8 THE INDIAN CHURCH

Rajula Shah

The subcontinent of South Asia has for centuries been a meeting place for diverse religious and cultural traditions. It is here that many of the world’s major religious traditions have coexisted and interacted having a mutual influence on other religions. It is in this context, one can say that Christianity has long been one of India’s religious traditions and it is to a great extent to which this faith has influenced Indian society and culture. Contrary to the popular belief, Christianity has always been, in at least some measure, a non-Western religion. It also cannot be denied that, more often than not, studies undertaken on Christians in India have tended to show an inclination towards Euro-centrism, instead of being Indo-centric. There is a need for emphasizing the essentiality of Indian character of Christianity in India.

Due to its inherent nature and expansive phases, Christianity has been always seen as transcultural and migratory. It also cannot be denied that Christianity has gone through various complexities in its proliferation process, also through which Christian elements intermingled with the indigenous cultures, thus resulting in dual identities (Frykenberg, 2010). Such dual identities are porous and essentially prove the Indian character of the Christian faith. In order to understand the Indian character of this faith, it is therefore highly important to first understand the origin and spread of Christianity in India and also look at how the Church as a religious institution rose to such religious and cultural prominence.

The Christian churches in India are often seen as an important site of cultural interaction (Kennedy, 2002). In fact, church is the institutionalized aspect of Christianity as a religion. There have been multiple origins of the hundreds of separate Christian communities that seem to have emerged within the subcontinent. The origin can be seen with the events linked to the Thomas Tradition of A. D. 52 and following the subsequent waves of arrival and/or development of Orthodox (Syrian) Christians prior to 1500, of Roman Catholics after 1500, of Evangelicals (Protestants) after 1700, and of Pentecostals since 1900 (Frykenberg, 2003b). Thus, in India, we come across all the major as well as minor Christian communities that have originated at various times in history, under various circumstances.

In this module, we intend to gain in depth understanding of Church, as an institution and place of worship, in India. For this, we first need to know about the origin of Christianity in India because Church and Christianity are inseparable. Church, as an all-influencing as well as well-structured place of religious significance, predominantly for Christians (Catholics and non-Catholics); besides the non-Christians at various places and on various occasions, has a long history of its origin and gradual importance in India. We begin with a general understanding of origin and spread of Christianity, and thereby that of Church, in the Indian subcontinent. Persistence of church as an institution of religious worship proves the impregnable and firm structure of the church as an organization. This structure and its functions thereby become another segment of our understanding of church in India. We will then dwell upon the church’s architecture in the Indian context as well as the influence of caste system on church and Christianity, including the existence of multiple identities amongst the converts to Christianity. Most importantly, we will look upon the various denominations/churches in India, with its structure, importance and examples. With this, we shall be able to have a clearer understanding of church in India.

INTRODUCTION: APOSTOLIC ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA

The history of the Church, in India, traces its roots to the Apostolic times. And later on a new chapter starts with the Portuguese missionary effort in the 16th century which carried the Gospel to the whole of south-east Asia and the Far East (Soares, 1964). It is to the Apostle Thomas that the Indian Christians trace the origin of their church. He is popularly believed to have visited India in 52 A.D. and preached the Gospel here. It is certain that, notwithstanding the lack of contemporary historical evidence, there has been an Apostolic origin of church in the Kerala tradition. Apostle Thomas propagated missionary activities to the Jews, along with people of Kerala, thus gathering a large following including the foundation of seven churches in Kerala, before moving to the Tamil country. Nearly all historians accept the fact that irrespective of their origin, there have been Christian communities in India since early times (Thomas, 1964). In fact, Christianity in the non-Western world, is known to have been strong long before the Great Councils began to codify the institutions of a Latin Christian culture (Frykenberg, 2003b). This clearly means that Christianity in India, has a non-Western origin, which is very much contrary to the popular belief.

The European Christians came to India in 1498. With Vasco da Gama’s arrival, the earliest of these new arrivals were not just Catholic, but, they were Roman Catholic. All the priests and missionaries that came henceforth came in India spread out to various parts of the country thus seeking converts and establishing monastic institutions. With increasing intermingling of ideas of ruling medieval Christendom with those of the Renaissance and Counter-Reformation, these missionaries eventually disturbed older Christian institutions in the country (Frykenberg, 2003a). Accordingly, a lot of fresh conversions (reconversions) took in various parts of the country.

Even in Goa, Christianity was not unknown before being taken up by the Portuguese. When St. Francis Xavier landed in Goa in May 1542, Goa was almost a Christian settlement (Moraes, 1964). St. Francis Xavier, a great missionary, under the Portuguese, is venerated by Catholics as the second Apostle of India (Thomas, 1964). It was Xavier was who can be credited for the Parava and Mukkuva (fishing communities) Christian identity. It is certainly true that there were several monastic orders that became involved in missionary activities, amongst which, some of the important carriers of Catholic influence beyond coastal enclaves under the European rule were Jesuits. An Italian Scholar Roberto de Nobili (1577–1656) has made substantial contribution in Indianising Christianity by dealing with the highest and purest and by finding the Madura Mission. He studied Sanskrit and Tamil, among other things, in order to convert the ‘high castes’, unlike the Portuguese whose practice was confined to the low castes only. He also maintained that caste was a social convenience being permissible to Christians too (Thomas, 1964), and therefore left the social structure of caste untouched. Yet another major contribution towards the spread of Christianity was that of another Italian Jesuit Constanzo Guiseppe Beschi (1680-1747), who enjoyed the local and royal patronage equally (Frykenberg, 2003a). He was a scholar of several languages. Beschi had a deep veneration for the Virgin Mary. He, like many other missionaries, called upon her for protection during sea voyages and for help in evangelization. In fact, Beschi was responsible for the erection of two important places of worship dedicated to the Virgin Mary: Konankuppam, near Parur, and Ellacurichi, near Tanjore (Granziera, 2011). He eventually took the lead in Tamil scholarship. However, of all the Christainities founded by the Apostles in Indian context, the only one to have survived was apparently that of Malabar, though this proposition is also debated. The survival of the Malabar Community was mainly because of their centuries of close ecclesiastical links with the well-organized churches of the Persian Gulf and also the patronage of local Rajas. Whereas, the northern Christianity could have been engulfed in the various waves of invasions that swept over the Indus valley (Soares, 1964). Simultaneously, by the first decade of 1700s, the German Evangelical Missionaries began to arrive in Tranquebar, which was then a part of Danish colony. Sent by the King of Denmark, the two German missionaries, Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg1 and Heinrich Pluetschau established an Evangelical or Lutheran congregation according to the Pietist2 ideals in the complex cultural, religious and linguistic milieu of the region. Thus begins the Indian Protestantism. Tamil Pietists travelled in remote areas and got many converts. By the end of eighteenth century, Evangelicals of Tranquebar, Tanjore, Trichy, Tinnevelly, and Vepery had adapted Tamil customs, language and even kinship systems to their own Pietist understanding of the Gospel. Therefore, by the time the British East India Company established the Madras Presidency, Protestantism was already an Indian religion (Hudson, 2000). The arrival of these German Evangelical Missionaries set in motion a complex chain of events that moved Christians of India in a radically different direction. This was because their arrival coincided with the decline of Indo-Islamic power on one hand, and the rise of European power on the other, due to which what was “Christian” increasingly became confused with what was “European” (Frykenberg, 2003a). This has resulted in mounting confusion over the relation between the two terms and how former got increasingly recognized through the latter.

However, there was a high degree of indigenizing acculturation that characterized Catholic Christianity in India. The Catholic orders having considerable autonomy under the Portuguese and Padroado of Goa manifested significant transcultural adaptability. As mentioned earlier, although, the Catholics did not succeed in making substantial inroads in Mughal India, unlike the southern shorelines, the communities that claimed and accepted the apostolic tradition of St. Thomas, are still seen as possessing the earliest and the strongest expressions of indigenous Christianity in both ideological and institutional forms. Among these, as we find them at present, are the Orthodox Syrian Church (in two branches), the Independent Syrian Church of Malabar (Kunnamkulam), the Mar Thoma Church, the Malankara (Syrian Rite) Catholic Church, the (Chaldean) Church of the East, and the St. Thomas Evangelical Church (or factions thereof), segments of Church Missionary Society (CMS) within the Church of South India. However,

• The first scholar to have completed a Tamil translation of the New Testament.
• The Pietist movement is also known as the “Second Reformation”, which led to the Evangelical Great Awakening in Britain and America.

from sixteenth century onwards, all of these churches and/or its branches have interacted with or involved in connection with branches of the Roman Catholic Church (Frykenberg, 2003a).

In 1514, there was an agreement, known as the ‘Padroado’, between the Pope and the King of Portugal, because of which, among other things, prelates (senior clergymen) in regions under Portuguese influence in the East had to be jointly appointed after mutual consultation. However by 20th century, with the national struggle against the foreign rule gaining momentum, there was a rising corresponding feeling among the Indian Christians for reforms in hierarchical organizations. Indian Christians (including the powerful Kerala Christians) hitherto were ruled by foreign prelates. But with the advent of 20th century, there was a general change of attitude in all denominations in favour of Indian prelates. Further, due to the increase in the strength of congregations, the emphasis, among Protestants, shifted from Missions to Churches, several denominations thereby becoming autonomous and a general movement for church union started developing (Thomas, 1964). The Church was often perceived as a partner in the colonial penetration of new territories. Of course, undeniably, the mission and the colonial state did work in close collaboration. However it should also be remembered that the Church and colonial state often clashed in India. Exceptions tended to be opportunistic and pragmatic. It is in this context the East India Company was initially reluctant to allow missionary activities in its territories. It was only after 1813, due to strong pressure from Britain’s churches, that company’s attitude towards missionaries underwent a change (Karlsson, 2002).

With India’ independence in 1947 the prestige of Indian Christians rose in Christendom. The Padroado was abolished in 1950 and all Portuguese interference in Indian churches ceased. For the first time in history, Indian Catholics had their Cardinal, Valerian Gracias, in 1952. And the Protestants established their first independent Indian Church, Church of South India, in September, 1947 (Thomas, 1964).

GENERAL ORIGIN AND DESCRIPTION OF CHURCH

According to early Christian literature, the word ‘church’ meant an assembly and not a building as such. In the Roman Empire, Christianity was a persecuted religion and therefore the Primitive Christians met in secret. It was only after the conversion of Emperor Constantine in the 4th century A.D., that regular buildings for public worship became safe for Christians. It is also important to know that the need for building churches arose mainly out of the religious obligation for Christians to keep the Sabbath.3

Ironically, it is difficult for a non-Christian to understand exactly what is exactly worshipped in a church. Usually in Catholic churches, a large number of crucifixes and images of saints are to be seen. However, none of these are worshipped although all are venerated. The real object of worship is most of the churches4 is the Eucharist or the Host, wherein Christ is believed to be living under the appearance of bread and wine. It is the Eucharist or Host that is received by the faithful in Holy Communion which implies the physical and spiritual communion between the devotee and Christ (Thomas, 1964).

Due to their Hindu background and environments, the early Indian Christians are assumed to have developed their church-life on the pattern of Indian temple-life.

The church is also seen to be linked with three main events in a Christian’s life: baptism, marriage and death. Perhaps, the most popular functions in Indian churches, as in Hindu temples, are the feasts and festivals. At such occasions, there is music, processions, lights and decorations, etc. that all result in divine awe. Apart from local feasts and festivals, there are the grand festivals of Christmas and Easter.

STRUCTURE OF THE CHRUCH AND ITS FUNCTIONS

Pope Leo XIII, in 1886, established the Indian Hierarchy and since then the Church in India has grown into a number of ecclesiastical provinces, each under an Archbishop, who then has subordinate bishops within his jurisdiction (Soares, 1964).

On the national or denominational level, the church defines itself as a spiritual fellowship holding a common faith and ideals. The church universal is characterized by, not a face-to-face group, but rather a group bound together by some system of inter-communication along with keeping its faith and ideals alive amongst its smaller territorial local units. Whereas on the local level, i.e. the local church, is characteristically a congregating group, frequently coming together for direct face-to-face relationships. Besides the fact that the local church stimulates the

3  A day of rest and worship: Sunday for most Christians; Saturday for the Jews and a few Christians; Friday

for Muslims.

4 Particularly those denominations that believe in Holy Communion.

heightened efficiency of the religious life through common worship of its congregations, administration also becomes another major aspect of the local church’s organized life (Douglass & Brunner, 1935).

Every church, as a Parish, has a resident parish priest; with bigger Parishes having either an assistant priest or in some cases a team of assistant priests in addition. An important duty of these persons include the maintenance of the Parish Register in which the dates of baptism, marriage and death of every parishioner are kept. The main duty of the priest, however, is to cater to the spiritual needs of the parishioners. Catholic religious vitality is measured by the vigour of religious life which is centered on the parish church, the basic unit of a Diocese. The parish priest, with his duties and functions, plays a vital role in the community. He not only ministers to the spiritual needs of his people in the church, but also acts as guide, philosopher and a friend in their life. His pastoral duties, apart from the administration of sacraments and preaching, include catechizing5 the children, visiting the sick, solving domestic issues, guiding the diverts, and supervising the various activities of what is comprehensively called Catholic Action (Soares, 1964). All this, and rather much more, is possible as Church is well-knit place of religious significance. The parishioners’ lives are entirely governed by the Church. Church has a say in almost all the crucial matters of their lives. It is here that the role of Parish Priest becomes important and influential. If the parish priest is dynamic and democratic, he is likely to get strong participation, with enthusiasm, from his folk.

With reference to women in the church organization, it is apparent that the work of spreading the message of the Gospel could not be carried on by men alone. Women play a vital role and that is how there are over a hundred sisterhoods working in the parishes and mission stations. It is the nuns who hold the monopoly all over India, for the convent education of women as well as kindergarten and primary classes. Further, all hospitals, dispensaries, maternity homes as well as orphanages that come under Catholic auspices are managed by them (Soares, 1964).

CHURCH ARCHITECTURE:

In India, the church was designed in the pattern of temple architecture due enormous influence of the local culture on its architecture as well. Although the early European churches were generally

5 Giving religious instructions

built in the basilican style, with the rise of Islam, certain styles underwent changes. It was the Portuguese who introduced the Gothic and Baroque architecture into India. However, during the British period, various colonial forms of European and American styles in church building and architecture came into practice; besides, some purely Indian styles were also adopted. In Indian situation, more often than not, various styles found expression simultaneously (Thomas, 1964). It is maintained that the style of the Churches may have been modelled on the old temples and the ritual possibly on that of the Jewish congregations (Soares, 1964). Therefore, the Hindu culture did have a predominant influence on the church architecture at least in the initial phases. However, with Syrian migrations to Kerala and with introduction of West Asian conventions in church architecture, there was an adaptation of Syrian Liturgy and ritual. With this, Kerala began to have a peculiar style of church architecture.

However, with Portuguese entry in India, early European styles of church architecture were introduced. The Franciscans built the first European church in India in Cochin in 1510. The Portuguese are known to have built the greatest churches in Goa, which gained tremendous commercial and political importance. Many of these are still existing in Old Goa, although in in a state of neglect. When Portuguese ventured to Kerala, they introduced many innovations in the Syrian churches. Many Anglican Cathedrals came up during the British period, including some important ones like St. Paul’s, the Cathedral of the Metropolitan See of Calcutta, for instance. However, with the beginning of 20th century and the rise of nationalism, it led to a revival of Indian art in church architecture.

CHURCH AND THE CASTE SYSTEM

The biggest ongoing conflict within the Christian groups in India, irrespective of their denomination, time of origin, etc. is centered in the issue of caste. No group of Christians in India seems to have been immune so far (Frykenberg, 2003b). In other words, the Christians in India have not been able to the problem of the massive influence of their caste identities on their religious identities.

Caste system is said to be absolutely ingrained in the Indian structure as well as the Indian psyche. It cannot be denied that the old and new converts to Christianity were an integral part of this caste system and most of these did carry their caste baggage post-conversion to Christianity as well. For instance, the Parava and Mukkuva Christian communities of the shoreline did retain their autonomy and thus remained conspicuously Hindu or Nativistic and caste oriented. Most of the missionaries maintained a status quo on the issues of caste. This is not to say that they did not carry on the work of doing service to mankind. However their principle aim was to bring as many people to the faith as possible. So they either left the issue completely or, as what happened in most of the cases, they worked as “agents of change”, i.e. working as opponents of caste system.

There are instances that clarify missionaries’ various take on the issue of caste. For instance Bishop Azariah (1874-1945) of Dornakal Diocese, considered various cultural manifestations of the caste system as incompatible with doctrines of Christianity. The Church, then, required the new converts to give up their different jati groups and abandon the performance of jati-based duties and rituals. However, he did condemn ‘mixed marriages’ (Harper, 2002). There are also instances where within a same church, European Christians would sit on benches, Vellalar Christians on grass mats, Paraiyar Christians or low-caste Christians on the bare floor; even women would sit separately from the men (Frykenberg, 2003b). Such a sitting arrangement clearly showed how the so-called status was observed and maintained even within the church. Nevertheless, in an overall attempt to build a new identity by replacing and transcending the old caste identities, the church almost inadvertently created new social organizations, including rituals and customs that bore remarkable similarities to the old ones they replaced (Harper, 2002). However, it is important to mention that the overall attitude of the missionaries, towards the caste arrangements in India, cannot be seen as a sweeping generalization. For instance, the French missionaries were more receptive to the existing caste and cultural norms, Irish missionaries were more opposed and Italian missionaries were more evenly divided.

IMPORTANT DENOMINATIONS IN CHURCHES IN INDIA

Notwithstanding the lack of grandeur and magnificence of Indian churches, there are many famous shrines and churches of historic and religious importance in India. Having followed certain established conventions for church-building, there have been several denominational peculiarities which have brought above considerable variety to these churches. On the basis of denominations, churches can be divided into: Catholic (Roman) churches, churches of non-Catholic Eastern rites (Thomas, or Syrian), and Protestant (Evangelical) churches.

There are deep-rooted differences in viewpoints between the Protestants and Catholics. For the radical Protestant, as we know, religion consists of direct and unique personal relations between God and the individual. The sum total of the persons who have realized these relationships constitutes the church, which is essentially described as a spiritual entity and only secondarily as a social institution. Whereas, in the characteristic Catholic viewpoint, on the contrary, the essence of religion is found in God’s corporate relations to men effectualized through the church as an ordained channel of life. The church is definitely a divinely constituted social institution. Its sacraments convey grace, its priesthood is essential to the valid performance of the church’s saving functions (Douglass & Brunner, 1935).

Catholic Churches: The church-life cultivated by the Catholics is of particular importance as well as their hierarchical organizations and ceremonial celebrations are more intense when compared to other denominations. The spirit of pilgrimage is a popular element in Catholic worship. Besides, the Virgin Mary also occupies an exalted position in the literary works and therefore her shrines, all over India, are attracted not only by Catholics, but also by other community members, for instance, the Church of Our Lady of Health, at Vailankanni (Tanjore District) is known as the Lourdes of South India, mainly because of miraculous curing powers attributed to the shrine. Catholics are also the largest denomination of Christians in India. There are two main categories: those who follow the Latin Rite and the Syrian Catholics. The official Liturgy of the Catholic Church, with the Pope as the supreme head, is Latin, but Rome has always recognized the validity of certain eastern rites, and the Syrians, when they were brought under Goa, were allowed to retain their ancient Liturgy. After the Revolt of Coonen Cross, those Syrians who were reconciled to Rome continued to follow the Syrian Liturgy and are thus known as Syrian Catholics (p. 46). This is how the Syrian clergymen are permitted to say their Mass in Malayalam. With reference to the important shrines, St. Thomas Mount, Mylapore (Madras) is the most important and historic Christian shrine in India, it’s the site of the death of the Apostle Thomas. Almost equally important is the Bom Jesus (Infant Jesus) Church, where the body of St. Francis Xavier, has been preserved intact, in Old Goa (Thomas, 1964).

Churches of Non-Catholic Eastern Rites: Although when Rome rose to pre-eminence in Europe and the Pope became the supreme head of the Catholics, there were many Patriarchs in the East who were not subject to Rome. To mention it, originally, there were five main Patriarchates in Christendom: Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch and Alexandria. In this context, it is said that the Kerala Church obtained its Bishops, before the Portuguese period from the Patriarchs of Western Asia. However it is also certainly true that practically all Kerala Christians became Catholics when the Portuguese subjected the Syrian church to Goa and the present denominations in Kerala are mostly developments that took place after the Revolt of Coonen Cross.6 However, there were certain Syrians who refused to be reconciled to Rome, thus having their Bishop from the Patriarch of Antioch. These came to known as Jacobites; a section of people further separated from the Jacobites under Protestant missionary influence and thus founded the independent church of Mar Thomites. Yet another minority separated from the Syrian Catholics, claiming continuity from the pre-Portuguese period and were called Nestorians or Chaldeans (Thomas, 1964). It is also apparently true that no matter how isolated and weakened the Church of the East became, it continued to exist in India long after the virtual disappearance of Christians from other parts of Asia (Frykenberg, 2003a).

Protestant Churches: With Reformation, an extraordinary hold was obtained on the expanding nations of Europe and soon after a formative and consolidating period, the Protestant Churches embarked upon a vigorous course of missionary activity throughout the world. In India, missionaries of Dutch, Danish, German, British and American extraction were mainly responsible for the spread of the different Protestant denominations. Practically all Protestant denominations, Anglicans7. Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Mennonites, the Salvation Army, etc., have congregations and churches in India (Thomas, 1964).

CHURCH AND INDIA

Catholic Church as well as the Protestant missions, with all its various institutions, have heavily contributed towards the welfare of the Indian nation. The Christian Missionaries have worked whole-heartedly in shaping the Indian life, since its Apostolic origin, through the Portuguese rule, the colonial period, throughout the independence struggle, up to the post-independent period and still going on. There have been thousands of missionaries who had come to India – with dedicated professionals and volunteers of some fifty Protestant and sixty Catholic societies

6  It was because of this revolt that the Pope sent a batch of Carmelite monks to Kerala, in order to reclaim

the Syrians. A larger number of Syrians were henceforth known as Syrian Catholics.

7  Anglican Church is the official Church of England. The first Anglican Cathedral, St. Paul’s, was built in

Calcutta in 1847.

from all over the world, predominantly from America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and countries of Scandinavia and Southern Europe (Frykenberg, 2003a). These missionaries were the ones who, without any hesitation, worked amongst the sick, poor, and downtrodden including the tribes and so-called lower castes’ people. They took a lead in imparting western, secular, liberal and English education as well as the medical relief to the women and lower castes, among others.

It is also true that the Church, right from its inception in India, has been charged with forceful conversions of Indian people to Christianity, often converting the weak, poor, sick, and marginalized with deceptive means. However, these allegations should not be judged in the light of one-sided story. What lies beneath these allegations is the politics of religion and identity. And therefore, any judgment taken on the issue should be contextualized in the local and socio-cultural milieu.

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