[Anglican Communion News Service] Tens of thousands of Christians from across southern India joined moderators, bishops and other dignitaries from around the world at a huge celebration to mark the bicentenary of Madhya Kerala diocese on Saturday, Nov. 12. The gathering, at the Nehru Stadium in Kottayam, was the culmination of four years of events and projects to commemorate the arrival in the southern state of Kerala of the first Church Mission Society missionary, Thomas Norton, in 1816.

“It is a great day of blessing as we gather here, an ocean of faithful witnesses thanking God for the mercies he has showered on us in Kerala through these past 200 years,” Bishop of Madhya Kerala Thomas Oommen said as he paid tribute to the work of the first missionaries.

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