Dornakal Diocese is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

of the

Church of South India The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of Protestant denominations in South India that occurred after the independence of India. With a membership of over 4.5 million, it ...

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

state of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The diocese mainly covers the pastorates in

Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 811,844 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal serv ...

Nalgonda Nalgonda is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the Nalgonda district, as well as the headquarters of the Nalgonda mandal in the Nalgonda revenue division. It is located about from the state c ...

East Godavari East Godavari is a district in the Coastal Andhra region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Its district headquarters is at Rajamahendravaram. Geography This district is surrounded by: * North East: Alluri Sitharama Raju district * North West: Eluru d ...

and

Khammam Khammam is the city in Khammam district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the fourth largest city in the state. It is the headquarters of the Khammam district and Khammam Tehsil, mandal also. It is located about east of the state capital ...

districts and also has churches in Odissha state. The Church of South India is a

United Protestant A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinct denomination ...

denomination.

History

The Diocese of

Dornakal Dornakal is one of the largest towns in Mahabubabad district of Telangana, India. The town is important as a Railway Junction where a branch line emanates to Manuguru and Bhadrachalam Road and is also on the Vijayawada - Warangal - Secunderabad/ ...

was formed in December 1912.

Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah Bishop Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah (17 August 1874 - 1 January 1945) (also transliterated as Vedanayakam Samuel Azariah) was an Indian evangelist and the first Indian bishop in the churches of the Anglican Communion, serving as the first bishop o ...

was consecrated as its first bishop in St. Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta. Azariah was the first Indian to be consecrated a bishop in the Anglican Communion and was a leader in the Christian evangelistic movement in South Asia during the early twentieth century. When the diocese was first formed, it was a small district in the southeast corner of the Nizam's dominions. A few years later, it was enlarged by the addition of the Dummugudem district, in which the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...

(CMS) was working. In 1920, a resolution of the Episcopal Synod placed all of the districts of both the CMS and the

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is a United Kingdom-based charitable organisation (registered charity no. 234518). It was first incorporated under Royal Charter in 1701 as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Pa ...

(SPG) in the Telugu country under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Dornakal. The Cathedral of the Epiphany in Dornakal was consecrated on 6 January 1939. In 1940, the Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregational and Anglican churches of the region came together to form the Church of South India.

Geography

The present Diocese of Dornakal includes a large portion of the

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

district, part of the Godavari districts, parts of the

Kurnool Kurnool is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of Rayalaseema". Kurnool is also famous for Diamond hunting as diamonds ca ...

and

Kadapa Kadapa is a city in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located in the Rayalaseema region, and is the district headquarters of YSR Kadapa district. It is located south of the Penna River. The city is surrounded on three sides by ...

districts to the south served by the SPG, the areas in the Hyderabad State served by the Indian Missionary Society of Tinnevelly (IMST), the

Singareni Singareni is a village located in Khammam district, Telangana, India. Coal reserves in Telangana were found first in Singareni. There is a railway line from Singareni that meets the Manuguru-Dornakal railway at Karepalli junction. Transport S ...

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

, the Khammamett Mission, and the recently formed Dornakal Diocesan Mission, which started in the Mulag Taluq. The main towns in the diocese are Khammam and

Kothagudem Kothagudem is a city in Telangana. It serves as the headquarters of the Bhadradri Kothagudem district of the Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entitie ...

, and they host the largest congregations. The diocese has approximately 900 congregations. The diocese is partnered with the Diocese of Gloucester in England.

Funding

The former president bishop of the church Rt. Rev. Dr Vadapalli Prasada Rao stated that the church is run entirely on Indian funds, which he says helps ensure the churches continued independence from the "Anglican Communion".

Bishops

(1912–45) * A. B. Elliott (1945–1955) ** Yeddu Muthyalu, assistant bishop (1945–1947; became first Bishop in Krishna-Godavari) * P. Solomon (1956–1979) * G. S. Luke (1980–1985) * D. N. Samuel (1986–1996) * A. Rajarathnam (1997–2006) * B. S. Devamani (2006–2012) * Dr. V. Prasada Rao (2012–7.9.2020) * Dr. K. Padma Rao (20.06.2021–Present)(as at 2023)

Group church councils and chairman

*Rev.K. N. Bhushanam Dornakal GCC *Rev.B. Abhijith, singareni GCC *Rev. P. Sunil Sreedhar, Yellandu GCC *Rev. P. Ramesh Kodad GCC *Rev. V. viswam, Khammam GCC * * *Rev. R. Israel manuguru GCC * *Rev. Srinivas paul, NSP GCC

Churches

*CSI Epiphany Cathedral Church,

*St. Andrew's Church,

*St. Andrew'sChurch, kalyanapuram *St. Mary's Church,

*St. Paul's Church, Aswapuram *St. Paul's Church, P.V. Colony *Christ Church,

Bhadrachalam Bhadrachalam is a census town in Bhadradri Kothagudem district in the Indian state of Telangana. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage town with the Bhadrachalam Temple of Rama, situated on the banks of Godavari River. It is located east of sta ...

*St. Peter's Church

Kodad Kodad, also commonly called as Kodada, is a town in Suryapet district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is a municipality and the mandal headquarters of Kodad mandal in Kodad revenue division. It lies on the National Highway 65 between Hy ...

*St. Paul's Church,

Mahabubabad Mahabubabad (Ancient Name - Manukota) is a city and the district headquarters of Mahabubabad district in the Indian state of Telangana. It is on the west bank of the Munneru, which is one of the tributaries of the River Krishna. Mahabubabad is ...

*St. Paul's Church, Palwancha *St. Timothy Church,

Huzurnagar Huzurnagar is the third largest town in the Suryapet district of the Indian state of Telangana. Huzurnagar is a Municipality and the Mandal Headquarters of Huzurnagar Mandal. It is far away from the district Headquarters Suryapet Suryapet ...

*St. John's Church,

Yellandu Yellandu is a town in Bhadradri Kothagudem district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is located in Yellandu mandal of Kothagudem revenue division. Geography Yellandu has an average elevation of . A coal seam and open pits run through ...

*St. John's Church, J.K colony, Yellandu *St. Philip's Church, Nava bharat *Christ Church, Indira Nagar, KMM *St. Mark's Church, NSP, Khammam *St. Luke Church, Singabhupalem, KTDM *St. Thomas Church, Ramavaram, KTDM *St. James Church, Gouthampur *St Peter's Church, Rudrampur *Christ Church, Parsibandam, khammam *St. John's Church v.m.banjara, *St. Peter's church, Madiripuram, Near Bangla *Church Of South India, Miryalaguda, Dornakal Diocese * St. Andrew's Church, Anisettipally *

Educational institutions

*Bishop Azariah High School for Girls, Dornakal *Bishop Azariah Junior college for Girls, Dornakal *Bishop Azariah Degree College, Dornakal *Dornakal Diocese. Junior College, Dornakal *Dornakal Diocese. High School, Dornakal *St. Mary's High school, Khammam *St. Andrew's High School, Kothagudem *St. Christ Church Primary School, Bhadrachalam *St. Peter's Primary School, Thoorubaka, Bhadrachalam *Dorkal Diocese Hostel, Chadrupatla * Mission High school (Aided), Madiripuram

External links

Dornakal Diocese official website

References

{{Churches in India

Christianity in Telangana Christian organizations established in 1912 1912 establishments in India Church of India, Burma and Ceylon