| Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam | |
|---|---|
 Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam. | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Lutheran |
| Theology | Lutheran |
| Leader | Moderator The Most Rt. Rev. Marshall Kerketta |
| Region | India |
| Headquarters | Main Road Ranchi Jharkhand, India 834001 |
| Congregations | 1,895 |
| Members | 583,960+ (2013) |
TheGossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam (GELC) is a majorChristian Protestant denomination inIndia, with hundreds of thousands of members.[1] It was established on 2 November 1845.[2] The church is affiliated with theNational Council of Churches in India, theUnited Evangelical Lutheran Church in India, theLutheran World Federation, and theWorld Council of Churches.[1] It is currently led by Moderator BishopMarshall Kerketta.[3] GELC is one of the three Lutheran denominations in northeast India, alongside theBodo Evangelical Lutheran Church and theNorthern Evangelical Lutheran Church.
The Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church, headquartered inRanchi,Jharkhand (formerlyBihar), is one of the largest and most widespread Lutheran churches in India. Its origins date back to 1845 whenJohannes Evangelista Gossner fromGermany sent four missionaries to launch the Lutheran mission in India. These missionaries were:
The missionaries departed fromGermany in 1844 and arrived inKolkata (formerlyCalcutta) in 1845. Their initial destination wasMergui inMyanmar (formerlyBurma), where they planned to preach theChristian faith among theKaren people or in areas near the foothills of theHimalayas. However, after meeting some people fromRanchi, they decided to change their plans and focus onChotanagpur and its main town,Ranchi. They arrived inRanchi on 2 November 1845 and set up camp on what is now known as the 'Bethesda Ground' inRanchi.
The firstbaptism was conducted on 25 June 1846, when a girl named Martha received thesacrament. Additional children were baptized on 26 June 1846.
Adult Conversions:
Rev.Johannes Evangelista Gossner contributed ₹13,000 from his personal funds to support the missionaries in building a church inRanchi. The church was named Christ Church. It still stands today and is regularly used for worship.
During theIndian Rebellion of 1857, in July, the church faced widespread protests. The students and other Christians in the area were forced to flee and took refuge in the jungles of Dumargari, Bilsereng, located 38 km fromRanchi. To mark the place, they erected a Stone Cross, which is now known asKhristan Dera. A service is held at this site every year on 1 February.
During the rebellion, mutineers from the British Army stationed in the area fired cannonballs at the church building in Ranchi. Although the church structure suffered no significant damage, the top of the building was blown off, and one cannonball remains embedded in a wall to this day as a historical remnant.
DuringWorld War I, themissionaries were forced to return toGermany in 1915. Control of the church was subsequently handed over toRev. Foss Westcott, the thenAnglican Bishop at the time. Rev. Westcott is also known as the founder ofBishop Westcott Boys' School.
The church declared its autonomy on 10 July 1919. A body called the 'Central Church Council' was formed to oversee the church and its sub-organizations. The government established a body called the 'Mission Trust of Northern India' to govern and manage the church's property. This trust was dissolved in 1928. The trust agreed to hand over all the church's property to be managed by the 'Board of Trustees' until 1938. On 9 May 1940, the Board transferred all the property back to the church.
The church was officially registered on 30 July 1921 in the office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies, Patna, under the 'Societies Registration Act 21 of 1860' (Vide No. 273J).
The church was then headed by the President of the Church. The first president was Rt. Rev. Hanukdatto Lakra, while the first secretary was Mr. Peter Hurad. The advisory board was dissolved on 10 February 1928. Many of the German missionaries returned to India in the same year and began working under the church.
They were placed under house arrest starting in 1939, when theSecond World War began.
The rules were amended in 1948, and the entire area was divided into 15 Synods, with the congregation inRanchi selected as the headquarters. The rules were amended again in 1960, and the church was reorganized into 4 Anchals (units of districts within the church), with aSynod in Khuntitoli and theRanchi congregation serving as the headquarters. In 1970, Khuntitoli was declared the fifth diocese. A Central Advisory Board, 5 Anchals, and several other boards were also formed to assist the Central Advisory Board (K.S.S.).
The Central Advisory Board decided to amend the rules once again in 1973, with the amendments set to take effect in 1975. However, due to several reasons, the amendments were not implemented. The K.S.S. was reformed, but only by the four Anchals of the church, which was unconstitutional. As a result, the North West Anchal conducted its elections based on the 1960s constitution and formed theNorth Western Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church. Later, two priests from theNorth Western Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church joined theGossner Evangelical Lutheran Church and became part of the North West Anchal. Efforts to reach a compromise were made by theUnited Evangelical Lutheran Church in India over many years, but all of them failed.
Another effort to amend the rules was made, but it also failed. The amendments finally came into effect on 2 November 1995. According to these amendments, the church was divided into the Ranchi Headquarters Congregation and 5 dioceses:
In a meeting held from 16–18 May 2006, the central council included Jatatoli and Kinirkela Parishes from the North West Diocese, as well as Kornjo Parish from the South East Diocese, in the Central Diocese. This was formally announced on 17 January 2007.
The church is divided into five dioceses, each headed by the Moderator.Ranchi serves as the headquarters, and the Dean heads its congregation. Currently, the church has around 500,000 congregational members spread across 1,687 pastorates (congregation-wise) in the states ofJharkhand,Bihar,West Bengal,Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh,Orissa,Maharashtra,Arunachal Pradesh,Assam,Haryana,Andaman and Nicobar,Uttar Pradesh, as well as major cities such asDelhi,Kolkata,Chennai, andMumbai. The church also has a presence in the northeastern states.
The church runs the following institutions:
Its overseas mission partners areGossner Mission (Berlin,Germany) and the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Schlesische Oberlausitz (Germany).
GELC is a member church of theUnited Evangelical Lutheran Church in India.[4]
The women and youth in the church also play a vital role in conducting relief and awareness programs. Notably, their efforts worth mentioning are during theBhopal gas tragedy and thecyclone in Orissa.
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