`A History of Missions in India' brings out a roadmap of the numerous
Missions carried out in the then India for the propagation of Christian
faith. The Book is a product of extensive and meticulous survey, covering
centuries of missionary activities till the then present day. The Author
traces Christian Missions all the way, prior to the arrival of the first
missionaries from Rome and also details on the geography, demography,
customs and cultures, and religions of India.
The Missions are divided by time periods: from the Earliest Times till the
Decline of Roman Catholic Missions (17th/18th century); the Danish Missions
(1706-1798); the development of Protestant Missions (1800-1857); from the
Mutiny to the Proclamation of the Empire (1857-1877); Other Missions
(1880-1908). While covering all the respective time periods, the Author has
given in-depth details of some renowned missionaries like Francisco Xavier,
Robert de Nobili, William Carey, and Alexander Duff.
Besides focusing on the notable moments of the expansion, an overview of
the religious problems faced in executing Missions; missionary
organizations and their respective works like Anglican Episcopate,
Vernacular Preaching, Literary Work, Women's Work for Women, and Medical
Missions and Missions to Lepers have been exhaustively dealt with. The
leaven at work, like Brahmo Samaj, Will O' the Wisps, Revival of Hinduism,
and Movements in Indian Muhammadanism have been carefully studied. Finally,
the Author brings into limelight the success of Missions, with the building
of `Christian Church of India'.
This concise and informative book covers subjects like Missions, Religion,
History, Regional Studies, Christianity, and Biographical narratives of
various missionaries. It is a must to have for a Church Historian,
Christian Laity, Church Clergies, Researchers, or anyone interested in the
history of Christian Missions. Also, any student of the subject will be
left less informed without having a reading of the book.
Julius Richter (1862-1940) was a German theologian and Mission scientist.
In 1913 he qualified as a lecturer at the Berlin University and became a
full professor of missiology in the year 1920. Prof. Dr. Julius Richter was
the Chairman of Brandenburg Missionary Conference and Vice-Chairman of the
German Evangelical Mission Committee, the Association for Mission Studies
and during 1900-1940 he became Member of the Committee of the Berlin
Mission. Since 1897 he was a member of the Continental Mission Conference
and in 1924 became a member of the International Missionary Council which
was founded in 1921. He wrote some thirty books and countless essays on
almost all missiological subjects, and is considered the most prolific
writer of his generation in the concerned subject. Richter was the first
German missiologist to concentrate on the overseas Mission fields and their
Churches in the encounter with Non-Christian religions. He took great pains
to keep in touch with the international missionary and ecumenical movement
by means of extensive travel and correspondence. Trip activity on four
continents made him, one of the most ecumenical personalities of his time.
He was able to build up a worldwide network of communication which proved
to be advantageous for German Missions after World War II.
About the Translator:
Sydney H. Moore (1878-1964) was a former Headmaster of Silcoates School,
and Master in the School for Sons of Missionaries, Blackheath, London. He
was an expert in the field of German hymnology. In 1956 he got studies of
German hymn-writers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries published
under the title "Sursum Corda."
|