Ambitious, authoritative, all-embracing, this Encyclopaedia tells the fascinating story of Christianity’s presence not only in India, but in the entire South Asian region. A veritably painstaking effort, it charts nearly 2,000 years of the history of Christianity in India and its neighbouring South Asian countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Maldives; besides Afghanistan, Myanmar, and the global South Asian diaspora. The Encyclopaedia seeks to spell out every aspect of South Asian Christianity, in traditions and practitioners, from this vast region.

In around 1,100 alphabetically-arranged articles, authored by 461 acclaimed scholars from all major denominations, including Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Pentecostal, besides independent writers and editors, the Encyclopaedia highlights the rich heritage of Christianity and its evolution over the last two millennia – covering institutions, places, theological issues and concepts, churches, denominations, texts and treatises, historical developments, contemporary themes, ground-level saints, local pioneers and martyrs of the Faith, Christianity and its role in nation building, distinctive South Asian repression of Faith, and models of ecclesiology, among other aspects. The Encyclopaedia quintessentially brings out the trans-cultural, migratory and unique character of Christianity. At its base is an astonishing range of sources: both written and oral, from different corners of South Asia.

As a publication of the early 21st century, the Encyclopaedia documents and articulates the Christian Faith in South Asia at a significant point in history. A scholarly attempt to clarify the meaning of the indigenous church in the midst of social, political, and economic change, the timing of the Encyclopaedia is critical in terms of the quest for a clear and confident Christian identity and witness in South Asia. It will be a basic reference for students and researchers of religion, history, and cultural studies, Christian laity, church leaders, and missionaries.

Roger Hedlund is Visiting Professor of South Asian Studies at Fuller Graduate University in Pasadena, California, USA. He is Director Emeritus of the Mylapore Institute for Indigenous Studies (MIIS), Chennai, India.