The Church of North India (CNI) is the dominant

united Protestant church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations. Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state ...

in northern India. It was established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

churches working in northern India. It is a province of the worldwide

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

and a member of the World Methodist Council and the World Communion of Reformed Churches. The merger, which had been in discussions since 1929, came eventually between the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon ( Anglican), the United Church of Northern India, ( Congregationalist and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

), the Methodist Church, Disciples of Christ denominations. The CNI's jurisdiction covers all

states of India State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * '' State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our ...

with the exception of the five states in the south (

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

and

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

which are under the jurisdiction of the Church of South India) and has approximately 2,200,000 members (0.1% of India's population) in 3,000 pastorates.

History

Ecumenical discussions with a view to a unified church were initiated by the Australian Churches of Christ Mission, the Methodist Church of Australia, the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church and the United Church of Northern India during a round table meeting in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divis ...

in 1929. A negotiation committee was set up in 1951 using the plan of Church Union that resulted from the earlier consultations as its basis. The committee was composed of representatives from the Baptist Churches in Northern India, the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon, the Methodist Church (British and Australian conferences), the Methodist Church in Southern Asia and the United Church of Northern India (UCNI). The

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. ...

, however, did not join the discussions and, in 1981, it became the

Methodist Church in India Methodist Church in India is a Protestant Christian denomination of India. The Methodist Church in India's roots originate in American Methodist missionary activity in India, as opposed to the British and Australian conferences of the Methodi ...

(MCI). In 1957, the Church of the Brethren in India and the Disciples of Christ denominations joined in the negotiations as well. A new negotiation committee was set up in 1961 with representatives from all the above-mentioned denominations. In 1965, a finalized plan of Church Union, known as the 4th Plan of Union 1965, was made. The union was formalized on 29 November 1970 when all the negotiating churches were united as the Church of North India with the exception of the Methodist Church in Southern Asia, which decided not to join the union.

Beliefs and practices

The CNI is a trinitarian church that draws from the traditions and heritage of its constituent denominations. The basic creeds of the CNI are the

Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed ( Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century ...

and the Nicene Creed of 381 AD.

Liturgy

The liturgy of the CNI is of particular interest, as it combines many traditions, including that of the Methodists and such smaller churches as the Church of the Brethren and the Disciples of Christ. Provision is given for diverse liturgical practices and understandings of the divine revelation.

Governance

The polity of the CNI brings together the episcopal, the presbyterial and the congregational elements in an effort to reflect the polity of the churches which entered into union. The episcopacy of the CNI is both historical as well as constitutional. There are 26 dioceses, each under the supervision of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

. The main administrative and legislative body is the

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...

, which meets once every three years to elect a presiding bishop, called a moderator, and an executive committee. The moderator acts as the head of the church for a fixed term; another bishop is elected Deputy Moderator.

Social involvement

Social involvement is a major emphasis in the CNI. There are synodal boards in charge of various ministries: Secondary, Higher, Technical and Theological Education, Health Services, Social Services, Rural Development, Literature and Media. There is also a synodal Programme Office which seeks to protect and promote peace, justice, harmony and dignity of life. The CNI currently operates 65 hospitals, nine nursing schools, 250 educational institutions and three technical schools. Some of the oldest and well-respected educational institutions in India like Scottish Church College in Calcutta,

La Martiniere Calcutta ''La Martiniere ''(informally known as LMC) is an elite, independent private day school located in Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal. It comprises two single-gender boys and girls schools. It was established in 1836 in accordance with the will of ...

, Wilson College in Mumbai, St. James' School, Calcutta, Hislop College in Nagpur, St. John's Diocesan Girls' School, Calcutta, St. Paul's School in Darjeeling, St. John's College in Agra and College Bishop Cotton School in Shimla,

Christ Church College, Kanpur Christ Church College, Kanpur is a college established in 1866, affiliated with Kanpur University, in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Earlier in 1840, SPG Mission School was established to educated Christian students. Later its name turned to prese ...

, Sherwood College, Nainital, Ewing Christian College, Prayagraj, Boys High School, St. Andrew's College in Gorakhpur are under the administration of the CNI.

Ecumenism

The CNI participates in many ecumenical bodies as a reflection of its commitment towards church unity. Domestically it participates in a joint council with the Church of South India and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church known as the

Communion of Churches in India The Communion of Churches in India (CCI) is an organisation constituting three Indian high church denominations: the Church of North India (CNI), the Church of South India (CSI), and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church (MTC). They consider themselves to b ...

. It is also a member of the National Council of Churches in India. Regionally, the CNI participates in the Christian Conference of Asia and on an international level it is a member of the World Council of Churches, the

Council for World Mission The Council for World Mission (CWM) is a worldwide community of mainly protestant Christian churches. The 32 members share their resources of money, people, skills and insights to carry out their mission work. Leadership The 32 member churches a ...

, World Alliance of Reformed Churches, World Methodist Council and in full communion with the

. The CNI is also in partnership with many other domestic, regional and international Christian agencies.

Gallery

File:St Paul's Cathedral.jpg, St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata File:Allsaintcathedral ald.jpg, All Saints Cathedral, Prayagraj File:Cathedral Church of the Redemption - New Delhi.jpg, Cathedral Church of the Redemption, New Delhi File:Christ Church Shimla India.jpg, Christ Church, Shimla File:StJohnsChurchMeerut.jpg, St. John's Church, Meerut File:St.james b.jpg, St. James' Church, New Delhi File:St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai.jpg, St. Thomas' Cathedral, Mumbai File:The Wilson College, Mumbai.jpg, The Wilson College, Mumbai File:La Martiniere College, Lucknow - by Ahmad Faiz Mustafa.jpg, La Martiniere College, Lucknow File:La Martiniere, Calcutta by Francis Frith.jpg, La Martiniere College, Calcutta File:St Pauls School.jpg, St. Paul's School, Darjeeling File:Scottish Church College.jpg, Scottish Church College, Calcutta File:Delhi, Holy Trinity Church (Turkman gate).jpg, Holy Trinity Church, New Delhi File:KITLV 100117 - Unknown - St. Paul's Church at Poona in India - Around 1875.tif, alt=St Paul's Church, Pune, St. Pauls Church, Pune - photographed during British era

Present administrators

*Moderator: Rt. Rev. Bijay K. Nayak, Bishop of Phulbani *Deputy moderator: Rt. Rev. Paul B.P. Duphare, Bishop of Nagpur *General secretary: Rt. Rev. Pradip K. Samantroy, Bishop of Amritsar and former Moderator- Interim charge *Honorary treasurer: Prem Masih As of December 2022.

Moderators

Since its formation in 1970, the Synod of the CNI has elected a Moderator and one Deputy every three years.

Dioceses

Diocese of Calcutta

When originally founded in 1813, the fourth overseas diocese of the Church of England covered all the subcontinent, all Australasia and some of Africa. With its 1835 split to create Madras diocese, Calcutta was made metropolitan over all its original area, and has been split many times since. The Bishop of Calcutta remained Metropolitan of India until the CNI's 1970 creation; the current diocese covers parts of Bengal and the bishop is Paritosh Canning.
/ref>

Diocese of Mumbai

Split from Calcutta diocese in 1837, the Diocese of Bombay was the last new Indian diocese of the Church of England before all colonial dioceses became independent in 1863. Like Calcutta, Mumbai diocese has been a very large Church of England diocese, a diocese of the independent Indian Anglican church, and now a United Church diocese. The CNI diocese today covers Maharashtra, and the bishop is Prakash D. Patole.

Diocese of Chotanagpur

Founded from Calcutta diocese in 1890, the current diocese is based in Ranchi, its territory is

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

and the bishop is B. B. Baskey.

Diocese of Lucknow

Erected in 1893 from the Diocese of Calcutta. The diocese is headquartered at Allahabad and serves

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

Diocese of Nagpur

The diocese was originally created in 1902/03, from Chotanagpur diocese.

Diocese of North East India

The CNI Northeast diocese, based in

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the 330th most populous city in India with a ...

North East India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

is headed by bishop Michael Herenz. It originated as the Diocese of Assam, in the Anglican Church of India, erected from Calcutta in 1915; and became known by the present name before 1986.

Diocese of Nasik

In 1929, Nasik diocese was founded from Bombay; her present bishop is Sharad Gaikwad.

References

External links

Church of North India

Indian Christianity : CNI

CNI Seminaries and Theological Colleges

{{DEFAULTSORT:India North, Church of Anglican Communion church bodies Christian denominations established in the 20th century Church of the Brethren India, North Protestantism in India India, North Christian organizations established in 1970 1970 establishments in India Affiliated institutions of the National Council of Churches in India Church of India, Burma and Ceylon