Church of South India
The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of Protestant denominations in South India that occurred after the independence of India.
| Church of South India | |
|---|---|
Logo of the Church of South India | |
| Abbreviation | CSI |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | United and uniting |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Administrators | Justice R. Balasubramanian Justice V. Bharathidasan |
| Moderator | Vacant |
| Deputy Moderator | Vacant |
| Distinct fellowships | Christian Conference of Asia, National Council of Churches in India, Communion of Churches in India |
| Associations | Anglican Communion, World Methodist Council, World Council of Churches, World Communion of Reformed Churches |
| Region | Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Telangana and Sri Lanka |
| Origin | 27 September 1947 (Day of Union, not date of establishment) Tranquebar, Tamil Nadu (Presently Under the Pastorate of Karaikal - Tranquebar, Tiruchirappalli - Thanjavur Diocese) |
| Merger of | Anglican Church, the Methodist Church, South India United Church (which was a union in 1904 of the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches), Basel Mission Churches in South India |
| Separations | Anglican Church of India (1964) Anglican Catholic Church (1984) |
| Congregations | 14,000 |
| Members | 3,800,000 |
| Ministers | 3,300 |
| Hospitals | 104 |
| Secondary schools | 2000 schools, 130 colleges |
| Official website | www |
| Part of a series on |
| Christianity in India |
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The Church of South India is the successor of a number of Protestant denominations in India, including the Church of England; Church of India, Burma and Ceylon (Anglican); the South India United Church (Congregationalist); the British Methodist Church; and the Church of Scotland after Indian Independence. It combined the South India United Church (union of the British Congregationalists and the British Presbyterians); the then 4 Anglican dioceses of South India and one in Sri Lanka; and the South Indian District of the Methodist church.
The Church of South India is a member of the Anglican Communion, World Methodist Council and World Communion of Reformed Churches. It is one of four united Protestant churches in the Anglican Communion, World Methodist Council and World Communion of Reformed Churches, with the others being the Church of North India, the Church of Pakistan, and the Church of Bangladesh.
Being a United Protestant denomination, the inspiration for the Church of South India came from ecumenism and the words of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospel of John (17.21); as such "That they all may be one" is the motto of the Church of South India.
With a membership of nearly four million, it is the second-largest Christian church based on the number of members in India.