July 13, 2006

CHENNAI, India/GENEVA – Inaugurating week-long celebrations to mark the tercentenary of Lutheran ministry in India, His Excellency the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Thiru Surjit Singh Barnala, said the arrival of the first Protestant missionary no doubt "marked a remarkable change in the lives of the Tamils in that area (and) the beginning of modern education there." The opening ceremony took place in Chennai, India, at the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute on July 3.

Bartholomaus Ziegenbalg, a German Lutheran missionary sent by the Danish King Frederick IV to seek converts to Christianity, first arrived in Tranquebar (Tarangambadi in Tamil), which was then a Danish colony on India's eastern coast, 300 kilometers south of Chennai, on 9 July 1706.

Bishop Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, were among several guests who brought international greetings to the governor and to the more than 425 registered participants for the July 3*9 week of seminars and consultations exploring Ziegenbalg's impact on India and Christian mission.

"The eyes of 140 member churches in 78 nations, representing 66 million Lutherans, are now upon this city as the whole Lutheran World Federation joins you in thanking God for 300 years of Protestant ministry in India," Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), told the gathering. He praised the Lutheran churches in India for three centuries of coexistence in a society of multiple religions and classes: "You have much to teach us about what it means to be Christians in a pluralistic context. *We in other parts of the world are looking to you to be our teachers," he said.

"We are here to accompany you, to walk with you as you struggle not only with being a church of Dalit people but with being a church of Dalit people who continue to seek their full liberation and restoration to their God-given dignity and full humanity," Hanson continued.

Recalling the contributions of the German missionary, Governor Barnala said it was "fitting to celebrate the arrival of this great missionary" who was committed "to serve the poor people," and is credited with setting up the first public school for girls in the country in 1710. He noted that Ziegenbalg had translated the Bible into Tamil, had laid the foundation for a culture rich in Tamil literature, and had introduced a Tamil printing press in Tranquebar in 1712, adding that his translation of Tamil works into German had "built a literary bridge" between the two countries.

Rev. Chandran Paul Martin, LWF deputy general secretary and former executive secretary of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India (UELCI), said the Tranquebar Mission was critical for LWF member churches in Asia. "It is responsible for laying the foundation of the creative solutions in freeing the gospel of Christ in very difficult circumstances and pioneering the work for social justice," he said.

The tercentenary events were jointly organized by the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, and the UELCI, in Chennai, and the LWF-member Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church, Tiruchirapalli.

Lutheran World Information