Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya | |
---|---|
ශ්රි ලංකා බැප්ටිස්ට් සංගමය | |
Classification | Evangelical Christianity |
Scripture | Bible |
Theology | Baptist |
Language | English, Sinhala & Tamil |
Headquarters | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
Territory | Sri Lanka |
Founder | Reverend James Charter of the BMS World Mission |
Origin | 1812 [1] |
Congregations | 45 |
Members | 6,674 |
Secondary schools | |
Official website | http://www.baptistchurch.lk/ |
The Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya is the council of Baptist churches and missions in Sri Lanka. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Colombo.
The Baptist denomination in Sri Lanka began in 1812, with the arrival of Rev. James Charter [2] a missionary from the Baptist Missionary Society of the United Kingdom, a colleague of the legendary pioneer of the Modern Missionary movement Rev. William Carey. [3] During early days church planting & evangelism of Ceylonese was done by the missionaries of Baptist Missionary Society with its headquarters in Britain. The first Baptist church was established in Grandpass Colombo and expanded to other areas of the Western, North Western, and Central regions of the island. The missionaries began establishing schools in the regions where they had already planted churches. These schools were also used for worship and other evangelical programs.
In 1887 Sri Lanka Baptist Mission was founded and worked alongside the Baptist Missionary Society of Great Britain. In 1894 the Ceylon Baptist Union was formed. In 1924 the Baptist Missionary Society took a decision to gradually withdraw financial support and personnel from Sri Lanka. This marked the movement by which local leadership began to assert itself and the Baptist community became self-supporting and took on a more truly Sri Lankan image. This gave birth to the Ceylon Baptist Union representing the local Baptist congregations. In 1944 the Lanka Baptist Mission and Ceylon Baptist Union were amalgamated to form the Ceylon Baptist Council. In 1957, soon after the social transition that was set in motion and a swing towards emphasis on the national languages the name was changed to Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya [4] [5] [6] a literal translation of Ceylon Baptist Council to Sinhala in keeping with national trends in the country by an act of parliament. In 2012 Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya celebrated its 200th anniversary since its beginnings in 1812.
According to a census published by the association in 2023, it claimed 6,674 members and 45 churches. [7]
Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya includes four main departments also identified as auxiliaries:
The Ceylon Baptist church established many secondary and primary schools in all parts of the island from its inception. The schools were established by the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS) and were mainly under the care of the foreign missionaries and several secular foreign men and women along with the local Christian community. The Baptists established the schools to uplift the education and living standards of the Ceylonese and to spread the Gospel. By the year 1910, the Ceylon Baptist Church had 30 schools with a student population of 2,561. The education process is carried out in English and also in native languages. Baptist education has produced many notable distinguished personalities like Rosy Senanayake and Sirimavo Bandaranaike who received her primary education from Ferguson high school Ratnapura.
2. Ferguson High School, Ratnapura.
3. Baptist Girls' High School, Colombo.
4. Baptist Missionary School (BMS), Matale.
5. Baptist mixed school, Kadawatha.
In the 1960s most private schools were handed over to the government to establish a non-fee levying education system. Baptist schools were also handed over to the government and names of the some institutions were altered later.
Ampegama Baptist Village in the district of Galle was built by Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya to accommodate the victims of the Tsunami that struck in 2004. The village is completed and also consists of a student Library, A community center, A preschool, and a self-employment project in operation.
The church manages two elders' homes, one in Hendala and the other in Kotikawatha providing love and care to the senior citizens.
Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya is in fellowship with other denominations in Sri Lanka through the National Christian Council (NCC), [8] while being a member of the Baptist World Alliance, [9] which represents the World Community of Baptist. It is also affiliated to Asian Region of Baptists represented by the Asian Baptist Federation. [10] Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya's membership in the Christian Conference of Asia [11] and the World Council of Churches (through NCC) links it with the Christian churches in the East and churches affiliated to the World Council of Christians.
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP, is a major Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka. It was the first political party in Sri Lanka, having been founded in 1935 by Leslie Goonewardene, N.M. Perera, Colvin R. de Silva, Philip Gunawardena and Robert Gunawardena. It currently is a member of the main ruling coalition in the government of Sri Lanka and is headed by Tissa Vitharana. The party was founded with Leninist ideals, and is classified as a party with socialist aims.
Don Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena was a Sri Lankan Marxist politician and leftist. A founder of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, the first political party in Ceylon which was known for having introduced Trotskyism, he later formed the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and was called 'the Father of Socialism' and as 'the Lion of Boralugoda'. A member of the State Council of Ceylon and the Parliament of Ceylon, he served as the Minister of Agriculture and food under S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike from 1956 to 1959 and as Minister of Industries and Fisheries in the national government under Dudley Senanayake from 1965 to 1970.
Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka. It was introduced to the island in first century. 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.
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.
The Theological College of Lanka (TCL) is an ecumenical college for Pastoral Formation ( seminary) that was inaugurated in 1963 by the Anglican Church, the Methodist Church and the Baptist Church in Sri Lanka. Later the Presbyterian Church joined the federation; Goals of the seminary being ministerial formation, education and empowering the new clergy (ministers) and laity in the environment and context of Sri Lanka and their own languages, Sinhala and Tamil. Graduates primarily serve the national churches in Sri Lanka and beyond. Rev. Basil Jackson, a British Methodist Missionary, became the founding Principal of the college in 1963.. It is believed that language is the vehicle of culture and when Christians begin to think, speak, preach, pray and write in their own languages, they soon become familiar with their cultural values and begin to appreciate them in the practice of their Christian faith. This new step was foreseen by all the churches as an attempt to produce indigenous theology and Sri Lankan Hermeneutics by people who are being educated in Sri Lanka.
Sir James Peiris was a prominent leader in the Sri Lankan independence movement, the first elected Vice-President of the Legislative Council of Ceylon and the first native Governor of Ceylon (Acting).
The Asia Pacific Baptist Federation (APBF) is a federation of 65 Baptist associations and is one of six regional fellowships in the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Okinawa City, Japan.
The Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha is a Baptist Christian denomination in Bangladesh. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Dhaka.
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.
Sir Nicholas Attygalle was a Ceylonese academic, surgeon and a Senator. He was the President of the Senate of Ceylon from 1953 to 1960 and the first Ceylonese Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ceylon, where he was known as the "Iron Vice Chancellor".
Carey College, Colombo, is a private school for boys in Sri Lanka.It was founded in 1914 by Baptist missionaries and offers primary and secondary education. The college started by Rev H.J Charter and one of the oldest private school in Colombo.
The Christian Reformed Church of Sri Lanka is the oldest Protestant church on the island.
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.
Leslie Simon Goonewardene was a prominent Sri Lankan statesman. He founded Sri Lanka's first political party, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, in 1935, and served as its General-Secretary from 1935 to 1977. Goonewardene was a key figure in both the Indian independence movement and the Sri Lankan independence movement. He was designated as a National Hero of Sri Lanka for his leadership in the independence movement, and his efforts are celebrated each year on the Sri Lankan Independence Day.
The Diocese of Colombo is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The diocesan bishop's seat is Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour. The current bishop of Colombo is Dushantha Lakshman Rodrigo.
The Pathans of Sri Lanka were a Muslim community in Sri Lanka of Pashtun ancestry. Most of them left in the 20th century, however a small number of families living in the country still claim Pathan ancestry.
Don Benjamin Rupasinghe Gunawardena, popularly as Robert Gunawardena, was a Sri Lankan Marxist politician and diplomat. He was one of the founders of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, which was the first political party in Sri Lanka, and served as the long time MP for Kotte. He was the leader of the Suriya-Mal Movement and served as ambassador to China between 1965 and 1970.
Cyril Eugene Attygalle was a Ceylonese politician.
Bernard Jayasuriya was a Ceylonese businessman and politician.
Ferguson High School is a National School in Sri Lanka affiliated with the Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya located in Ratnapura District. School has two sections - the Primary section, which serves students from Grade 1 to Grade 5, and the Secondary section, which serves students from Grade 6 to Grade 13.
^ Johnson 2010, p. 205. ^ Brackney 2009, p. 540. ^ Gunawardena 2006, p.44. ^ Ceylon Baptist Council (Incorporation) ^ Baptist Missionary Society ^ National Christian Council (NCC) ^ Baptist World Alliance ^ Asian Baptist Federation ^ Christian Conference of Asia