Dornakal Diocese is a diocese of the Church of South India in Telangana state of India. The diocese mainly covers the pastorates in Warangal, Nalgonda, East Godavari and Khammam districts and also has churches in Odissha state. The Church of South India is a United Protestant denomination.

History

The Diocese of DornakalK. J. G. Sundaram (1931): A Deccan Village in India, Journal of Geography, 30:2, 49-57 was formed in December 1912. Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah was consecrated as its first bishop in St. Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta. Azariah was the first Indian to be consecrated a bishop in the Anglican CommunionChatterton, Eyre. The Diocese of Dornakal, 1912. A Diocese of Mass Movements. IN,: Project Canterbury: A History of the Church of England in India since the early days of the East India Company, London, SPCK, 1924 and was a leader in the Christian evangelistic movement in South Asia during the early twentieth century.Harper, S. B., In the Shadow of the Mahatma: Bishop V. S. Azariah and the Travails of Christianity in British India. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2000.

When the diocese was first formed, it was a small district in the southeast corner of the Nizam's dominions. A few years later, it was enlarged by the addition of the Dummugudem district, in which the Church Missionary Society (CMS) was working.

In 1920, a resolution of the Episcopal Synod placed all of the districts of both the CMS and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) in the Telugu country under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Dornakal.

The Cathedral of the Epiphany in Dornakal was consecrated on 6 January 1939.Diocese of Gloucester website

In 1940, the Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregational and Anglican churches of the region came together to form the Church of South India.

Geography

The present Diocese of Dornakal includes a large portion of the Krishna district, part of the Godavari districts, parts of the Kurnool and Kadapa districts to the south served by the SPG, the areas in the Hyderabad State served by the Indian Missionary Society of Tinnevelly (IMST), the Singareni Mission, the Khammamett Mission, and the recently formed Dornakal Diocesan Mission, which started in the Mulag Taluq.

The main towns in the diocese are Khammam and Kothagudem, and they host the largest congregations. The diocese has approximately 900 congregations.Diocese of Gloucester website

The diocese is partnered with the Diocese of Gloucester in England.Diocese of Gloucester websiteThe King’s School website

Funding The former president bishop of the church Rt. Rev. Dr Vadapalli Prasada Rao stated that the church is run entirely on Indian funds, which he says helps ensure the churches continued independence from the "Anglican Communion".

Bishops Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah (1912–45) A. B. Elliott (1945–1955) Yeddu Muthyalu, assistant bishop (1945–1947; became first Bishop in Krishna-Godavari) P. Solomon (1956–1979) G. S. Luke (1980–1985) D. N. Samuel (1986–1996) A. Rajarathnam (1997–2006) B. S. Devamani (2006–2012) Dr.V. Prasada Rao (2012–7.9.2020) Dr.K. Padma Rao (20.06.2021–22.06.2026) Dr. K. Senam Raj (02.08.2026 - Present)

Group church councils and chairman Rev. G. J. Kantha Rao, Dornakal GCC Rev. K. George Clement, Khammam GCC Rev. B. Abhijith, singareni GCC Rev. K. T. Vijay Kumar, Dummagudem GCC Rev. A. Ramesh, Sathupally GCC Rev. P. Ramesh, Kodad GCC Rev. S. George, Sagar GCC Rev. B. Srinivas paul, NSP GCC Rev. P. Sunil Sreedhar, Yellandu GCC Rev. R. Israel Reddy, Manuguru GCC Rev. Y. Ravi Kumar, Maredumilli GCC

Churches CSI Epiphany Cathedral Church, Dornakal St. Andrew's Church, Kothagudem St. Andrew'sChurch, kalyanapuram St. Mary's Church, Khammam St. Paul's Church, Aswapuram St. Paul's Church, P.V. Colony Christ Church, Bhadrachalam St. Peter's Church Kodad St. Paul's Church, Mahabubabad St. Paul's Church, Palwancha St. Timothy Church, Huzurnagar St. John's Church, Yellandu St. John's Church, J.K colony, Yellandu St. Philip's Church, Nava bharat Christ Church, Indira Nagar, KMM St. Mark's Church, NSP, Khammam St. Luke Church, Singabhupalem, KTDM St. Thomas Church, Ramavaram, KTDM St. James Church, Gouthampur St Peter's Church, Rudrampur Christ Church, Parsibandam, khammam St. John's Church v.m.banjara, St. Peter's church, Madiripuram, Near Bangla Church Of South India, Miryalaguda, Dornakal Diocese St. Andrew's Church, Anisettipally

Educational institutions Bishop Azariah High School for Girls, Dornakal Bishop Azariah Junior college for Girls, Dornakal Bishop Azariah Degree College, Dornakal Dornakal Diocese. Junior College, Dornakal Dornakal Diocese. High School, Dornakal St. Mary's High school, Khammam St. Andrew's High School, Kothagudem St. Christ Church Primary School, Bhadrachalam St. Peter's Primary School, Thoorubaka, Bhadrachalam Dorkal Diocese Hostel, Chadrupatla Mission High school (Aided), Madiripuram

Further reading

External links Dornakal Diocese official website

References