Churches in South India

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Churches in South India

In 1930 the Anglican Church in India separated from the Church of England and became the autonomous Church of India, Burma and Ceylon, still within the worldwide fellowship of the Anglican Communion. In 1947, Protestant churches of South India united to form the new Church of South India. Protestant Churches in North India, and Pakistan followed in 1970. However there are breakaway churches as this link shows.

The following is a list of all the bishops and dioceses of the Church of South India, correct as at January 1995. Check whether you can find more current details in one of the websites mentioned below.

The CSI was formed out of most of the Protestant denominations of Christian churches, after Independence from Britain. If you are trying to find the location of a specific church in South India, you could write to the diocese and they will give you the postal address and the pastor's name. If you're not sure which diocese to write to, you could email me and I may be able to offer a suggestion. Note that in many cases, the original pre-Independence records are kept in the Diocesan office itself. If you wish to view original old records while in India, then the Diocesan Office itself is your most likely source.

Please note that the best way of trying to find out about your ancestors' baptisms, marriages and burials is NOT to go directly to the church concerned, but rather to view the records that have been indexed and microfilmed in London. If you live in London, then you can view these microfilms at the India Office Library and Records. If you live outside of London, then the best way to view the microfilms is at your nearest LDS (Mormon) Family History Centre. Details on how to do this are included on the page about Church records.

Advice from a researcher (December 2016) is that BDM records for CSI are now kept at CSI Diocesan Office, 226 Cathedral Road, Chennai 600 086.

External links

• Church of South India with details of some of the dioceses.
• Contact details for The Church of South India from the Anglican Communion Official Website
• Church of South India Wikipedia

Coimbatore

Rt. Rev. William Moses, B.A., B.T., B.D.S.T.M. CSI Bishop's House 205, Race Course Road Coimbatore 641 018 Ph. 213 605 (Office) 211 815 (Residence)

Dornakal

The Rt. Rev. D.N. Samuel, B.D. Bishop's House Cathedral Compound Dornakal 506 381 Warangal District

East Kerala

The Rt. Rev. K.J. Samuel CSI Bishop's House Melukavumattom 686 652 Ph. 26 (Office) 44 (Residence)

Jaffna

The Rt. Rev. Dr. S. Jebanesai Bishop's House Vaddukoddai Sri Lanka Ph. 226

Kanyakumari

The Rt.Rev. G. Christdhas, M.A., B.D. CSI Nagercoil 629 001 Ph. 3539 (Office) 3540 (Residence)

Karimnagar

The Rt. Rev. S.J. Theodore, B.D., M.Th. Bishop's House Mukarampura P.O. Karimnagar 505 002 Ph. (08722) 2229 (Office) (08722) 2039

Karnataka Central

The Rt. Rev. Dr. C.D. Jathana Diocesan Office 20, Third Cross CSI Compound Bangalore 560 027 Ph. 223 766 or 224 941 (Office) 571 858 (Residence)

Karnataka North

The Most Rev.Vasant P. Dandin, M.A., B.D. Bishop's House Haliyal Road Dharwad 580 008 Ph. (0836) 41733 & 42604

Karnataka South

The Rt. Rev. D.P. Shettian, M.A., B.D. Diocesan Office CSI Balmatta Mangalore 575 002 Ph. 25763 (Office) 27302 (Residence)

Krishna-Godavari

The Rt.Rev. T.B.D. Prakasa Rao, M.A., B.D., B.Ed. Bishop Azariah High School Compound Vijayawada 520 010 ph. 474 237 (Office)

Madhya Kerala

The Rt. Rev. Sam Matthew CSI Bishop's House Kottayam 686 001 Kerala State Ph. (0481) 4274 or 3931 (Office) 561 997 (Residence)

Madras

The Rt. Rev. M. Azariah, M.A., B.D., S.T.M. Bishop's House 226 Cathedral Road Post Box 4914 Madras 600 086 Ph. 476 929, 475 933, 477 629 (Office) 475 804 (Residence)

Madurai-Ramnad

The Rt. Rev.Dr. D. Pothirajulu, M.A., B.D., Th.D. A.V.H. Building Post Box No. 233 162 East Veli Street Madurai 625 001 Ph. (0452) 36085 (Office) (0452) 44189 (Residence)

Medak

The Diocesan Office Bishop's House Cathedral Compound Medak 502 110 Ph. 479

Nandyal

CSI Diocesan Office Nandyal R.S. 518 502 Kurnool District

North Kerala

The Rt. Rev. Dr. P.G. Kuruvilla, B.D., M.Th., Dr Theol CSI Bishop's House Shoranur 679 121 Kerala Ph. (04929) 2545 (Office) (04929) 2426 (Residence)

Rayalaseema

The Rt. Rev. L.V. Azariah, B.Sc., B.D., M.Th Bishop's House CSI Compound Cuddahpah 516 001 Andra Pradesh Ph. 3014

South Kerala

The Rt.Rev. Dr. Samuel Amirtham Bishop's House L.M.S. Compound Trivandrum 695 033 Ph. (0471) 438 662

Tiruchirapalli-Thanjavur

(British names : Trichinopoly and Tanjore)

The Rt. Rev. Dr. G. Paul Vasantha Kumar P.B. No. 31, 8, Racquet Court Lane Tiruchirapalli 620 001 Tamilnadu Ph. (0431) 41102

Tirunelveli

The Rt. Rev. Jason S. Dharmaraj, M.A., B.D., Dip. Th. Bishopstowe Box 18 Tirunelveli 627 002 ph. 71291 & 72504

Vellore

The Rt. Rev. Dr. R.T. Baskeran, M.A., B.D., Th.M., D.D CSI Vellore Diocesan Office No. 1/A, Officer's Line Vellore 632 001 N.A. District Ph. 20160 (Office) 21507 (Residence)