History of South Kerala Diocese

     The South Kerala diocese of the Church of South India is headquartered in Trivandrum(Thiruvanathapuram). It has 60 parish districts and approximately 625 parishes in this diocese.
     A lion’s share of the parishes and congregations under this diocese share the Christian tradition introduced in this land by the missionaries of London Mission Society (LMS).  Vedamanickam Maharasan was the first Protestant convert from Travancore. Born in present day Kanyakumari District, he went to Tanjaore as a Hindu pilgrim. There, he met the LMS Missioanry William Tobias Ringeltaube, who initiated him into Christian faith. Maharasan invited Ringeltaube to his village. A center of LMS was opened near his village in Aralvaimozhi in 1806, which was later shifted to Nagercoil. The first Protestant church in Travancore was dedicated in Mylady in 1809.


     The LMS missionaries worked hard for the uplift of the socially oppressed classes, education of the masses irrespective of the caste, creed or religion and to provide better health care to all.
     When the CSI was formed in 1947, the Churches in southern Travancore came under the South Travancore Diocese. But when Kerala was formed in 1957, Kanyakumari was handed over to Tamil Nadu. The necessity of forming a separate diocese for southern Kerala was felt. As a result, the South Kerala Diocese was formed in 1959. Rt. Rev. A.H. Legg, the then Bishop of the South Travancore Diocese, became the first Bishop of the South Kerala Diocese.


Bishops

Rt. Rev A. H. Legg Rt Rev A. H. Legg(1947-1967)

The first bishop was Rt Rev A. H. Legg consecrated on 13-10-1947. The diocese then got bifurcated into Kanyakumari and South Kerala Diocese. He became the first Bishop of the South Kerala Diocese as well, in 1959. He served in this office for eight years, when he returned to England.
Rt Rev William Paul Vachalan (1967-1972) was the next Bishop to be consecrated and instated in SKD. He passed away o 5-11-1972 while in service.    Rt Rev William Paul Vachalan
Most Rev Isaiah Jesudasan The Most Rev Isaiah Jesudasan (1973-1990) was consecrated as the next Bishop on 5 August 1973. He was Deputy Moderator of the Church of South India from 1980-81 and Moderator from 1982-1987. He served as a Central Committee member of the W..C.C Hon.Doctorate of Divinity was conferred upon him in 1988. He retired from active service on 14th February 1990 on completion of 65 years of age.
After the retirement of the Most Rev. I. Jesudasan Rt Rev Dr Samuel Amritham was consecrated (on 20-5-1990). He was director of the Programme on Theological Education and Director of the Ecumenical Institute, Bossey of the WCC 1980-1990. Serampore University conferred on him a honorary doctorate in 1987. He retired from active service on 19the August 1997. Rt Rev Dr Samuel Amritham  
Most Rev Dr J. W. Gladstone  The Most Rev Dr J. W. Gladstone was the next bishop who was consecrated on 16-9-1997. He was the principal of KUT seminary, Trivandrum and the president of the Senate of Serapore, Culcutta. He is selected as the Moderator of the C.S.I. Synod in 2008. He retired from active service on 25th December 2010 on completion of 65 years of age.
 Rt. Rev A Dharmaraj Rasalam (55) was proclaimed as the new Bishop of Church of South India (CSI) South Kerala Diocese on July 24, 2011. Rev Rasalam was ordained as Bishop at the Mateer Memorial Church, Trivandrum. He hails from Vizhinjam. After his schooling in Vizhinjam and Venganoor, Rasalam graduated in History from the Kerala University. He also did his graduation and post-graduation in Theological Studies at the Senate of Serampore College.   Rt. Rev A Dharmaraj Rasalam