Check.Church

Church of South India

United and uniting churches · 1947 · South India; Sri Lanka

The first union since the Reformation between episcopal and non-episcopal churches — Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregational traditions in one body, simultaneously a member of the Anglican Communion, the World Methodist Council, and the WCRC; the tree's clearest multi-trunk confluence. Separation: the Anglican Church of India (1964) — union-remainder pattern.

Church of South India was formed in 1947. Church of South India continues today. Church of South India's institutional line runs back through Church of England, Roman Catholicism to the post-apostolic church. No body on this tree is the assembly of Acts 2; where a body claims that, the claim appears in the claimed-lineage layer.

Between the post-apostolic church and Church of South India stand 2 divisions along the institutional line, counting separations and disputed forks, not mergers, renewals or national organizations.

At a glance

Formed
In 1947
Family
United and uniting churches
Region
South India; Sri Lanka
Also known as
CSI

What it was organized out of

  • Formed by union with Church of England, one of several constituents.
  • Formed by union with Methodism, one of several constituents. The Methodist south India district.
  • Formed by union with Reformed, one of several constituents.

On the tree

Church of South India and its institutional line back to the post-apostolic churchAD 33The church at Pentecost: On divine groundThe church at Pentecost: on divine groundtoday10042443145110541519153417291947The post-apostolic church (The spine)The post-apostolicchurchDepartureChurch of the East (Church of the East)Church of the EastChurch of the EastThe conciliar church (The spine)The conciliar churchDepartureThe Chalcedonian church (The spine)The Chalcedonian churchDepartureOriental Orthodoxy (Oriental Orthodox)Oriental OrthodoxyOriental OrthodoxEastern Orthodoxy (Eastern Orthodox)Eastern OrthodoxyEastern OrthodoxRoman Catholicism (Catholic)Roman CatholicismNot gatheredReformed (Reformed and Presbyterian)ReformedReformed and PresbyterianChurch of England (Anglican)Church of EnglandAnglicanMethodism (Methodist)MethodismMethodistChurch of South India (United and uniting churches)Church of South IndiaUnited and uniting churches

Solid lines are separations and unions; dashed lines are renewals that began inside a body; dotted gray lines are national organizations of one communion; a diamond marks a fork event where neither side is drawn as the one that left. Every line runs back to the post-apostolic church; no body descends from the assembly of Acts 2. Dashed gray boxes mark the institutional line after the apostles, shown as departure; no line of descent is drawn from Pentecost. A verdict appears on a box once its section is published.

Adherents

About 4,500,000 adherents (self-reported claim, date not stated by the source).

A figure the body itself has stated, often years old, with no census apparatus behind it.

Source: Britannica/Wikipedia 4.5–5M vs EBSCO 2.8M (2018)

Scriptures

John 17:21

Sources

Research compiled July 2026. Page data built 2026-10-31.