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| All Christian churches have found the most fertile ground for expansion among ], and ] groups. During the twentieth century, the fastest growing Christian communities have been located in the northeast, among the ]s, ]s, ], and other hill tribes. | All Christian churches have found the most fertile ground for expansion among ], and ] groups. During the twentieth century, the fastest growing Christian communities have been located in the northeast, among the ]s, ]s, ], and other hill tribes. | ||
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Revision as of 20:21, 2 April 2005
Christianity is India's third-largest religion, following Hinduism and Islam. According to tradition, there have been Christians in India almost for as long as the religion has existed, and Christianity underwent major growth following European contact and British colonization, which brought in both Catholic and Protestant missionaries. The 2001 census recorded over 2.4 crores of Indian Christians (24 million), comprising 2.3% of the country's population. There are two main regional concentrations of Christian population, namely in South India and among tribal people in East and Northeast India.
Early Christianity in India
The first Christians in India, according to tradition and legend, were converted by St Thomas the Apostle, who arrived at Kodungallur on the Malabar Coast of India in 52 CE. After evangelizing and performing miracles in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, he is believed to have been martyred in Chennai and buried on the site of San Thome Cathedral. Members of the Syro-Malabar Church, an eastern rite of the Roman Catholic Church, adopted the Syriac liturgy dating from fourth century Antioch. The Christian community founded by St Thomas has since developed into a number of churches, including Syriac-rite churches in communion with the Holy See, Oriental Orthodox churches, and so-called 'Nestorian' churches.
- Main article: Saint Thomas Christians
In the Mediaeval Period
Portuguese missionaries, who reached the Malabar Coast in the late 15th century, made contact with the St Thomas Christians in Kerala, and sought to introduce among them the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. Throughout this period, foreign missionaries also made many new converts to Christianity. Early Roman Catholic missionaries, particularly the Portuguese, led by the Jesuit St Francis Xavier (1506-52), expanded from their bases on the west coast making many converts, especially among lower castes and outcastes. The miraculously undecayed body of Saint Francis Xavier is still on public view in a glass coffin at the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa.
Beginning in the eighteenth century, Protestant missionaries began to work throughout India, leading to the growth of Christian communities of many varieties.
Contemporary situation
The total number of Christians in India according to the 1991 census was 1.96 crores (19.6 million), or 2.3 percent of the population. About 70% of Indian Christians in 1991 were Roman Catholics, including 3 lakh members of the Syro-Malankara Church as of 1991. The remainder of Roman Catholics were under the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India. In January 1993, after centuries of self-government, the 35-lakh-strong Latin-rite Syro-Malabar Church was raised to archepiscopate status as part of the Roman Catholic Church. In total, there were nineteen archbishops, 103 bishops, and about 15,000 priests in India in 1995.
Most Protestant denominations are represented in India, the result of missionary activities throughout the country, starting with the onset of British rule. Most denominations, however, are almost exclusively staffed by Indians, and the role of foreign missionaries is limited. The largest Protestant denomination in the country is the Church of South India, since 1947 a union of Presbyterian, Reformed, Congregational, Methodist, and Anglican congregations with approximately 22 lakh members as of 1995. A similar Church of North India had 10 lakh members. (These churches are in full communion with the Anglican Communion.) There were about 13 lakh Lutherans, 4,73,000 Methodists, and 4,25,000 Baptists as of 1995. Oriental Orthodox churches of the Malankara and Malabar rites totalled 20 lakh and 7 lakh members, respectively.
All Christian churches have found the most fertile ground for expansion among Dalits, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribe groups. During the twentieth century, the fastest growing Christian communities have been located in the northeast, among the Khasis, Mizos, Nagas, and other hill tribes.
References
- This article includes material from the 1995 public domain Library of Congress Country Study on India.