The Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars (CBCNC) is a Baptist Christian denomination in north coastal Andhra Pradesh. The churches are part of the Telugu Christian community of Southern India. Its language is Telugu. It is affiliated to the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and the World Council of Churches (WCC).

History

CBCNC was founded in 1874 by the Canadian Baptist Mission founded by Thomas Gabriel along with the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec.

From 1947 to 1972, the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars was managed effortlessly in spite of difficulties. During 1972, crisis brew in the Convention leading to irreparable damage. M. B. Diwakar researched on the crisis with the title, An Investigation into the historical antecedents of the crisis in the CBCNC during 1972 to 1974. Due to the crisis, the Churches established by the Canadian Baptist Mission continued to move forward due to the congregational type of structure. However, the central leadership is not in place as there are many fractions of the Convention, each claiming to be the rightful successor and the matter continues to be subjudice.

According to a census published by the association in 2023, it claimed 310 churches and 240,000 members.

Schools

Baptist Theological Seminary in Kakinada.

Notes

Further reading

  • M. B. Diwakar (1977). An Investigation into the historical antecedents of the crisis in the CBCNC during 1972 to 1974.Unpublished M. Th. Thesis, United Theological College, Bangalore.
  • N. Surya Rao (1984). .
  • D. J. Jeremiah (1990). The Relationship of the Baptist Churches in Andhra Pradesh to the Church Union Movement in South India since 1919. Reflections on Theology Today: Papers Presented by the ACTC Faculty during the Academic Year 1988–89 on Theology and the Mission and Ministry of the Church, Andhra Christian Theological College, Hyderabad. OCLC .
  • G. Beaulah Pearl Sunanda (1990). An Insight into the History of the Canadian Baptist Mission in Andhra Pradesh (1874–1924).Unpublished M.Phil.(History) Thesis, Madras Christian College, Madras.
  • Martin Senftleben (1992). (PDF). Vol. I. Archived from (PDF) on 9 December 2008.
  • Martin Senftleben (1992). (PDF). Vol. II. Archived from (PDF) on 9 December 2008.
  • S. I. Nirmal Kumar (2008). An Evaluation of the theological understanding regarding the nature, function and authority of ordained ministry within selected Churches of the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars of Andhra Pradesh.[dead link]
  • G. Beulah Pearl Sunanda (2012). The missionary enterprise of the Canadian Baptist church in Andhra Pradesh An appraisal.Unpublished Ph. D. thesis, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Nagarjuna Nagar. hdl:.
  • A. Mahalakshmi (2015). The eradication of leprosy in India and andhra pradesh with a special reference to christian missionary organisations.Unpublished Ph. D. thesis. Acharya Nagarjuna University, Nagarjuna Nagar. hdl:.

See also