Tuesday, January 9, 2024

It is the 9th of January 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

The longer this show goes on, the more I have been encouraged to spread out into territories where “Christian history” is sparse. Like many of my era, we were trained, almost by default, in the history of the Church in the West and where it caught on as part of, or adjacent to, “Christendom.”

In my own studies, the Indian subcontinent has received relatively little attention. And this needs to be rectified. India has surpassed China as the most populous country in the world, and even with about 2.5% and about 1.5 Billion people, it has a sizable population. Not to mention, India has a record of Christians going back to the 2nd century, as it was purportedly the disciple Thomas who brought the faith to the subcontinent himself.

And while there has been a constant Christian presence in India, it is the father of modern missions, William Carey, who drew renewed attention to the country. However, one of the early problems of the Missions movement was a lack of indigenous leaders. Enter Poonamallee Rajahgopaul, an often overlooked figure in Indian Christian history.  

What we know of Rajagopaul, or “raja” for short, comes from his time with what was then called “St. Andrews School” in Madras, which was set up by Scottish missionaries in 1835. The school swelled under the care of the Scottish missionary John Anderson. Because of anti-Christian sentiment, the school was initially careful in proselytizing, and there were few known baptisms. That is until Raj was baptized at the Madras Free Church Mission.

News of the baptism sparked outrage, and locals got a warrant against the school for holding Raj and others “against their will.” The judge, seeing that Raj was 18 and making his own cognizant decision to stay, dismissed the case. Nonetheless, the school would be threatened by mobs, and enrollment dropped from roughly 400 to 70 students.  

Raj spent his first years as the Rev. Anderson's assistant in translating his sermons into Tamil and Telugu.

After 12 years, the two left for Anderson’s native Scotland, where Raj was a popular speaker and fundraiser for the school. Coming back to India in 1851, Raj was ordained and charged to take the Gospel to the natives. In 1855, the Reverend Anderson died, and Raj took over the school. From here, he opened the Native Christian Literary Society- a library and forum for discussion between local Hindus and Christians. Lectures were held on “religious, literary, and scientific subjects”.

Raj then went on to minister at an outcast village amongst the Dalit- these, the pariahs of Indian culture, were rejected by traditional Indian religion, and Raj rented a house amongst them which he could use as a chapel and meeting place. The Indian government, seeing the good work he was doing there, purchased an abandoned orphanage where he could continue to minister physically and spiritually to these Dalits.

Raj would then turn his attention to girls' education. This also proved unpopular, and in 1870, the project was halted when the construction site was attacked and the walls demolished, frightening off workers. Nonetheless, Raj persisted, and that school eventually begat three more girls' schools in the region, and soon there were between 5 and 600 girls under his care.

A minor celebrity in Scotland, he was able to go back and raise funds for an endowment for his institutions. This would prove to be vital to his projects as he was in poor health. His daughter would take over the day-to-day operations while Raj continued to fundraise until his death on the 9th of January 1887. Based on his assumed age when he was baptized, and a warrant was held out for the Mission, Poonmalee Rajahgopaul was in his mid-60s.

His school would grow after his death, becoming Madras Christian College. In 1938, as the World Missionary Conference was looking for a place to hold its 3rd ever global conference, they chose Madras Christian College as an appropriate place to meet. Unheralded outside of a few books- the school’s success is often credited to the Scottish Anderson- Rajahgopaul deserves his recognition as an influential leader of the school and in 19th century Christian missions in South East India.

 

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary, from Acts 22, during the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus.

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ 11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

12 “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. 13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 9th of January 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who, when he hears “Madras,” thinks of the finely textured cotton fabric and thus reminds us that the town has been renamed “Chennai.” He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man fine with a good Madras but will also work with a Chenille, Crepe, or even a Jacquard in a pinch-  I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.