Church of North India

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Template:Infobox Christian denomination

The Church of North India (CNI), the dominant united Protestant Church in northern India, was established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together the Protestant churches working in northern India; it is thus a province of the worldwide Anglican Communion and member of the World Methodist Council, as well as the World Communion of Reformed Churches.[1][2] The merger, which had been in discussions since 1929, came eventually between the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon (Anglican), the United Church of Northern India, (Congregationalist and Presbyterian), the Baptist Churches of Northern India (British Baptists), the Church of the Brethren in India, which withdrew in 2006, the Methodist Church (British and Australian Conferences) and the Disciples of Christ denominations.[1]

The CNI's jurisdiction covers all states of India with the exception of the five states in the south (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu which are under the jurisdiction of the Church of South India) and has approximately 2,200,000 members (0.1% of India's population) in 3,000 pastorates.[3]

History

Template:Christianity in India sidebar Ecumenical discussions with a view to a unified church were initiated by the Australian Churches of Christ Mission, the Methodist Church of Australia, the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church and the United Church of Northern India during a round table meeting in Lucknow in 1929.

A negotiation committee was set up in 1951 using the plan of Church Union that resulted from the earlier consultations as its basis. The committee was composed of representatives from the Baptist Churches in Northern India, the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon, the Methodist Church (British and Australian conferences), the Methodist Church in Southern Asia and the United Church of Northern India (UCNI).[4][5] The Methodist Episcopal Church, however, did not join the discussions and, in 1981, it became the Methodist Church in India (MCI).[6] In 1957, the Church of the Brethren in India and the Disciples of Christ denominations joined in the negotiations as well.

A new negotiation committee was set up in 1961 with representatives from all the above-mentioned denominations. In 1965, a finalized plan of Church Union, known as the 4th Plan of Union 1965, was made. The union was formalized on 29 November 1970 when all the negotiating churches were united as the Church of North India with the exception of the Methodist Church in Southern Asia, which decided not to join the union.

Beliefs and practices

The CNI is a trinitarian church that draws from the traditions and heritage of its constituent denominations. The basic creeds of the CNI are the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed of 381 AD.

Liturgy

The liturgy of the CNI is of particular interest, as it combines many traditions, including that of the Methodists and such smaller churches as the Church of the Brethren and the Disciples of Christ. Provision is given for diverse liturgical practices and understandings of the divine revelation.

Governance

Template:Anchor The polity of the CNI brings together the episcopal, the presbyterial and the congregational elements in an effort to reflect the polity of the churches which entered into union. The episcopacy of the CNI is both historical as well as constitutional. There are 26 dioceses, each under the supervision of a bishop. The main administrative and legislative body is the synod, which meets once every three years to elect a presiding bishop, called a moderator, and an executive committee. The moderator acts as the head of the church for a fixed term; another bishop is elected Deputy Moderator.

Social involvement

Social involvement is a major emphasis in the CNI. There are synodal boards in charge of various ministries: Secondary, Higher, Technical and Theological Education, Health Services, Social Services, Rural Development, Literature and Media. There is also a synodal Programme Office which seeks to protect and promote peace, justice, harmony and dignity of life.

The CNI currently operates 65 hospitals, nine nursing schools, 250 educational institutions and three technical schools. Some of the oldest and well-respected educational institutions in India like Scottish Church College in Calcutta, La Martiniere Calcutta, Wilson College in Mumbai, St. James' School, Calcutta, Hislop College in Nagpur, St. John's Diocesan Girls' School, Calcutta, St. Paul's School in Darjeeling, St. John's College in Agra and St. Stephen's College in Delhi, Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, Christ Church College, KanpurSherwood College, Nainital, Ewing Christian College,Prayagraj, Bishop Johnson School,Prayagraj, Boys High Schoo,Prayagraj, IPEM INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, Prayagraj, St. Andrew's College in Gorakhpur are under the administration of the CNI.

Ecumenism

The CNI participates in many ecumenical bodies as a reflection of its commitment towards church unity. Domestically it participates in a joint council with the Church of South India and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church known as the Communion of Churches in India. It is also a member of the National Council of Churches in India. Regionally, the CNI participates in the Christian Conference of Asia and on an international level it is a member of the World Council of Churches, the Council for World Mission, World Alliance of Reformed Churches, World Methodist Council and in full communion with the Anglican Communion. The CNI is also in partnership with many other domestic, regional and international Christian agencies.

Present administrators

  • Moderator: Prem Chand Singh, Bishop of Jabalpur
  • Deputy moderator: Bijay K. Nayak, Bishop of Phulbani
  • General secretary: Rev. Shailesh Dennis Lall
  • Honorary treasurer: Prof. Jayant Agarwal

As of July 2020.[7] Template:Anchor

Moderators

Since its formation in 1970, the Synod of the CNI has elected a Moderator and one Deputy every three years.[8]

Term Moderator Deputy Moderator
April 1971Template:SndJuly 1974 Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Delhi (and Rajasthan) 		Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Nagpur
July 1974Template:SndOctober 1977
October 1977Template:SndOctober 1980
October 1980Template:SndNovember 1983 Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Nagpur 		Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Calcutta
November 1983Template:SndOctober 1986 Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Calcutta 		Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Lucknow
October 1986Template:SndOctober 1989 Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Lucknow 		Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Darjeeling
October 1989Template:SndOctober 1992 Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Darjeeling 		Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Jabalpur
October 1992Template:SndOctober 1995 Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Amritsar 		Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Cuttack
October 1995Template:SndOctober 1998 Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Cuttack 		Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Nagpur
October 1998Template:SndJanuary 2001 Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Nagpur
(died December 2000) 		Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Chotanagpur
JanuaryTemplate:SndOctober 2001 Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Chotanagpur 		Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Barrackpore
October 2001Template:SndOctober 2004 Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Chotanagpur 		Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Chandigarh
October 2004Template:SndOctober 2005
October 2005Template:SndOctober 2008 Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Chandigarh 		Template:Sortname,
Bishop in North East India
October 2008Template:SndOctober 2011 Template:Sortname,
Bishop in North East India 		Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Patna
October 2011Template:SndOctober 2014 Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Patna 		Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Amritsar
October 2014Template:Snd3 October 2017 Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Amritsar 		Prem Singh,
Bishop in Jabalpur
October 2017Template:Snd23 August 2019 Prem Singh,
Bishop in Jabalpur 		Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Durgapur and Kolkata
23 August 2019Template:Sndpresent Template:Sortname,
Bishop in Phulbani

Template:Anchor

Dioceses

Diocese of Calcutta

Template:Further When originally founded in 1813, the fourth overseas diocese of the Church of England covered all the subcontinent, all Australasia and some of Africa. With its 1835 split to create Madras diocese, Calcutta was made metropolitan over all its original area, and has been split many times since. The Bishop of Calcutta remained Metropolitan of India until the CNI's 1970 creation; the current diocese covers parts of Bengal and the bishop is Paritosh Canning.[9]

Diocese of Mumbai

Template:Further Split from Calcutta diocese in 1837,[10] the Diocese of Bombay was the last new Indian diocese of the Church of England before all colonial dioceses became independent in 1863. Like Calcutta, Mumbai diocese has been a very large Church of England diocese, a diocese of the independent Indian Anglican church, and now a United Church diocese. The CNI diocese today covers Maharashtra, and the bishop is Prakash D. Patole.[11]

Diocese of Chotanagpur

Template:Further Founded from Calcutta diocese in 1890,[10] the current diocese is based in Ranchi, its territory is Jharkhand and the bishop is B. B. Baskey.[12]

Diocese of Lucknow

Template:Further Erected 1893[10] from the Diocese of Calcutta, the current CNI bishop is Peter Baldev;[13] the diocese is headquartered at Allahabad and serves Uttar Pradesh.

Diocese of Nagpur

Template:Further Sharad Y. Gaikwad is the current bishop of Nagpur,[11] based in Nagpur itself. The diocese was originally created in 1902/03, from Chotanagpur diocese.[14][15]

Diocese of North East India

Template:Further The CNI Northeast diocese, based in Shillong, North East India is headed by bishop Michael Herenz.[16] It originated as the Diocese of Assam, in the Anglican Church of India, erected from Calcutta in 1915;[17] and became known by the present name before 1986.[18]

Diocese of Nasik

Template:Further In 1929, Nasik diocese was founded from Bombay;[19] her present bishop is Pradip Kamble.[20]

Name Founded Headquarters Location Bishop Website
Diocese of Delhi 1947, from Lahore[21] New Delhi Delhi, Haryana Warris K. Masih[11] (prev. Rajasthan)[9]
1990–?: Pritam Santram[22]
Diocese of Amritsar 1953, from Lahore[23] Amritsar Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir P. K. Samantaroy[11] www.amritsardiocesecni.orgTemplate:Dead link
Diocese of Barrackpore 1956, from Calcutta[24] Barrackpore West Bengal Paritosh Canning[12]
Diocese of Andaman & Nicobar 1966, from Calcutta[25] Port Blair Andaman and Nicobar Islands Christopher Paul[26]
Diocese of Jabalpur 1970, from Nagpur[27] Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh Prem Chand Singh (Moderator)[12]
Diocese of Patna bef. 70 Bhagalpur Bihar & Jharkhand Philip P. Marandih[28]
Diocese of Cuttack 1970 Cuttack Cuttack, Odisha Surendra Kumar Nanda[29]
Diocese of Bhopal betw. 70-79, from Jabalpur Indore Madhya Pradesh Manoj Charan
Diocese of Rajasthan 1981, from Delhi[30] Ajmer Rajasthan Darbara Singh[31]
Diocese of Gujarat betw. 70-96 Ahmedabad Gujarat Silvans Christian[32]
Diocese of Kolhapur betw. 70-96 Kolhapur Maharashtra Sandeep Suresh Vibhute[11]
Diocese of Durgapur betw. 70-96 Durgapur West Bengal Sameer Issac Khimla [9]
Diocese of Chandigarh 1974, from Amritsar Ludhiana Chandigarh, Punjab Younas Massey[33]
Diocese of Agra 1976, from Lucknow[34] Agra Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand Prem Prakash Habil[35] http://cnidioceseofagra.org
Diocese of Eastern Himalaya bef. 1987 — Darjeeling, renamed c. 1992,[36] from Barrackpur Darjeeling West Bengal, Bhutan, parts of Assam vacant
Acting: Michael Herenz[12]
Diocese of Sambalpur bef 96[37] Bolangir Odisha Pinuel Dip
Diocese of Phulbani 1997,[38] from Cuttack Kandhmal Odisha Bijay K. Nayak[28]
Diocese of Marathwada c. 2000[39] Aurangabad Maharashtra M. U. Kasab[11]
Diocese of Pune c. 2000[39] Pune Maharashtra Paul B. Dupare[11]
Diocese of Chhattisgarh 2010, from Jabalpur Raipur Chhattisgarh Rt. Rev. Robert Ali[35] (previous Bishop of Bhopal)[9]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Church of North India. World Methodist Council. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  2. ↑ Church of North India(n.d.). Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  3. ↑ United Church of Northern India - Presbyterian Synod. Stiftung Johannes a Lasco Bibliothek Grosse Kirche Emden(2020). Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  4. ↑ Lambeth and Church Unity. Empire Club Foundation(9 October 1958).
  5. ↑ The Church of North India (CNI). Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  6. ↑ The Oxford Handbook of Methodist Studies{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Oxford University Press(2009). ISBN 9780191607431
  7. ↑ New primate and leadership team for Church of North India. Anglican Communion Office(18 October 2017). Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  8. ↑ [1] & [2]
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 [3]Template:Dead link
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 The Indian Year Book{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Bennett, Coleman & Company(1940)
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 Consecration of the Revd. Sandeep Suresh Vibhute, Bishop-elect, Diocese of Kolhapur, CNI. CNI Synod(14 August 2018). Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Consecration of the Revd. Paritosh Canning, Bishop-elect, Diocese of Barrackpore, CNI. CNI Synod(14 August 2018). Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  13. ↑ Confirmation Held at St. Paul's Church, Allahabad.
  14. ↑ Template:Church Times
  15. ↑ Template:Church Times
  16. ↑ [4]Template:Dead link
  17. ↑ North East Diocese to observe centenary celebration(11 January 2014). Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  18. ↑ Introduction To The History Of The Anglican church In North-East India 1841-1970{{#if:Talibuddin|, Talibuddin}. ISPCK(2010). ISBN 978-8184650105
  19. ↑ Template:Church Times
  20. ↑ Anglican Communion Cycle of Prayer – interim listings for January to July 2019(2019). Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  21. ↑ The Church of North India: Historical Background: AD 1800-1970.(2016). Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  22. ↑ Template:Church Times
  23. ↑ Welcome to the official website of the Diocese of Amritsar(n.d.). Retrieved 8 June 2019.Template:Dead link
  24. ↑ Template:Church Times & Template:Church Times
  25. ↑ Template:Church Times
  26. ↑ Prayers for the Parishes and the People of the Diocese :1 January 2018 to 31 March 2018. The Diocese of Saldanha Bay(n.d.). Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  27. ↑ Christ Church Cathedral Jabalpur History of 150 Years Since 1844.(2015). Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 [5]Template:Dead link
  29. ↑ New Bishops visit Anglican Communion Office(2 February 2017). Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  30. ↑ History of Church. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  31. ↑ Rajasthan. CNI Synod. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  32. ↑ [6]Template:Dead link
  33. ↑ Chandigarh. CNI Synod. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  34. ↑ Christ Church Kanpur. Diocese of Agra.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Service for Induction of the Chief Coordinator – of CNI SBSS – Mr. Soumya Ranjan Mohanty and Hon. Chief Coordinator, CNI SBHS – Mr. C. Joshua Rathnam. CNI Synod(23 May 2018). Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  36. ↑ Two Bishops die in car crash(8 December 2000). Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  37. ↑ Confirmation Lessons{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. ISPCK(1998). ISBN 978-81-7214-341-1
  38. ↑ Welcome to CNI Phulbani Diocese. CNI Phulbani Diocese.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Prayer Diary(1999). Retrieved 8 June 2019.

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