Centenary Baptist Church, Clock Tower, Secunderabad

STBC-Centenary Baptist Church
CBC
సెంటెనరి బాప్టిస్ట్ చర్చి
Centenary Baptist Church, Secunderabad
Location Clock Tower, Secunderabad
Country India
Denomination Protestant (Baptist)
Tradition Christian tradition of the church
Religious institute Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches
Churchmanship Evangelical
History
Former name(s) Baptist Church, Secunderabad
Status Church
Founded 14 November 1875 (1875-11-14)
Founder(s) American Baptist Foreign Mission Society
Dedication Saint John the Baptist
Events 1975 November 14 (foundation stone laid for new edifice);
1991 February 17 (new edifice inaugurated)
Architecture
Functional status Active
Architectural type Chapel
Style Postmodernism
Specifications
Capacity 2000
Administration
Episcopal area Hyderabad and Secunderabad
Diocese Deccan Association
Clergy
Pastor(s) M. Purushotham,
B.D. (Serampore),
M. Chittibabu
Laity
Director of music Vidyasagar[1]
Lay member(s) of chapter D. Robert Surya Prakash

The STBC-Centenary Baptist Church is a Protestant Church in the city of Secunderabad, India which was established in the year 1875 by the Protestant missions led by the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (ABM) and was later led by the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches (STBC) through the Deccan Association.

The STBC-Centenary Baptist Church now has a current membership of more than 3000 members. The original older structure and a new centenary structure built in 1991 exist side by side in the same premises. Worship services are only held in the new sanctuary. The church offers services in Telugu, English, Hindi and Manipuri.[2]

The Senior Pastor, The Rev. T. Ephraim, STBC, had met with an accident, was hospitalized and breathed his last on 30 January 2018 and his Funeral Mass was held at 10:30 hours IST on 31 January 2018 at the Church and thereafter a Burial mass at the Baptist Cemetery at Bhoiguda, Secunderabad.[3] Pastor Ephraim shepherded the congregation for more than 25 years since 1993 and in his death, the faithful in the congregation gathered in thousands at the Baptist Cemetery in Bhoiguda. Ephraim's death caused by an automobile accident in a manner similar to other Pastors in the country who comprise Rev. Fr. George Soares-Prabhu (1929-1995) and Rev. Fr. D. S. Amalorpavadass (1932-1990) who too met their fate in such tragic road accidents.

History

The church was established on 14 November 1875 by American Baptist Foreign Mission Society led by The Rev. W. W. Campbell, ABM, a Baptist missionary. The first member of the congregation was Richard B. Clayburn, who was baptized on 5 December 1875. The first native Pastor Bezwada Paul, STBC was appointed in 1895. The foundation stone for the existing new church structure was laid by The Rev. Louis F. Knoll, ABM on 14 November 1975 during the ministry of The Rev. K. Devadanam, STBC, exactly 100 years after the first structure was built. The church was appropriately named STBC-Centenary Baptist Church. The groundbreaking however took place five years later in the year 1980. The new sanctuary was completed and consecrated by the Old Testament Scholar The Rev. G. Solomon, STBC on 17 February 1991. It took more than 10 years to build the existing structure.

The church now operates 35 branch churches and 15 gospel centers in around the cities of Secunderabad and Hyderabad.[2]

Architecture

Historical events at the Church
The renovation plaque inaugurated by G. Solomon on 17 February 1991.

The old church is a simple Gothic structure whereas the new church is a modern structure incorporating several elements of traditional church architecture such as Gothic styled windows. A two storied bell tower forms the facade of the church.

Programmes

The Church has been witness to many programmes, some of them which etched in the History of Christianity in India.

1978: Visit of Evangelist Billy Graham

In 1978,[4] during the tenure of The Rev. G. Solomon, STBC, the global Evangelist, Billy Graham visited Secunderabad and the STBC-Centenary Baptist Church hosted many of the programmes forming many committees and volunteers, including The Rev. J. Chiranjeevi of the Seva Bharat. Among the ecclesiastical personalities who took part in the one-day crusade in Secunderabad included Archbishop, S. Arulappa, RCM[5] and the Old Testament Scholar Victor Premasagar, CSI, then Principal of the near-ecumenical Andhra Christian Theological College.

1999: Lambadi version of the Scriptures

On 25 October 1999[6] during the tenure of The Rev. N. Thomas, STBC, the Lambadi version of the New Testament was released here by the Bible Society of India in the presence of The Rev. G. Babu Rao,[6] CBCNC, then Auxiliary Secretary of the Bible Society of India Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary, The Rev. G. D. V. Prasad, CSI, then Translations Director of the Bible Society of India and Mr. Bidyut Kumar Pramanik,[6] the General Secretary of the Bible Society of India. The speakers lauded the efforts of the original translator, The Rev. B. E. Devaraj, CSI succeeded by The Rev. Lal Singh Lazarus, CSI.[6]

Succession of Pastors[7]

The first Pastor of the Church was The Rev. B. Paul in 1895.[7] Down the line, there have been Pastors with scholarly aptitudes, The Rev. K. Wilson and The Rev. G. Solomon both of whom were involved in ministerial formation of aspirants hailing from the Anglican, Baptist, Congregational, Lutheran, Methodist, Pentecostal, Wesleyan, and other small and indigenous Church societies at the near-ecumenical Andhra Christian Theological College.

CBC current President, D. Robert Surya Prakash, a Banker by profession and Treasurer of the Telangana State Council of Churches (affiliated to the National Council of Churches in India).
PeriodSuccession of PastorsAcademic Credentials
1895-1897The Rev. B. Paul, STBC
1897-1900The Rev. W. B. Boggs, ABMD.D.[8]
1900-1901The Rev. W. E. Hopkins, ABM
1901-1907The Rev. Frank H. Levering, ABMB.Sc., LL.B.[9]
1907-1909Pastor M. Annafi Rao, STBC
1909-1913Pastor A. M. Boggs, ABM
1913-1938The Rev. Frank H. Levering, ABMB.Sc., LL.B.[9]
1938-1946The Rev. G. C. Jacob, STBC
1946-1952Pastor D. R. Samuel, STBC
1952-1956The Rev. F. P. Manley, ABM
1956-1957Francis Peter, Laity
1957-1963The Rev. Ch. Prakasham, STBC
1963-1966The Rev. K. Wilson, STBC[10]B.D. (Serampore),[11] M.A., (Osmania),[11]
Th.M. (Duke),[11] Ph.D. (Syracuse)[12]
1966-1977The Rev. K. Devadanam, STBC M.A, B.D
1977-1988The Rev. G. Solomon, STBCB.A. Mathematics (Andhra), B.D. (Serampore),
Th.M. (Eastern),[13]
1988-1991The Rev. P. Jyothi Solomon, STBC
1991-The Rev. N. Thomas, STBCB.D. (Serampore)
1993-2018The Rev. T. Ephraim, STBCB.D. (Serampore)

See also

References

  1. ↑ CBC Choir, Secunderabad.
  2. 1 2 http://www.fouroaksbaptistchurch.org.uk/Feb_08.PDF%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  3. ↑ Deccan Chronicle, Hyderabad, 31.1.2018.
  4. ↑ Roger E. Hedlund, World Christianity: South Asia, Missions Advanced Research and Communication Center, Madras, 1980, p.60.
  5. ↑ S. Arulappa,Love and Serve, Archdiocese of Hyderabad, Secunderabad.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Sowing Circle, A Bulletin of the Bible Society of India, Volume 15, Number 1, January–April 2000 (For Private Circulation), Bengaluru. pp.24-25.
  7. 1 2 Pastors who served the STBC-Centenary Baptist Church in Souvenir of the 125th Anniversary of the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches-Centenary Baptist Church, Secunderabad, 2000.
  8. ↑ Baptist Missionary Magazine, Volume 83, 1903, p.563.
  9. 1 2 Materials of Religious Education, Volume 4, Religious Education Association, 1907, p.374.
  10. ↑ K. Wilson, Culture and Conversion: An Analytical Study of the Interaction between Western Theology and Eastern Culture through the Christian Missions in the Indian Sub-Continent, Syracuse University, Syracuse, 1972.
  11. 1 2 3 Bulletin of Duke University, The Divinity School, 1969, Candidates for the Th.M. Degree, Durham, 1969, p.80.
  12. ↑ Wilson later taught at the near-ecumenical Andhra Christian Theological College at its erstwhile campus in Rajahmundry in the year 1967 when the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches joined the College Society. In 1972, when the College moved from Rajahmundry to Secunderabad, Wilson joined the state-run Osmania University and began to teach Philosophy. Indian Journal of Philosophic Studies, Volume 1, Issue 1, 1974, p. 53.
  13. ↑ G. Solomon, The concept of Suffering in the Bible and in Hinduism, Eastern University, King of Prussia, 1957.

Coordinates: 17°26′24.47″N 78°29′58.33″E / 17.4401306°N 78.4995361°E / 17.4401306; 78.4995361

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