- Christianity in Maharashtra
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Cathedral of the Holy Name 
Inner view of the CathedralLocation Colaba, Mumbai Country India Denomination Roman Catholic Architecture Status Cathedral Functional status Active Clergy Archbishop Oswald Cardinal Gracias Christianity is a minority religion in Maharashtra, a state of India. Most people in Maharashtra are Hindus, Christian adherents being 3% of the population. The Roman Catholic archdiocese whose seat is in Maharastra is Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay. There are two different ethnic Community in Maharashtra one is East Indians who are predominantly Roman catholic and another is Marathi Christians predominantly Protestant. Majority of Christians in Maharashtra are Roman Catholics, who are mainly concentrated in coastal Maharashtra, specially Thane, Mumbai, Raigad and are known as East Indians. Protestants who reside in Western Maharashtra Ahmednagar, Solapur, Pune Aurangabad and Jalna are called Marathi Christians. The Church of North India has dioceses in the state and is a large Protestant church with full communion with the Anglican Church.
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History
Christianity has a long history in Maharashtra. When Dominican and Franciscan Missionaries arrived in the 1300's with the intention of preaching the Gospel, they were surprised to find a small Christian community already in existence. Protestant Missionaries arrived in Maharashtra from England and America in 1813.
East Indians
Main article: East IndiansEast Indians are an ethno-religious group which resides in Mumbai, Vasai, virar, and other parts of Thane. Christianity arrived in Maharashtra in the 13th Century during Portuguese rule by Jesuit missionaries who spread Roman Catholicism in the area. The name East Indians was taken during British Rule of East India Company to differentiate native Catholics from other Catholics from Goa and Manglore who came to Mumbai in search of jobs, on the occasion of the golden jubilee of queen Victoria.
They are engaged in agriculture, fishing and other rural occupations handed down to them by their ancestors. East Indians have their own village in Mumbai known as Gaothan, which is surrounded by the main city. East Indians are more anglicized than the rest of Maharashtrian Christians, although they speak Marathi as mother tongue. Portuguese influence can be seen in their language and culture. Portuguese used to rule the area for centuries.
Marathi Christians
Main article: Marathi ChristiansMarathi Christians are people who reside in Western Maharashtra, for example in Ahmednagar, Pune, Aurangabad and Solapur. In Western Maharashtra, Christians are converts from Islam and Hinduism. In Western Maharashtra, 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 Bhajans and Kirtans. He showed Christian faith in a genuinely Indian way.
List of denominations
- Assemblies of God
- Church of North India
- Christian and Missionary Alliance of India
- Church of the Nazarene of Bharat
- Elim Church
- Free Methodist Church of India
- Hindustani Covenant Church
- Methodist Church in India
- Indian Evangelical Team
- Indian National Full Gospel Churches Federation of India
- International Christian Fellowship
- Separate Baptists in Christ
- United Basel Mission Church
- New Life Fellowship Association
Famous Marathi Christians
- Vijay Hazare was an Indian cricket player. Vijay Samuel Hazare was a Marathi Christian from Solapur district. He captained the Indian cricket team in 14 matches between 1951 and 1953. Vijay Hazare also captioned Baroda and Baroda won the Ranji trophy in 1959 under his helm. Vijay Hazare is considered by many to be one of the best middle-order bats to play for India.
- Chandu Borde was an Indian cricket player. He was a Marathi Christian from Pune district. He played for the Indian cricket team in 83 matches between 1958 and 1969. His younger brother Ramesh Borde who was a noteworthy first-class cricket player.
- Pandita Ramabai (23 April 1858, Maharashtra- 5 April 1922) was an eminent Marathi Christian social reformer and activist. She was born as Hindu Brahmin and then evengelised.
- Narayan Wamanrao Tilak was a great Marathi poet born in Maharashtra as Brahmin, but later adopted Christianity. He wrote many Christian songs and bhajans in Marathi.
- Shahu Modak (1918–1993), a Marathi/Hindi movie actor, who was born in a Christian family in Ahmednagar. He primarily acted as Lord Krishna in 29 mythological films.
- Jennifer Winget, a Hindi Television actress.
- Kim Sharma, an Indian Film actress.
- Father Francis D'Brotto
- Father Stephens
See also
References
- ^ World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 368-371
- ^ http://www.calicutnet.com/variety/dir/manufacturing/pioneer-audio-visual.htm
Categories:- Christianity in Maharashtra
- Christianity in India by region
- Religion in Maharashtra
- Social groups of Maharashtra
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