Baptist form
a major section of the Christendom. The Baptist Church was formally identified in
the early 1600s in England.
The name ‘Baptist’ was given by the
opponents because the Baptists rejected infant baptism and received believers
by baptism by total immersion in water.
A group of Christians called
Montanists who were active in Europe from the second to the fourth centuries
professed that only the regenerate people from the Church, and not infants,
should be baptized.
Some claim that the Motanists movement was the forerunner of the Baptist
movement. Patrick of Scotland, a Celtic
missionary to Ireland (384-461) advocated the
supreme authority of the Bible, salvation by Grace alone and baptism for
believers only. Thereupon several groups
of Christians in Europe emphasised the Biblical authority and believers’
baptism. By the 12th
century these groups were formally identified by other groups of Christians as
Baptists. In course of time they were called Anabaptists.
In the 1600s they were mainly in Scotland and Switzerland. Two noted Swiss Baptist leaders of that era
were Conrad Grebal and Felix Mantz. In Germany the Anabaptist movement
gained momentum about the time of Reformation.
In 1611, Thomas Helways,
an Englishman who lived in exile in Amsterdam due to religious intolerance
under King James I returned to England and started the first Baptist
congregation.
William Carey, an English missionary to India landed at Calcutta on November 11, 1893 and pioneered Baptist movement in India. In Bengal and the surrounding regions
several Baptist congregations were founded by Carey. He started Serampore College and translated the Bible
into several Indian languages including Bengali. Carey also got involved in several social
activities and worked along with Raja Ram Mohan Roy to eradicate social evils
like ‘Sati’. He also wrote grammar for
Bengali, Sanskrit
and Mahratti.
He studies Telugu, Panjabi and Oriya languages
also. A striking literary work by carey was his translation of
Ramayana into English. He is known as
the father of modern missions.
Later, the Baptist movement was
introduced into Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and many other regions including Delhi and Kerala.
Baptist believes in the autonomy of
local Churches. Hence there is no
hierarchical form of church movement. Baptist Churches work together as a
fellowship.
