Ecumenical meeting in India expresses ‘anxiety’ over anti-Christian activities

MUMBAI, India – Christian leaders in India participated in the National Ecumenical Bishops’ Fellowship Meeting, which sought to build the relationship of all Christians in a country where they make up less than 3 percent of the population.

There are around 26 million Christians in the Hindu majority nation of over one billion people, and around 20 million of the Christians are Catholic.

However, it is an ancient religion in South Asia, where the Church was first established by St. Thomas the Apostle in Malabar region in 52 AD.

The meeting between the various Christian leader was held at St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences in Bengaluru on September 13.

Father Anthoniraj Thumma – the national secretary of the dialogue and ecumenism office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India – also served as the coordinator of the National Ecumenical Bishops’ Fellowship Meeting.

“The meeting was well attended. All denominations welcome promoting Christian unity and ecumenical fellowship meetings,” he told Crux.

“There was active participation and open sharing of concerns and views. Request was made for more frequent fellowship meetings. Everyone one happy for coming together as brothers and sisters in the Lord,” the priest added.

He said the meeting aimed to strengthen the ongoing ecumenical movement in India so that the Lord’s farewell wish and prayer “May they all be one” can be realized soon.

“We initiated an ecumenical dialogue on urgent national issues and matters relating to the Christian Community in India in the present scenario,” Thumma said.

The national government in India is run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with strong links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a militant Hindu nationalist organization.

Hindu nationalists often accuse Christians of using force and surreptitious tactics in pursuing conversions, often storming into villages and leading “reconversion” ceremonies in which Christians are compelled to perform Hindu rituals.

These pressures on Christians, which also affect Muslims and other religious minorities, are part of what observers describe as a broad program for the “saffronization” of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meaning an attempt to impose Hindu values and identity while squeezing out rival faiths.

Thumma said during the ecumenical bishops’ meeting, participants expressed “our serious anxiety at the wake of the increasing atrocities on Christians and other Minorities, and strongly demand the protection of the Minority Rights and the security of the Minority communities.”

“Similarly, we firmly reiterate our long-standing demand for the equal status and constitutional rights of the Dalit Christians be implemented without further delay,” he said.

The priest said the meeting also passed other resolutions, including to come together more often to foster the fellowship and fraternity among the leaders of the Churches, and to “strengthen the ecumenical federations of Churches consisting of Bishops and Church Heads, and the united Christian forums at the State level.”

“We wish to firmly assert the significant contribution of the Churches and Christian community to the nation building and to dispel the misinterpretation and false belief that Christianity is a foreign religion as it has been present in India for about 2000 years,” the priest said.

“As for future plans, we wish to continue meetings of the National Ecumenical Bishops’ Fellowship. We also will hold a National Ecumenical Assembly next year in the month of September to mark the Jubilee 2025 and the 1700th anniversary of Nicene Synod/Creed,” Thumma told Crux.