Bengali Christians

Bengali Christians (Bengali: বাঙালি খ্রিস্টান) are adherents of Christianity among the Bengali people. Christianity took root in Bengal after the arrival of Portuguese voyagers in the 16th century. It witnessed further conversions among the Bengali upper-caste elite during the 19th century Bengali Renaissance.

Bengali Christians
বাঙালি খ্রিস্টান (Bangali Khrishtan)
Total population
1,370,000
Regions with significant populations
 Bangladesh640,000[1]
 India730,000 (West Bengal)[2]
Languages
Bengali (native), Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac (liturgical languages), Hindi and English (secondary languages cum lingua francas for official purposes for those resident in India)
Religion
Christianity
--- Catholicism
--- Protestantism
--- Indian Orthodox
Related ethnic groups
Bengali Muslims, Bengali Hindus, Bengali Buddhists
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Christianity
Principal symbol of Christianity
Theology
Western
Eastern
Restorationist
Related topics
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Bengalis

Bengali history
Bengali homeland
Bengali people
Bengali culture
Bengali symbols
Politics

Bengali Christians have made significant contributions to Bengali culture, commerce and society. The region is home to venerable Christian missionary institutions, including the Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa.

Archdiocese of Calcutta
Archdiocese of Dhaka

History
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chittagong

Christianity was established in Bengal by the Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century. Basilica of the Holy Rosary, Bandel is the first church known to have been constructed in 1599 at Hugli-Chuchura in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, India. Another is known to have been established from the historical records was in Ishwaripore, Jessore (erstwhile Chandecan) in 1600 under patronage of Pratapaditya which later was ransacked.[3] Chittagong (erstwhile also referred to as Diang) with significant Portuguese and trading settlements had first hermitage and churches erected around this time. The Portuguese settlement in Chittagong hosted the first Vicar Apostolic in Bengal.[4] The Portuguese from there moved to Arakan, where they would transport Hindu and Muslim slaves, about 42,000 in number from 1621 to 1624, and converted 28,000 of those enslaved peoples to Christianity.[5] Jesuit missionaries also established churches in Bandel and Dhaka. In 1682, there were 14,120 Roman Catholics in Bengal.[1] William Carey translated the Bible into Bengali in 1809. Many upper-class Bengalis in the British Indian capital Calcutta converted to Christianity during the Bengal Renaissance.

The Missionaries of Charity was founded by the Mother Teresa in Calcutta in 1950. It played a major role in supporting and sheltering refugees during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

Denominations

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church in Bangladesh is based in the Archdiocese of Dhaka, with dioceses in Dinajpur, Mymensingh, Sylhet and Rajshahi and Archdiocese of Chittagong, with dioceses on Barisal and Khulna .[6]

The Roman Catholic Church in West Bengal is based in the Archdiocese of Calcutta.

Anglican Communion

There are three dioceses of the Anglican Church of Bangladesh:

St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata is the seat of the Anglican Diocese of Calcutta (1813) of the Church of North India (CNI).

Other denominations

Other denominations include:[6]

Demographics

Bengali Christians are considered a model minority in South Asia and usually enjoy a high literacy rate, low male-female sex ratio and a better socio-economic status.[7] Christian missionaries operate many schools, hospitals and shelters for the poor. They receive support from the Indian and Bangladeshi governments.

Dhaka, Chittagong, Barisal, Khulna and Northern District Side have significant Christian populations.

Culture

Lusophone heritage

Most Catholic Bengali Christians have Portuguese surnames. In a tradition similar to Bengali Muslims (who have Arabic and Persian names), Bengali Christians adopted Portuguese surnames due to the early influence of Portuguese missionaries in spreading Christianity. Common Catholic Bengali Christian surnames include Gomes, Rozario, D'Costa, Gonsalvez, Cruze, Dias, D'Silva and D'Souza among others.[8]

Christmas is known as "Borodin" (Big Day) and is a public holiday in both Bangladesh and Indian West Bengal.

Notable Bengali Christians
  • Golaknath Chatterjee, the Rev. Bengali Missionary and grandfather of Amrit Kaur
  • Lal Behari Dey, Bengali Christian Missionary, writer and journalist
  • Kali Charan Banerjee, Lawyer, Indian independence movement activist and founding member of the Indian National Congress.
  • Kali Charan Chatterjee, Bengali christian Missionary and first moderator of the Presbyterian Church in India.
  • Krishna Mohan Banerjee, Educationist, linguist and Bengali Christian missionary, First President of the Bengal Christian Association.
  • Gyanendra Mohan Tagore, First Asian Barrister,
  • Brahmabandhav Upadhyay, Bengali theologian, journalist and freedom fighter in the Indian independence movement

Religious Leaders

Freedom Fighters

Arts

Industry

Scholars
  • Chandramukhi Basu, first female graduate of British India
  • Radhanath Sikdar, Indian mathematician
  • Ashis Nandy, Indian sociologist
  • Sukumari Bhattacharji, Indologist
  • Patrick Das Gupta, physicist and retired Professor, University of Delhi
  • Antony Gomes, physiologist and retired Professor, University of Calcutta
  • Aparna Gomes, Biologist and Retired Scientist, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology
  • James Gomes, Professor of Biology, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi
  • Premen Addy, historian and journalist

Educators

Journalists

Politicians

Bangladesh Army

Indian Defence Services

Sports

See also

References
  1. Luchesi, Brigitte (1999), "Bangladesh", in Fahlbusch, Erwin, Encyclopedia of Christianity 1, Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, pp. 182–183, ISBN 0802824137
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2015-08-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Ray, Aniruddha (1976). "Case Study of a Revolt in Medieval Bengal: Raja Pratapaditya Guha Roy". In De, Barun (ed.). Essays in Honour of Prof. S.C. Sarkar. Delhi: People's Pub. House
  4. "Chronicle/Snippets". Archived from the original on 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
  5. Ahmed, S.M. Tanveer Ahmed. Christian Missions in East Bengal.
  6. World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 368-371
  7. "Indian Christians Treat Their Women Better, Sex Ratio Highest". 25 December 2007. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  8. "Você fala Bangla?". Dhaka Tribune. 25 January 2014. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.

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