Timeline
From the shore at Tharangambadi to the Diocese today.
Three centuries in four ages. Choose one, or read on down the page.
I1706 – 1798
The missionaries arrive
Lutheran missionaries land at Tharangambadi, and Schwartz gathers the first congregations of Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur.
- 1706
Ziegenbalg and Plütschau arrive at Tharangambadi
- 44 years1750
Christian Friedrich Schwartz arrives in India
- 12 years1762
Early prayer house and school established in Tiruchirappalli
- 1766
Christ Church consecrated in Tiruchirappalli
- 32 years1798
Schwartz enters eternal rest in Thanjavur
II1803 – 1898
Villages, schools and colleges
The Gospel reaches the villages; the Methodist mission begins; the schools grow into colleges.
- 1803
Kollidam Mission develops among village communities
- 14 years1817
Methodist missionary ministry begins at Nagapattinam
- 1826
Bishop Reginald Heber visits Tiruchirappalli and dies there
- 30 years1856
Methodist English-medium educational work begins at Nagapattinam
- 28 years1884
Wesleyan educational institution elevated to college status
- 14 years1898
Findlay College moves to Mannargudi
III1913 – 1935
A people’s movement, and one Church
Whole villages come to faith, and the churches begin the long road to union.
- 1913
Abraham of Perungarunai Palayam receives baptism; people's movement grows
- 1919
Tharangambadi consultations on Church union
- 1925
Wesleyan Methodists join union discussions
- 1929
First draft scheme for Church union
- 1934–35
Reorganisation of Bishop Heber and Findlay educational institutions
IV1947 – today
The Diocese
The Church of South India is born, and with it the Tiruchirappalli–Thanjavur Diocese, under seven Bishops.
- 1947
Church of South India inaugurated; Tiruchirappalli–Thanjavur Diocese constituted
Seven Bishops since 1947
I
Edgar Bentley Thorp
1947–1962
II
Solomon Doraisawmy
1964–1982
III
R. Paulraj
1982–1998
IV
D. James Srinivasan
1998–2008
V
G. Paul Vasanthakumar
2008–2018
VI
D. Chandrasekaran
2018–2024
VII
S. Samuel Rajadurai
2025–present
2026Diocesan Amutha Vizha — eighty years in the journey of faith — St. Luke's Church, Tiruchirappalli, 10 October 2026