RUDRA BISWAS
Ranchi, Nov.4: As Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church (GEL) , the oldest church in Chotanagpur (Jharkhand), completes 177 years of existence, its Moderator, Johan Dang, stresses,” We received the love of God ,way back in 1845. We would continue to spread the message of love, peace and brotherhood, to all.
The history of the GEL Church dates back to 1844 when four German missionaries- Rev. August Brandt, Rev.Friedrich Batsch, Rev.Emile Schatz, and Rev.Theodore Janke, hand picked by Fr.Johannes Evangelista Gossner, the founder of the Berlin Mission, Germany, were despatched to Burma, now Myanmar, to launch the Lutheran Mission.
The missionaries left Germany in 1844 and reached Kolkata, then called Calcutta, in 1845. On reaching Kolkata, they changed their plans after they got word that the Baptist missionaries from the Americas had already reached Myanmar, and instead decided to proceed towards Chotanagpur and its town of Ranchi. The four German missionaries reached Ranchi on November 2, 1845.
In December 1845, on the insistence of J.R.Ouseley, the then Agent to the Governor General, , the Raja of Ratu donated 121 acres to the German missionaries, where they set up their tent and named it Bethesda or the House of Mercy.
In 1851, the missionaries laid the foundation stone of a church, at the present day GEL Compound, off Main Road, Ranchi, and named it Christ Church. The head of the Berlin Mission, Germany, Fr. Johannes Evangelista Gossner, donated Rs.13,000 for the construction of the church.
Christ Church, or the GEL Church, as it is popularly known, stands out as a unique example of Gothic architecture ,with its high ceiling and large stained glass windows, that flood the church interiors with daylight. The glass paintings are almost 167 years old yet their grace and glow has not faded even a bit. The history of the church is also quite interesting. It was attacked on numerous occasions, most notably during the 1857 Indian War of Independence.. A large cannon ball, fired at the church, got stuck just above a window and remains there till today.
From a modest beginning 177 years ago, GEL Church has today expanded to Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, M.P., Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra and even to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with a string of schools, educational institutions, M.Ed and B.Ed Colleges and health care facilities.
GEL Moderator, Johan Dang, however, made it clear that the Church was opposed to any form of coerced or induced conversions. “We are opposed to any form of conversion by force, inducement or coercion,” he stressed.
