Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah was born on August 17, 1874. His birthplace was Vellalanvilai in South India. Many Westerners have never heard his name. Azariah started two successful missions. They brought the gospel to India. He also helped unite India’s Protestant churches. He grew a poor diocese from 8,000 Christians to over 200,000.

His father was an Anglican evangelist. His mother was a devoted laywoman. Azariah trained for ministry at Madras Christian College. One night in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Azariah saw mission work. He felt deeply for India’s lost people. He saw how little its own Christians did for them. He prayed and wept under the stars. Back in India, he gathered young church members. They formed the India Missionary Society of Tinnevelly. He studied the 1901 India census closely. He also contacted foreign mission leaders. He learned 100 million Indians had no access to the Gospel. He invited India’s Protestant groups to form another mission. This became the National Missionary Society of India. Azariah served as its general secretary.

Azariah soon felt he should leave his leadership roles. He wanted to become a missionary himself. He chose the small Diocese of Dornakal. This was one of India’s poorest areas. People earned about five cents a day. He was appointed bishop. He was the first native-born Anglican bishop in India. His diocese had 8,000 Christians. It included six Indian ministers and 172 lay coworkers. By his death in 1945, Dornakal had 150 ministers. It also had 230,000 Christians. India was often hostile to Christianity. Gandhi opposed Christian outreach. Yet, Dornakal averaged over 3,000 baptisms each year. Outsiders were amazed by the “impossible” change. Many higher-class Indians in Dornakal also joined the church.

Azariah was troubled by Christian disunity. He disliked Western missionaries’ arrogance toward Indians. He told the 1927 Lausanne ecumenical conference, “Unity is a vital need for the church in mission fields.” He added, “Divisions among Christians weaken the church in Christian countries.” He called them “a sin and a scandal in non-Christian lands.”

In 1919, Azariah organized the Tranquebar Conference. It released a statement. It said, “The present hour calls us to mourn past divisions.” It urged seeking unity in Christ. They aimed to create one visible Church. The statement declared, “We face the huge task of winning India for Christ.” This meant one-fifth of the world’s people. The Union Church opened two years after his death.

Azariah’s birth was a true blessing for India and its church.

ALSO ON THIS DAY

1662 – Thomas Watson of Cambridge preached his “Farewell Sermon.” 2,500 pastors stepped down this day rather than betray their faith, which is known as the Great Ejection.

1768 – John Witherspoon is inaugurated as president of the College of New Jersey, which became known as Princeton.

1878 – Richard Upjohn, an architect who had designed many Christian churches in the United States, applied the revived English Gothic architectural style, passed away. Because of his unwavering faith, he refused a commission to design a Unitarian church building, believing Unitarians to be anti-Christian.

Information from Today in Christian History.