Believers Eastern Church | |
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Classification | Protestant |
Orientation | Eastern Protestant |
Polity | Episcopal |
Metropolitan bishop | Samuel Mor Theophilus[1] |
Bishops | 30 (2017)[2] |
Dioceses | 57 |
Associations | Kerala Council of Churches[3] and National Council of Churches in India |
Liturgy | Orthodox Liturgy |
Headquarters | St. Thomas Community, Thiruvalla, Kerala |
Founder | Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan I Metropolitan |
Origin | 1993 |
Members | 3,500,000[citation needed] |
Places of worship | 15000 parishes worldwide |
Hospitals | Believers Church Medical College Hospital, Belivers City Clinic, Believers Hospital - Konni |
Secondary schools | Believers Church Residential School - Thiruvalla, Believers Church Residential School, Believers Church Mahatma Central School, Believers Church English Medium School Alappuzha, Believers Church Vijayagiri Public School, Believers Church Grace Garden School and many other schools |
Other name(s) | Believers Church (formerly) |
Official website | www |
Believers Eastern Church (BEC, previously Believers Church) is a church of Indian origin with congregations and parishes worldwide. It follows an episcopal governance and structure.[4] It holds Christ as its head (Col 1:18) and further requires that bishops and ordained ministers submit to its metropolitan and his successors. It is governed by a committee of bishops, the synod, with one central bishop holding the honorary title of "first among equals" and follows Evangelical Christian doctrine.[5] BEC is administratively based in the state of Kerala in southwestern India. The church has 57 dioceses in 14 nations.[6] Its membership consists of more than 3.5 million in 10 countries speaking a hundred languages. It has 30 bishops, and the Metropolitan Bishop is Moran Mor Samuel Theophilus [1][7] who replaced Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan I Metropolitan[8] (formerly known as K. P. Yohannan).
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