Church of South India Synod

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Church of South India Synod is the highest administrative body of the Church of South India. The Synod (CSI Synod) governs the whole church and convenes the annual general meeting of CSI. The Moderator of the Synod is a Bishop who is a presiding officer of the election conducted in the Annual General Meeting. The elected board is normally to hold office for three years. Church of South India Trust Association was constituted as a legal holding body of the movable and immovable properties of the Church of South India. The CSITA was incorporated in 26 September, 1947 under Section 26 of the Indian Companies Act 1913 [1] (now Section 25 of the Indian Companies Act 1956) as a religious and charitable company which has no business character and with no profit motive. The properties of the Churches in Union have been transferred to CSITA.

Contents

About the Synod

The CSI synod consists of bishops of 24 dioceses, presbyters and layman (both men and women) who are elected from the respective diocesan councils to the synod. The synod members will elect the apex body consisting of a Moderator, Deputy Moderator, general secretary and Treasurer. The Moderator is the spiritual and administrative head of the Church. Only Bishops are eligible to contest for the Moderator and Deputy Moderator posts. Pastors and lay members are eligible to contest for the remaining two posts of General Secretary and Treasurer. The ordinary session of the synod is held once every three years. The last synod meeting was held in January 2023 at Hubli. The practice has been to hold the meeting during the pongal holidays in mid January and over four days. Special meetings of the synod (between ordinary sessions) could also be convened by a decision of the Synod Executive. The Synod office is situated at CSI Center, Royapettah, Chennai.

Synod Executive

As the Church of South India synod meets only once in every three years, the power of the Synod is mostly delegated to Synod Executive which is appointed by the Synod and which meets at least twice a year. The Synod Executive is a subset of Synod which has 107 members excluding the Officers of the Synod. The Synod Executive consists of 4 members each from the 24 dioceses of Church of South India, 3 nominees of the Moderator and 4 officers of the synod (Moderator, Deputy Moderator, General Secretary and Treasurer).

Synod Working Committee

The Synod Working Committee is a subset of the Synod Executive and it consists of 24 members excluding the Officers of the Synod. The working committee has a representation of one member each from the 24 dioceses of Church of South India and 4 officers of the Synod. The Synod Working Committee meetings are held based on need basis and they are held in between Synod Executive meetings. All decisions of the Synod Working Committee must be ratified at a subsequent meeting of the Synod Executive.

Church of South India Synod Participants

According to the Church of South India constitution the participants in the Synod belong to five categories:

Dioceses send representatives based on a graded scale that starts with those having 10,000 baptised members sending two pastors and four lay persons while the maximum number of representatives to the synod come from dioceses with over 150,000 baptised members that send six presbyters and 11 lay persons.

According to the report of the 2014 synod meeting, there were [2] 135 presbyters, 275 lay members and 22 bishops who participated in the synod. Other invitees to synod meetings include accredited visitors, heads of synod departments, fraternal delegates (representing various CSI affiliated bodies), special invitees, overseas guests and resource persons.

Quorum

Agenda

First day of the synod meeting consists of confirmation of minutes of the previous Synod, Appointment of various committees to oversee elections, Take up resolutions, moderator's address, general secretary's report and Election of the four Officers of the Synod (Moderator, Deputy Moderator, general secretary and Treasurer). The second, third and fourth days of the Synod consists of a series of presentations by the treasurer, heads of synod departments, special invitees, etc. and some limited question-answer sessions. The final act of each Synod is the formal installation of the new Officers of the Synod on the last day.

Officers

Due to the Madras High Court's ruling, which invalidated the recent elections and identified procedural discrepancies at the Synod meeting held in Hubli in January 2023. [3] [4] [5] The officers were elected for a three-year term at the Synod meeting in Hubli, January 2023. The Moderator and the Deputy Moderator position along with the position of General Secretary and Hon. Treasurer is currently vacant and awaiting election. [3] [4] [5] The church is presently under the administration of court-appointed administrators, Justice R. Balasubramanian and Justice V. Bharathidasan, pending new elections for these key leadership roles. [3] [4] [5]

Dioceses

Missions and Committee

For proper guidance of the life and work of the Church the CSI Synod has set up various Commissions and Committees. The following are some of the important ones:

List of Synod Meetings

Synodical Sessions of the Church of South India with years, venue and elected Moderator and Deputy Moderator [6]
SessionSynodHost dioceseVenueModeratorDeputy Moderator
I1948 Madurai-Ramnad Madurai Michael Hollis ,
  Bishop in Madras
Cherakarottu Korula Jacob ,
  Bishop in Central Travancore
II1950 Madras Madras Michael Hollis ,
  Bishop in Madras
Frank Whittaker ,
  Bishop in Medak
III1952 Krishna-Godavari Machilipatnam Michael Hollis ,
  Bishop in Madras
Hospet Sumitra ,
  Bishop in Rayalaseema
IV1954MadrasMadras Hospet Sumitra ,
  Bishop in Rayalaseema
Lesslie Newbigin ,
  Bishop in Madurai-Ramnad
V1956 Trichy-Tanjore Trichy Hospet Sumitra ,
  Bishop in Rayalaseema
Lesslie Newbigin ,
  Bishop in Madurai-Ramnad
VI1958 Kanyakumari Nagercoil Hospet Sumitra ,
  Bishop in Rayalaseema
Lesslie Newbigin ,
  Bishop in Madurai-Ramnad
VII1960 Mysore Bangalore Hospet Sumitra ,
  Bishop in Rayalaseema
Augustine Jebaraj ,
  Bishop in Tinnevelly
VIII1962 Tirunelveli Palayamkottai Arnold Legg ,
  Bishop in South Travancore
Augustine Jebaraj ,
  Bishop in Tinnevelly
IX1964TirunelveliPalayamkottai Arnold Legg ,
  Bishop in South Travancore
Pereji Solomon ,
  Bishop in Dornakal
X1966 Madhya Kerala Kottayam Pereji Solomon ,
  Bishop in Dornakal
Lesslie Newbigin ,
  Bishop in Madras
XI1968 Coimbatore Coimbatore Pereji Solomon ,
  Bishop in Dornakal
Lesslie Newbigin ,
  Bishop in Madras
XII1970Madras Tambaram Pereji Solomon ,
  Bishop in Dornakal
Lesslie Newbigin ,
  Bishop in Madras
XIII1972MadrasTambaram I.R.H. Gnanadason ,
  Bishop in Kanyakumari
Ananda Rao Samuel ,
  Bishop in Krishna-Godavari
Ananda Rao Samuel ,
  Bishop in Krishna-Godavari
Lesslie Newbigin ,
  Bishop in Madras
XIV1974MadrasMadras Ananda Rao Samuel ,
  Bishop in Krishna-Godavari
Solomon Doraiswamy ,
  Bishop in Trichy-Tanjore
XV1976Trichy-TanjoreTrichy Ananda Rao Samuel ,
  Bishop in Krishna-Godavari
Solomon Doraiswamy ,
  Bishop in Trichy-Tanjore
XVI1978Madhya KeralaKottayam Ananda Rao Samuel ,
  Bishop in Krishna-Godavari
Solomon Doraiswamy ,
  Bishop in Trichy-Tanjore
XVII1980MadrasTambaram Solomon Doraiswamy ,
  Bishop in Trichy-Tanjore
Isaiah Jesudason ,
  Bishop in South Kerala
XVIII1982 Vellore Vellore Isaiah Jesudason ,
  Bishop in South Kerala
Sundar Clarke ,
  Bishop in Madras
XIX1984 Medak Secunderabad Isaiah Jesudason ,
  Bishop in South Kerala
Sundar Clarke ,
  Bishop in Madras
XX1986 South Kerala Trivandrum Isaiah Jesudason ,
  Bishop in South Kerala
Victor Premasagar ,
  Bishop in Medak
XXI1988Madurai-RamnadMadurai Victor Premasagar ,
  Bishop in Medak
David Pothirajulu ,
  Bishop in Madurai-Ramnad
XXII1990 Karnataka North Dharwad Victor Premasagar ,
  Bishop in Medak
Vasant P. Dandin ,
  Bishop in Karnataka Northern
XXIII1992TirunelveliPalayamkottai Ryder Devapriam ,
  Bishop in Nandyal
Vasant P. Dandin ,
  Bishop in Karnataka Northern
Jason Dharmaraj ,
  Bishop in Tirunelveli
XXIV1994Trichy-TanjoreTrichy Vasant P. Dandin ,
  Bishop in Karnataka Northern
Rajamanickam Paulraj ,
  Bishop in Trichy-Tanjore
XXV1996CoimbatoreCoimbatore Vasant P. Dandin ,
  Bishop in Karnataka Northern
William Moses ,
  Bishop in Coimbatore
XXVI1998 Rayalaseema Madanapalle William Moses ,
  Bishop in Coimbatore
Kunnumpurathu Samuel ,
  Bishop in East Kerala
XXVII2000MedakSecunderabad Kunnumpurathu Samuel ,
  Bishop in East Kerala
Peter Sugandhar ,
  Bishop in Medak
XXVIII2002 East Kerala Melukavu Kunnumpurathu Samuel ,
  Bishop in East Kerala
Peter Sugandhar ,
  Bishop in Medak
XXIX2004 Karnataka Central Bangalore Peter Sugandhar ,
  Bishop in Medak
Suputhrappa Vasantha Kumar ,
  Bishop in Karnataka Central
XXX2006 Karnataka Southern Mysore Peter Sugandhar ,
  Bishop in Medak
Suputhrappa Vasantha Kumar ,
  Bishop in Karnataka Central
XXXI2008Krishna-Godavari Visakhapatnam John Gladstone ,
  Bishop in South Kerala
Christopher Asir ,
  Bishop in Madurai Ramnad
XXXII2010Tirunelveli Courtallam Suputhrappa Vasantha Kumar ,
  Bishop in Karnataka Central
Gnanasigamony Devakadasham ,
  Bishop in Kanyakumari
XXXIII2012Kanyakumari Kanyakumari Gnanasigamony Devakadasham ,
  Bishop in Kanyakumari
Govada Dyvasirvadam ,
  Bishop in Krishna-Godavari
XXXIV2014Krishna-Godavari Vijayawada Govada Dyvasirvadam ,
  Bishop in Krishna-Godavari
Thomas K. Oommen ,
  Bishop in Madhya Kerala
XXXV2017 Madhya Kerala Kottayam Thomas K. Oommen ,
  Bishop in Madhya Kerala
Vadapalli Prasada Rao ,
  Bishop in Dornakal
XXXVI2020Trichy-Tanjore Tiruchirappalli Dharmaraj Rasalam ,
  Bishop in South Kerala [7]
K. Reuben Mark ,
  Bishop in Karimnagar [7]

See also

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References

  1. https://csigni.edu.in/Document-Links/Trust-Proof.pdf
  2. "Krishna-Godavari Diocese Bishop all set to become head of CSI". The Hindu. 11 January 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "HC appoints retired judges to run affairs of CSI". The Times of India. 13 April 2024. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 Bureau, The Hindu (12 April 2024). "Madras High Court appoints a Committee of Administrators for CSI and CSI Trust Association". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Sivakumar, R. (13 April 2024). "Madras HC red-flags CSI poll, names judges' panel to administer body". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  6. K. M. George, Church of South India: Life in Union, 1947–1997, Jointly published by Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, New Delhi and Christava Sahitya Samithi, Tiruvalla, 1999.
  7. 1 2 George Conger, New moderator for the Church of South India, Anglican Link, January 12, 2020.