Birth: 17.08.1874
Death: 01.01.1945
City: Vellalanvilai, Tuticorin
Country: India
Place of Vision: India
Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah was the son of a Christian Anglican priest, Thomas Vedanayagam. He lost his father at the age of 15 and was raised by his mother under strict Christian ethics. He studied in Christian missionary boarding schools and pursued a degree in mathematics at Madras Christian College. Though he was not able to graduate due to his illness, he emerged as a young man gifted with leadership qualities. At the age of 19, he joined the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) as an evangelist and became secretary of the organization for South India.
While on a mission to Jaffna, Sri Lanka, Azariah was deeply influenced by the indigenous missionary society which was led and supported entirely by Tamil Christians. He realized that, for that Church in India to grow and to bring ordinary Indians to Jesus Christ, it had to have indigenous leadership rather than the western influence. After much prayer, Azariah co-founded the Indian Missionary Society (IMS) with his friend, K. T Paul. He coordinated with other prominent evangelists in India and established the National Missionary Society (NMS) with a vision to evangelize not only in India, but also in Afghanistan, Tibet, and Nepal.
In 1909, Azariah left YMCA and became an ordained missionary and later consecrated as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Dornakal. Along with his wife Anbu Mariammal Samuel, he traveled on a bullock cart or bicycle, across the vast diocese preaching the gospel and establishing churches. His village sermons often condemned "the four demons – Dirt, Disease, Debt, and Drink” which brought about a change in the society’s mindset. Azariah’s vision of touching the grassroots of Indian society resulted in the training of 250 Indian clergies and over 2,000 village teachers by 1935. He was a popular Christian leader and at the same time an affectionate individual. People lovingly referred to him a ‘Tandrigaru’ (father).
0 Comments