COMMUNION OF CHURCHES IN INDIA

The Communion of Churches in India is the result of a deep longing on the part of the three constituent churches namely - the Church of South India (CSI), which was formed in 1947 by a merger of protestant denominations belonging to Anglican, Presbyterian, Congregational Methodist and later, Basel traditions, the Church of North India (CNI), which was formed in 1970 as a result of the merger between protestant denominations of the Anglican, Presbyterian, Congregational and Baptist traditions and the Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church (MTC) which is a reformed branch of the Syrian Christian Community in India with an oriental heritage. It was with the objective to manifest the God-given unity in Christ beyond a full communion relationship that the unity was initiated. In fact, the original name of this unity was Joint Council of CNI-CSI-MTC.

The path towards the formation of the Joint Council was opened when in 1975, the Joint Theological Commission of the three churches issued a five point declaration among which the call to constitute a Join Council was one important element. More vividly saying, the Joint Theological Commission in 1975 recommended the formation of a Joint Council consisting of Bishops, clergy and laity from the three churches, “to express our joint concern for the mission of Christ in our country today, to give concrete expression to the relationship of full communion already existing and also to continue or initiate negotiations for a wider manifestation of the unity of the church, so that the world may believe”.

The very existence of the Joint Council was a visible manifestation of the unity of the three churches. Although the Joint council had only advisory powers in relation to matters internal to the constituent churches, the council could act on its own in matters relating to common responsibility and action, so long as the decisions were acceptable to the individual churches. In fact, the council was to act as a great prompter to the three churches to move a head in unity and not to be satisfied with the present manifestations of unity. Recognizing the need for working together and growing together in the spirit of unity, all the three churches came together as a body consistituting 30 representatives from each church including 5 bishops, 10 presbyters and 15 members including 5 women.

Thus the Joint Council was formed and inaugurated at Nagpur in 1978, as the visible organ for common action by the three churches which recognize themselves as belonging to the one church of Jesus Christ in India, even while they remain as autonomous churches, each having its own identity of the traditions and organizational structures. The functions of the council were to explore possibilities of common action for the fulfillment of the mission of the church in India. To consider questions of faith, worship, order and other issues emerging out of their relationship; to undertake new programmes and projects to work together; to appoint boards, committees, regional councils etc and with specific tasks as and when needed, to respond to specific socio-political situations in the country as a whole or in communities.

Following were the measures taken as Joint Council:

1. The Celebration of the Festival of Unity: Every Year the second Sunday in November was set apart as the festival of unity on which day the local congregations were urged to celebrate the Eucharist in a rite other than one’s own. However, whether the celebration is still confined to a few select congregations or has it achieved the status of a festival at the level of the local congregations as a whole is a question to be thought about.

2. Publication of Common Book of Worship: In order to familiarize the people with the Eucharistic rites of all the three churches and to encourage the celebration of the Eucharist in rites other than one’s own, the Eucharistic liturgies of the three churches were to be published as a single volume.

3. Publication of the “Information Booklet”: An information booklet describing and introducing the Joint Council was to be published to pass on information to people at the grass root levels.

4. Formation of Regional Joint Councils: Regional joint councils were to be appointed to manifest the unity at the regional levels.

5. Joint Meetings: A series of jot meetings for youth, women and clergy were to be planned and these were in the process of being carrying out. The purpose was to increase good will among the members of the three churches, to build up joint leadership and to provide opportunities for common reflection.

6. Joint Evangelistic Mission: Preliminary plans for a joint evangelistic mission in Sikkim, one of the north eastern states of India were approved. The work was to be undertaken by the Darjeeling diocese of the church of North India with sharing of resources by the other two churches.

7. Participation in Decision – making bodies: A beginning was made for mutual participation in the decision-making bodies of the three churches. Though at that moment the participation was to be symbolic, later it was to lead to a genuine sharing of power in the years to come.

8. Widening the Horizons: The possibility for more churches like the Lutherans and Methodists to join the joint council was laid open.

It was with the intension for a new ‘Oikumene’ – the household of God, that what was begun in 1978(in Nagpur) as Joint Council, the visible organ for common action by C.S.I- C.N.I- Marthoma Church, was reformed as “The Communion of Churches in India" in 2001. This transformation from being a Council to Communion, by transcending the liturgical and traditional divisions was a paradigm swing from being a body of persons appointed or elected to act in as advisory, administrative or legalistic capacity to a concrete act of sharing or holding a common participation in faith. This communion, as a visible organ for common action which recognizes themselves as belonging to the Church of Christ in India, was expected to remain autonomous even as respecting each other. In other words, the autonomy of the member churches was granted not at the cost of mutual respect.

Basing upon BEM (Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry) document as one of the foundations for all the understanding of matters of faith and ministry, the Communion, made a huge leap with the decision to share a common lectionary. And today, we have a common liturgy, titled, “The Common Liturgy of the Eucharist for the CSI, CNI and Marthoma Churches”. These examples underline the commitment with which the member churches were participating towards the goal of recognizing themselves as belonging to the Church of Christ in India.

Moreover, down through the years, the member churches were committed to each other in being transparent, even as upholding their integrity and autonomy. In other words, there has been an absolute transparency in the process of joining in concrete acts of sharing or holding a common participation in faith. This proves that it is with transparency, integrity, commitment and respect to each other that the communion has been progressing since its formation.