 Roman Catholic Church Bettiah | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 16,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Indian subcontinent | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholic Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
|
The Bettiah Christians (Hindustani: Béttiah Masīhī or Béttiah ʿĪsāʾī), also known as Betiawi Christians, are the northern Indian subcontinent's oldest Christian community, which emerged in the 18th century.[2][1] The origins of the Bettiah Christian community lie in Champaran in what is now the Indian state of Bihar, in which the king of the Bettiah Raj, Maharaja Dhurup Singh, invited Roman Catholic missionaries of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin to establish the Bettiah Christian Mission there.[2]
Upper and middle-caste Hindus who converted to Christianity in the 18th and 19th centuries constitute the majority of the ethnoreligious community of Bettiah Christians, though it has incorporated those from former Muslim, Newar and scheduled caste heritage as well.[3][4][5][6]
Bettiah Christians are known for working in education, serving in the roles of teachers and professors.[7] A number of them have served in ecclesiastical positions as bishops, nuns, brothers and priests.[7] Their erudite background has led to a Bettiah Christian diaspora across northern India.[8]
- ^ a b Kalapura, Jose (April 2020). "Centenary History of Patna Jesuit Mission". Patna Ganga Lahar. Jesuit Conference of South Asia.
It is estimated that the Bettiah Christians comprise some 16000 members and are presently dispersed in various urban centres of north India and abroad. The making of the Bettiah Christians, the oldest Christian community in northern India, is a signal achievement of the Capuchins and the Jesuits later.
- ^ a b John, Jose Kalapura (2000). KING, FORT, ZAMINDARIS AND MISSIONARIES: THE FOUNDING OF BIHAR'S OLDEST CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY, 1745. Indian History Congress. p. 1011-1022.
- ^ Bar, Swarup (23 February 2021). The Spirit Shaped Church: A Spirit Ecclesiology in India. Fortress Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-5064-6690-3.
the Bettiah Christians, converted from upper and middle castes
- ^ "Bihar Christians have fostered faith harmony 250 years". Union of Catholic Asian News. 6 November 1995. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
Catholics in the Bettiah region of Muzaffarpur diocese trace the origin of their faith community to Italian Capuchins, who set up a Christian community in 1745 with converts from upper- and middle-caste Hindus.
- ^ Kalapura, Jose (2015). "Philanthropic Organizations and Community Development: The Case of the Bettiah Christians in India". Asian Journal of Social Science. 43 (4): 403. doi:10.1163/15685314-04304005.
A majority of the Bettiah Christians originally belonged to the high castes, a considerable number belonged to the occupational or middle castes
- ^ Robinson, Rowena; Kujur, Joseph Marianus (6 August 2010). Margins of Faith: Dalit and Tribal Christianity in India. SAGE Publications. p. 77. ISBN 978-81-321-0467-4.
Bettiah Christians, converted largely from upper and middle castes at Bettiah town in West Champaran district, but spread all over north India
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
UCAwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Kalapura, Jose (2015). "Philanthropic Organizations and Community Development: The Case of the Bettiah Christians in India". Asian Journal of Social Science. 43 (4): 404, 416. doi:10.1163/15685314-04304005.
Not surprisingly, Patna Mission historian Paul Dent (ca. 1930:72) recorded in the 1930s that "there are no Christians communities in Delhi to Calcutta which do not have a section whose origin is known by the name, Bettia Khristans (Christians)." ... In sum, educational empowerment enhanced occupational mobility from the traditional to blue or white-collar employment mostly in cities outside Bettiah where they migrated.
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