This finding aid is made available for public use following the Universal 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons designation.
This collection is open for research.
Onsite storage.
Formerly part of the independent Missionary Research Library (MRL), these records were accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976.
The Foreign Missions Conference of North America (FMCNA) was a voluntary ecumenical association through which foreign mission boards consulted with one another in planning, united action, and the administration of joint projects. The activities of FMCNA were carried out through committees that were primarily organized around specific geographic areas. Discussions concerning a union amongst Protestant denominations in India began in 1919 at a conference in Tranquebar (now Tarangambadi), but the union was not completed until after India gained independence from Britain. After nearly twenty-nine years of negotiation among Anglican, Wesleyan (Methodist), Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist church leaders, the Church of South India was inaugurated on September 27, 1947. The Church of South India is currently the largest Protestant church in India, with twenty-two dioceses, its own prayer book, and its own communion service that draws from several denominational sources. The reconciliation it reached between Anglicans and other denominations on the doctrine of apostolic succession is often cited as a landmark in the ecumenical movement.
Missionary Research Library Archives: MRL3, South Asia
Item description, MRL3: Missionary Research Library collection on the inauguration of the Church of South India, or "A Church is Born", box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Filmstrips were cataloged by Lynn A. Grove on 1988-07-19. Metal clips and staples were removed from materials and folded items were flattened. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Acidic items were separated from one another by interleaving with acid-free paper as needed. Film strips were preserved in 2013 and became a digital exhibit. The finding aid was created by Kristen Leigh Southworth in 2013, updated by Brigette Kamsler in 2013 with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2024.
MRL 12: Foreign Missions Conference of North America Records, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
This collection became an online exhibit with all images and commentary scanned and available for viewing on the web. It is available here: https://exhibitions.cul.columbia.edu/exhibits/show/church.
This collection contains filmstrips and commentary on the Church of South India's inauguration in 1947, as well as CD copies. This film and commentary, entitled "A Church Is Born" and presented by the India Committee of the Foreign Missions Conference of North America (FMCNA), provides a brief overview of the history of Christian missions to India, explains the appeal for unity amongst Protestant denominations in India, and shows the inauguration of the Church of South India.
Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.
This collection is arranged by format.