Tranquebar Mission

The Tranquebar Mission (Danish: Trankebarmissionen; Tamil: தரங்கம்பாடி பணி) was established in 1706 by two German missionaries from Halle namely, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau.

Ziegenbalg and Plütschau responded to the appeal of King Frederick IV of Denmark to establish a mission for the natives, living in the Danish East India Company colony of Tranquebar.

[2] In 2006, the 300 years anniversary of the mission was celebrated by the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC), with many international delegates in attendance.

[5] King Frederick IV of Denmark was very keen to spread Christianity among his non-European subjects and called from Royal missionaries.

After being ordained in Copenhagen, they sailed to Tranquebar with a royal charter on the ship Sophia Hedewig on 29 November 1705, arriving on 9 July 1706.

[6][7][8] At this point around 15,000 people lived in Tranquebar and its surroundings, with the population consisting of Hindus, Muslims, Indian Catholics, as well as Europeans working for the East India Company.

After initial conflicts with the Danish East India Company, which even lead to a four month incarceration of Ziegenbalg, he established the Tranquebar Mission in 1706.

[citation needed] Another notable missionary was Christian Friedrich Schwarz (born 1726), who served the Tranquebar Mission for 48 years.

[13] The church, along with other buildings of the Tranquebar Mission was damaged during the tsunami of 2004, and were renovated at a cost of INR 7 million, and re-consecrated in 2006.

The event was organised by the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC), with many international delegates from USA, France, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, etc.

[4][14] India Post also released a special stamp to mark the occasion, with a portrait of Ziegenbalg and the New Jerusalem Church in the background.