Short Essay on the functions of the Catholic Churches in South India

At present there are three different rites of the Catholic Church in South India: the Latin rite, the Chaldeo-Malabar rite, the Syro-Malankara rite. All the three rites are the expres­sions of the same Catholic Faith, using diverse forms of worship and language.

Protestant missionary activity in South India was first started in the Danish Settlement of Tranquebar. King Frederick IV of Denmark founded a mission there to spread Protestant Christianity in India. The first missionaries of the Royal Danish Mission, Ziegenbalg and Plutschan, both Germans, arrived in Tranquebar in 1709 and started their work. Ziegenbalg was the real founder of the Danish Lutheran Mission. He built the large and beautiful Jerusalem Church in Tranquebar, translated the New Testament into Tamil and laid the foundations of Protestant Christianity in South India.

Towards the end of the seventeenth century missionary feeling developed in England and in 1698 was founded the oldest Anglican missionary society, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (S.P.C.K.). In 1701 the Society for the Propagation of Gospel in Foreign Parts (S.P.G.F.P.) was founded and incorporated by Royal Charter. Those Anglican church­men who were responsible for the foundation of S.P.C.K. and S.P.G.F.P. took great interest in Danish Royal Mission, and information about it was published in English from time to time.

British power and influence were increasing and Madras (now Chennai) seemed a better place than Tranquebar for a mission centre. Schultz, a missionary at Tranquebar moved to Madras (Chennai) in 1728 to start a mission centre there, but the Danish were reluctant to support those missionaries who were working outside the Danish settlement. Therefore, S.P.C.K. decided to support the new mission at Madras (Chennai) started by Schultz.

The missionaries were all Lutherans, mostly Germans, who were trained at the University of Halle. The S.P.C.K. tried to give the mission as Anglican a look as possible, by having the Book of Common Prayer translated, and trying to insist on its use. In 1743 Schultz was succeeded by Fabricious who translated the whole Bible into Tamil.

The most famous of the S.P.C.K. missionaries was Christian Frederick Schwartz, who worked at first with the Danish Royal Mission at Tranquebar and then with the S.P.C.K. at Tiruchirappalli and Tanjore. A great ascetic like person he exerted much to spread Christianity in South India. He brought up an excellent missionary to succeed him at Tanjore, John Caspar Kohlhoff, sincere, devoted and kindhearted to a fault, and thoroughly acquainted with the people of Tamilnad. After the death of Schwatz, the Liutheran missions in South India began to decline.

The missionaries suffered from want of money, and the caste practices in the churches degraded the merits of Christianity. In 1825 the S.P.C.K. decided to hand over its South Indian Missions to S.P.G.F.P. At Tranquebar, the last Danish missionary, Frederick Caemmere died in 1837 and his sons took Anglican orders and became useful missionaries of the S.P.G.F.P. In short, the Anglican Church had absorbed the old Lutheran Missions, which first worked in South India for converting people to Protestant faith.

The Lutheran missions were the only Protestant missions in South India on foot till the end of the eighteenth century. However, the nineteenth century opened with a new hope for the Protestant missions and there took place a rapid and varied development in organization and church building activity. The decline of Portuguese power weakened the organization of Roman Chatholics and Protestants used the opportunity to convert large numbers to their fold; mainly from the lower classes. A number of missionary societies took active interest in propagating the Protestant faith in South India.

The origin of the Protestant missionary activities in Kerala is associated with the evangelical revival in England in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Every Christian in England considered it his duty to strive hard for the spread of the Gospel both at home and abroad. William Wilberforce, the indefatigable champion of noble causes, raised his voice in the British Parliament in favour of the evangelization of India through missionary efforts.

This dream became a reality with the founding of missionary societies, like the London Missionary Society (L.M.S.), the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S.) and the Basel Mission. The history of the Protestant missionary activities in Kerala begins with the arrival of William Tobias Ringeltaube, a missionary of the L.M.S. in 1806. The L.M.S. was followed by the C.M.S. and the Basel Mission.

The political power and influence of the British in the beginning of the nineteenth century played a vital role in the establishment of the Protestant missionary societies in South India. British officers too evinced a keen interest in the spread of Christianity. Says Herber Drury:

“It was fortunate that such men as Macauley and Munro were in those days the British Residents at the Court of Travancore, for the Raja was much inclined to promote the welfare of his Christian subjects, and the British plenipotentiaries brought their powerful influence felt in aid of the good cause.” They utilized their official position and influence to introduce and spread Christianity in Kerala. The missionary work of the L.M.S. and C.M.S. spread to various parts of South India and attained success in their respective mission fields.

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission (mainly Congregationalist) was formed in 1810 and in 1834 it began to work in Madurai and its neighbourhood and in 1851 in Madras (Chennai). In 1855 they started missionary work at Vellore which, however was taken over in 1857 by the Dutch Reformed Church of America and came to be associated with the Scudder family.

Church of Scotland also started missionary work in Madras (Chennai), which concentrated on educational work; a standing monument of its vision and concern for the mental well-being of the people is the Madras Christian College, founded by John Anderson. The two other important missionary societies which worked in South India are the Salvation Army, which concentrated mainly on the lower classes of Kerala, and the Wesbyan Mission, which worked in Mysore.

The most important merit of the Protestant missions in South India was that they did not limit their exertions to the propagation of Gospel though that was their primary object. They were moved by the harrowing tales of oppression of the lower classes and they invested their energies in the amelioration of their conditions.

They coordinated both evangelism and social work although our work is to promote the eternal interests of the people”, one missionary wrote, “we cannot but feel for these poor sufferers; and if consistently without higher object, we can procure for them some relief from their temporal distress, it is our delight to do so.”

They worked happily among the tribal’s and slaves and converted them. Their work among them produced tremendous impact. The tribal’s and slaves became owners of land. They were freed from forced labour and other economic injustices to which they were subjected before, and got raised in social position and were freed from fear and inferiority complexes. In short, the Gospel was to them a liberating force. Thus with evangelical work they combined their efforts to establish a society with a faint equality and social freedom.

The division of the Christian Church into several different denominations and sects caused pain to thinking Christians. Enlightened Christians of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries wanted a union of the different churches. It was among the Protestants that the movement for union of different churches first started.

They wanted the churches to be “one, not divided, native and foreign.” In the beginning of the twentieth century closer relations were established among some of the Protestant churches of South India, which resulted in the formation of the South India United Church in 1908.

In 1947 as a result of the union of Methodist, Congregationalist and Presbyterian Churches of South India with the Church of England, the Church of South India was formed; this marked a most important event in the history of church in India. A movement toward reunion with Catholic Church was that of the Catholic Syro-Malankara Church, which was formed in 1930, when the Jacobite bishop Mar Ivanios was reconciled with Rome together with another bishop and several clergy and lay people.

In South India at present there are four principal churches: Catholic, Orthodox, Mar Thoma, and C.S.I. The movement to unite all the different Churches into one is gaining momentum in recent days. There is increasing participation of Catholic clergy in statutory services with clergy of other Churches. Christians hope that the integration of all Christian churches will be effected in the very near future.

The part played by the Christians in modernizing South India is not inconsiderable. In the beginning of the national movement they did not play an important role, as they were under the control of the missionaries who in one way or other supported foreign domination in this land. Moreover, politically they were an insignificant minority. Impor­tant issues were decided by majority communities and Christians wanted to be under the protective shield of the British, who afforded them peace and security for many years.

A visible change came in their attitude with K.T. Paul, the Secretary of the National Missionary Society and later the general secretary of the Young Men’s Christian Associa­tion, advocating the national cause. He reminded the Christians of their duty to serve the nation and asked them to use the opportunity provided by God to them to promote national interest.

“To be born at this hour in India”, he exhorted, “and to have the opportunity to take share in the shaping of our national destinies is perhaps the most critical point of its history. If that is not an opportunity, what is? It would not only be a lamentable misapprehension of the spirit of Christ but also a grievous neglect of a great God given opportunity, if it is not realized that Indian Christians have a tremendous duty in regard to the secular crisis in India.”

Relating to the contribution of K.T. Paul to the national movement K.M. Panikkar writes: ” Kanakarajan Paul’s famous article, ‘Watchman, what of the night’, may be considered the first call to Christian community to realize the strength and weight of the new forces. Paul, a devout Christian, was also an ardent champion of the cultural traditions of India. The alienation of the Christian community from die rich inheritance of India’s past was a matter of great concern for him.

As the Secretary General of the Y.M.C.A. in India, he was instrumental in publishing, under Christian auspices, a series of valuable general studies, entitled “The Heritage of India’, written by Christian scholars but with deep understanding and general sympathy this series of books, which dealt with every aspect of India’s cultural traditions, helped the Indian Christians to break away from the influence of the narrow missionary attitude of looking down upon everything which was Indian”.

Indian Christians changed their attitude and began to involve actively in the national movement. In later years of India’s struggle for freedom an increasing number of them began to identify themselves with the national cause. Many joined the Congress, participated in its activities and on this account suffered.

Both the Catholics and the Protestants contributed to the culture of South India. The missionaries considered it their duty to do all they could towards effecting a change for the better in the educational, social and cultural conditions obtaining in South India. Among them the Protestant missionaries took a very keen interest in the introduction and diffusion of English education here. They felt the need and importance of educating the local people mainly to attract them to Christianity, and with that end in view founded schools, seminaries, and colleges as adjuncts to churches and chapels.

The seminary (now Scott Christian College) at Nagercoil was the first institution in South India where English was taught systematically. The missionaries admitted students in their educational insti­tutions regardless of caste and creed. They were also pioneers in the field of female education and emancipation.

They fought against the traditional symbols of inequality such as the cloister and the purdah-by starting schools and colleges for them. Women’s Christian College in Madras (Chennai), Sarah Tucker College in Palayamcotta, Lady Deak College in Madura etc., played a vital role in promoting enlightenment among women of South India.

In the beginning of the twentieth century, following the example of the missionaries the Hindu reformers also stressed the need to educate women and several Hindu agencies began to take interest in the matter. The spread of Christianity and English education also influenced the Hindu religious revival of the nineteenth century inaugurated by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in Bengal. The Hindu intelligentsia also, by contraries, utilized the gifts of English education to resist missionary activities.

Muhammad Mohar Ali writes: “Thus the rational criticism and historical analysis which the missionaries themselves employed to dislodge Hinduism were adopted by the Hindus to defend their religion and criticize the doctrine of Christianity… Thus in so far the missionaries furthered the cause of western education, they sharpened the weapon of which they themselves were to feel the edge.”

The introduction of new system of education, widely different from the traditional system, marked the beginning of many revolutionary changes in the intellectual set up of South India. The missionaries opened the eyes of the depressed classes to their deplorable conditions and the necessity to better themselves through education.

They even entertained slave children in their schools. The old and effete customs and traditions were subjected to greater strain; the old concept of dharma by which backward classes were denied education was thus given a rude blow. Educational opportunities made the unprivileged classes rapidly advance in the social scale and awakened in them a desire to live better.

English education in like manner opened a new way of socio-political thinking and practice in South India, which led the lowly people to a realization of a new sense of individuality, dignity and self-respect.

To enable them to engage actively and effectively in evangelical work, the missionaries took themselves to the study of the languages of the regions where they worked. They learned the vernacular languages and commenced the composition of religious and secular works in the newly mastered tongues; this eventually resulted in the growth of vernacular languages and literatures.

In the schools founded by them, Malayalam, Tamil, Sanskrit, Syriac, Latin, Portuguese and some other languages were taught. They composed gram­matical works and dictionaries which to this day stand unequalled in South Indian languages.

The names of Gundert, Garthwight, Robert Caldwell, Pitt, Arnos Padri, Benjammin Bailey, Richard Collins and Drummond still inspire scholars. Several lay Christians also came to the field emulating the example of missionaries. The names of George Mathan, I.C. Chacko Mosa Valsalam Sastriyar, Pailo Paul, C. Masillamoni, Devavaram Biddulph, Vethakkan, Paramakkal Thoma Kathanar, etc., are memorable in this context, they enriched the Dravidian tongues through their writings.

The printing presses started by the missionaries at important Christian centers, published the books composed by them and the local Christians. The inauguration of printing in a scientific way in South India in the seventeenth century helped the development of South Indian languages to a remarkable degree.

The social activities of the church led to a social ferment within South Indian society. It was considered as the moral obligation of the followers of Christ to serve society, particularly those sections of society that are victims of ignorance, ill-health, poverty and social injustice and inequity.

Christ himself taught his followers to love one’s neighbour as a brother in God. The concept of social service as a means for remedying the evils that afflicted the unprivileged sections of society dawned upon Christians of South India only in the seventeenth century it was the result of the impact of western ideas and work of the missionaries.

The evangelical activities of the Portuguese missionaries in the sixteenth century had a beneficial impact on society; thousands of low caste Hindus and those belonging to depressed classes were, by conversion to Christianity, freed from age-old social disabilities which had reduced them to a position of mere animals. For the first time in the history of South India the lower classes were made conscious of their position in the world as human beings.

More substantial and lasting gains in this field of the social uplift of unprivileged classes were achieved by the Protestant missionaries. Their social work made the caste Hindus also conscious of their duty to serve the depressed classes, which resulted in the launching of new movements for social reform in the Hindu fold.

Industrialization and the growth of slums in cities, rapid increase of population etc.; put on the shoulders of the Christian Church more responsibilities, as an organization standing to serve the cause of humanity. The churches turned their attention to the task of bringing up orphans and succouring the sick, aged and destitute men and women. During the recent decades orphanages and refugee homes have been steadily growing in number and strength.

Orphanages give shelter, food, general education and training in some handicrafts or trades which enable the inmates to earn a livelihood and refugee homes receive and rehabilitate fallen women and help them recover the dignity of womanhood. The medical institutions run by the Christian Missions have played an unforgettable role in the history of health in South India.

Besides relieving human suffering, and removing evils of society, the Church in interested in solving the problems of unemployment and poverty in the country. The Christian churches are also currently engaged in running Technical and Industrial schools, co-operatives and several village projects to provide employment to the unemployed. Leaving aside the old idea of conver­sion through preaching, the missionaries are now striving as lovers of humanity to achieve something more enduring.