Christianity in Sri Lanka

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Christians in Sri Lanka
Anuradhapura Cross-Vector.svg
6th century, known as the Anuradhapura cross plays a significant role in Christians in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka Christians.svg
Christians by region (1980–2000)
Total population
1,552,161 (2012) [1]
Founder
Thomas the Apostle
Regions with significant populations
Province
Western Province Flag (SRI LANKA).png  Western Increase2.svg 752,993
North Western Flag.png  North Western Increase2.svg 300,367
Flag of the Northern Province.svg  Northern Increase2.svg 204,005
Central Province.png  Central Decrease2.svg 90,519
Eastern Province Flag (SRI LANKA).png  Eastern Decrease2.svg 80,801
Religions
Languages

Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka. It was introduced to the island in first century. [2] Traditionally, after Thomas the Apostle's visit in Kerala in AD 52, Christianity is said to have been introduced to Sri Lanka because of its close geographical and commercial ties. [3] [4]

Contents

Records suggest that St. Thomas Christians and Nestorian Christians lived in Sri Lanka, [5] and the Anuradhapura cross is one of the archaeological finds that suggest Christianity in Sri Lanka before the [6] arrival of the Portuguese. [7] [8] Nestorian Christianity is said to have thrived in Sri Lanka with the patronage of King Dathusena during the 5th century. There are mentions of involvement of Persian Christians with the Sri Lankan royal family during the Sigiriya Period. Over seventy-five ships carrying Murundi soldiers from Mangalore are said to have arrived in the Sri Lankan town of Chilaw most of whom were Christians. King Dathusena's daughter was married to his nephew Migara who is also said to have been a Nestorian Christian, and a commander of the Sinhalese army. Maga Brahmana, a christian priest of Persian origin is said to have provided advice to King Dathusena on establishing his palace on the Sigiriya Rock. [9] The Anuradhapura Cross discovered in 1912 is also considered to be an indication of a strong Nestorian Christian presence in Sri Lanka between the 3rd and 10th century in the then capital of Anuradhapura of Sri Lanka. [9] [10] [11] [12] There were also conversions by the Dutch in the 17th century.

The Christian population of Sri Lanka includes members of Burghers, Sinhalese and Tamil ethnic groups. [13]

Catholicism

In the pre-colonial era, Nestorian Christians and St. Thomas Christians were both present in Sri Lanka. These two groups later established a union with the Catholic Church. After Yahballaha III, the Nestorians accepted union with the Catholic Church. Father Jordanus arrived in Sri Lanka in 1329 and Giovanni de Marignolli arrived as Papal Legate in 1348/49 to assist the Christians in the country. [14] There were also Catholic travellers such as Odoric of Pordenone who visited Sri Lanka.

Catholicism was formally introduced by the Portuguese in 1505. 6.19% of the population (1,261,194 persons) is Catholic, according to the 2012 census. [15] Catholicism thus constitutes approximately 83.5% of the Christian population as of census day 2012.

Catholicism was first introduced by the Portuguese, who left a notable mark in that Portuguese surnames are still used by many Catholics. Dutch missionaries tried to spread Protestantism after the Portuguese were expelled, but most Sri Lankan Christians are now Catholics. There is an archbishop and 11 other bishops. [16] The dioceses are:

  1. Archdiocese of Colombo
  2. Diocese of Anuradhapura
  3. Diocese of Badulla
  4. Diocese of Batticaloa
  5. Diocese of Chilaw
  6. Diocese of Galle
  7. Diocese of Jaffna
  8. Diocese of Kandy
  9. Diocese of Kurunegala
  10. Diocese of Mannar
  11. Diocese of Ratnapura
  12. Diocese of Trincomalee

Protestantism

290,967 persons in Sri Lanka (1.43%) are Protestants as per the 2012 census. [17] The Ceylon Pentecostal Mission has about 16,500 church members and 70 churches (faith homes) in Sri Lanka. About 2000 people (1998) are affiliated with congregations belonging to the Baptist World Alliance. The Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church has about 5,000 members.

The main Protestant churches in Sri Lanka are Anglican, Methodist, Baptist and Salvation Army. The Church of Ceylon is an extra-provincial Anglican church, and the Church of South India (a united church of Anglicans, Presbyterians, and other Protestants) is a full member of the Anglican Communion and has a diocese in Jaffna. The Anglican Church has a strong effect on people in some areas. Methodist missionaries established 187 schools of which only 2 remains (Wesley College and Methodist College) because all the other schools were taken over by the government. Methodism has over 40,000 followers in Sri Lanka with 45 circuits, 200 churches and 120 pastors. Moratuwa Area and Kutunayake Negombo Areas are the regions where many Methodists live. In 2005 and 2006, the Methodist Church of Sri Lanka had a very difficult time during a period of anti-Christian violence.

St. Andrew's Church in Colombo is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. For administrative purposes, it is part of the Church of Scotland's International Presbytery.

According to the 2015 yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, around 6,671 active members are in Sri Lanka. [18]

American Mission

Ceylon under the British Occupation, when the British government slashed expenditures on education on the island due to budgetary constraints, it relied heavily on Christian missionaries to carry out educational actives. A significant portion of this effort was made by the American Ceylon Mission (ACM) that was established in 1813 by Rev. Samuel Newell in Jaffna, in Tamil-dominated northern Ceylon, as part of the evangelising effort of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. [19]

Lutheranism

The Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church is a confessional Lutheran church in Sri Lanka, and the only Lutheran denomination registered with the Sri Lankan government. [20] The church consists of more than a dozen congregations or mission stations, mainly concentrated in the tea plantation regions of Nuwara Eliya, Central Province. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian Nestorius, who promoted specific doctrines in the fields of Christology and Mariology. The second meaning of the term is much wider, and relates to a set of later theological teachings, that were traditionally labeled as Nestorian, but differ from the teachings of Nestorius in origin, scope and terminology. The Oxford English Dictionary defines Nestorianism as:

"The doctrine of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, by which Christ is asserted to have had distinct human and divine persons."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of South India</span> United Protestant church in 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Malaysia</span>

Christianity is a minority religion in Malaysia. In the 2020 census, 9.1% of the Malaysian population identified themselves as Christians. About two-thirds of Malaysia's Christian population lives in East Malaysia, in the states of Sabah and Sarawak. Adherents of Christianity represent a majority (50.1%) of the population in Sarawak, which is Malaysia's largest state by land area. Christianity is one of four major religions including Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism that has a freedom protected by the law in Malaysia based of diversity law especially in East Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Sri Lanka</span>

Sri Lanka is officially a Buddhist country, while Sri Lankans practice a variety of religions. As of the 2012 census, 70.2% of Sri Lankans were Buddhists, 12.6% were Hindus, 9.7% were Muslims, 7.4% were Christians. Buddhism is declared as the State religion of Sri Lanka and has been given special privileges in the Sri Lankan constitution such as the government is bound for protection and fostering of Buddhist Dharma throughout the nation. However, the constitution also provides for freedom of religion and right to equality among all its citizens. In 2008 Sri Lanka was the third most religious country in the world according to a Gallup poll, with 99% of Sri Lankans saying religion is an important part of their daily life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in Sri Lanka</span> Part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. The country comes under the province of Colombo and is made up of 12 dioceses including one archdiocese. There are approximately 1.2 million Catholics in Sri Lanka representing around 6.1% of the total population. Later estimates suggest that there are over 1.6 million in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaffna</span> Roman Catholic diocese in Sri Lanka

The Diocese of Jaffna is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Sri Lanka. Latin Catholicism in the diocese's territory dates to the time of Francis Xavier. The current bishop is Justin Gnanapragasam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protestantism in Sri Lanka</span>

According to the 2012 census, 6% of the population of Sri Lanka was Christian; of these, one in ten was Protestant, showing that there were approximately six Protestants for every 1,000 Sri Lankans. Later estimates suggest that this share has doubled in less than ten years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo</span> Roman Catholic archdiocese in Sri Lanka

The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo is a Latin metropolitan archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, whose ecclesiastical province covers all Sri Lanka plus the Maldives. It depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu</span> Our Lady Of Madhu

The Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu is a Roman Catholic Marian shrine in Mannar district of Sri Lanka. With a history of more than 400 years, the shrine acts as a center of pilgrimage and worship for Sri Lankan Catholics. The site is considered as the holiest Catholic shrine in the island and is a well known place of devotion for both Tamil and Sinhalese Catholics. The church has been a symbol of unity not just between Tamils and Sinhalese but also between people of different religions, including Buddhists, Hindus and Protestants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Ceylon Mission</span> Religious mission to Jaffna, Sri Lanka

The American Ceylon Mission (ACM) to Jaffna, Sri Lanka started with the arrival in 1813 of missionaries sponsored by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). Although they had originally planned to work in Galle, the British colonial office in Ceylon restricted the Americans to out-of-the-way Jaffna due to the security concerns of the British who were warring with France at the time. The critical period of the impact of the missionaries was from the 1820s to early 20th century. During this time, they engaged in original translations from English to Tamil, printing, and publishing, establishing primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions and providing health care for residents of the Jaffna Peninsula. These activities resulted in many social changes amongst Sri Lankan Tamils that survive even today. They also led to the attainment of a lopsided literacy level among residents in the relatively small peninsula that is cited by scholars as one of the primary factors contributing to the recently ended civil war. Many notable educational and health institutions within the Jaffna Peninsula owe their origins to the missionary activists from America. Missionaries also courted controversy by publishing negative information about local religious practices and rituals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Asia</span> Religion of an area

Christianity in Asia has its roots in the very inception of Christianity, which originated from the life and teachings of Jesus in 1st-century Roman Judea. Christianity then spread through the missionary work of his apostles, first in the Levant and taking roots in the major cities such as Jerusalem and Antioch. According to tradition, further eastward expansion occurred via the preaching of Thomas the Apostle, who established Christianity in the Parthian Empire (Iran) and India. The very First Ecumenical Council was held in the city of Nicaea in Asia Minor (325). The first nations to adopt Christianity as a state religion were Armenia in 301 and Georgia in 327. By the 4th century, Christianity became the dominant religion in all Asian provinces of the Eastern Roman Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Ceylon</span> Anglican Church in Sri Lanka

The Church of Ceylon is the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. It is an extraprovincial jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who serves as its Metropolitan. It was established in 1845 with the appointment of the first Anglican Bishop of Colombo, James Chapman and until 1950 it consisted of a single diocese; in that year a second diocese was established at Kurunegala.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Anuradhapura is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mannar District</span> Administrative District in Northern, Sri Lanka

Mannar District is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The capital of the district is Mannar, which is located on Mannar Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Reformed Church in Sri Lanka</span>

The Christian Reformed Church of Sri Lanka is the oldest Protestant church on the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of India, Burma and Ceylon</span> Former ecclesiastical province of Anglican Communion in British India

The Church of India, Burma and Ceylon (CIBC) was the autonomous ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion, associated with the Church of England, in British India.

The Methodist Church of Sri Lanka is a Protestant Christian denomination in Sri Lanka. Its headquarters is in Colombo and was established on 29 June 1814. It is a member of the World Council of Churches, the Christian Conference of Asia, the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka and the World Methodist Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anuradhapura cross</span> Native cross symbol used by Sri Lankan Christians

The Anuradhapura cross is a form of the Christian cross symbol. It is the most ancient symbol of Christianity in Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Thomas' Church, Colombo</span> Church in Ginthupitiya, Colombo Sri Lanka

St. Thomas' Church is situated in Kotahena a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is one of the oldest churches in Sri Lanka as now part of the Anglican Church of Ceylon.

References

  1. "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001, 2012" (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  2. "A Brief History Of Christianity In Sri Lanka". 20 September 2013.
  3. Aprem, Mar. "Early Christianity in Sri Lanka and India and Issues of Identity". Assyrian International News Agency. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  4. Hattaway, Paul (2004). Peoples of the Buddhist World: A Christian Prayer Diary. William Carey Library. ISBN   978-0-87808-361-9 . Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  5. Pinto, Leonard (20 September 2013). "A Brief History Of Christianity In Sri Lanka". Colombo Telegraph. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  6. "The Forgotten Christian World". History Today . Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  7. "Mar Aprem Metropolitan Visits Ancient Anuradhapura Cross in Official Trip to Sri Lanka". Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  8. Weerakoon, Rajitha. "Did Christianity exist in ancient Sri Lanka?". Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  9. 1 2 Pinto, Leonard (14 July 2015). Being a Christian in Sri Lanka: Historical, Political, Social, and Religious Considerations. Balboa Publishers. pp. 55–57. ISBN   978-1452528632.
  10. "Mar Aprem Metropolitan Visits Ancient Anuradhapura Cross in Official Trip to Sri Lanka". Assyrian Church News. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  11. Weerakoon, Rajitha (26 June 2011). "Did Christianity exist in ancient Sri Lanka?". Sunday Times. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  12. "Main interest". Daily News. 22 April 2011. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  13. "Christians in Sri Lanka". 16 October 2023.
  14. Pinto, Leonard (20 September 2013). "A Brief History Of Christianity In Sri Lanka". Colombo Telegraph . Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  15. "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001, 2012" (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics od Sri Lanka. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  16. "A SHORT HISTORY OF CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SRI LANKA". Ministry of Christian Affairs Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  17. "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001, 2012" (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics od Sri Lanka. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  18. "Jehovahs Witnesses: Countries Compared". Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  19. "The Foreign Missionary Movement in the 19th and early 20th Centuries, The Nineteenth Century, Divining America: Religion in American History, TeacherServe, National Humanities Center". nationalhumanitiescenter.org. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  20. Public Records of the Registrar of Societies, Sri Lanka, registered under Company Registration No. GA 135, an Association within the meaning of section 34 of the Companies Act No. 07 of 2007.
  21. "Congregations". Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.