CSI inherited great Christian tradition: Canterbury Archbishop

Delivering a message at the conclusion of the year-long golden jubilee celebrations of the South Kerala Diocese of CSI, Williams said India was a land of great religious diversities and not of conflicts. "In the last few days, I could also understand that within the rainbow spectrum of Christian differences here, how close is the friendship between Churches and how deep is the trust among them," Williams said.

He said the CSI should be a community committed to growth not just in numbers, but in vision by finding new areas in which to serve without discrimination. Williams said the Church should focus on three crucial things for its future growth--It should pray, question and be selfless.

A praying Church was one which knew it could not do everything on its own. "We should learn to trust God, spending time meditating on His written word," he said. The Church should also learn to ask questions about itself and the society around. It should put forth questions on injustices and sufferings and learn to fix priorities. "Prayer that makes us learn to trust, also makes us fearless to ask questions," he said.

The Church should also have a selfless existence so that the unselfish love of God could be made to be seen more clearly, Williams said. "Church will grow only when prayer leads us to trust, challenges, forgetfulness of ourselves and our fears," the supreme leader of the Anglican Church said.

Earlier, Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma Maharaja of the erstwhile Travancore royal family, inaugurated the concluding function of the golden jubilee of South Kerala Diocese of CSI. In his speech, he recalled the close bond the royal family had with the Church.
Jane Williams, wife of the Archbishop, released the golden jubilee souvenir on the occasion. J W Gladstone, Bishop, CSI South Kerala Diocese made the introductory speech.