Garrison Wesley Church
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CSI-Garrison Wesley Church (built in 1853) located in
Trimulgherry Tirumalagiri, formerly known by its colonial name Trimulgherry, is a locality and a Mandal in the city of Secunderabad which falls under Secunderabad Revenue Division, and is a major suburb of Secunderabad, India. It is in the north of Hyderaba ...
is among the oldest churches in
Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...
under the auspices of the
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
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 ...
(CSI) within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the
Diocese of Medak The Diocese of Medak is one of the prominent dioceses in the Church of South India, a united Protestant church with its headquarters in Medak comprising nearly 200 Presbyters ministering to Telugu, Lambadi, Tamil,P. Y. Luke, J. B. Carman, ''Vill ...
. Situated in Lal Bazar civilian area of the Secunderabad Cantonment, the CSI-Garrison Wesley Church is in near vicinity of the Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME), and the church has continued to attract not only its regular worshipers but also the new visitors from the nearby military stations of the
Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
and the
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through its regular Sunday
Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
as well as its annual
Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...
,
Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
and
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
programmes. Though the Sunday Mass was begun initially in accordance with the
Wesleyan Methodist The Wesleyan Church is a Methodist Christian denomination aligned with the holiness movement. Wesleyan Church may also refer to: * Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia, the Australian branch of the Wesleyan Church Denominations * Allegheny We ...
traditions since the beginnings in 1881, it now follows the Church of South India liturgy as the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society (WMMS), the co-founders of the church, had unionizedManohar Samuel, ''Christianity'' in S. Muthiah (Edited), ''Madras, Chennai: A 400-year Record of the First City of Modern India,'' Volume 1, Palaniappa Brothers, Madras, 2008, pp.160-184

/ref> itself into the Church of South India that was formed on 27 September 1947 at St. George's Cathedral, Chennai, CSI–St. George's Cathedral, Chennai.
Wesleyan Methodists The Wesleyan Church is a Methodist Christian denomination aligned with the holiness movement. Wesleyan Church may also refer to: * Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia, the Australian branch of the Wesleyan Church Denominations * Allegheny W ...
form a substantial majority of the parishioners of the Diocese of Medak, whereas
Anglicans Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
form a very small minority; together they regard
Medak Cathedral Medak Cathedral at Medak in Telangana, India, is one of the largest churches in India and has been the cathedral church of the Diocese of Medak of the Church of South India since 1947. Originally built by Charles Walker Posnett British Wesleya ...
as theirs and look to their
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
for divine leadership.


Renovation and rededication


Renovation

Since the
edifice A building or edifice is an enclosed structure with a roof, walls and windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout ...
had been standing for more than 150 years, efforts were initiated in 2013''Words of Life'', Community Bible Newsletter of the CSI-Garrison Wesley Church, Volume 1, by Mr. D. Sudesh Kumar, Hon. Secretary in January 2013, p.1. during the then Presbyter-in-charge
Pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
,
The Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...
S. P. Vidyasagar to raise awareness about the aging rafters and garner majority opinion from the members of the church who stood for restoration of the church ''in lieu'' of demolition and reconstruction of a new edifice. The Pastorate Secretary Mr. D. Sudesh Kumar, inspired the church to raise contributions in order to restore the edifice and willing members then responded by making significant contributions to take up the restoration works at a cost of
Indian Rupees The Indian rupee (Currency symbol, symbol: Indian rupee sign, ₹; ISO 4217, code: INR) is the official currency of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 ''Indian paisa, paise'' (Hindi plural; singular: ''paisa''). The issuance of the currenc ...
10
million 1,000,000 (one million), or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian ''millione'' (''milione'' in modern Italian), from ''mille'', "thousand", plus the ...
(1
crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...
), entrusting the work to a
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
restoration architect M/s. APTSORBH, Mr. Rajan Proprietor.


Rededication

After the efforts put in by the Pastorate Committee for nearly two years, the newly restored edifice was rededicated on 21 December 2014 by
The Most Reverend The Most Reverend (abbreviated as The Most Revd or The Most Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. It is a variant of the mor ...
G. Dyvasirvadam who by then had become Moderator of the
Church of South India Synod Church of South India Synod is the highest administrative body of the Church of South India. The Synod (CSI Synod) governs the whole church and convenes the annual general meeting of CSI. The Moderator of the Synod is a Bishop who is a presiding o ...
which was directly overseeing the ecclesiastical affairs of the
Diocese of Medak The Diocese of Medak is one of the prominent dioceses in the Church of South India, a united Protestant church with its headquarters in Medak comprising nearly 200 Presbyters ministering to Telugu, Lambadi, Tamil,P. Y. Luke, J. B. Carman, ''Vill ...
. The Congregation recognizes the Initiative by Rev. S.P. Vidyasagar and the pastorate Committee led by Mr. D. Sudesh Kumar. Rev. S.P. Vidyasagar who retired in 2014 and subsequently Rev. Jyothy was posted at CSI Garrison Wesley Church, the Rededication
Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
was witnessed by the entire Congregation with a procession in the Lalbazaar area in the presence of then Vice Chairman, Rev. A. C. Solomon Raj, who is now the
Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
in Medak.


Recognition

In 2015, the
Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is a non-profit charitable organisation registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. In 2007, the United Nations awarded INTACH a special consultative status with the ...
awarded its Heritage Award to six establishments, one of which was the CSI-Garrison Wesley Church, recognizing the efforts put in for renovating and restoring the church.


History

The Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society set foot in the erstwhile
Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state in the Deccan region of south-central India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and the ...
in 1878,P. Y. Luke, J. B. Carman, ''Village Christians and Hindu Culture'', Lutterworth Press, Cambridge, 1968, pp.15, 17, 2

/ref> the missionaries led by Henry Little, William Burgess and the Indian Evangelist Benjamin Wesley who pioneered the spread of the Gospel and helped in establishing of churches in areas northward of Hyderabad winning of new converts to the fold of Christianity. While this was so, the
British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...
had stationed itself in
Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...
by 1798Kalpana Markandey, Geeta Reddy Anant (Edited), ''Urban Growth Theories and Settlement Systems of India'', Concept Publishing, New Delhi, 2011, p.9

/ref> itself and there were already
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
of
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
origin and among them were Wesleyan Methodists who had already begun worshiping following the
Wesleyan Methodists The Wesleyan Church is a Methodist Christian denomination aligned with the holiness movement. Wesleyan Church may also refer to: * Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia, the Australian branch of the Wesleyan Church Denominations * Allegheny W ...
traditions and it was the military troops who were led by a Presbyter had laid a cornerstone of the church in 1853.


Clergy


Present

The present pastor is Rev. Dr. Prof. M. Rajeshwar Solomon,
Church of South India Synod Church of South India Synod is the highest administrative body of the Church of South India. The Synod (CSI Synod) governs the whole church and convenes the annual general meeting of CSI. The Moderator of the Synod is a Bishop who is a presiding o ...
, ''Medak Diocesan Clergy''

CSI who has been designated as the
Presbyter Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros'', which means elder or senior, although many in Christian antiquity understood ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning as overseer ...
-in-Charge of the CSI-Garrison Wesley Church.


Past (ascending)

* The Reverend Jyothy, CSI * The Reverend S. P. Vidyasagar, CSI * The Reverend A. C. Solomon Raj, CSI * The Reverend B. D. Premsagar, CSI


References


Further reading

* * * {{coord missing, Telangana Church of South India church buildings in India Churches in Secunderabad Churches in Hyderabad, India 1853 establishments in India Churches completed in 1881