St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India

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, Thiruvalla Kerala, 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 Oriental Protestant (Reformed Orthodox) episcopal denomination based in Kerala, India.

The church originated from a schism in the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in 1961 and forms a part of the Saint Thomas Syrian Christian community.

The headquarters of the church is at Tiruvalla, Kerala.

History

Branches & Denominations of Saint Thomas Christians

The St. Thomas Evangelical Church is one of several groups of Saint Thomas Christians who trace their origins to St. Thomas the Apostle who, according to their tradition, came to India in AD 52.

Until 1961, the Church's history was deeply connected to the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, the first Reformed denomination of the Malankara 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 the Bible into Malayalam in 1811; this was the first vernacular Bible in Kerala. Further changes introduced by the influence of missionaries led to a schism among the St. Thomas Christians.

By the 1830s, some clergy in the Malankara 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. A downstream effect of these reforms was the formation of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church.

The formal reform movement that led to the formation of STECI traces its roots to Palakkunnath Abraham Malpan (1796–1845), a key figure in the 19th-century Malankara 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 through Latinization (Roman Catholic influence introduced to the St. Thomas Christians by the Portuguese). To this end, Malpan rejected practices he considered unbiblical, including prayers for the dead, veneration of saints, use of icons 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 the Mar 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 the Assumption 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.

STECI established the Jubilee Memorial Bible College in Chennai in August 1987. The college trains students who come from different denominations, in addition to the candidates from the STECI, and has links to the Biblical Graduate School of Theology in Singapore and Columbia International University in the US.

Beliefs

Mission statement

STECI was formed with a three-pronged mission;

• Safeguarding sound doctrine
• Living a holy life
• Obeying the Great Commission to evangelise India

Basic teachings

STECI believes in; the Trinity, the Second Coming, Sola Scriptura of 66 books of the Bible, salvation by faith (not works), safeguarding sound doctrine, evangelism and sharing the news about Jesus, royal priesthood and prayers to Jesus for the living.

Sacraments

STECI members incorporate two sacraments into their lives; these are baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Diocese

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’’. The dioceses cover 240 parishes.

Clergy in 1961

Bishops

• Bishop KN Oommen (Late)
• Bishop P John Varughese (Late)
• Bishop Dr. TC Cherian (Retd.)
• Bishop Dr. MK Koshy (Retd.)
• Bishop A.I Alexander (Retd.)
• Bishop Dr CV Mathew (Retd.)
• Bishop Most Rev Dr Thomas Abraham (Presiding Bishop from 2019)
• Bishop Rt Rev Dr Abraham Chacko (Prathinidhi sabha Adhyakshan from 2019)

STECI Boards

• Board for Evangelistic Work
• Board for Youth Work
• Board for Women's Work
• Board for Sunday School Work
• Education Board
• Department of Music & Communications

See also

• P. T. Chandapilla

External links

• Official website