The Indian Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC)shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/65704/12/12...CHAPTER IV THE INDIAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH (IELC) The nineteenth century

CHAPTER-IV

LutheranThe Indian EvangelicalChurch (IELC)

CHAPTER IV

THE INDIAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH(IELC)

The nineteenth century Travancore witnessed the establishment

of the L.M.S and the Salvation Army Churches in its southern region.

Unprivileged Nadars and repressed classes like the Sambavars and Pulayars

jointed these Churches in large numbers mainly to receive the material

benefits offered by these Churches. Some others stood up for yet another

denomination. To satisfy their needs the Lutheran Church made its entry

into South Travancore at the close of the century. It had originated in Europe

and was known as Danish Halle Mission.

Danish Halle Mission

The German Lutherans sent by the Danish King Frederick IV

(1671-1730) were the first Protestant missionaries to Tranquebar l in South

India. 2 Bartholomau Zieganbaig and Henry Plutschau, the two students of

1. Tranquebar was a Danish settlement on the Coromandal Coast started in 1620. Ithas been ceded to the Danish East India Company by the Raja of Tanjore. Thename Tranquebar was a European term. In Tamil it is pronounced asTharagampadi, which means 'Village Waves'.

2. H.M. Zorn, Much Cause for Joy, Malappuram, 1970, p.6.

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Halle, landed at Tranquebar on 91h of July 1706 . This marked the beginning

of the history of Protestant missions in India. The officials of the Danish

East India Company and the other Europeans did not like their arrival. So

the early missionaries, especially the first one had to undergo a lot of

sufferings.4

Sufferings of Zieganbaig

At first Zieganbaig and Plutschau were disallowed to enter the

town. At last they were allowed to stay at Tranquebar with no safety and

security. 5 However, they cheerfully bore all these ill treatments for the cause

of the cross. 6 They were met with enmity by the Danish settlers in the town.

Then Attrup, Secretary of the Danish Fort to Secret Council allotted a small

house to them in the Portuguese Quarters near the town wall 7 . Unmindful of

the difficulties they began their work in South India with their language

study.

Zieganbaig studied Tamil and collected palm-leaf manuscripts

and books in Tamil. 8 He also attained proficiency in the Portuguese

language. 9 After learning Tamil and Portuguese they started Evangelical

work. Zieganbaig began to translate the New Testament into Tamil. He

3. C.H. Swavely, The Lutheran Enterprise in India, Madras, 1952, p.2.

4. Ibid., p.4.

5. Jesse Page, Schwartz of Tanjore, London, 1921, p.18.

6. Arthur Mathew, Christianity and the Government of India, London, 1840, p.42.

7. C.H. Swavely, p.cit., p.2.

8. Ibid., p.3.

9. Ibid.

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completed this work in three years.'° Forthwith he started to translate the

Old Testament also." The hatred of the German residents towards the Halle

missionaries ended when they requested Zieganbaig and Plutschau to

conduct Christian meetings at their homes on 9 November 1706. It made the

missionaries happy. First Zieganfalg started to evangelise the slaves. 12 On

12th December 1706 Hassius, the commandant of the Tranquebar Port,

invited them to conduct meetings in the Zion Church located near the Danish

Fort. The congregation appreciated the sermons of the missionaries. But its

pastor, Primarius, became jealous of them and attacked them as false

prophets. So the missionaries refused to conduct further services in the Zion

Church. However, Hassius made an arrangement permitting them to preach

and serve the Holy Communion whenever they wished. Accordingly, from

29 December 1706 they conducted German services on every Wednesday in

the Zion Church. They gathered the people in the Church and taught them

the basic truth of Christianity.'3

Formation of New Jerusalem Church

The teaching of Zieganbaig attracted many Hindus, who

eventually became ready for conversion. 14 The Zion Church authorities

10. Ibid., p.4.

11 Ibid.

12. Ibid., p.3.

13. Rajiah D. Paul The Cross over India, 1952, p.33.

14. V.T. Titus Varghese and P.P. Philip, Glimpses of The History of the ChristianChurches in India, Madras, 1983, p.55.

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discouraged Zieganbalg from baptizing them, as the Church was exclusively

for the use of the Europeans. 15 So he decided to construct a new church. In

the initial stages he faced many difficulties to build the Church. Financial

constraints and the opposition of caste Hindus made their work hard.

However, in spite of all oppositions the missionaries laid the foundation

stone on 14 June 1707. After starting the work funds poured in from

different sources including the local people. 16 Within two months the church

construction was completed. The Church was consecrated in August 1707

with the name 'New Jerusalem Church'. 17 The same year two schools were

established, one for Portuguese children and one for Indians. 18

In September 1707 the first baptism and communion took

place. 19 The mission of Zieganbalg began to yield fruit in Tranquebar. The

work began to spread over other regions of Tamil country like Trichirappalli,

Tirunelveli, Cuddalore, Nagapattanam and Kanyakumari. 2° But at the same

time Zieganbalg got tired of hard work and died on 23 February 1719. After

his death three new missionaries Benjamin Schultze, Micolous Dal and J.H.

Kistenmacher were sent. They reached Tranquebar and worked for the

15. Rajiah D. Paul, p.33.

16. John William Kaye, Christianity in India and Historical Narrative, London,1959, pp.69-70.

17. C.H. Swavely, pp.cit., p.3.

18. Ibid.

19. Ibid.

20. J. Fred Fenger, History of the Tranguebar Mission, Madras, 1906, p.1 86.

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development of the People . 2 ' Another missionary, Christian Fredrick

Schwartz arrived at Tranquebar on 30 July 1750 and worked until his death

in 1798.22 After his death the Danish Mission began to decline. The

missionary spirit also sank in Germany and Denmark. At the same time

there was an upsurge in the missionary zeal in England. So Caemmerer, the

last of the Tranquebar missionaries, in 1820 handed over the entire mission

to the Anglican missionaries. 23 With the Danish Mission, the mother of all

other missions, shrinking in spirit and stature 24 the first Protestant mission of

India was paralysed. At the same time another mission namely the Leipzig

Evangelical Lutheran Mission came forward to take care of the Lutheran

heritage in India.

Leipzig Evangelical Lutheran Mission

The decline of the Danish Halle Mission discouraged the

Lutherans in India. But the Leipzig Missionary Society came forward to

counter the effects of rationalism. 25 Founded in Germany on 17 August

1836, its missionaries who came to India re-established the Lutheran faith in

the country. 26 The Danish Halle Mission Board sent I.C.H. Cordes to India


22. D. Julius Richter, History of Missions in India, London, 1908, p.116.

23. C.H. Swavelypp.cit., p.13.

24. E. Arno Lehman, It began at Tranguebar, Madras, 1956, pp. 171-176.

25. C.H. Swavely, 9p.cit., p.15.

26. H.M. Zorn, Qp.cit., p.7.

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on 27'h December 1 840 to study the situation in India. 27 As a result, the

Danish crown entrusted all its mission properties to Leipzig Evangelical

India Mission on 7 March 1 847.28 The Leipzig Evangelical Lutheran

Mission endeavoured hard to re-establish the Lutheran undertakings in South

India.

Formation of the Missouri Evangelical Lutheran India Mission

(MELIM)

The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and some

other states was organised in Chicago in 1847. From the very beginning the

Missouri Synod was mission minded .29 The Missouri in the later days made

a decision to get foreign mission fields. Towards that end they formed a

mission Board in 1893 and made arrangements to start work in Japan. 30 In

the meantime something that happened in India caused the Missouri Synod

to choose India instead of Japan for its first foreign mission field.31

Ideological differences began to crop up among the Leipzig missionaries

who had been working in South India. 32 Their ideological quarrels paved the


28. E. Arno Lechmann, Qp.cit., p.185.


30. Proceedings of the Missouri Synod, 1893, pp.82-86.

31. C.H. Swavely, gpxit., p.185.

32. Ibid., p.185.

126

way for the formation of the Missouri Evangelical Lutheran India Mission

(MELIM). 33 It began to work from South India in 1894.

Missouri Mission in South Travancore

The Missouri Mission started at Chicago in 1847 got a chance

to start its work in South Travancore in 1907. Most of the beneficiaries of

this Mission were from the Sambavar community. Even though in South

Travancore the LMS missionaries started their work among Sambavars, over

the years, most of its converts began to be from the Nadar Caste. 36 The

Nadar domination in the LMS denomination created dissatisfaction among

the Sambavars. 37 G. Jesudhasan who had risen in Government service to the

position of secretary to British Resident worked for the development of the

Sambavars. The existence of caste within the Mission went against its very

grain. The lack of integration and the feelings of neglect within the church

led many Parayas and Pulayas to join new Christian miss ions.38

Nagercoil contained more than 30,000 Sambavars. Only a few

of them were Christians. A group of Sambavar Christians who came out of

33. Ibid.

34. Ibid.

35. Ibid., p.186.

36. B. Sobhanam, pp.cit., p.162.

37. D. Christudhas, Impact of Lutheran Mission Among Sambavars in SouthTravancore (1907-1956) (Unpublished M.Phil. Dissertation), Kottayam, 2001,p.43.

38. J.W. Gladstone, Protestant Christianity and Peoples Movements in Kerala 1850-1956, Trivandrum, 1984, p.138.

127

the LMS remained independent at Vadasery near Nagercoil without any

church. 39 One of the prominent members of this group was Gnanamuthu

Jesudhasan4° ( 1872-1952). He longed for another Mission to preach the

Gospel to them. To that effect first he appealed to the Baptist Mission. In

reply he was told that this Mission was working only in Telugu and that they

would not care to undertake a new language.41

Then Jesudhason approached a Salvation Army Captain,

stationed at Trivandrum. However, his teachings did not satisfy

Jesudhason. 42 So he approached the Lutherans at Ambur who were

considered to be the true teachers of the scriptures. 43 The Lutherans accepted

his request and agreed to work among the Sambavars in South Travancore.

Accordingly in 1907, two missionaries, A. Huebener and A. Naumann were

sent to Nagercoil to make on the spot investigations. They were expected to

39. H.M. Zorn, p.cit., p.17.

40. G. Jesudhasan was born on II June 1872 at Kanty in Sri Lanka. His parentsbelonged to Nanchil Nadu. His father was Samuel Gnanamuthu and motherSara. She belonged to Maharajan Vethamanickam family. Jesudhasan wasbaptised on 10 November 1872 at the CMS Chruch Kanty by Rev. WilliamClerk. In 1893 he passed the Matriculation Examination and continued hisstudies in the Scott Christian College, Nagercoil. In 1896 he was appointed asoffice clerk in the British Resident office at Trivandrum. He worked for theSalvation of the outcaste in Nanchil Nadu. He resigned his Private Secretarypost from the Travancore Government and joined MELIM mission of Rev.Huebener, Nau and Gutknecht. He was responsible for the formation ofMELIM in South Travancore. He was ordained in 1921 and became the firstordained MELIM Pastor in India. He worked 25 years at Ganesapuram. He wascalled second Vethamonickam in Tamil Nadu. He died in 1955. (Interviewwith S. Manoharan, Grandson of G. Yesudhason, Nagercoil, dated 09.10.2003).

41. C. H. Swavely, Qp.cit., p.186.

42. Ibid., p.187.

43. Ibid.

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visit the Vadasery congregation that had remained independent for more than

ten years. 44 In one of letters Jesudhason says that the Home Board of the

MELIM accepted Vadasery as the centre for doing Evangelical work among

the heathen panchamas of South Travancore. Then Huebener moved to

Nagercoil to take up work among the Vadasery congregation.45

At Nagercoil A. Huebener only got a lukewarm welcome from

the LMS missionaries of the place. Huebener's first colleague Theodore

Gutknecht (1883-1960) came to Nagercoil in 1907 for language study. 46 G.

Huebener (1878-1957) the younger brother of A. Huebener also joined

Gutknecht. 47 In 1910 F.R. Zucker (1883-1968) joined the southern field.

Thus the strength of the Southern District MELIM missionaries rose to four

in 1911.48 The southern district spread around the city of Nagercoil with a

radius of twelve miles extending up to Cape Comorin. Up to 1916, all the

missionaries who had been working in the Tamil area of South Travancore

were stationed at Nagercoil and travelled in various directions for their

work.49

In those days two Lutheran Congregations were formed in

Nagercoil: one at Vadasery and another at Ganesapuram

44. C.H. Swavely, Qp.cit., p. 187.

45. Seminary Board Letters, 1909-1917, p.1.

46. Missouri Synod, Proceedings, 1908, p.105.

47. Ibid., 1911, p.127.

48. Ibid.

49. H.M. Zorn, Qp.cit., pp.77-78.

The Nagercoil

129

Congregation was started on 28 July 1924 and grew around the missionary

residence. 50 Henry Nau who moved to Trivandrum in 1911 to work in the

Malayalam speaking area was joined by J.L. Harms in 1912 and Ehlers in

1913. To fill the vacancy left by the evangelical missionary Henry Nau at

Nagercoil, A.J. Lutz (1889-1948) joined the staff of Nagercoil in 1912.' In

the meantime the native evangelist Nathanial handed over the Vadasery

Congregation to A. Huebener.

The Missouri Synod was formed when Naether52 started his

work in Krishnagiri in 1895. Following that its churches in India were

formally organised as the Indian Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC) on 10

January 1958. This organisation of the IELC was recognised in 1959 by a

resolution of the Lutheran-Mission Synod at San Francisco. The Second

World War posed a threat to the missionaries of the three mission fields of

Ambur, Nagercoil and Trivandrum. Hence a delegate's meeting was

convened with representatives from all the Congregations of the Mission.

This meeting had only advisory powers and the missionary conference had to

take the final decisions. Later, the missionary conference became an

50. Report of B. Yesu Retnamony, President, Calvary Lutheran Church IELC,Nagercoil, 1999, p.1.

51. Missouri Synod Proceedings, 1914, p.103.

52. K.G.T. Naether was a Leipzig missionary and came to India in 1885 anddismissed from the Leipzig mission service on January 1894. He returned toGermany and came back to India in December 1894 as a Missouri Missionaryand made Krishnagiri the centre of his evangelical work. (C.H. wavely, W. gLit.,p.185).

53. H.M. Zorn, p.cit., p.52.

III1

advisory body and the delegates meeting enjoyed the powers to take the final

decision. 54

The delegates prepared a constitution for a District synod. The

conference agreed to give authority in district matters to this synod. Based

on this the Ambur District Synod was formed in October 1949 with M.

Philip as president. 55 The Trivandrum District Synod and the Nagercoil

District Synod were formed in October 1956. Side by side the constitution

of the Indian Evangelical Lutheran Church was also drawn up. It was

ratified by the constituent convention held at Nagercoil on 8 September

1958.56 The missionaries became members of the IELC. The IELC was

entrusted with the responsibility of the formation and promotion of the

churches. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod dealt with the IELC

directly. 57 The Nagercoil Synod covered the areas extending from

Kaliyakkavilai to Trichy including the hill station of Peerimedu in Kerala.

This Synod is divided into five circles, viz, Nagercoil, Thovalai, Tirunelveli,

Colachel and Madurai. The Nagercoil circle is again divided into pastorates

and churches. The following churches come under Nagercoil circle.

- Saral vilai

- Calvary / Nagercoil

54. Ibid., p.53.

55. H.M. Zorn, p.cit., p.53.

56. Ibid., p.54.

57. Ibid.

- Ganesapuram / Ottuvalmadam

- Vadaseri

- Osaravilai

- Kattuputhur

- Parvathipuram

- Manakavjlaj

- Senapalli

- Villukuri

The Nagercoil circle covered the areas extending up to

Villukuri on the west, Vadaseri on the east, Saralvilai on the south and

Osaravilai on the north.

IELC Vadasery Church

Vadasery is the name of a revenue village as well as that of a

place in Nagercoil. The place Vadasery also serves as the headquarters of

the Vadasery village. This place is situated half a kilometre north of

Nagercoil Clock Tower Junction. Vadasery being a part of Nagercoil had

both the LMS and the Salvation Army congregations in it. 58 It had a diverse

castes and religions. Inequalities of all kinds were prevalent in the village in

those days. 59 The LMS that began its work among the people of the

Sambavar community, became a Nadar dominated church within a short

period. Hence the poor Sambavars felt neglected .60 Again in some of the

58. C.H. Swavely, pp.cit., p.187.

59. Ibid.

60. J. W. Gladston, 2p.cit., p.137.

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132

LMS churches entry was denied to them and in most others they were

huddled in a most remote corner. 61 The establishment of British supremacy

over Travancore enabled the Nadars to get some benefits through the

influence of the Resident. 62 But the benefits enjoyed by the Christian Nadars

were denied to the most depressed sections like the Sambavars and

Pulayars.63

The Nadar dominated LMS of Vadasery refused to work

among the Pariahs of the place. 64 As the latter felt that the Nadar Christians

were denying them their due place in the Church they felt humiliated. The

existence of caste divisions inside the LMS Church shattered their hopes.

The lukewarm welcome they received in the L.M.S. Church made many of

them to join other Christian missions. 65 But they were not totally helpless.

G. Joshua 66 assisted by A. Lazarus 67 worked hard for the welfare of this

61. One Hundred and Second Report, LMS, 1897, p.144.

62. Samuel Mateer, Native Life in Travancore, p.291.

63. H.M. Zorn, Qp.cit., p.17.


65. J. W. Gladston, p.cit., p.138.

66. Joshua: Joshua was the elder brother of G. Jesudhasan. He was a graduate andworked twenty years in the Diwans office of Travancore. Then he became thesecretary to the Government of Travancore. He worked for the development ofSambavar Community and became the President of the Sambavar MahajanSangam. He died in 1926. (Interview with S. Manoharan, Grandson of G.Yesudhason, Nagercoil, dated 09.10.2003).

67. Lazarus: Lazarus was a Sambavar converted Christian and a close friend ofJoshua. He belonged to Kalunkadi (Vadasery). He became the Secretary of theSambavar Mahajan Sangam. He was the founder of the independent church atVadasery.

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community in Nagercoil. The efforts of these leaders led to the formation of

a Lutheran Church at Vadasery. It happened under a special circumstance.

Packianathan Deacon founded the Vadasery LMS church. He

came from Tanjore along with Vethamanickam and settled first at Mylody

and later at Vadasery with his daughter Annapackiam. 68 Though he was a

Deacon of the Vadasery church, the Nadars of the place who dominated the

Church denied equality to him. This hurt the feelings of Packianathan and

the other members of his community. This was followed by a conflict

between the Sambavar leader Lazarus and the authorities of the LMS. As a

result of this conflict Lazarus, his family members and some of his close

relatives left the LMS church and started an independent rival church.69

Nathaniel 7° a dissident and the nephew of Packianathan left the LMS church

to become the worker of the rival Church. Later he was sent to

Palayamkottai for theological studies and appointed as the pastor of the new

Church. This independent church under the pastoral care of Lazarus was

desirous of getting affiliation to any Protestant organisation other than the

LMS and the Salvation Army. In this regard the role of G. Jesudhasan was

remarkable.

68. Interview with Mrs. Annapackiam of Vadasery dated 20.07.2002.

69. Interview with Mr. Paulmoney of Vadasery, Rtd. Librarian, ConcordiaSeminary, Nagercoil, dated 20.07.2002.

70. Nathaniel: Nathaniel was the former Deacon of LMS Church Vadasery. Laterhe became the worker of the Independent Church. He was the brother-in-law ofPackianathan the founder of the LMS Church was his uncle.

Role of G. Jesudhasan

G. Jesudhason was one of the prominent members of the

independent church at Vadasery. He had more concern for the uplift of the

Sambavars. He longed for another denomination to preach the gospel to the

poor outcastes. His appeal was accepted by MELIM at Ambur which sent A.

Huebener to Vadasery at Nagercoil. Huebener met Gutknect and began work

in Vadasery. 7 ' Thus the Vadasery Independent Congregation became the

foundation for the MELIM's work at Travancore. The first Lutheran Church

was established at Vadasery and the first service was held on 22.11.1907.

The Church was registered as Missouri Lutheran India Mission.72

Jesudhasan and his friends gave full support to the two

missionaries. Gutknect was required to devote his time to study Tamil, the

language used in South Travancore. 73 The members of the Vadasery

Congregation met under the shade of a tree. The congregation felt the need

for a building. In 1907 Jesudhasan presented a piece of land to construct a

Church. 74 In that land the first Lutheran church was established. Realising

the feelings of the people, Huebener decided to settle at Vadasery with

family. So he left for Ambur on 3 February 1908 to bring his wife and

71. Rev. A. Huebener, "Initial History of MELIM in Nagercoil", Sathiya Sachi,Nagercoil, December 1932, p.166.

72. Rev. L.A. Raj, "History of Christu Lutheran Church, Vadasery", 94th yearService Souvenir, Vadasery Christu Lutheran Church, Nagercoil, 2001, p.32.


74. Minutes of the 14th Nagercoil District Conference (Therein hereafter referred asN.D.C) 10 October 1928, p.20.

134

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children to Nagercoil for permanent settlement. 75 The independent church

pastor Nathaniel handed over the Church to Rev. Heubener. 76 Presently he

realised that many people of this congregation were ready for baptism.

Baptism Service

Huebener conducted the first baptism service at the Vadasery

Church on 27.02.1908 with Paramayee as the first member to be baptised.77

He also conducted the Easter Service in 1908 at the Vadasery Church and in

that service 37 members received baptism at his hand.78

Confirmation Service

The first confirmation service was held on 27 February 1910.

In that service Samathanam, son of Nathaniel of Vadasery was given

confirmation at the age of thirteen. Like the baptism and confirmation

services marriages were also solemnized in the church.

Marriages

The date of the first marriage held in the church is unknown

due to paucity of records. The marriage between Sathrack son of

Lekshmanan of Tittuvilai with Marthal daughter of Esack of Vadasery was

the second marriage solemnized in the Church. This marriage was conducted

75. Rev. A. Huebener, "Initial History of MELIM in Nagercoil", Sathia Sachi,Nagercoil, December 1932, p.167.

76. Ibid.

77. Baptism Register of the Christ Lutheran Church, Vadasery, p.102.

78. Ibid., pp.] 03-105.

79. Confirmation Register of the Christu Lutheran Church, Vadasery, S.No.1, p.252.

136

by G. Jesudhasan on 11 June 1909.80 In short the Vadasery church began to

grow with all the usual activities. Huebener's next plan was to start a

catechist class.

Catechist Class

Huebener conducted a catechist class in the church by

collecting nine members from the Vadasery church and three from other

churches. This class of twelve students was divided into three and taught by

Rev. Huebener, G. Jesudhasan and John. 81 Due to the lack of buildings

classes were conducted on the varandhas of the missionary houses. 82 Thus

the growth of the congregation went on at a steady pace and the extension of

the church building became imperative.

Extension work of the Church

The Congregation grew day by day. The old church built by

the people appeared too small. So Huebener decided to extend the church

with the addition of a wing. 83 Jesudhasan, having been highly impressed

with the growth of the church resigned his government job to assist Rev.

Huebener on a full time basis as a teacher and Catechist. 84 The hard work of

Huebener for the development of the church made him ill. Hence he left for

80. Marriage Register of the Christu Lutheran Church, Vadasery, S.No.2, p.352.

81. John: He belonged to Vadasery. He was the first catechist of the Vadaserychurch under Rev. A. Huebener.


83. Rev. L.A. Raj, "History of Christu Lutheran Church Vadasery", 94 th yearService Souvenir, Christ Lutheran Church Vadasery, Nagercoil, 2001, p.33.

84. H.M. Zorn, pp.cit., p18.

137

his homeland to take rest in 1909 after entrusting the Vadasery Church in the

hands of G. Heubener, the missionary and came back in 1910.

On his return Huebener strengthened the work with the able

assistance of Mr. John and Mr. Swamidhason. 85 In 1910 the church was

extended with the purchase of 7 cents of land. 86 The present church was

built after Rev. Huebener's furlough and dedicated on 5.2.1914.87 Now this

church has 85 families as members and also has two branches at Puliyadi and

Putheri kumarapuram. 88 It celebrated its ninety fourth anniversary on 25

November 2001. Following the work pattern of the other two Protestant

churches of this region the church started bestowing attention upon the

teaching ministry to accelerate the preaching ministry. The result was the

formation of a primary school in the church premises at Vadaseiy.

Ganesapuram Church

Origin of the Church

Ganesapuram is a small village located near the then

Government Headquarters Hospital, Nagercoil. 89 The village used to be

known as Madathucheri. 90 Madathucheri was located near Ootuvalmadam

85. Swamidhason: He belonged to Vadasery. He was a Catechist.

86. Seminary Board letter, 3 December 1937, p.4.

87. "Christ Lutheran Church", 94th Year Service Souvenir, Vadasery, 2001, p.35..88. T. Yesudhas, "94 Years Vadasery Christ Lutheran Church", Souvenir, Christ

Lutheran Church, Vadasery, 2001, p.44.

89. The then Government Headquarters Hospital was situated near St. XavierChurch, Kottar.

90. G. Jesudhasan, "Bethel Lutheran Church" (Manuscript) Ganesapuram, 1941,p.1.

138

east of Kottar railway station. The place is 1 '/2 km away from the Nagercoil

centre. The region of Ootuvalmadam situated on the western bank of the

river Palayar was called Tidal. 9 ' This place was inhabited mostly by

Sambavars. It is said that the owner of the Tidal, Madathy was a childless

widow. She willed this Tidal to the village Temple of the Chettiar

Community of Kottar. 92 Hence this Tidal came to be called Madathicheri

after the name of the donor Madathy. In the midst of opposition, Nathaniel

the founder of the independent church at Vadasery met the village people

before 1907 and preached the gospel to them. Those who accepted the

gospel could not remain there because of the persecution of the caste people.

Hence they migrated to Ganesapuram.

Migration to Ganesapuram

The land of the Madathicheri village belonged to the

Sudalaimadan Temple Trust of Vadeveeswaram. The number of Christian

families increased in the place of Madathicheri. This was disliked by the

high caste Hindus and they started ill-treating the Christian Sambavars.

Hence the repressed decided to migrate to other places. 93 For this they

decided to purchase the convent area between Nagercoil and Kottar and gave

91. Ibid.

92. Fifty Years Report of Bethel Lutheran Church, Ganesapuram, 1917-1967,Ganesapuram, 1967, p.1.

93. Ibid., 1967, p.2.

earnest money to Ramakrishnan, the owner of the land. 94 Later they gave up

this proposal as per the advice of a Soothsayer who told than that the land

was unfit for human habitation. 95 They did not even want to claim the

earnest money that they had given to the owner of the land. Later the Roman

Catholics purchased the same land and built a girls high school and a

convent. 96 Today this area enjoys eminence with a top ranking higher

secondary school of the Kanyakumari district, a shopping complex and the

multifarious activities of the Catholic Church.

Next, the Madathicheri people made up their mind to purchase

the Ganesapuram area adjacent to the Convent. Once it was a jungle with no

human habitation. The Christian Sambavar of Madathicheri purchased 2

acres of land and divided it into 42 shares. 97 At first, Kayamadan and

Swamy came to settle down there with their families. 98 The others followed

them one by one.

Early period: 1917-1920

In 1917 I. Swamidhasan of Vadasery came to Ganesapuram

and started evangelical work. He was the founder as well as the first worker

94. Interview with Mr. S. Swaminathan, First Convert of the Ganesapuram Church,Vellamadam, dated 4.3.2002.

95. G. Jesudhasan, p.cit., p.1.

96. Ibid.

97. Ibid., p.2.


of the Ganesapuram Church. 99 The efforts of the Roman Catholic Church

and the Salvation Army to influence the settlers to embrace their faiths did

not have the desired effect. The Lutherans, on the other hand, strengthened

their work through the combined efforts of the missionary A.J. Lutz (1912-

1946), the people and the catechist.'°° They constructed a thatched shed on

the north-eastern part of the village. 10 ' This marked the beginning of the

Bethel Lutheran Church of Ganesapuram.

Most of the Church members were the one time pupils of the

Christian day school at Ootuvalmadam. Hence they had the desire to

establish a school in their new settlement. In view of this, first they

conducted night schools and Sunday services. The first marriage solemnised

in the new church was the marriage of Poornam and Solomon. It was held

on 29.03.1917. This service was conducted by I. Swamidhasan.'° 2 The

Congregation grew day by day and the existing church appeared insufficient.

Hence, through the arduous efforts of A.J. Lutz a new plot of land was

purchased in which the church we see today was constructed. 103 In the new

99. Ibid.

100. L.W. Meinzen, A Church in Mission Identity and Purpose in India,Vaniyampadi, 1981, Appendix-H., p.247.


102. Marriage Register of Bethel Lutheran Church, Ganesapuram, p.1.

103. Inscription on the front wall of the Bethel Lutheran Church, Ganesapuram.

141

church on 6.7.1919 Rev. A.J. Lutz gave baptism to seven children. 104

Following this, on 22 December 1920 twenty members (14 adults and 6

children) received baptism at the hands of Rev. A.J. Lutz. 105 Similarly Lutz

conducted the first Communion Service on 17.09.1922 in which six members

received the holy communion. Samuel was the first among them. 106

Period of Development 1921-1966

Rev. G. Jesudhasan took charge of the Ganesapuram church in

March 1923 and continued up to July 1947.'° During his period the

Congregation could see some spiritual and material development. The

Church was built on a hillock with no proper path or steps to reach it.

Knowing this difficulty Jesudhasan constructed 18 steps leading to the

church. Now we can see these steps at the North eastern side of the welfare

company. Then he put up a road in front of the church to get access to the

main road. He felt the need for a common burial ground for the

Congregation. He encouraged the Congregation to purchase a plot of land

for common burial. Hence a ground very near to the S.T. Hindu College 108

104. Baptism Register, Bethel Lutheran Church, Ganesapuram, p.1. Members: S.Swamidhas, S. Abraham, Abraham, Selestiayee, Paul Raj, V. Packiam andPonnammai.

105.Ibid., S.No. 8-27, pp. 1-2.

106.Family Register, Bethel Lutheran Church, Ganesapuram, p.1.

107.Inscription on the front wall of the Bethel Lutheran Church, Ganesapuram.

108. S.T. Hindu College: It is located 2 km. South of Nagercoil. This college wasregistered on 9.1 .1952 under Travancore Company Act. The land of thecollege was donated by the Nainar Desiya Vinayagar Devasthanam Board ofKottar Chetty Street and Vaithianathan and his Brothers. The TravancoreUniversity gave permission to start the college on 14.03.1952. Since 1990 ithas been functioning under the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University(Dinamalar, Nagercoil, dated 9.9.2002, p.1 2).

142

was purchased. The arduous efforts of the church worker ensured the

smooth functioning of the church with all the usual activities like Sunday

School and house visit. He retired from service in 1947.

The vacancy left by the Rev. G. Jesudhasan was filled by the

pastor Rev. R.H. Brauer (1947-1948) of the Concordia Seminary. 109 During

his period J. ManuelUO served as catechist. The missionary Rev. M.L.

Kretzman took charge of the Church in 1948 and continued till 1953. During

his period the altar and Baptism spot were constructed. When J. Manuel

went on deputation for L.Th study Mr. Sundaram III acted as catechist. Rev.

Philipdhas came here to work from 1953 to 1955. Soon after he received a

call from the Colombo church to work there. Hence he left for Colombo in

1955. Rev. A. Graf continued for one year (1955-1956). Mr. K. P.

Perinbanayagam 112 served as catechist during his period.

After completing L.Th. Rev. J. Manuel came back to

Ganesapuram as Pastor on 23.09.1956 and continued here till his retirement

109. Fifty years Report of Bethel Lutheran Church, Ganesapuram 1917-1967,Ganesapuram, 1967, p.3.

110. Manuel was the first Baptised member of the Vadasery Church. He belongedto Vadasery. He studied up to 7th standard in the Concordia High School andcontinued T.T.0 in the Concordia Training School, Nagercoil. First he servedas a catechist at Marukalthalai. Then he served as assistant Boarding master inthe Boys Boarding School Nagercoil. He served as catechist at Ganesapuramfrom 1947-1948. Then he attended L.Th. in the Concordia Seminary. He wasordaind at Saralvilai and continued as Pastor there. From Saralvilai he came toGanesapuram in 1956 and continued there till his retirement in 1961 (Interviewwith Mrs. Grace Bai James Church Campus Lutheran Calvary Church, dated7.9.2002).

Ill. Sundaram belonged to Thovalai. He was a teacher catechist.

112. K.P. Perinbanayagam belonged to Ootuvalmadam. He was a teacher catechistworked in the Nagercoil Lower Primary School.

143

in 1967." In 1959 Mrs. T. Milly Paramanantham was appointed as Bible

woman. Her work created some awareness among the Hindus. But she was

sent to work among the Muslims at Yervadi on 28.06.1961.114 Ganesapuram

Church is known as a centre of social awareness. On 2.04.1961 the then

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Kamaraj delivered a speech on social

awareness. As a part of social work a mosquito eradication programme was

undertaken on 2.7.1962." The Pastor of this church often visited the

patients of Nagercoil Government Headquarters hospital. Thus hospital visit

became one of the regular activities of the church.' 16 The professors of

Concordia Seminary often attended the church with their family members.

The seminary students also conducted church services. Now this village is

surrounded by Salvationists, Catholics and Hindus. In the midst of them the

Church is functioning as a symbol of peace, social harmony and religious

unity.

Kalvary Lutheran Church

The American Missouri Synod missionaries like Rev.

Huebener, and Nauman started the mission work in Nanchil Nadu in

113. Fifty years Report of Bethel Lutheran Church, Ganesapuram, 1917-1967,Ganesapuram, 1967, p.5.

114. Ibid., p.6.

115. Interview with Mr. Alfred, Church Secretary, Bethel Lutheran Church,Ganesapuram, 10.03.2002.

116. Fifty Years Report of Bethel Lutheran Church, Ganesapuram, 1967, p.7.

144

November 1907 with the help and co-operation of G. Jesudhasan." 7 For the

use of missionaries mission houses were built at Nagercoil in 1910.118

Schools and separate Boardings for boys and girls were also started. Since

1923 Lutheran Christians of Nagercoil, missionaries and the Boarders have

attended Sunday morning services in the Vadasery church. On the same day

the evening service was held at the Girls Boarding School, Nagercoil.119

Under Gutknecht, all the missionary families, the inmates of the boarding

schools and the students of the seminary joined together and worshipped on

28.07.1924 in the Girls Boarding School, Nagercoil in the name of Nagercoil

20

The service was conducted by Rev. Gutknecht. He continued

the church activities till his furlough in 1928. Following his furlough

missionaries like Lutz, Rev. R.W. Goers, Rev. W.W. Gnuse, Rev. R.H.

Brauer, Rev. William Landgref and Rev. H.E. Miller held charge of the

church and conducted worship servicess. 12 1 During the period of A.J. Lutz

117. Report of the Kalvary Lutheran Church Nagercoil by B. Yesu Retnamony,President, Nagercoil, 1999, p.1.

118. Ibid.

119. Interview with Rev. G. Rajendran, Pastor, Kalvary Lutheran Church, Nagercoildated 17.01.2003.

120. Report of the Kalvary Lutheran Church, Nagercoil by Yesu Retnamony,President, Nagercoil, 1999, pp. 1-2.

121. Fifty years Report of the Kalvary Lutheran Chuch Nagercoil (1924-1974)Nagercoil, 1974, p.1.

145

(1912-1946) Rev. M. Swaminathan' 22 served as an evangelist and Rev. A.D.

James 123 was the catechist. 124 In due course the number of worshippers

increased. So the Nagercoil girls Boarding school appeared inadequate to

accommodate all the worshippers. In 1932 the Concordia Seminary College

building work was completed. Hence the place of worship was shifted from

the Girls Boarding School to the seminary library. 125 When a chapel was

built later the worship was conducted in the chapel. 126

In 1935, 7 families consisting of 36 members 127 from

Singlairpuri near Puthalam left the LMS Church and settled near the

Seminary. It is said that there were two reasons for this development - one

the education of their children and another their expulsion from the LMS. At

first they found convenient to attend the Ramanputhoor LMS Church.

122. Rev. M. Swaminathan: He was a native of Chempagaramanputhur. He studiedin the Concordia Tamil Medium School, Nagercoil up to 7th Standard. Hecompleted one year catechist course. Then he completed L.Th. and helped A.J.Lutz in the Kalvary Lutheran church. He was transferred to Samathanapuramwhere he was ordained.

123. Rev. A.D. James: Native of Tanjore. He came to Nagercoil for taking catechisttraining. He worked as an assistant to A.J. Lutz in the Kalvary LutheranChurch Nagercoil. He completed L.Th. and ordained in theVazhuthaampallam church.

124. Fifty years Report of the Kalvary Lutheran Church, Nagercoil (1924-1974)Nagercoil, 1974, p.1.

125. Ibid.

126. Report of the Kalvary Lutheran Church Nagercoil by Yesu Retnamony,President, Nagercoil, 1999, p.2.

127. Mr. Samuel family 5 members, Mr. Vethamanickam family 5 members, Mr.Pethavadian family 7 members, Mr. Josua family 6 members, Mr. Jesuvadianfamily 5 members, Mr. Peter family 4 members and Thiraviyam family 4members. (Interview with Mr. P. Abraham Rtd. Headmaster Lutheran PrimarySchool, Nagercoil dated 7.9.2002).

146

Rev. A.. Lutz promised to give jobs to Asirvatham 128 and

Arumainayagam.' 29 On the strength of this promise they joined the Lutheran

Church. 130 Thus Asirvatham became a Lutheran Christian and a member of

the Nagercoil Kalvary Lutheran Church.

Lutz continued up to 1946 as Pastor of the Church. After him

H.E. Miller took charge of the church and continued till 1953. During his

period effort were taken to construct a new church. The missionaries wanted

to hand over the church to an Indian Pastor. So a call was given to Rev. M.

Philip. ' 3 ' He accepted the call and took over charge on 17 May 1952 from

Rev. H.E. Miller. 132 Rev. M. Philip was the first Indian Pastor of the Church.

He worked hard for the growth of the church. During his period the church

128. Asirvatham was the son of Samuel who came from Singlairpuri. He completedSSLC at Sethu Lekshmi Bai School at Nagercoil. He got TTC Training atKottayam. He worked as a teacher at Kattukadai and Catechist atAnanchicode. Then he studied Pastor's class at Concordia SeminaryNagercoil. He was first appointed at Ouvari Pastorate. (Ouvari, Kundal andKaraikoil). At Kundal he was ordained. Then he was appointed to Pootety andValliyoor where he retired. (Interview with P. Abraham, Rtd. Headmaster,Lutheran Primary School, Nagercoil dated 07.09.2002).

129. Arumainayagam son of Vethamanickam also came from Singlairpuri. Hecompleted SSLC at Sethu Lekshmi Bai School Nagercoil. He got TTCTraining at Kottar. He was appointed at Kattukadai as a teacher. He gotCatechist Training at Concordia Seminary.

130. Interview with Mr. P. Abraham Rtd. Headmaster, Lutheran Primary School,Nagercoil, dated 7.9.2002.

131. Rev. M. Philip: He belonged to Thovalai in Nanchil Nadu. He was one of theseven students of the first batch of the Concordia Seminary. He worked as aPastor in the Ambur Synod. He took over charge of the Kalvary Church on 17May 1952.


147

became an independent church on 1 February 1954.133 He also worked as a

Professor in the Concordia Seminary with the permission of the Church. 134

He was also the first Indian Professor of the Concordia Seminary. He

worked in co-operation with the Congregation. The members of the Church

increased day by day and the Seminary Chapel was became too cramped. A

separate church was required. The missionaries and the Nagercoil district

decided to construct a big church in anticipation of future needs. 135

New Church

The need for a new church was felt by the Congregation

because the Seminary Chapel was not enough to accommodate the gathering.

So the foundation stone for the new church was laid by H.E. Miller in 1952,

the Principal of the Concordia Seminary and the Pastor of the Church. 136 In

1953 Rev. M.L. Kretzman started the foundation work in the presence of a

large gathering of believers. 137 The new Pastor Rev. M. Philip worked hard

for the construction of the new church. He formed a committee consisting of

members like Dr. C. Rittman, Rev. Herbert M. Zorn, Rev. A.J. Lutz, Rev. M.

Philip, Rev. B.H. Jackyya, Mr. T. Williams and Mr. L. Lazar with

133. Ibid.

134. P. Babu Manoharan, "History of Kalvary Lutheran Church Nagercoil" KalvaryLutheran Church Platinum Jubilee 1924-1999, Nagercoil, 1999, p.56.


136. Inscription on the wall of the Calvary Lutheran Church, Nagercoil.

137. Fifty years Report of the Lutheran Kalvary Church (1924-1974) Nagercoil,1974, p.2.

148

Dr. C. Rittman as the convener of the Committee. 138 Rs.2.5 lakhs was spent

to complete the work. Rev. B.H. Jackyya, the Principal of the Concordia

Seminary and Treasurer of the Indian Evangelical Lutheran Church helped

complete the work with funds from abroad. 139 In the meantime Rev. P.

Philip retired from service on 3.7.1966. Then Rev. L. Lazer took over the

charge of the church and continued up to 29.01.1978.140 During his time the

construction work was completed. This church was dedicated on an Easter

day of 11 April 197l.''

Work of the Church

The main aim of the Church is to extend its work to the

unreached areas. In view of this the church people proposed to start a new

mission field at Parvathipuram. 142 The Church Committee accepted the

proposal and Mr. Subiah' 43 donated the site to start the mission work at

Parvathipuram. The first service was conducted on 2 May 1976 at 5.30 p.m.

under the supervision of Rev. L. Lazar the Pastor of the Kalvary Lutheran

138. Minutes of the General Body Meeting of the Calvary Lutheran ChurchNagercoil, dated 14.03.1964.

139. Fifty years Report of the Lutheran Kalvary Church (1924-1974) Nagercoil,1974, p.2.

140. B.J.R. Monie, "Kalvary Lutheran Church", Kalvary Lutheran Church PlatinumJubilee 1924-1999, Nagercoil, 1999, p.125.

141. Fifty years Report Kalvary Lutheran Church (1924-1974) Nagercoil, p.2.

142. Special minute for Parvathipuram Mission Field, Kalvary Lutheran Church,Nagercoil, dated 13.10.1974.

143. Subiah, belongs to Parvathipuram. He was one of the Deacons of the KalvaryLutheran Church, Nagercoil.

149

Church, Nagercoil.' 44 13 cents of land was also purchased for the expansion

of the mission. 145 In that land a shed was put up at a cost of Rs.6500/-. The

dedication service of the church was held on 1.11.1981. It was conducted by

Rev. P. Norbert the Pastor of the Kalvari Lutheran Church, Nagercoil.'46

The Churches of these four denominations in Nagercoil help

the Nagercoil Christians to worship at their vicinity. Besides these other

Churches of later origin like the Seventh Day Adventist Mission and various

Pentecostal ones are also not so rare in the place.

144. Minutes of the General Body Meeting of the Kalvary Lutheran Church,Nagercoil, dated 25.04.1976.

145. Minutes of the Deacons Meeting Calvary Lutheran Church for Parvathipurammission field, dated 4.9.1977.

146. Ibid., dated 25.10.1981.

Documents

The Indian Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC)shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/65704/12/12...CHAPTER IV THE INDIAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH (IELC) The nineteenth century