True Jesus Church in India
Encyclopedia
The True Jesus Church
, started in China
, is a nontrinitarian Christian denomination growing out of the Pentecostal movement.
The True Jesus Church in India was brought there on two separate occasions. The first wave, which occurred during the early 1930s was by a former member of the Church of South India
of trinitarian denomination who had visited Peninsular Malaysia
and returned to India
after his conversion
. The second wave occurred during the early 1970s by an Indian pastor who visited Singapore
and returned to India after his conversion.
. In 1930, he travelled to Ipoh
, Malaysia to seek employment opportunities. While there, he came into contact with the True Jesus Mission. He accepted the gospel of this church, received baptism and was later ordained as a deacon on July 1931.
Zacchaeus later returned to his hometown in India
during 1932 and preached the gospel in the Tirunelveli
and Madathupatti
of Tamil Nadu State. Within a three hundred kilometre radius from his hometown, six churches were established under the name "True Jesus Mission". The churches he established later grew to the present day membership of seven thousand.
However, due to the outbreak of the Second World War, contacts with the True Jesus Mission in Malaysia were lost. During the 1950s, the True Jesus Mission in India made several attempts to re-establish communications with the General Assembly Headquarters of True Jesus Church in Shanghai
but this failed because, unknown to them, the TJC General Assembly Headquarters had already relocated elsewhere and was no longer situated in Shanghai. Not long afterwards, the Sino-Indian Border Conflict
occurred and this made any communication attempts with the True Jesus Church in China
virtually impossible. Nevertheless, they still held firm to their original church beliefs and did not join other Christian denominations within India.
Some church members later moved to other parts of India within Tamil Nadu
and Kerala State and established churches there as well.
denomination, travelled to Northern Malaysia. While on a one-day stopover in Sungai Petani
, he heard a group of True Jesus Church members singing hymns during a family service. He was surprised that they were speaking in tongues during a prayer session and admired them. After discussing the beliefs and doctrines of the church with them, he began attending church services in Ipoh
and Singapore
before receiving baptism
.
Upon his return to India
in 1970, Pammal James evangelised in India
where he established True Jesus Churches in Ambattur
and Pammal
. Now there are two thousand True Jesus Church believers in those areas.
In 1977 they evangelised in Kerala State and later to the Indian states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
. During 1997, to their surprise and astonishment, they encountered the True Jesus Church building in Pammal which also had the Tamil
equivalent of the church inscribed on the signboard (உண்மையான இயேசு தேவாலயம்) - this Tamil name of the True Jesus Church turned out to be the exactly the same Tamil name of the True Jesus Mission as well! They became very curious and after inquiring with the True Jesus Church believers, they discovered that they belonged to the same church and contact with the True Jesus Church was finally renewed again in 1997.
Due to the sixty long years of isolation from ohe other True Jesus Churches along with the lack of preachers to pastor the churches, some of the teachings of the True Jesus Mission members have slightly deviated; for example, they did not perform full immersion in baptism and also did not believe that speaking in tongues during prayer is essential for every believer (this type of phenomenon was also found in parts of Mainland China). Nevertheless, for the last few years, attempts at reconciliation and unification have worked positively and harmoniously. In fact, as at 2001, eight hundred of their believers have transferred to the True Jesus Church and two hundred of those believers have received baptism with full immersion. Many of their English version signboards have been adjusted from "True Jesus Mission" to "True Jesus Church".
As of 2004 there are churches and prayer houses in the following states
:
True Jesus Church
The True Jesus Church is a non-denominational Christian church that originated in Beijing, China, in 1917. The current elected chairman of the TJC International Assembly is Preacher Yong-Ji Lin. Today, there are approximately 2.5 million members in fifty three countries and six continents...
, started in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, is a nontrinitarian Christian denomination growing out of the Pentecostal movement.
The True Jesus Church in India was brought there on two separate occasions. The first wave, which occurred during the early 1930s was by a former member of the Church of South India
Church of South India
The Church of South India is the successor of the Church of England in India. It came into being in 1947 as a union of Anglican and Protestant churches in South India. With a membership of over 3.8 million, it is India's second largest Christian church after the Roman Catholic Church in India...
of trinitarian denomination who had visited Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
and returned to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
after his conversion
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
. The second wave occurred during the early 1970s by an Indian pastor who visited Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and returned to India after his conversion.
True Jesus Mission in India
Zacchaeus S. Ponniah was originally a member of the Church of South IndiaChurch of South India
The Church of South India is the successor of the Church of England in India. It came into being in 1947 as a union of Anglican and Protestant churches in South India. With a membership of over 3.8 million, it is India's second largest Christian church after the Roman Catholic Church in India...
. In 1930, he travelled to Ipoh
Ipoh
Ipoh is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway....
, Malaysia to seek employment opportunities. While there, he came into contact with the True Jesus Mission. He accepted the gospel of this church, received baptism and was later ordained as a deacon on July 1931.
Zacchaeus later returned to his hometown in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
during 1932 and preached the gospel in the Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli , also known as Nellai , and historically as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District and the sixth biggest city in Tamil Nadu...
and Madathupatti
Madathupatti
Madathupatti is a small village near Sivakasi in Virudhunagar District, Tamil Nadu, India....
of Tamil Nadu State. Within a three hundred kilometre radius from his hometown, six churches were established under the name "True Jesus Mission". The churches he established later grew to the present day membership of seven thousand.
However, due to the outbreak of the Second World War, contacts with the True Jesus Mission in Malaysia were lost. During the 1950s, the True Jesus Mission in India made several attempts to re-establish communications with the General Assembly Headquarters of True Jesus Church in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
but this failed because, unknown to them, the TJC General Assembly Headquarters had already relocated elsewhere and was no longer situated in Shanghai. Not long afterwards, the Sino-Indian Border Conflict
Sino-Indian War
The Sino-Indian War , also known as the Sino-Indian Border Conflict , was a war between China and India that occurred in 1962. A disputed Himalayan border was the main pretext for war, but other issues played a role. There had been a series of violent border incidents after the 1959 Tibetan...
occurred and this made any communication attempts with the True Jesus Church in China
True Jesus Church in China
The True Jesus Church in China is a non-denominational church that was established in Beijing, China, in 1917 and continues today in the People's Republic of China...
virtually impossible. Nevertheless, they still held firm to their original church beliefs and did not join other Christian denominations within India.
Some church members later moved to other parts of India within Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
and Kerala State and established churches there as well.
True Jesus Church in India
In 1969, Pammal James, an Indian Pastor of a Charismatic ChurchCharismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
denomination, travelled to Northern Malaysia. While on a one-day stopover in Sungai Petani
Sungai Petani
Sungai Petani is a town in the state of Kedah, in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. Sungai Petani is the second largest town in Kedah after Alor Star.-Etmylogy:...
, he heard a group of True Jesus Church members singing hymns during a family service. He was surprised that they were speaking in tongues during a prayer session and admired them. After discussing the beliefs and doctrines of the church with them, he began attending church services in Ipoh
Ipoh
Ipoh is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway....
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
before receiving baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
.
Upon his return to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1970, Pammal James evangelised in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
where he established True Jesus Churches in Ambattur
Ambattur
-Administration:Ambattur comes under the new Sriperumbudur parliamentary constituency. It was previously under the North Chennai parliamentary constituency and along with Villivakkam, it was the largest assembly constituency in India. The delimitation process of assembly constituencies has given...
and Pammal
Pammal
Pammal is a town in Kancheepuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is a populated neighbourhood of the city of Chennai. Pammal is home to more than 250,000 people. Some world class leather skins are prepared in and around Pammal. Pammal Vijayaranga Sambandha Mudaliar, the father of...
. Now there are two thousand True Jesus Church believers in those areas.
In 1977 they evangelised in Kerala State and later to the Indian states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Resumption of Contact: Attempts at Unification
In 1996, two youth belonging to the True Jesus Mission temporarily resided in PammalPammal
Pammal is a town in Kancheepuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is a populated neighbourhood of the city of Chennai. Pammal is home to more than 250,000 people. Some world class leather skins are prepared in and around Pammal. Pammal Vijayaranga Sambandha Mudaliar, the father of...
. During 1997, to their surprise and astonishment, they encountered the True Jesus Church building in Pammal which also had the Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
equivalent of the church inscribed on the signboard (உண்மையான இயேசு தேவாலயம்) - this Tamil name of the True Jesus Church turned out to be the exactly the same Tamil name of the True Jesus Mission as well! They became very curious and after inquiring with the True Jesus Church believers, they discovered that they belonged to the same church and contact with the True Jesus Church was finally renewed again in 1997.
Due to the sixty long years of isolation from ohe other True Jesus Churches along with the lack of preachers to pastor the churches, some of the teachings of the True Jesus Mission members have slightly deviated; for example, they did not perform full immersion in baptism and also did not believe that speaking in tongues during prayer is essential for every believer (this type of phenomenon was also found in parts of Mainland China). Nevertheless, for the last few years, attempts at reconciliation and unification have worked positively and harmoniously. In fact, as at 2001, eight hundred of their believers have transferred to the True Jesus Church and two hundred of those believers have received baptism with full immersion. Many of their English version signboards have been adjusted from "True Jesus Mission" to "True Jesus Church".
As of 2004 there are churches and prayer houses in the following states
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
:
- Andhra Pradesh State: Karimanagar, Kuppamaturam, Negveli and .
- Tamil Nadu State: AmbatturAmbattur-Administration:Ambattur comes under the new Sriperumbudur parliamentary constituency. It was previously under the North Chennai parliamentary constituency and along with Villivakkam, it was the largest assembly constituency in India. The delimitation process of assembly constituencies has given...
, Chengalput, PammalPammalPammal is a town in Kancheepuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is a populated neighbourhood of the city of Chennai. Pammal is home to more than 250,000 people. Some world class leather skins are prepared in and around Pammal. Pammal Vijayaranga Sambandha Mudaliar, the father of...
, Thiruvothiyur, AriyalurAriyalurAriyalur is a Municipality in Ariyalur district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.-Geography:Ariyalur is a municipality and headquarters of Ariyalur District in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is rich in limestone resources. Big industrial houses like Birlas , India cements, Dalmia cements, Madras...
TirunelveliTirunelveliTirunelveli , also known as Nellai , and historically as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District and the sixth biggest city in Tamil Nadu...
, Tirunilai, Otteri, Veppur and Paduvancherry. - Karnataka State: BangaloreBangaloreBengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
- Kerala State: VandiperiyarVandiperiyarVandiperiyar is a town in Idukki district, Kerala, India.famous in tourism,tea plantation,coffe plantation, black pepper and other spicy products.Number of tea factories are situated here.Famous river PERIYAR flows through the city.-Geography:...
See also
- Christianity in IndiaChristianity in IndiaChristianity is India's third-largest religion, with approximately 24 million followers, constituting 2.3% of India's population. The works of scholars and Eastern Christian writings and 14th century Portuguese missionaries created an illusion to convert Indians that Christianity was introduced to...
- True Jesus ChurchTrue Jesus ChurchThe True Jesus Church is a non-denominational Christian church that originated in Beijing, China, in 1917. The current elected chairman of the TJC International Assembly is Preacher Yong-Ji Lin. Today, there are approximately 2.5 million members in fifty three countries and six continents...
- True Jesus Church in SingaporeTrue Jesus Church in SingaporeThe True Jesus Church is a nontrinitarian Christian denomination begun in China, growing out of the Pentecostal movement. Since its foundation it has spread to other countries including Singapore....
- True Jesus Church in Myanmar
- True Jesus Church in ChinaTrue Jesus Church in ChinaThe True Jesus Church in China is a non-denominational church that was established in Beijing, China, in 1917 and continues today in the People's Republic of China...