History of CSI
The Church of South India (CSI)
The Church of South India is the successor of a number of Protestant denominations in India, including the Church of England, Church of India, Burma and Ceylon (Anglican), the United Church of Christ (Congregationalist), the British Methodist Church and the Church of Scotland after Indian Independence. It combined the South India United Church (union of the British Congregationalists and the British Presbyterians); the then 14 Anglican Dioceses of South India and one in Sri Lanka; and the South Indian District of the Methodist church. With a membership of nearly four million, CSI is one of four united Protestant churches in the Anglican Communion, the others being the Church of North India, the Church of Pakistan and the Church of Bangladesh; it also is a member of the World Methodist Council and World Communion of Reformed Churches.
The inspiration for the Church of South India was born from ecumenism and inspired by the words of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospel according to John, Chapter 17, verse 21. Just like the United Church of Christ (Congregationalist), one of their fore-bearer denominations, their motto is:
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
“That they all may be one” is also the motto of the Church of South India
Origins
Four different church traditions were brought together in the CSI; Anglican (Episcopal), Congregational, Presbyterian and Methodist. All these churches had been established in India through the missionary work of churches in Europe, America and Australia, which had started their work in India at different periods from the beginning of the 18th century.
The Church of South India Scheme was the first practical attempt of its kind towards a union, on the basis of the following points enunciated in the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral:
The Holy Scripture of the Old and the New Testaments, as containing all things necessary to salvation and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.
The Apostles’ Creed as the Baptismal Symbol and the Nicene Creed as sufficient statement of the Christian faith.
The two sacraments, ordained by Christ Himself, “Baptism” and the “Supper of the Lord”, ministered with the unfailing use of Christ’s words of Institution and elements ordained by Him.
The Historic Episcopolate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying need of the nations and people called of God into the union of His Church.
The first three points could be accepted without any controversial question. But the fourth became contentious, as the Anglican Church maintained episcopal polity within the historical episcopate and believed that all its bishops and priests could trace an unbroken line of succession from St. Peter; whereas the rest of the churches in the negotiations conformed to other ecclesiastical polities and did not subscribe to the Anglican views on apostolic succession. After extensive dialogues, an agreement was reached that all who were already ordained in any of the uniting churches would be received as ministers in the united Church; provided all new ordinations after the union, would be conferred by episcopal ordained Bishops of the United Church, with the imposition of hands. The intention was to introduce an episcopalate in historic succession (from Anglicanism) into the new United Church and to ensure its maintenance in the future, by keeping all subsequent ordinations episcopal.
The Church of South India, as it exists today, came into being with the perseverance and committed efforts of Rev. Vedam Santiago, {Citation needed}, who, for a long period of time, took leadership of the, the South Indian United Churches (SIUC), which, later, with the joint efforts of Rev. V Santiago {Citation needed} and Bishop Azaraiah became the Church of South India.
Formation
The Church of South India union ceremony happened at St George’s Cathedral in Madras, on 27th September 1947, a month after India achieved its independence from the United Kingdom. It was formed from the union of the SIUC, itself a union of churches from the Congregational, Presbyterian and Reformed traditions, the southern provinces of the (Anglican) Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon and the Methodist Church of South India. The inaugural service was presided over by Bishop Rt. Rev. C. K. Jacob, of the Anglican Diocese of Travancore and Cochin. As part of it, nine new Bishops, drawn from all the traditions, were consecrated to serve to serve the five Anglican Bishops, who were already in office. Each new Bishop was ordained with the imposition of hands by the presiding Bishop, along with two more Anglican Bishops, Rt. Rev. A. M. Hollis and Rt. Rev. G. T. Selwynthe, and six Presbyters from the Uniting Churches, also laying hands. This reconciliation of the Anglican views with those of the other uniting denominations, on the doctrine of apostolic succession, realized in the formation of the Church of South India. This is often cited as a landmark in the ecumenical movement
Beliefs and practices
The Church of South India is a Trinitarian Church that draws from the traditions and heritage of its constituent denominations. The Church accepts the Chalcedonian Chistological Definition, as well as the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. Both creeds are included in the Church liturgy as the profession of faith. The Church practices infant baptism for children born in Christian homes and adult or believer’s baptism for others. Baptized children are members of the church and share in the privileges and obligations of membership so far as they are capable of doing so.
The Church of South India practices the rite of Confirmation, by which the confirmants (those being confirmed) upon profession of their Christian faith, obtain confirmation of their baptisms and, thereafter, gets to part-take fully in the privileges and obligations associated with Church membership. Secondarily, this is also a coming of age ceremony. Confirmation is almost always administered by a Bishop with the imposition of hands and occasionally by a Presbyter who is authorized to confirm.
Dioceses
The church is further divided into twenty-four dioceses, each under the supervision of a Bishop, including one diocese encompassing Jaffna, Sri Lanka. The dioceses are governed by Diocesan Councils composed of all clergy in the diocese as well as lay people elected from the local congregations. Each church will have representation in the Diocesan Council, based on their membership. The diocese is headed by the Bishop, who is a presbyter elected through the Diocesan Council. He is considered as the head of the diocese and all the institutions belonging to the diocese. Other than the Bishop, following are the important administrative posts of each diocese:
Clergy Secretary: Manages all the activities of the pastoral & evangelical workers in the diocese
Lay Secretary: Manages all the lay workers’ activities in the diocese
Educational Secretary: Manages all educational institutions and the workers of those institutions
Diocesan Treasurer: Manages all the income and expenditures of the diocese.
The Diocesan Council also consists of Diocesan Executive Committee, Diocesan Standing Committee, and Pastorate Committee.