CSI Home Church is one of the largest and oldest churches in Asia. It was built in 1819 under the supervision of Rev.
William Tobias Ringeltaube
William Tobias Ringeltaube, or Wilhelm Tobias Ringeltaube (1770- ?) was the first Protestant missionary in the far south of India. He spent much of his time in Travancore. He was the first child of Gottlieb Ringeltaube, Vicar of Scheidelwitz (tod ...
an Prussian, who had come to
Nagercoil via
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
and Rev Charles Mead. The land on which the church was built was donated by the then British Travancore Resident, General
John Munro, 9th of Teaninich, who had acted as a catalyst between the Missionary and the government of
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
and the Kingdom of
Travancore. This helped in the Theological Education for about two Centuries. The church hosted the wedding of linguistic scholar
Robert Caldwell in the year 1830. He died 28 August 1891, and was buried in
Tirunelveli.
"Renovated house of Caldwell inaugurated"
/ref>
Architecture
The building is in Greek style is . This is one of the oldest and biggest of the Protestant churches in South India. The edifice can provide accommodation for nearly 2500 people at a time.
Pastors
Senior Pastor & District Minister :-Rev J.Victor Gnanaraj,
Presbyter :- Rev. J. Vincent Robert,
Presbyter :- Rev. P. Raja Jaya Singh
References
{{Reflist
Churches in Kanyakumari district
Church of South India church buildings in India