Protestant Mission Among Zoroastrians of Bombay in the Nineteenth Century Farshid Namdaran
ed. Matthew Luceya and Cecil R. Hopgood (Kafue, Northern 33. Alex Syatwiinda(conversationwiththe author,September30,2001). Rhodesia: Kafue Bookroom, 1943). J. T.McCormackwrites, "In 1968Ibaptised 17schoolgirlsat Kasenga 26. Smith, Siyanza Syamunakristo, pp. 41-45. andperhaps30schoolboys/girlswithMatthewLuceya at Namwala" 27. Young and Gollock, Mukwasi waka-Leza uli muluundu, p. 48. (letter to the author,September24,2001).The trendcontinued, as the 28. In 1910 there were fifteen full members at Kasenga; in 1915 there number of Christians at Kasenga trebled in the last quarter of the were fourteen. By the 1960s the number had risen to about seventy. twentieth century. In November 2001 there were 221 communicant 29. Smith, Siyanza Syamunakristo, p. 34. members, 53 catechumens, and 36 adherents. The number of 30. Smith, Golden Stool,p. 278. preachers,though,hadfallen to 40,butthe preachingplaces remained 31. Young and Gollock, Mukwasi waka-Leza uli muluundu, p. 48. at 16 (B.Nzovu to the author, November 21, 2001). 32. Chapman, Pathfinder, p. 190. Keeping Faith with Culture: Protestant Mission Among Zoroastrians of Bombay in the Nineteenth Century Farshid Namdaran he history of Protestant missionary activity among Zo Protestant Missions to Zoroastrians T roastrians has proved to be a relativelyrichfield, despite the small size of the worldwide Zoroastrian community, which The earliest recorded attempt, originating in northern Germany, in 1900 numbered 93,000 in India, the focus of this article, and at an organized mission to the Zoroastrians was by a small 108,500 worldwide.1 Protestant missions to this community be community of Moravians. In 1747 they commissioned two doc gan mainly in India in the nineteenth century, and in Iran only in tors to go to Yezd in Persia, where they had heard the Gebri the twentieth century.' Converts were few, but some made lived," The mission was anutterfailure, for the two doctors never definite contributions to churchlife in India.
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