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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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