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Believers Eastern Church
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. 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. BEC is administratively based in the state of Kerala in southwestern India. The church has 91 dioceses in 14 nations. It claims a membership 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 who replaced Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan I Metropolitan (formerly known as K. P. Yohannan).
The Church was founded in 1993 as part of the GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia) apostolate. On 6 February 2003, K. J. Samuel, the Moderator Bishop of the Church of South India (a part of the worldwide Anglican Communion), along with the P. M. Dhotekar, Bishop of Nagpur of the Church of North India, and Bancha Nidhi Nayak, Bishop of Phulbani of the Church of North India, consecrated K. P. Yohannan as a bishop in Anglican lines of apostolic succession. Bishop John Wilson Gladstone, Mar Aprem Mooken, Metropolitan of the Assyrian Church of the East in India (Chaldean Syrian Church) were also present for the consecration ceremony. K. P. Yohannan thereafter became the first metropolitan of the Believers Eastern Church, and acquired an episcopal polity of ecclesiastical governance. He later changed his name to Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan Metropolitan in honor of his beloved patron saints, St. Athanasius, the defender of orthodoxy, and St. John (Yohan) the Apostle & Evangelist [1]. BEC describes itself as being "Apostolic in origin, universal in nature, Biblical and evangelical in faith, ecumenical in outlook". It adheres to the Nicene Creed, biblical faith, and traditions of the historical church backed up with its own canonical constitution. The Episcopal Synod and the diocesan councils take the responsibility for planning and executing the mission, religious life and charitable programs of the Church. The Believers Eastern Church is divided as regions into dioceses, each with its own bishop. Each local church has members ranging from less than one hundred to a thousand with an average of a hundred, and the number of parishes themselves are increasing. The BEC is divided into various dioceses under the leadership of a diocesan bishop or a vicar-general.
In 2009, the church ordained seven bishops. On 2 March 2017, Metropolitan Yohan consecrated twelve bishops for the Believers Eastern Church.
The emblem of the Believers Eastern Church reflects its core beliefs, featuring a cross within a circle, surrounded by a dove, heart, book, and fish—symbols of faith. The cross, chosen by early Church fathers, represents Jesus Christ's crucifixion, death, and resurrection. It extends beyond the circle, signifying that Christ's redemptive work transcends time and is central to the faith. The circle represents eternity.
The liturgy used in the Believers Eastern Church "includes prayers, Scripture readings and a confession of the Nicene or Apostles' Creed of the Church". The readings come from the Revised Common Lectionary, which has a three-year cycle; it observes the liturgical calendar of Western Christianity, thus keeping Lent, for example. It administers the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. Women in churches of this denomination wear Christian headcoverings, in accordance with Believers Eastern Church's interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11:2–16. Communicants of BEC use the sign of the cross in their prayers.
The church accepts the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible as the inspired Word of God which is inerrant and the fundamental standard of faith, and complete and final written revelation of God. It also adheres to the Nicene Creed. The church believes in the following doctrines:
For being distinguishable members of Believers Eastern Church, and the message of the Word of God to be applied in an individual's life leading to a greater maturity in Christ, following are the official code of living.
The Sisters of Compassion is a religious order of nuns within the Believers Eastern Church that is dedicated to serving the "neglected of society".
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Believers Eastern Church
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. 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. BEC is administratively based in the state of Kerala in southwestern India. The church has 91 dioceses in 14 nations. It claims a membership 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 who replaced Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan I Metropolitan (formerly known as K. P. Yohannan).
The Church was founded in 1993 as part of the GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia) apostolate. On 6 February 2003, K. J. Samuel, the Moderator Bishop of the Church of South India (a part of the worldwide Anglican Communion), along with the P. M. Dhotekar, Bishop of Nagpur of the Church of North India, and Bancha Nidhi Nayak, Bishop of Phulbani of the Church of North India, consecrated K. P. Yohannan as a bishop in Anglican lines of apostolic succession. Bishop John Wilson Gladstone, Mar Aprem Mooken, Metropolitan of the Assyrian Church of the East in India (Chaldean Syrian Church) were also present for the consecration ceremony. K. P. Yohannan thereafter became the first metropolitan of the Believers Eastern Church, and acquired an episcopal polity of ecclesiastical governance. He later changed his name to Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan Metropolitan in honor of his beloved patron saints, St. Athanasius, the defender of orthodoxy, and St. John (Yohan) the Apostle & Evangelist [1]. BEC describes itself as being "Apostolic in origin, universal in nature, Biblical and evangelical in faith, ecumenical in outlook". It adheres to the Nicene Creed, biblical faith, and traditions of the historical church backed up with its own canonical constitution. The Episcopal Synod and the diocesan councils take the responsibility for planning and executing the mission, religious life and charitable programs of the Church. The Believers Eastern Church is divided as regions into dioceses, each with its own bishop. Each local church has members ranging from less than one hundred to a thousand with an average of a hundred, and the number of parishes themselves are increasing. The BEC is divided into various dioceses under the leadership of a diocesan bishop or a vicar-general.
In 2009, the church ordained seven bishops. On 2 March 2017, Metropolitan Yohan consecrated twelve bishops for the Believers Eastern Church.
The emblem of the Believers Eastern Church reflects its core beliefs, featuring a cross within a circle, surrounded by a dove, heart, book, and fish—symbols of faith. The cross, chosen by early Church fathers, represents Jesus Christ's crucifixion, death, and resurrection. It extends beyond the circle, signifying that Christ's redemptive work transcends time and is central to the faith. The circle represents eternity.
The liturgy used in the Believers Eastern Church "includes prayers, Scripture readings and a confession of the Nicene or Apostles' Creed of the Church". The readings come from the Revised Common Lectionary, which has a three-year cycle; it observes the liturgical calendar of Western Christianity, thus keeping Lent, for example. It administers the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. Women in churches of this denomination wear Christian headcoverings, in accordance with Believers Eastern Church's interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11:2–16. Communicants of BEC use the sign of the cross in their prayers.
The church accepts the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible as the inspired Word of God which is inerrant and the fundamental standard of faith, and complete and final written revelation of God. It also adheres to the Nicene Creed. The church believes in the following doctrines:
For being distinguishable members of Believers Eastern Church, and the message of the Word of God to be applied in an individual's life leading to a greater maturity in Christ, following are the official code of living.
The Sisters of Compassion is a religious order of nuns within the Believers Eastern Church that is dedicated to serving the "neglected of society".