Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

is one of the religions in

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

, a state in

North East India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political administrative division of the country. It comprises eight states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, M ...

. According to the Indian Census 2011, the population of Christians in Tripura is 159,882 or 4.35% of the total population. Christians are mostly found among the indigenous communities of the state such as the Tripuri,

Lushai The Mizo people, historically called the Lushais, are a Tibeto-Burman languages, Tibeto-Burman ethnic group primarily from Mizoram in Northeast India, northeastern India. They speak Mizo language, Mizo, one of the state's official languages and ...

, Kuki,

Darlong Darlong (Dalong) is one of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo languages of India and is a sub-tribe language of Hmar people It is spoken by the Darlong people of Tripura. See also * Darlong people * Darchawi Darchawi ( Darlong for "Darchawi khua") is a v ...

, Halam etc. Among the Scheduled Tribes of the state Christians share is 13.12% of the population.

History

The beginning of the Christian faith in Tripura dates back many centuries. Fr. Ignatius Gomes, a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest made the first reference to the Christians of Mariamnagar in Agartala when he visited them in 1683. Fr. P. Barbe, the Pastor of

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

, visited Tripura in 1843. Holy Cross pioneering missionaries Fr. Louis Augustine Verite and Fr. Beboit Adolphe Mercier visited Agartala in 1856 and administered sacraments to the Christians in Mariamnagar Village. But it was only from 1937 that priests began to take permanent residence at Mariamnagar. The

Tripura Baptist Christian Union The Tripura Baptist Christian Union (TBCU) is a Baptists, Baptist Christianity, Christian denomination in Tripura, India. It has its head office in Agartala, the state capital. The TBCU is affiliated to the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation (APBF ...

was formed under the leadership of Rev. M.J. Eade in December 1938 in Lakshmilunga, a village six miles from Agartala. The Baptist Mission Compound at Arundhutinagar,

Agartala Agartala (, , ) is the capital and the List of cities and towns in Tripura, largest city of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tripura, situated on the banks of Haora River, Haora/Saidra River, about east of the border ...

was also established in the year 1938 under an official land grant by the then King of Tripura Kingdom Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya to the missionaries from

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Missionary Society (NZBMS). The first

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Parish in Tripura was erected at Mariamnagar in 1939. The first permanent Church (at present the temporary Cathedral) was blessed in 1952. Because of its geographical proximity, the Archdiocese of Dhaka continued to cater to the spiritual needs of the Catholics in Tripura till the erection of the new Ecclesiastical Unit in 1952, namely, the Prefecture of

Haflong Haflong is a town and headquarters of Dima Hasao district (formerly North Cachar Hills) in the state of Assam in India. It is the only hill station in Assam. Etymology Haflong is a Dimasa word meaning '' ant hill''. Geography Haflong has a ...

. In 1969, the Prefecture was upgraded to the position of a Diocese and Most Rev. Denzil D'Souza, DD, was the first Bishop of

Silchar Silchar is a city and the headquarters of the Cachar district of the state of Assam, India. It is second largest city of Assam after Guwahati in terms of population and GDP. It is also administrative capital of Barak Valley division. It is locate ...

. At that time the Diocese comprised the States of

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

and Tripura and the District of Cachar in Assam. On 11 January 1996, Pope John Paul II decreed the erection of the Diocese of Agartala. The new Diocese of Agartala, comprising the entire State of Tripura was bifurcated from the erstwhile Diocese of Silchar. Most Rev. Lumen Monteiro, CSC, DD, was appointed the first Bishop of the new Diocese. He was ordained and installed on 26 May 1996.

Denominations

The major denominations of Christianity present in the state are the

Presbyterian Church of India The Presbyterian Church of India (PCI) is a mainline Protestant church based in India, with over 1.6 million adherents, mostly in Northeast India. It is one of the largest Christian denominations in that region. Origin and history In 1799, Seram ...

(PCI) and the

Churches. There are also many churches of the

Believers' Church The believers' Church is a theological doctrine within Christianity which teaches that one becomes a member of the Church by new birth and profession of faith. Adherence to this doctrine is generally defining feature of an Evangelical Christian ...

Assembly of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

, Evangelical and Christian Churches in the state. and also Christian Revival Church.

Statistics

Demographics

Trends

Percentage of Christians in Tripura by decades

Tribes

Percentage of Christians in the Scheduled Tribesblog.cpsindia.org/2016/09/religion-data-of-census-2011-xxix.html
/ref>

Major churches

Agartala Baptist Church Agartala Baptist Church is a Baptist Church in the city of Agartala, the capital of Tripura state in India. It is affiliated to the Tripura Baptist Christian Union (TBCU) and is located at Arundhutinagar in the southern part of Agartala city. ...

, first church in Agartala city. #

Jangalia Baptist Church Jangalia is a village and a gram panchayat within the jurisdiction of the Jaynagar Majilpur police station in the Jaynagar I CD block in the Baruipur subdivision of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography ...

, largest Baptist church in the state. # Mariamnagar Catholic Parish, oldest Christian community in the state # Zion Baptist Church established in 1983 # Birchandra Baptist Church (KBPC) # Khumulwng Baptist Church

References

Bibliography

* Debbarma, Sukhendu (1996
''Origin and Growth of Christianity in Tripura: With Special Reference to the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society, 1938-1988''
Indus Publishing, New Delhi. * Borok Baptist Convention, Rangchak Mukumu, 2010 *Jain, Sandhya (2010). Evangelical intrusions: ripura, a case study New Delhi: Rupa & Co.

External links

Tripura Baptist Christian Union (TBCU) website

Roman Catholic Diocese of Agartala website

ICI website
{{Churches in India Religion in Tripura