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]..