Church Missionary Society in India

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Church Missionary Society

The Church Missionary Society in India was a branch organisation established by the Church Missionary Society (CMS), which was founded in Britain in 1799 under the name the Society for Missions to Africa and the East,[1] as a mission society working with the Anglican Communion, other Protestants, and Orthodox Christians around the world. In 1812, the British organization was renamed the Church Missionary Society.[2]

In 1814 the CMS began sending missionaries to India and established mission stations at

Zenana Bible and Medical Mission.[4]

The CMS in India

Henry Martyn, missionary to India and Persia
Holy Trinity Cathedral, Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli - Built by Rev. Charles Rhenius

The

Church Missionary Society, however a financial disaster in Cornwall deprived him and his unmarried sister of the income their father had left for them. It was necessary for Martyn to earn an income that would support his sister as well as himself.[5] He accordingly obtained a chaplaincy under the East India Company and left for India on 5 July 1805.[6] William Wilberforce campaigned for the revision of the charter of the East India Company to permit missionaries to work in India. When the Charter Bill was passed in 1813 the CMS had missionaries ready for the India mission.[2] The Revd Charles Rhenius and the Revd John Christian Schnarre were the first CMS missionaries to arrive at India and were sent to work at Chennai (Madras).[7] Charles Rhenius later worked in Tirunelveli
(Tinnevelly).

The CMS sent 7 missionaries to India in 1814-1816: two were placed at Chennai (Madras), two at Bengal and three at Travancore (1816).[3] The Indian missions were extended in the following years to a number of locations including Agra, Meerut district, Varanasi (Benares), Mumbai (Bombay) (1820), Tirunelveli (Tinnevelly) (1820) and Kolkata (Calcutta) (1822).

New mission stations were later established in the

Punjab region (1852).[3][8]

While the

Santhal people (1858), and to Kashmir (1865).[2][3][8]

In 1899, B. Baring-Gould and his daughter Elizabeth oversaw the missions in India and China supporting the development of additional hospitals and schools. Their work describe the balance between westernized education and medical care versus Christian conversion.[9]

Kolkata (Calcutta)

The CMS mission in Calcutta was started in 1822. The first CMS school was opened at Kidderpore, a suburb of Calcutta, in 1816; and the first girls’ school in 1822, by Miss M. A. Cooke, at Calcutta.

Bishop of Calcutta
(1823–1826) supported the work of the CMS mission.

The Revd

James Long joined the mission in 1840. Edward Stuart served in India from 1850 to 1874. He was the Secretary of the Church Missionary Society at Calcutta. He also served at Agra and at Jalalpur.[10]

Agra

Valpy French arrived in India in 1851. He was sent to Agra, where he founded the St. John's College, Agra in 1853.[11]

Lahore

The CMS mission in

Bishop of Lahore in 1877.[11]

Mission in Kerala

The contribution made by the society in creating and maintaining educational institutions in

K.P.S. Menon and K. M. Panikkar as well as scientist E. C. George Sudarshan
.

The Revd Benjamin Bailey was appointed to the Kottayam mission in the Indian state of Kerala in 1816 and in 1821 he established a printing press.[3] Benjamin Bailey translated the complete Bible to Malayalam language. He also authored the first printed Malayalam-English Dictionary. He is considered as the father of Malayalam printing.[12]

CMS activities in the 20th Century

The CMS continued to send missionaries to India, including Frank Lake in 1937.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Mounstephen, Philip (2015). "Teapots and DNA: The Foundations of CMS". Intermission. 22.
  2. ^ a b c Keen, Rosemary. "Church Missionary Society Archive". Adam Matthew Publications. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e "The Church Missionary Atlas (India)". Adam Matthew Digital. 1896. pp. 95–156. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  4. ^ The Centenaru Volume of the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East 1799-1899 (PDF). London : Church Missionary Society, digital publication: Cornell University. 1902. p. 19.
  5. ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1893). "Martyn, Henry" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 36. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  6. ISBN 019211655X
    .
  7. ^ a b The Centenaru Volume of the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East 1799-1899 (PDF). London : Church Missionary Society, digital publication: Cornell University. 1902. p. 16.
  8. ^ a b "The Church Missionary Atlas (Church Missionary Society)". Adam Matthew Digital. 1896. pp. xi. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  9. ^ Baring-Gould, Edith M. E.; Young, W. Mackworth (1901). With note-book and camera: a winter journey in foreign lands. London: Church Missionary Society.
  10. ^ Stock, Eugene (1913). "The Story of the New Zealand Mission". Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  11. ^
    Britannica.com
    .
  12. ^ Benjamin Bailiyum Malayala Saahityavum. By Dr. Babu Cherian. Published by the Department of Printing and Publishing, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_Missionary_Society_in_India&oldid=1205863284"