Communion of Churches in India - Formation and History

Formation and History

Prior to 2004, the CCI was known as the Joint Council of Churches in India which constituted of the same member churches. The Joint Council of Churches was formed on July 4, 1978 after a 5 year study by a Joint Theological Commission of delegates from the member churches to explore possible areas of cooperation and unity.

In 1973, Theological Commissions from each of the three churches met to consider the matter. At the very outset, representatives of the Mar Thoma Church led by the present Metropolitan made it clear that they had no intention to enter into an organic union with the other Churches which would involve merging of the three Churches. The Mar Thoma Church wished to explore possibilities of working together especially in the field of evangelization in India and other areas of cooperation in the fulfillment of the mission of the Church.

As the Mar Thoma Church has oriental traditions which it wishes to preserve, the Church did not agree to lose its identity by merging with the other Churches. The C.S.I. and C.N.I., formed by the merging of different denominations from the Western tradition, did not have difficulty with the idea of again merging to form a new Church. Still, recognizing the need for working together and growing together in the spirit of unity - all the three Churches agreed to form a joint council of the three Churches consisting of 30 representatives from each Church including five Bishops, ten presbyters and fifteen lay members (of which five should be women).

A constitution of the joint council was drawn up and sent to the three Churches for their approval. Any decision of the Joint Council would be binding on any of the constituent Churches only when the Church's supreme legislative body accepted the decision. The three Churches considered the recommendation made by the negotiating body and accepted the constitution. Thus, the Joint Council was formed and inaugurated at Nagpur on July 4, 1978.

One of the recommendations made by the Joint Council to the Churches was the adoption of a common name for the three Churches. This question was discussed by the different Churches. The C.N.I. and Mar Thoma Church decided against having a common name. The C.S.I. suggested the name "Church of India." The Mar Thoma Church did not accept the suggestion to have a common name as a new Church did not come into existence.

The Mar Thoma Sabha Mandalam (General Meeting) which met in May 1985 however resolved to recommend to the Joint Council that the Joint Council be renamed as "The Council of Churches in Communion - C.N.I., C.S.I., M.T.C.", in order to express clearly the bond of unity realized by the communion relationship among the three Churches. The Joint Council did not accept the recommendation.

The name change to the Communion of Churches in India was declared a meeting of the delegates of the Joint Council assembled at Santhigiri, Aluva, Kerala from 7 to 10 March 2004.