COUNTER NARRATIVES

On this day, September 28, the Church of South India and the wider ecumenical community celebrate the life of Rev. Florence Deenadayalan on her second death anniversary. As one of the first women to be ordained in the CSI, she occupies a historic place in the struggle for women’s ordination and ministry in India, breaking barriers in an era when the role of women in the church was still fiercely contested! __________ Shibi Peter Rev. Florence Deenadayalan, a prominent figure in the Church of South India and one of the first women pastors in India, passed away on September 28, 2023. Her remarkable life and testimony, serving in the CSI Central Karnataka Diocese, will be remembered as a significant milestone in the ecclesial history of India. In 1982, the Synod of the Church of South India officially accepted the ordination of women, following years of deliberations that began in 1972. In 1987, Florence, along with Rev. Elizabeth Paul and Rev. Nirmala Vasantakumar, became one of the firs...

Shibi Peter Today, September 27, the Church of South India (CSI) celebrates its formation day, marking its official establishment on September 27, 1947. This day offers an occasion to reflect on the remarkable journey of a church that embodies ecumenism in action. Unlike many churches that pursue unity while preserving cultural or denominational distinctions, the CSI emerged as a living expression of organic unity, firmly rooted in the social, political, and spiritual realities of South India. The Church of South India has embraced ecumenism not merely as an external affiliation but as an integral theological and ecclesial vision embedded in its very identity. Unlike institutional platforms that aim for denominational unity while preserving cultural homogeneity, the CSI emerged as a living embodiment of organic unity well before the theological frameworks of the modern ecumenical movement were formally articulated. Though the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh is often credi...