| previous denomination = [[Wesleyan Church|Wesleyan Methodist]]
| churchmanship = [[Low church]]
| membership =
| attendance = 250 families<ref name="The Hindu"/>
| website = {{URL| http://www.csigarrisonwesley.com/}}

| former name =
| bull date =
| founded date = {{start date and age|1881}}<ref name="Village"/>
| founder = [[British Indian Army]]<ref name="Village"/> troops who later handed over the edifice to the [[English Wesleyan Mission|Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society]] (WMMS)<ref name="Village"/>
| dedication =
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| status = [[Church (building)|Church]]
| functional status = Active
| heritage designation = [[INTACH]] Award<ref name="Hans1"/>
| designated date = 2015<ref name="Hans1"/>
| architect =
| architectural type = [[Chapel]]
| style = [[Carpenter Gothic]]<ref name="Hans"/>
| years built = 1853<ref name="The Hindu">{{cite news |last=Reddy |first=Ravi |date=2016-12-21 |title=162-year-old church in Secunderabad restored|url= http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/162yearold-church-in-secunderabad-restored/article6711410.ece|newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |location= [[Hyderabad]]|access-date= 2016-11-05}}</ref>
| groundbreaking =
| completed date = 1881<ref name="The Hindu"/>
| construction cost = [[Indian Rupees|INR]] 10 [[million]] (1 [[crore]])<ref name="The Hindu"/><br/> (cost of renovation)
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| materials = Lime and mortar<ref name="The Hindu"/>
| bells = None<ref name="The Hindu"/>
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| parish =
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| metropolis =
| diocese = [[Diocese of Medak]]
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| district = Town DCC<ref>[[Diocese of Medak]].[http://www.csimedakdiocese.in/]</ref>
| division = Trumulgherry Pastorate
| subdivision =

| archbishop =
| bishop = [[The Right Reverend]] [[A. C. Solomon Raj]], [[Church of South India|CSI]]<ref name="Synod"/>
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| canonpastor =
| canonmissioner =
| canontreasurer =
| prebendary =
| priestincharge = [[The Reverend]] D. Prasanna Kumar, [[Church of South India|CSI]]<ref name="Synod"/>
| priest =
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| reader =
| student intern =
| organistdom =
| director =
| organist = [[Sri]] Vinod Rao Banja<ref name="Words3">''Words of Life'', Community Bible Newsletter of the CSI-Garrison Wesley Church, Volume 1, Issue 2, February 2013, p.4.</ref>
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}}
'''CSI-Garrison Wesley Church''' (built in 1853)<ref name="The Hindu"/> located in [[Trimulgherry]] is among<ref name="Hans">{{cite news |author= |date=2015-12-24 |title=Timeless Bells|url= http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Hans/2015-12-24/timeless-Bells/195316|newspaper=[[Hans India]] |location= [[Hyderabad]]|access-date= 2016-11-05}}</ref> the oldest churches in [[Secunderabad]] under the auspices of the [[Protestant]] [[Church of South India]] (CSI) within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the [[Diocese of Medak]]. Situated in Lal Bazar civilian area of the [[Secunderabad Cantonment Board|Secunderabad Cantonment]], the CSI-Garrison Wesley Church is in near vicinity of the [[College of Defence Management|Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering]] (MCEME), and the church has continued to attract not only its regular worshipers but also the new visitors from the nearby military stations of the [[Indian Army]] and the [[Indian Air Force]] through its regular Sunday [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] as well as its annual [[Good Friday]], [[Easter]] and [[Christmas]] programmes.<ref name="The Hindu1">{{cite news |author= |date=2015-12-24 |title=Christmas is big this time|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/christmas-is-big-this-time/article8023936.ece|newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |location= [[Hyderabad]]|access-date= 2016-11-05}}</ref>

Though the Sunday Mass was begun initially in accordance with the [[Wesleyan Church|Wesleyan Methodist]] traditions since the beginnings in 1881,<ref name="Village"/> it now follows the Church of South India liturgy as the [[English Wesleyan Mission|Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society]] (WMMS), the co-founders<ref name="Village"/> of the church, had unionized<ref name="Muthaiah">Manohar Samuel, ''Christianity'' in S. Muthiah (Edited), ''Madras, Chennai: A 400-year Record of the First City of Modern India,'' Volume 1, Palaniappa Brothers, Madras, 2008, pp.160-184. [https://books.google.com/books?id=tbR_LLkqdI8C&dq=muthaiah+400+years&pg=PP1]</ref> itself into the Church of South India that was formed on 27 September 1947<ref name="Muthaiah"/> at [[St. George's Cathedral, Chennai|CSI–St. George's Cathedral, Chennai]]. [[Wesleyan Church|Wesleyan Methodists]] form a substantial majority of the parishioners of the Diocese of Medak,<ref>Clifford P. Morehouse, "Delegation visits native parish services during tour of CSI" in ''The Living Church'', Volume 133, Number 2, 1956, pp. 13-14.[https://books.google.com/books?id=b27kAAAAMAAJ&dq=wesleyan+medak+church+of+south+india&pg=PA14]</ref> whereas [[Anglicans]] form a very small minority; together they regard [[Medak Cathedral]] as theirs and look to their [[bishop]] for divine leadership.

==Renovation and rededication==

===Renovation===
Since the [[edifice]] had been standing for more than 150 years, efforts were initiated in 2013<ref name="Words1">''Words of Life'', Community Bible Newsletter of the CSI-Garrison Wesley Church, Volume 1, by Mr. D. Sudesh Kumar, Hon. Secretary in January 2013, p.1.</ref> during the then Presbyter-in-charge [[Pastor]], [[The Reverend]] S. P. Vidyasagar<ref name="Words1"/> to raise awareness about the aging rafters and garner majority opinion from the members of the church who stood for restoration of the church ''in lieu'' of demolition and reconstruction of a new edifice. The Pastorate Secretary [[Mr. D. Sudesh Kumar]], inspired<ref name="Words1"/> the church to raise contributions in order to restore the edifice and willing members then responded by making significant contributions to take up the restoration works at a cost of [[Indian Rupees]] 10 [[million]] (1 [[crore]]),<ref name="The Hindu"/> entrusting the work to a [[Tamil Nadu]] restoration architect M/s. APTSORBH, Mr. Rajan Proprietor.<ref name="The Hindu"/>

===Rededication===
After the efforts put in by the Pastorate Committee for nearly two years, the newly restored edifice was rededicated on 21 December 2014 by [[The Most Reverend]] G. Dyvasirvadam who by then had become Moderator of the [[Church of South India Synod]] which was directly overseeing the ecclesiastical affairs of the [[Diocese of Medak]]. The Congregation recognizes the Initiative by Rev. S.P. Vidyasagar and the pastorate Committee led by Mr. D. Sudesh Kumar. Rev. S.P. Vidyasagar who retired in 2014 and subsequently Rev. Jyothy was posted at CSI Garrison Wesley Church, the Rededication [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] was witnessed by the entire Congregation with a procession in the Lalbazaar area in the presence of then Vice Chairman, Rev. [[A. C. Solomon Raj]], who is now the [[Bishop]] in Medak.

===Recognition===
In 2015,<ref name="Hans1"/> the [[Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage]] awarded its Heritage Award to six<ref name="Hans"/> establishments, one of which was the CSI-Garrison Wesley Church, recognizing the efforts put in for renovating and restoring the church.<ref name="Hans1">{{cite news |author= |date=2015-04-18 |title=INTACH awards for six monuments|url=http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Hans/2015-04-18/INTACH-awards-for-six-monuments/145306|newspaper=[[Hans India]] |location= [[Hyderabad]]|access-date= 2016-11-05}}</ref>

==History==
The [[English Wesleyan Mission|Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society]] set foot in the erstwhile [[Hyderabad State]] in 1878,<ref name="Village">P. Y. Luke, J. B. Carman, ''Village Christians and Hindu Culture'', Lutterworth Press, Cambridge, 1968, pp.15, 17, 24.[https://books.google.com/books?id=YTqM8gCpXI0C&dq=village+christians+and+hindu+culture&pg=PP1]</ref> the missionaries led by Henry Little, William Burgess and the Indian Evangelist Benjamin Wesley<ref name="Village"/> who pioneered the spread of the Gospel and helped in establishing of churches in areas northward of Hyderabad winning of new converts to the fold of Christianity.

While this was so, the [[British Indian Army]] had stationed itself in [[Secunderabad]] by 1798<ref>Kalpana Markandey, Geeta Reddy Anant (Edited), ''Urban Growth Theories and Settlement Systems of India'', Concept Publishing, New Delhi, 2011, p.98.[https://books.google.com/books?id=2E-XejrqHt0C&dq=secunderabad+cantonment&pg=PA98]</ref> itself and there were already [[Christians]] of [[United Kingdom|British]] origin<ref name="Hindu">{{cite news |last=Lasania |first=Y. Yunus |date=2015-11-21 |title=162-year-old and still going strong|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/162yearold-and-still-going-strong/article7902905.ece|newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |location= [[Hyderabad]]|access-date= 2016-11-05}}</ref> and among them were Wesleyan Methodists who had already begun worshiping following the [[Wesleyan Church|Wesleyan Methodists]] traditions and it was the military troops<ref name="Village"/> who were led by a Presbyter had laid a cornerstone of the church in 1853.<ref name="The Hindu"/>

==Clergy==

===Present===
The present pastor is Rev. Dr. Prof. M. Rajeshwar Solomon,<ref name="Synod">[[Church of South India Synod]], ''Medak Diocesan Clergy''. [http://www.csisynod.com/Admin/ministerial/25_Medak%20Diocese.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414153100/http://csisynod.com/Admin/ministerial/25_Medak%20Diocese.pdf |date=14 April 2016 }}</ref> CSI who has been designated as the [[Presbyter]]-in-Charge of the CSI-Garrison Wesley Church.

===Past (ascending)===
* The Reverend Jyothy, CSI
* The Reverend S. P. Vidyasagar, CSI
* The Reverend [[A. C. Solomon Raj]], CSI
* The Reverend B. D. Premsagar, CSI

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
| author=P. Y. Luke, J. B. Carman
| title=Village Christians and Hindu Culture
| year=1968
| volume=
| isbn=978-8-1845-8089-1| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YTqM8gCpXI0C&q=village+christians+and+hindu+culture&pg=PP1
}}
* {{cite book
| author=Leonard Fernando, G. Gispert-Sauch
| title=Christianity in India: Two Thousand Years of Faith
| year=2004
| volume=
| isbn=9780670057696
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7dgYjLCSa0wC&q=bartholomew+kalyan&pg=PP1
}}
* {{cite journal
| author=Clifford P. Morehouse in ''The Living Church''
| title=Delegation visits native parish services during tour of CSI
| year=1956
| volume=133
| issue=2
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b27kAAAAMAAJ&q=wesleyan+medak+church+of+south+india&pg=PA14
}}

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[[Category:Church of South India church buildings in India]]
[[Category:Churches in Secunderabad]]
[[Category:Churches in Hyderabad, India]]
[[Category:1853 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Churches completed in 1881]]

CSI Garrison Wesley Church - Revision history

Snehasis at 00:24, 21 January 2026