| St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India | |
|---|---|
 St Thomas Evangelical Church Of India Emblem | |
| Abbreviation | STECI |
| Type | Eastern Protestant |
| Classification | Syrian Christian,Saint Thomas Syrian Christians |
| Scripture | Holy Bible |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Governance | Democratic |
| Presiding Bishop | Most Rev Dr Thomas Abraham |
| Prathinidhi sabha Adhyakshan | Rt Rev Dr Abraham Chacko |
| Language | Malayalam, English, Hindi, Odia, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Gujrati, Telugu, |
| Liturgy | West Syriac Rite (Reformed) |
| Headquarters | Manjadi,ThiruvallaKerala,India |
| Territory | Universal |
| Possessions | India, United States,Canada,Europe,Great Britain-London &Belfast,Middle East,Singapore |
| Origin | 26 January 1961 Thaimala, Thiruvalla |
| Independence | 1961 |
| Recognition | Independent Episcopal Church, 1961 |
| Separated from | Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church (1961) |
| Congregations | 350+ |
| Members | 100,000+ |
| Ministers | Bishops- 6, Clergy- 150+ |
| Missionaries | 400+ |
| Publications | suvisesha prakasini |
| Official website | http://steci.org/ |
| Slogan | FOR THE WORD OF GOD AND FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST (REV. 1:9) |
St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India (STECI) is an OrientalProtestant (Reformed Orthodox) episcopal denomination based inKerala,India.
The church originated from aschism in theMalankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in 1961 and forms a part of theSaint Thomas Syrian Christian community.
The headquarters of the church is atTiruvalla, Kerala.
The St. Thomas Evangelical Church is one of several groups ofSaint Thomas Christians who trace their origins toSt. Thomas the Apostle who, according to their tradition, came to India in AD 52.[1]
Until 1961, the Church's history was deeply connected to theMalankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, the firstReformed denomination of theMalankara Church (Saint Thomas Christians who trace their origins to the communities and churches founded by St. Thomas the Apostle and who later rejected Portuguese Latinization).
In the 1800s, South Indian Christians were in contact with British missionaries during the time of British colonialism. The missionaries facilitated the translation of theBible intoMalayalam in 1811; this was the firstvernacular Bible in Kerala. Further changes introduced by the influence of missionaries led to a schism among theSt. Thomas Christians.[2]
By the 1830s, some clergy in theMalankara Church, notably Abraham Malpan, were looking at reform, particularly in the area of rituals and liturgical practices. This movement led to the establishment of the Mar Thoma Evangelistic Association (MTEA) in 1888.[3] A downstream effect of these reforms was the formation of theMar Thoma Syrian Church.
The formal reform movement that led to the formation of STECI traces its roots toPalakkunnath Abraham Malpan (1796–1845), a key figure in the 19th-centuryMalankara Church who initiated significant reforms aimed at restoring biblical purity. Malpan fundamentally sought to restore the Malankara Church to its original pre-Synod of Diamper nature, purging it of what he perceived as inventions introduced throughLatinization (Roman Catholic influence introduced to theSt. Thomas Christians by the Portuguese). To this end, Malpan rejected practices he considered unbiblical, includingprayers for the dead,veneration of saints, use oficons and statues, veneration of sacraments,auricular confession, and certain other observed rituals. He promoted vernacular worship and emphasized scriptural preaching.
By the mid-20th century some members within theMar Thoma Syrian Church felt the church was gradually moving away from its original strict evangelical vision. Key areas of divergence included the church’s retention or reintroduction of Marian doctrines (namely theAssumption of Mary), use of rituals (incense and other ceremonial elements), and an emphasis on tradition. Concerned about these developments, reform-minded members sought to restore biblically grounded ideals, which they viewed as representing the original theology of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church as ushered in by Abraham Malpan.
Subsequently, in 1952 some members and clergy, responding to these theological divergences, established the Mar Thoma Pathiopadesa Samathy (St. Thomas Organisation for Sound Doctrine). In 1960, four presbyters (P John Varghese, P I Mathal, CM Vaghese and KO John) were suspended. This led to the establishment of the St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India (STECI), on January 26, 1961, with 20 ministers and 25,000 lay Christians.[4]
STECI established theJubilee Memorial Bible College in Chennai in August 1987.[5] The college trains students who come from different denominations, in addition to the candidates from the STECI, and has links to theBiblical Graduate School of Theology in Singapore andColumbia International University in the US.
STECI was formed with a three-pronged mission;
STECI believes in; theTrinity, theSecond Coming,Sola Scriptura of 66 books of the Bible, salvation by faith (not works), safeguarding sound doctrine, evangelism and sharing the news aboutJesus, royal priesthood and prayers to Jesus for the living.[7]
STECI members incorporate twosacraments into their lives; these arebaptism and the Lord’s Supper.[8]
In 2023, the Church has seven dioceses. Four of these are in Kerala; the others are "Bahya Kerala" ‘’Gulf and Singapore’’ and ‘’North America and Europe’’.[9] The dioceses cover 240 parishes.[10]
