Christianity in Maharashtra - Marathi Christians

Marathi Christians

Marathi Christians are people who reside in Ahmednagar, Pune, Aurangabad and Solapur. In Maharashtra, Christians are converts from Islam and Hinduism. Marathi Christians are a result of American Marathi Mission and SPG Mission of the Church of England. During the British time, Ahmednagar was part of Bombay presidency. The first Protestant mission in the district was opened in 1831. Marathi Christians are predominately Protestant with small numbers of Roman Catholics. They belong to several Protestant denominations, mainly Church of North India. The Marathi Roman Catholics and Protestants are more united with each other than with their co-religionists of other communities. British Missionary William Carey was instrumental in translating the Bible into Marathi language.

In Maharashtra, likewise, the Protestant missionaries concentrated not only on direct evangelism but also founded numerous small vernacular schools. Missionary John Wilson built Wilson College, Mumbai. There are similarities of customs and culture between Hindus and Marathi Christians, such as dress, food and cuisine. The Hindu custom of wearing Saree, Mangalsutra and placing Bindis is still prominent among native Christians. Marathi Christian highly retain their Marathi culture, and they have kept their Pre-Christian surnames. In Maharashtra, great Marathi poet Narayan Wamanrao Tilak realised that a Hindu-Christian synthesis was simply not possible, unless the Christian religion had deep roots in the Indian culture. He trained the Marathi Christians to worship and sing Bhajan and Kirtan. He showed Christian faith in a genuinely Indian way.