Presbyterian Church of South India

Last updated
Presbyterian Church of South India
Classification Protestant
Orientation Reformed
Theology Calvinist
Polity Presbyterian
Region Andhra Pradesh
Origin2002
Branched from Presbyterian Church in America
Congregations70 (2020) [1]
Ministers 37 (2018) [2]

The Presbyterian Church of South India (PCSI) is a Presbyterian denomination, established in India, in 2002, as a result of the missionary work of the Presbyterian Church in America in Andhra Pradesh. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

History

The Presbyterian churches originate from the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. It is the Christian churches Protestant that adhere to Reformed theology and whose form of ecclesiastical organization is characterized by the government of an assembly of elders. Government Presbyterian is common in Protestant churches that were modeled after the Reformation Protestant Switzerland, notably in Switzerland, ScotlandNetherlands France and portions of Prussia, of Ireland and later in United States. [5]

In the 1990s, missionaries from the Presbyterian Church in America started church planting work in Andhra Pradesh. As a result, in 2002, the Presbyterian Church of South India was formed. [2] [3]

From its growth, the denomination has reached 70 churches and congregations in 2020. [1]

Interchurch Relations

The denomination was once a member of the World Reformed Fellowship [6] .

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Telugu Christians

Telugu Christians or Telugu Kraistava are an ethno-religious community who form the third-largest religious minority in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. According to the Census of India, there are over a million Christians in Andhra Pradesh, constituting 1.51% of the state's population, although a decrease from the 1971 census figure which was 2%, as a result of low birth rates and emigration. Most Telugu Christians are Protestant, belonging to major Indian Protestant denominations such as the predominant Anglican Church of South India, Pentecostals such as Assemblies of God in India, India Pentecostal Church of God, The Pentecostal Mission, the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches Bible Mission the Salvation Army and several others. There also is a significant number of Roman Catholics and Evangelicals. Although the Franciscans of the Roman Catholic Church brought Christianity to the Deccan area in 1535, it was only after 1759 AD, when the Northern Circars came under the rule of the East India Company, that the region opened up to greater Christian influence. The first Protestant missionaries in Andhra Pradesh were Rev. Cran and Rev. Des Granges who were sent out by the London Missionary Society. They set up their station at Visakhapatnam in 1805 AD. Regions with significant populations of Telugu Christians include the erstwhile Northern Circars, the coastal belt and the cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Telugu Christians have one of the highest literacy and work participation figures and most even male-to-female ratio figures among the various religious communities in the state.

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Presbyterian Church in India (Reformed) is a presbyterian denomination, established in Manipur in 1984, formed by a group of churches that broke away from the Evangelical Convention Church (India).

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The Presbyterian Reformed Church in India (PRCI) is a Presbyterian denomination, established in South India, in 2000s, as a result of the work Presbyterian Church of Australia and Presbyterian Church of Brazil in Goa, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

References

  1. 1 2 "Indian Fraternity Churches in Australia". IRFA. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "History of the Presbyterian Church of South India" (PDF). The Presbyterian Banner. November 1, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Presbyterian Church of South India" . Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  4. "Presbyterian Church of South India" . Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  5. "Presbyterian and Reformed Churches". Britannica. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  6. "Members of the World Reformed Fraternity". Archived from the original on July 1, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2021.