The First Protestant Christian Of Travancore Kingdom: Part final.

The First Protestant Christian of  Travancore Kingdom:    Part final :

Vethamanicakm's management of of the Mylaudy  LMS  Mission :   The death of Gnanamuthu the Head of Vethamanickam's family, caused Vethamanickam,  deep sorrow.  However he quickly recovered from the melancholy and with the timely and sincere help of his other family members , Vethamanickam managed all the affairs of the Mission in an effective  manner. His son Devasagayam , his son-in -law Pakianathan, his nephew Masillamani etc helped  Vethamanickam in this regard. The eldest son-in -law of Vethamanickam,  Packianathan rendered eminent service to  the Mission and he served as the manager of the secular affairs of the Mission in a successful  manner.

Bishop Middleton's visit to the Mylaudy Protestant Mission , March 1816;    By the effective initiatives taken in British Parliament in 1813 by M r. Wilberforce and others , Revd. Dr. Middleton was appointed as the Bishop to India in the same year. After visiting Tranquebar, Tanjore, Trichinopoly, and Tinnevelley  Dr. Middleton  extended his tour to the Churches of Travancore.  The British Resident Col Munro issued orders to Vethamanicakm to go and meet Bishop Middleton along with the  leading members of the Mylaudy Church , at the Aramboly Pass and escort him and provide him all the information about the Mylaudy Protestant [L.M.S]Mission.  Accordingly Vethamanicakm,  met Bishop Dr.Middleton at Aramboly Pass , in March , 1816 ; and as instructed by Col. Munro Judge Everett acted as interpreter. Vethamanickam intorduced  his delegates to the Bishop Middleton ,and the bishop  held conversation with them on various topics including Mylaudy Mission  affairs.

.

Bishop  Dr. Middleton was  much pleased by the reception given by the Mylaudy Christians  and he wrote in a subsequent letter that he was " much satisfied with everything he saw and heard of this Infant Mission"  He also spoke to the British Resident  Col Munro in high  appreciating terms about Mylaudy Vethamanickam.

The arrival Mr Charles Mead in December 1817  and Vethamanickam :  Revd Charles Mead landed at Colachel in South Travancore, in December 1817.  Vethamanickam and and his friends went to Colachel and welcomed Mr Mead and brought him to Mylaudy.  Mr. Charles Mead took charge of the Mylaudy LMS  Mission from Vethamanickam.  Mr. Mead lived in the cottage Bungalow of Mr.Ringeltaube for a short period of time; and  after getting all the needed information about the Christians of the Mylaudy Mission  LMS Cogregations    and Mission Property from Vethamanickam , Mr. Mead  reported about his arrival to the British Resident Col. Munro.

Granary at Mylaudy: As a  great visionary  Mr. Mead understood  the necessity for the erection of a central Paddy  Granary  at Mylaudy , to store  the produce from the extensive paddy fields  of Thamaraculam etc and so he applied for the permission and got the permission for the same ,through the British Resident.  In 1818 the spacious granary was finished with the cellar and downstairs  to store up paddy and the upstairs to be used as a dwelling house for the Missionary when he was on tour  as a Traveler's Bungalow for European visitors. The most important objective  of this Granary at Mylaudy was to help  the poor  Christians in every possible way.  C. M.  Agur writes "The early Missionaries treated the poor people belonging to the first congregations of the Mylaudy Misssion with special consideration because of the services of their fathers to the early Missionaries and as the Endowment had historical connections with them, and they also in their turn were grateful  for the peculiar  privileges they enjoyed ".[  C.M . Agur, C.H.T.Page.677].

Vethamanickam was a Social Reformer  : Vethamanickam was not only a great spiritualist but  also he was great social thinker and activist. He wisely used his connections  with the Missionaries and British Residents and opportunities to fight against all types of social evils. During those days there was an extra governmental organisation called the "National Council of the Pidagaikars" that exercised more authority over the people of  Southern District, than the Government itself.  One of the primary aims of this Council was to supervise all the individuals  whether they  follow their caste laws , customs , manners or not  and whether any caste adopted the costume , food , speech , and general habits of other class or castes. If the Council discovered  any individual trespassed or violated his caste rules and limits , it used to take the law in its hands and  brought him or her to judgement and carried everything with a bigoted mentality. Vethamanickam really played a positive role to bring these evil traditions which violated basic human dignity and rights , to the notice of the british Resident  Col Munro and through him he abolished and dismissed this anti social , "National Council of the Padagaikars" of  Nanjil Nadu.

Cruel Taxes and Vethamanickam:  Vethamanickam  with great presence of mind decided to use the benevolence and support of the kind British Resident and Ringeltaube  and  to present their plea to the Government  through  Ringeltaube  to get exemption from the cruel tax  burdens and  suppression . Vethamanickam motivated Rigeltaube to free the people from Cruel Taxes like Poll Tax, and also convinced Ringeltaube that it was his duty to endeavor and  abolish this inhuman taxes {Agur, CHT. P. 574] and to seek relief for the sake of the poor Christians at least who had every reason to be treated just like their fellow subjects in  matters such as  taxes.Thus we see that the humble representation made by Vethamanickam to Ringeltaube brought great relief  not only to Christians abut also to all the heathens of backward communities[ CHT ,p. 576]

On this account poorer caste people  regarded Vethamanickam as their friend and Mr, Ringeltaube as their great benefactor[CHT p.576]. In the same way Vethamanickam and Ringeltaube played deciding roles to abolish the "Sunday Ooliam services" [CHT P 577] .Vethmanickam's  influence on Ringeltaube played a vital role to introduce  many reforms  in Travancore .  Mr. Ringeltaube had no occasion to complain of his faithful  Assistant   Vethamanickam{CHT, p. 578],

The Head Quarters shifted from Mylaudy to Nagercoil in April, 1818:  As soon as  Col .Munro handed over the circuit house at Nagercoil to Mr. mead; Mr. Mead immediately shifted  the Head -Quarters to Nagercoil from Mylaudy in April  1818.  After  having settled at Nagercoil,Mead immediately purchased 8  pieces of land with multipurpose vision . Mead purchased 2 acres of land  for settling christian families which he intended to bring from Mylaudy and Tanjore.

                                                                           

Vethamanickam and Mr. Mead :  Even after having handed over the official charge over to Mr. Mead in December 1817, Vethamanickam received the same respect and attention from the people.  He worked with  Mr. Mead for  9 years until he became very old and did  lend a helping hand to Mr. Mead to establish new Churches , educational institutions etc in South Travancore.

The remarkable Vethamanickam Passed away : Unfortunately Vethamanickam was afflicted and affected with a boil on the knee,and he could not recover from that affliction , in January1827 and died and his mortal body was buried in his own land at Mylaudy by the side of the Puthanar Canal and you can see his historical tomb even today at Mylaudy.

Vethamanickam's Descendants  Today : Today the great Mylaudy Maha Rasan Vethamanickam's descendants are doing  remarkably well in various fields like education , medicine,  music,govt services, teaching , private sector ,  UNO, ,finance, administration , etc .  During the past centuries ,the great Christian Poet John Palmer , Poet and Writer Devaram Munshi , Writer   Rev C. Masillamani , the great church Historian C. M. Agur , B.A[The Office manager of the British Resident , ], the England educated the great geologist  Ezra Masillamani{Brother of Agur], Padma Sri. Handel Manuel and so many others of Vethamanickam's family  members have done remarkably well in their respective fields to the envy of many others..

Today many of  Vethamanickam's  descendants have shifted from Mylaudy to various other places and some of them have even migrated to other countries. In view of the shortage of time and space I will high  light one or two personalities for general information :

The sixth generation descendant of Vethamanickam, Dr. Vijaykumar Moses , MBBS, MD, MBA[USA], MPA, son of  Mr. H.D. Moses , Nagercoil,  is one of the prominent and outstanding descendants of Maharasan Vethamanickam , Dr. Vijayakumar is an internationally acclaimed Medical Doctor and Researcher and he was privileged to work at United Nations as medical Doctor[UNICEF] , Dr Vijayakumar  Moses  retired as the Chief  of Young Child Survival Development [YCSD], UNICEF, Cairo , Egypt  in May 2013.

Dr. Vijayakumar   Moses has a brilliant and  enviable track record of medical service in some of the world famous Medical Institutions  both in India and abroad. To cite a few ,  he had the rare privilege to work as a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow scholar and  he established Tubal Sterilization Surveillance System across the United States.  He served as  Medical Epidemiologist, at the  Center  for Disease Control , USA[April 1980 to April 1982]. He worked as the Chief Executive Officer  and Project Director at Aga Khan Health Service,India  from April 1989 to September 1995. Dr. Vijaykumar Moses  also worked as State Programme Coordinator  for United  Nations Population Fund [UNFPA] from Jauary 1999 to January 2001., He also served as  Program Specialist ,Health and Nutrition and  Acting Representative for  United Nations Children Fund [UNICEf ] and so on an so forth.  At present he is working as  Director, Immunization Technical Support Unit [ITSU] at  the Public Health Foundation of India,[PHFI, New Delhi ,since August 2013..

A Few more  outstanding relatives of Mylaudy Vethamanickam,  Dr. Prabhahar  D  Moses. MBBS, MD, MRCP[UK]. FRCP[UK]:   Dr. Prabhahar D Moses  son of Mr. H.D. Moses , Nagercoil  is another remarkable  descendant of Mylaudy MahaRasan Vethamanickam  . He worked  in the prestigious Christian Medical College , Vellore  as the head of the Department of Child Health from 2001 to 2005.   He also served as the Executive Committee Member  of the CMC  from 2008 to 2009 ..  Then he worked as   Associate Medical Superintendent from 2009 to 2012.  He served the Chritian Medical College  and the general public with great dedication as a Doctor . Many of his articles have been published in many accredited  international medical journals and  his writings have been included as chapters  in the  Paediatric Text books of Medical Colleges.
In this connection it is imperative and pertinent to mention about another outstanding descendant of Mylaudy Maharasan Vethamickam by name  Dr. Isaac Christian Moses, M.B.B.S, M.D, son of Mr. Arthur Devadhas Moses . Dr Isaac Christian Moses[ A paternal cousin of . Dr.D. Moses ] is serving as the Dean of the prestigious  Stanley Medical College , Chennai since 16th June , 2015. Like this  many illustrious descendants of Mahararasan Vethamonickam   have reached unique and remarkable positions and  places in life .

Conclusion  :    The  extraordinary  Mylaudy Maha Rasan Vethamanickam is no more with us . In the beginning it was called as  the Mylaudy  LMS  Mission and later it was called as the Protestant Church in Travancre.  It is mentioned in the famous book ,"A Hundred Years In Travancore , 1806-1906 compiled by Rev.I. H.  HACKER,  London Missionary Society :  "It was there he [Ringeltaube] met with the Travancore pilgrim Vethamanickam , the real founder of the Protestant Church in Travancore"[London,1908, page20]. . The Protestant church in  Kanyakumari had been growing   like a fertile Teak  tree  over the years  and  underwent  some notable changes . In  1959  it's name has been changed   as Kanyakumari CSI Diocese. It said that The Kanyakumari CSI Dicese  is the richest  and numerically the biggest  Diocese among all other CSI Dioceses. Even though the history of  the great  Mylaudy Vethamanickam  is forgotten to some extent still he  lives in the  LMS/CSI  related  Churches , Schools, the Mission Properties  and  in the social , religious ,educational  and cultural renaissance and history of  Kanyakuari district and  Tamil Nadu , Kerala and India  .  Let me conclude this Post with a  meaningful  and  fitting  sentence of the great Church Historian  Mr C.B. Firth , "Maharasan Vethamanickam was a remarkable  person "[ An Introduction to Indian Church history " By C.B. Firth].

P. BABU MANOHARAN,M.A,.[Rights reserved . This Article will be altered or modified if needed later]...

The First Protestant Christian of Travancore  kingdom ;  Part  IV

Vethamanickam and the establishment of the  first  Seven  LMS Churches in  Travancore :

Without wasting time Vethamanickam started to preach the Gospel of Christ  in South Travancore in and around Mylaudy . At first he  focused  his attention to convert his relatives and friends but unfortunately he was not so successful in that effort ,  but  the Nadars  of nearby villages readily and gladly listened to him and accepted the Gospel.Christ.

Thamraculam[South]  LMS Church::  After  Mylaudy ,  Vethmanickam  started his missionary work at South Thamarakulam and  he  was was privileged to proclaim the Gospel of Christ  to the people of South Thamarakulam  and they gladly accepted Christ and his Gospel. The people who accepted Christ from Thamaraculam were Vedamanickam Moopan of Santhivillay a suburb of the South Thamaraculam,  father of Devasagayam [a  teacher of this  place], Pakiamutthu Moopan, and Abraham Moopan, father of Arumanayagam Catechist [served as Supt of Mission fields] with all their  families; and these were the first deacons of the Thamaraculam  LMS Church.  Mylaudy  Masillamani who accompanied Vethamanickam to Chidambaram was appointed as the first Catechist of Thamaraculam LMS. Church by Ringeltaube.

Abraham  Moopan  [Perumal Nadar of Kottaiyadi]  was one among the first  three Moopans[  Deacon] of Thamaraculam LMS Church and he  was baptized by Rineltaube  at Thamarakulam LMS church in 1810. Later Abraham Moopan established a  Church [LMS] in his  native village Kotaiyadi.  Abraham Moopan begot Royan , Royan begot Arumainayagam[served as  Superintendent  of  Thamaraculam  LMS  Mission paddy fields], Arumainayagam begot Daniel Vathiar , and Daniel begot the famous lawyer   Packiaraj  and Packiaraj served as the Superintendent of Thamaraculam Mission paddy fields  etc, of CSI Kanyakumari Diocese.

Till the end 1809 there was only one Church that of Mylaudy for the use of Christians in South Travancore . So Ringeltaube obtained Government permission in the beginning 1810  to build Churches in six other places Ringeltaube immediately  began  to build small  Chapels at the required places.  So a small Church building was constructed at  Thamarakulam [South] and the Thamaraculam Church was dedicated on the  10th March 1810 . On that day Mr Ringeltaube baptized  40   people and two days after 12 persons were baptized.

Puthalam and Ettambully  LMS Churches :  From Thamaraculam ,   Maharasan  Vethamanickam began the preaching the Gospel of Christ  in the villages  on the western side of Thamarakulam,  a few men  in Puthalam and Ettambully accepted the Gospel of Christ.  When Ringeltaube heard this glad news ,  he ardently visited these two village and  spiritually encouraged them.  Ringeltaube promised them to build Churches for them,  for which permission was applied forthwith.  Vethamanickam  had been  preaching the Gospel  and he was enthusiastically supported by his sons Devasagayam and Moses , his nephew Masillamani , Gnanamuthu the head man of Vethamanickam' family and some others.

Puthalam Church  building was a decent and modest building and it  was built  mainly through the exertions of Gnanamuthu the headman of the Mylaudy family.  The Puthalam church was dedicated on the 20th July, 1810 .The decent and clean dress of the converts on the occasion of the dedication of the Church  and their conduct and behavior in general pleased the Missionaries.    Mylaudy  Vethamanickam's eldest son Devasagayam was appointed as the first Catechist  of Puthalam LMS Church.

Picheikudiyirupu, Covilviley and  Athicad LMS Churches:

Ringeltaube  with Vethamanickam and others  often traveled from village to village and preached the Gospel of Christ in many villages and consequently many people  from Picheikudiyirupu, Athicad and Covilviley  accepted Christ and were ready for  baptism ,so Ringeltaube wrote to Mr  Koklhoff and obtained a few hands of trained catechists from Vethamanicakm's class from  Tanjore and Trichinopoly  and appointed them as Catechists over the new congregations.

The Athicad LMS Church was dedicated on the 28th July 1810,  by  Mr. Ringeltaube and he gave the sermon  based on the text Hebrew 12:22 and he enlightened  the people about the delights of Mount Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem

Ettambully LMS Church ; The Church initially  erected at Ettambully  was burnt down by the anti  christian elements  and so  Ringeltaube  made arrangements to build the second Church at Ettambully . The Second Church was dedicated on the 14th October 1810. On this historical occasion Ringeltaube baptized 32 coverts and preached on a touching topic "'What shall I do to be saved ["  Agur, CHT,Page,556].

Ammandivilley LMS Church :   By the tireless missionary efforts of  Mylaudy  Masillamani catechist , many people from Ammandivillai accepted the Gospel Of Christ , on hearing the good news Mr. Ringeltsube with a burning desire  visited  Ammandivilley and the people of the Ammandivilley  , erected a nice small  "Pandal" and in which they received him. He  preached the Gospel from the latter portion of  the St. Mathew, about the judgement day on the 24th February 1810,  In the night  of the same day Ringeltaube was sitting on the said Pandal and reading and explaining  the Holy Bible  and  while he was explaining the gospel to the  people  in the lamp light , a child of one of those present,  4 or 5 years old and borne lame, left his mother and crawling unobserved towards Ringeltaube and caught his feet.  Ringeltaube spontaneously took the child in his hands without knowing that it was a lame one . Agur writes , "curious to say the child walked from the very moment .  This incident produced great excitement and wonder among the people. We have given  the  story just as it is traditionally current among the people and believed by them to this day"[ Agur, CHT. P.557-558]

Some historical background  and High Lights:

By the dedicated missionary work of Vethamanickam and his team of missionary workers, the Protestant Church was growing in a notable way and dimension in South Travancore  even during those not so easy and difficult  days.  The first Political Resident and British representative ,Col. Macaulay retired from his work on the 4th march 1810, Col Maccaulay  presided  over the affairs of Travancore and Cochin from 1800 for ten years  in a very efficient manner and distinctive  style .C.M. Agur writes ,"He did so much good to the Travancore Church that he richly deserves to be called the "Father of the christian missions in Travanore" [C.H.T. Page.561].   Col . Macaulay was succeeded by an officer who was equally ardent and much willing to do good to the Christian  Mission  , by name  Col Munro .[ Agur, CHT p 561].

LMS Church Register  for  1810  in South Travancore :

Name of the Churh                                        Baptized
Mylaudy                                                             46
Pichukudieruppu                                                 32
Puthalam                                                            57
Kivilvilley                                                           64
Athicodoo                                                         52
Ettambolly                                                         43
Thamaraculam                                                 128
                                                                    ---------
                                              Total                 422
                                                                    ----------
.

Thus under the inspiring leadership and guidance  of Mr. Ringeltube , Mylaudy Vethamanickam , and his family members  Gnanamuthu , Masillamani , Devasahayam  and others  were doing excellent evangelical and missionary work in South Travancore  and had been establishing many Churches  and  God was  admitting many converts into His Body , the Church. The Church was growing day by day quantitatively and qualitatively.

                   Statistics of the Protestant mission [LMS]in Travancore 1815

Name of the congregation                 members      School boys 
Mylaudy                                                   174                 32
Picheikudierupu                                         30                 33
Temereycoolam [Thamraculam]             218                 27 
Puttalam  [Puththalam]                            116                 28
Atticaud   [Athicadu]                                  50                 25
Covilvilley  [covilcilai]                               57                 34
Eetamboly Eetammozhi]                          102                   9
                                                           -----------               --------
                                                Total         747               188
                                                           -------------           -------------
The initiative taken by Mr. Ringeltaube and  Vethmanickam to get the Grant of Paddy-fields ;

Unfortunately Ringeltaube's  health  began to fail and so he called , Vethamanickam and told his intention of leaving  Travancore  soon. Vethamanickam was overwhelmed  with great sorrow. However Vethamanickam with great vision told Ringeltaube that  when Mr. Schwartz established the Churches of Tanjore , he obtained free grants of lands from Maha Rja of of  Tanjore,  for the help of the Churches in Tanjore Missson and also told that those lands were very useful to the Mission to meet the administrative expenses of the Church , and requested Ringeltaube to  secure some grants of land for the planting of London Missionary Churches in Travancore. This appeal appealed him so Ringeltaube took necessary efforts to to secure some grants of lands  for LMS , Mylaudy mission ,  from the Government of Travancore  .This proposal assumed definite shape only in 1812, and this proposal  was  properly submitted and it was favorably received by the Resident Col. Munro.

In the selection of lands ,Ringeltaube left the matter in the hands of Vethamanickam and his nephew Masillamani the Catechist of Ettamboly.and they selected the Surcar fields at Tamarakulam[North] and Vayilauculam.  Ringeltaube  requested the Ranee, to give these Sircar fields as grant to LMS Mylaudy Mission  with  100  Cottah of tax. Fortunately Ranee Lakshi Bai [Queen of Travancore] consented to this proposal.  Mr.Ringeltaube sent  Mr Gnanamuthu the head man of Vethamanickam's family to Trivandrum and there  he waited  a few days and received the Royal Grant  of 110 acres and 18 cents of land in Thamrakulam Village and 22.52 acres of land in Kulasekaram village from the Ranee Lakshmi Bai  . Gnanamuthu brought the documents of the Royal  Grant  to the Missionary Ringeltaube [Agur, CHT . Page.601  &AP. Vallinayagam , Mahathma  Pooavukku Mun Maha Rasan Vethamanickam , page .238, Madurai, 2005]]. [But during the period of Mr.Mead the tax was reduced from 100 Cootahs  to a nominal tax of one Cottah.  ]

Vethamanickam and educational revolution in South Travancore;     Where ever , Vethamancickam and Ringeltaube  built Churches they also  started Schools   in those villages and places.  .As great visionary Vethamanicakm encouraged and inspired  Revd. W.T. Ringeltaube to  establish  an  English School  at Mylaudy , to give English education to the poor and under privileged  children of Mylaudy and the nearby villages and so  he sold  his land  at a nominal price  to the Mylaudy LMS Mission. The first English School in Travancore  was built in 1809  at   Mylaudy by Revd .W.T. Ringeltaube in the land which he bought from Vethamanickm at a nominal price.  That tiny little school at that tiny idyllic  village Mylaudy was the forerunner of the famous Scott christian College, Nagercoil  and became  the  first cradle of English Education in Travancore and laid the foundation for the educational and intellectual revolution of this part of the world..

Vethamanickam  received the Charge of  the Mission  from Revd.W.T. Ringeltaube:    As Ringeltaube could not get an European  Missionary within the stipulated time ,  to succeed him ; Revd. Ringeltaube decided to make his faithful and efficient native Catechist Vethamanickam as his successor till the Mission  gets  an European Missionary to take charge of the affairs of the LMS Mission , Travancore .  So in the end of January 1816 before leaving the country , Revd, W.T. Ringeltaube assembled all the converts in the Chapel at Mylaudy for Service and formally informed them of Vethamanickam's appointment to succeed him for the time being in the conduct of the Mission till  the arrival of another LMS  Misssionary and earnestly exhorted and  requested  them to show    Mylaudy  Maha Rasan Vethamanickam , all respect and obedience due to his new Position and  blessed all of them .

This was followed by the administration of  Lord's Supper . Then  Revd. W.T. Ringeltaube laid his hands on Maha Rasan Vethamanickam's head and sincerely  prayed  for  Vethamanickam to God and invoked his blessings on the newly ordained   Servant  of Jesus Christ. Mr. Ringeltaube took out his own surplice and put it on  Mylaudy Maha Rasan Vethamanickam and charged him most solemnly in the presence of of the people and before God to faithfully feed his flock . Revd. W.T .Ringeltaube handed over to Maha Rasan Vethamanickam his Certificate and license to preach and  and  administer  the sacraments and manage the Mission , written in English and Tamil which is still  preserved in the family .[C.M.Agur,  Church History of Travancore , Page. 613-614].

                                                              "The Certificate"

                          This is to certify as founder of the Protestant Mission in Travancore which  I have on account of the weak state of my body, I hereby exercise the right and duty of Missionary in appointing the oldest Catechist Vedamanickam to act as Native Priest and Superintendent of the said Mission ad-interim till another Missionary may have been appointed . In this capacity he is to teach and preach the pure word of God , to administer the Holy Sacraments , to administer the Estate of the Churches consisting of two fields given by a Royal Grant which Grant is in his keeping , to dismiss and place schoolmasters , and if required to account with the Sircar of the country for the Mission prosperity and which  fruitions are to cease on the appointment of another Missionay by the Resident in power.  I hereby request all Gentlemen in authority to assist the said Vedamanickam in his official capacity  in all things that  are lawful and  permitted by the word  of  God  and  the constitution of Travancre.  

                                                       Witness my scal in Hand ,
                                                  [Signd]  William T . Ringeltaube,
                                                  Protestant Missionary in Travancore .


MYLAUDY,            }
23rd January 1816. }
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The Part Final will Follow soon {An Estimate about his Work and Service and his death].
P. BABU MANOHARAN.[Rights reserved}[ It will be modified or altered if needed later ]

The First Protestant Christian of  Travancore Kingdom:  Part   III:

No doubt Maha RasanVethamanickam was  a rare and remarkable person , and he  served as the right hand and inspiring Misssionay Assistant to  Mr. W.T. Ringeltaube  to  lay the foundation for the establishment of Protestant Christianity in Travancore  by establishing  the first seven Protestant Churches in South Travancore . We great vision , development and  design ,Vethamanickam rubbed the shoulders with Mr. Ringeltaube , and  helped  Ringeltaube to establish Churches , schools, and to acquireproductive  properties for  the of LMS.

Mr. Ringeltaube's Second visit to Mylaudy and the first baptism at Mylaudy  : During his first historical visit to Mylaudy , Ringeltaube stayed at Mylaudy only for a few days and then  proceeded to other places  to fulfill his other missionary responsibilities , leaving the small  Flock at the pastoral  care of Vethamanickam  . On the 1st of  March 1807 , Ringeltaube again  arrived at Mylaudy  and he was delightedly welcomed  by  Vethamanickam and other Christians.  The repented but  unbaptized Christians of Mylaudy ,were ardently awaiting Ringeltaube's arrival and  so they were much delighted to see him in their midst. Mr. Ringeltaube asked  the new converts who were ready for baptism  some basic questions  about salvation .Vethamanicakam' s great- grandson  C.M. Agur writes in his monumental book ," the Church History of Travancote " thus, "When all the converts heartily responded and  promised that they would bear all trials for Christ and that they would obey the Maha Rajah and the Magistrates&c, and the laws of the country as before, he baptized them  in  the same night" .    In that blessed night   Mr. Ringeltaube baptized 40 persons from Mylaudy including the head  of  Vethamanickm's family, Gnanamuthu.  Before leaving Mylaudy , Mr. Ringeltaube requested Vethamanicksm to build a small prayer house or Chapel near his house till the Government sanction for a permanent Church would come.

Troubles and challenges met by Vethamanickam; Unfortunaltely  during the period 1808-1809 , there were many  political ,religious and social  unrests  prevailed in Travancore.   Mr. Agur writes in his book , " As soon as Mr. Ringetaube left Mylaudy , the Sudras , Pandarams and Brahmans of the neighbour hood involved  Vethamanikam in many cases and unjustly punished him and persecuted him in various ways. In spite of this opposition and continued annoyance Vedamanickam continued to proclaim the Word of God with greater energy and courage than before".

The misfortune of an imopportune war in Travancore 1808-09:  During this period unexpectedly a war broke out between the English and the Rajah of Travancore . According to Agur it not only affected the peace of the state but also arrested the progress of the Mission and threatened the entire existence  of the infant Church just forming at Mylaudy.  Mr Ringeltaube was much disheartened and he gave up all hopes of launching his Mission  in Travancoe.

Battle of Nagercoil  and Mylaudy Christians : Vethamanickam's conversion to Christianity and his close association with  the English Missionaries and his friendship with  Col .Macaulay   made  him  as a marked man and he was looked upon with great suspicion and molested with undue severity and hatred [C.H.T. p. 544].  A complaint was also made by some people to the palace about Vethamanickam ,stating that he was the  man who brought a White man into Travancore  and  also acting as a British spy .[C.H.T. p. 545].  So the Prime Minister [Devan] of Travancore  sent a band of soldiers to the South  with orders  to capture and imprison the person [Vethamanickam ]. The  soldiers first went  to a Hindu village to get  their help to capture Vethamanickam.  But fortunately one of his Hindu friends  informed  Vethamanickam,  about the plan of the Dewan[Prime Minister]. So Vethamanickam and his family members fled from Mylaudy and took shelter in the nearby famous  Maruthuval Malai[ Medicine Hill].

But Vethamanickam  used to come out during night time to visit  his village , and during one of his secret night movements,  he was caught  by some of his enemies,  so  he requested them to leave him,  fortunately they pitied  and set free and told him to flee  for his life . Vethamanickam  safely returned to Maruthuvalmalai  hill . After the threatening situation returned to normalcy in February 1809[CHT.P.548]; Vethamanickam with his friends and relatives returned to his native village of Mylaudy and  he gathered together  all the scattered flock once again  around him.

The first Protestant Church of Travancore  was Built at Mylaudy  : On hearing the news of Vethamanickam's retun to Mylaudy along with his family members , after the war , Mr Ringeltaube  came back to Mylaudy and held a thanksgiving service with his Christians, praising God for their deliverance from the horrors and troubles of war and Government . Then he directly went to  Quilon and met Col.Macaulay and once more applied for permission to  build the first Protestant Christian Church at Mylaudy and returned to Mylaudy and resumed his evangelical and missionary work at  Mylaudy. At last the long awaited permission to build the Church was received by Mr. Ringeltaube , and he  shared  the same with Vethamanicakm.   Ringeltaube bought the lands of Vethamanickam and Gnanamuthu at a nominal price , even though they were willing to give their land for the construction of the Church freely , to avert  all future claims from their children.

After having purchased a  sufficient  suitable place, Mr. Ringeltaube  immediately started the construction work of the first  Protestant  Church  of Travancore at Mylaudy .In May 1809 the foundation of the long awaited Church was laid in Vethamanickam's ground. There were some obstacles placed  by a  concerned Thahsildar , but Vethamanicakm   overcame the bottle neck by using his  own usual technique. The construction work of  the  first Protestant Church of Travancore was completed within  a short span of four months and the Church was dedicated in September ,1809 . On that historical occasion  Mr. W.T. Ringeltaube baptized a few and administered the Lord's Supper to the  Christians assembled there. This was the first Protestant Christian Church built in Travancore .

Mr. Ringeltaube's simplicity : Mr. Ringeltaube was really a man of great Christian simplicity and high thinking and living.  As proposed by himself he could not build a  reasonable bungalow for himself , so  he happily lived in  a small native hut near the Church at Mylaudy, ten by six furnished with a common wooden table, one or two stools, and a native cot.  C. M Agur writes about Mr.Ringeltaube like this, , "In this way he lived like a pure and poor native of the country  in  the  simplest and inexpensive a style, practically showing to what extent a servant of God can deny himself the comforts of life in order to do good to his fellow beings."

Mr. Ringeltaube made Vethamanicakm a Catechist ;  In connection with the historical dedication of the historical Church at Mylaudy , Mr. Ringeltaube formally made  [Maha Rasan] Vethamanickam a Catechist and a paid  agent of the Mission .  The LMS Missionary Mr . Ringeltaube and his Assistant Vethamanickam now devised all means for the further extension of the Church. Vethamanickam's joy knew no bounds. After having been made as a Catechist by the legendary Missionay Ringeltaube , at the end of 1809, Vethamanickam entered upon his Evangelical, Ministerial and Missionary work with great joy ,dedication ,   commitment, and zeal.

                                                     [ Part IV will follow soon ]
P. BABU MANOHARAN. [Rights reserved]..

The First Protestant Christian of Travancore Kingdom ;  part  II :

The formation of the first nucleus of the Protestant Church of Travancore  at Mylaudy :  Forthwith from the morning of the next day of  his arrival at Mylaudy ;  Vethamanickam  started preaching the Gospel of Christ  at  Mylaudy to his family members, during the early years of 19th century . First , Vethamanickam   started to teach about the gospel Christ  to his family members  in his house ,   with the guidance of  " Church Catechism " .On hearing  his teachings  on the Gospel  of Christ and   Church Catechism ,  the headman of his family  Perumal [Gnanamuthu] and also  Vethamanickam's  brothers  and sisters accepted  Christ. Following Vethamanickam's family members , his friends  and  other relatives  willingly  came forward to believe  the Gospel of Christ.   In all ,about thirty persons  of  Mylaudy  started to profess Christ publicly and put themselves under Vethamanickam's instruction  and pastoral  leadership .  Thus Vethamanickam  laid the foundation  for the formation of the nucleus of the Protestant Church of Travancore at Mylaudy. The form of worship adopted by the early Christians at  Mylaudy  was Lutheran.  Vethamanickam introduced the Common Prayer Book of the Lutheran Church then  in  use at Tanjore, and also Vethamanickam taught  its rites to the Mylaudy Christians ,to the extent possible for him. .

Vedhamanickam introduced the well meaning Native Christian names to the Christian Converts :

Vethamanickam  changed his wife's name as  Satthiayi and his daughter's name  as Pakkiayi and Annaa .His eldest son Chidambaram was called Devasahayam . His nephew's wife was called as Jesudial,  he changed the name of the head man of his family  Perumal  as Gnanamuthu. The heathen names of his other family members were also  changed  into  Christian names ;  the name  Agni was changed into Joseph, Sivan into Pakkianathen , Abirami into Santhayi, Owvai into Annanthayi ,  Sivagami into Mary . Thus thirty persons' heathen names were changed by Vethamanickam into meaingful Christian names.

Vethamanickam  met persecutions boldly : On account of his conversion  to Christianity,Vethamanickam was forced to face many new challenges and threat  from the  people, including his own relatives and they started to harass and hate him  due to  prejudice  and unwanted fear.   A report of his preaching   reached the  Palace and the native Government who could not tolerate the introduction of a new religion in Travancore.  The people in general molested and persecuted him with great horror and terror. By his indomitable will power and  by the power of  prayer , Vethamanickam  met the persecutions and challenges boldly.

Vethamanickam's Second  Visit to Tanjore ; As a great visionary and missionary Vethamanickam wanted to extend  the missionary field throughout the length and  breadth  of Travancore  ,and  to actuate his vision quickly and effectively he  believed that the service of a Foreign Missionary  or an experienced Ccatechist would be  of  great help. So  in February 1805 he started his second visit to Tanjore not as a heathen but as a believer of  Lord Jesus Christ ; leaving nearly one hundred and fifty persons under the immediate missionary and spiritual care of Gnanamuthu [Perumal] . When he reached Tanjore  ,he was happily welcomed by  Revd. J.C. Kohlhoff and with great enthusiasms . Vethamanickam talked about his "Little Flock"  at Mylaudy and and told   Rev J.C.Kohlhoff  that he had come for the second time in the hope of inducing him to send a Missionary to Mylaudy, Travancore.   Revd  Kohlhoff  was  pleased with Vethamanickam's words  and sincerely wanted to  help him ,  so  Revd. J.C. Kohlhoff sent Vethamanickam and  native Catechist by name Yesudian with an introductory letter to  a new  LMS Missionary by name Mr W. T. Ringeltaube, who has just arrived and  was staying at Tranquebar , the Head Quarters of the Danish Mission

The Historical Meeting Between Vethamanickam and Mr. Ringeltaube. : The great Church historian Mr. C. M. Agur writes that  "That visit of Vedamanickam and his friend to Ringeltaube has been likened to that visit to Peter at Joppa by the men sent from Caesura, both followed by a similar resolve " .Mr. W.T.Ringeltaube,  welcomed Vethamanickam  with great gladness as he had already heard about Vethamanickam and his inspiring  history  from  Revd J.C. kohlhoff   and other Tanjore Missionaries.  Mr . Ringeltaube  interestingly interacted with Vethamanickam and  advised  him  to make his people at Mylaudy , continue steadfast in their new Christian faith and to gather as many souls as  possible  for Christ. Mr. Ringeltaube gave him a good collection of  Christian tracts for use and promised that he would follow him to Travancore as soon as he had acquired some knowledge of the Tamil language.   The Church historian C.M. Agur writes  " Vedamanickam now returned home through Tanjore, full of hopes and better pleased than ever". After his visit and meeting with the great Mr. Ringeltaube ;  Maharasan Vethamanickam returned to Tanjore and remained there till the  Lent days were over , hearing the sermons on the Passion and returned to Mylaudy at the end of May .  On the request of Vethamanickam , the Tanjore Mission Missionaies sent Yesudian Catechist [with his wife and two sons Aaron and Moses  ] to assist Vethamanickam in his missionary work at Mylaudy.  On arrival at Mylaudy  , Vethamanickam  becamr  really glad to notice that the divine Christian worship he had instituted was still being regularly and sincerely performed and followed.

Gospel preached at Wiyaravilley : In spite of   great opposition from various angles in various hues and dimensions ,  Vethamanicakam  resumed  his missionary work of preaching  the Gospel   to the people around , with great vigorous and vibrant inspiration and determination  .As a result of his tireless spiritual endeavour, he happened to have the joy of gathering a few additional Christian followers in a neighbouring village called Wiyaravillai.  Eventhough Vethamanickam was doing the evangelical work at Mylaudy and it's surrounding places very efficaciously,  he  was very ardently  awaiting the arrival of  the LMS  Missionary Mr. Ringeltaube.

The arrival of the legendary LMS Missionary Ringeltaube at Mylaudy :   At last , on  the day break of 25th  April 1806, Mr. Ringeltaube left Vadakankulam  in Tirunelveli district,and  travelled over the arid and dry plains  and at noon crossed the Aramboly pass[ 8 miles East of Nagercoil ] which opened to his sight the new country where he was blessed to labour for 10 years and entered Nanjil Nadu, in South Travancore  .  Mr W.T. Ringeltaube arrived at Mylaudy  on the 25th , April , 1805 ; and he was welcomed by Vethamanickam and family members  with immense joy.  Mr. C.M. Agur quotes a letter of  Mr. Ringeltaube ,  " I reluctantly obeyed , and proceeded round the southern hills to a village called Mylaudy, from whence , formerly two men came to Tranquebar to request me to come and  see them,  representing that 200 heathens at this place were desirous to embrace our religion . I lodged two days at their houses , where I preached and prayed ; some of them knew the Catechism...........I spent here the Lord's day for the first time, very uncomfortably in an Indian hut.......:.Perhaps my disappointment contributed to my unpleasant feelings; I had expected to find hundreds eager to listen to the word ; instead of which , I had a difficulty to make a few families attend for an hour"[The  Church  History of Travancore  by C.M. Augur, pages  497-498] . This historical  day of Ringeltaube's arrival at Mylaudy on  the 25th  of April, 1805  ,is even today celebrated as the birthday of Protestant Christianity in Travancore. This historical day[event] changed the social , educational , cultural , political , religious , economic and intellectual history of  Travancore [Then Kanyakumari district was a part of Travancore  Kingdom].

                                  { Part  III will follow soon ]
P. BABU MANOHARAN,M.A,.{Rights reserved. This Article will be altered or modified later if needed].