Cuttack Appeal
Diocese of Cuttack
The churches of District and the Diocese of Cuttack, Church of North India unite in the Spirit and, through prayer and preaching, remember and encourage their partnership.
The Church of North India (CNI) is a united church established in 1970 by bringing together the main Protestant churches working in northern India. 2020 saw their Golden Jubilee year but the celebrations have been postponed or cancelled because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Diocese of Cuttack is situated in Orissa, one of India’s seven poorest states. Approximately 2% of the population of Orissa (estimated at 45m) are Christian. It is an area which retains a heavy Baptist influence from the work of the Baptist Missionary Society. The Rt. Revd. Surendra Kumar Nanda is the Bishop of Cuttack.
The Diocese is divided into 4 Pastorate Unions, each comprising a number of Pastorates, around 140 congregations, and an estimated 12,500 communicant members.
The Diocese works with partners to support a number of educational establishments, including 5 Stewart Schools, a Skills Centre at Mohana, and teacher training college, as well as a Christian Hospital at Berhampur.
The area includes the large urban populations of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, the coastal tourist resort of Puri with its historic Hindu temple, as well as numerous fishing communities.
Inland, the area is predominantly rural, mountainous and remote. Between 80-90% of the population in this area is made up of scheduled castes (Dalit) and scheduled tribes (Adivasi).
As partners , we have agreed that the Sunday before Lent will, each year, be an occasion when we will pray for each other and, if possible, preach about unity in Christ.
Thank you for your support!
Diocese of Cuttack
The churches of District and the Diocese of Cuttack, Church of North India unite in the Spirit and, through prayer and preaching, remember and encourage their partnership.
The Church of North India (CNI) is a united church established in 1970 by bringing together the main Protestant churches working in northern India. 2020 saw their Golden Jubilee year but the celebrations have been postponed or cancelled because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Diocese of Cuttack is situated in Orissa, one of India’s seven poorest states. Approximately 2% of the population of Orissa (estimated at 45m) are Christian. It is an area which retains a heavy Baptist influence from the work of the Baptist Missionary Society. The Rt. Revd. Surendra Kumar Nanda is the Bishop of Cuttack.
The Diocese is divided into 4 Pastorate Unions, each comprising a number of Pastorates, around 140 congregations, and an estimated 12,500 communicant members.
The Diocese works with partners to support a number of educational establishments, including 5 Stewart Schools, a Skills Centre at Mohana, and teacher training college, as well as a Christian Hospital at Berhampur.
The area includes the large urban populations of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, the coastal tourist resort of Puri with its historic Hindu temple, as well as numerous fishing communities.
Inland, the area is predominantly rural, mountainous and remote. Between 80-90% of the population in this area is made up of scheduled castes (Dalit) and scheduled tribes (Adivasi).
As partners , we have agreed that the Sunday before Lent will, each year, be an occasion when we will pray for each other and, if possible, preach about unity in Christ.
- Please pray the Diocesan Board of Social Service as they seek to feed the poor and minister to those in need during the pandemic.
- Pray for the presbyters and evangelists of the Diocese and for Bishop Nanda as he leads them in mission and ministry.
- Pray the court cases that are being brought against the Diocese as others seek to acquire their property. May justice be done.
Cuttack Sunday 9th June 2024
For the latest information on this years Cuttack Sunday please read below or
Click Here to go to our 9th June 2024 Cuttack Celebration Page
In this Circuit and District we are encouraged to remember our Partnership with the Diocese of Cuttack, in the Church of North India, on the Sunday before Lent. This year, that would be Sunday 11th February. However.....
You may know that there was a District visit which took place Monday 12th February- 23rd February, therefore we postponed Cuttack Sunday to enable us to share the experiance of our visit.
We now ask you to celebrate Cuttack Sunday on the 9th June 2024, by sharing in our resourses of share prayer, along with photos and videos from our visit.
Cuttack Fund
The Plymouth & Exeter District has established a ‘Cuttack Fund’ to support the development of our Partnership. The Fund seeks to make it possible for some from Cuttack to visit the District, also to give small grants to those from our District who could not otherwise make a visit to Cuttack.
Contributions to the Fund are welcome and should be sent to the District Treasurer in the usual way.
Latest News
- August 2023- The construction work of Block B is progressing well. We plan to complete it by December 2023. The wall and plastering of GF are complete. Wall work in FF is going on. Plastering of some areas of the FF is also complete. Fire safety pipelines are being laid. Air-conditioning work will start next week. The work for Modular OT will also start in two weeks’ time.
- February 2023- The construction work is progressing well. I am attaching today's picture. A part of the roof of GF shall be casted by the end of this month.
- January 2023 - "Please convey our gratitude to all the women of the Plymouth and Exeter District who have collected this amount for us. This amount will be very useful to us. The construction work of Block B is progressing well. The foundation work will be completed in another 10 days time. - With warm regards, Dr Nanda.
Click here for all the latest news....
Latest News
August 2023
-The construction work of Block B is progressing well. We plan to complete it by December 2023. The wall and plastering of GF are complete. Wall work in FF is going on. Plastering of some areas of the FF is also complete. Fire safety pipelines are being laid. Air-conditioning work will start next week. The work for Modular OT will also start in two weeks’ time. With warm regards, Dr Nanda
August Progress, Front view Block A
February 2023
-Please convey our gratitude to all the women of the Plymouth and Exeter District who have collected this amount for us. The construction work is progressing well. I am attaching today's picture. A part of the roof of GF shall be casted by the end of this month. Thank you once again for continuing to pray for us. With warm regards, Dr Nanda
February Progress, roof will be casted by March
January 2023
-Please convey our gratitude to all the women of the Plymouth and Exeter District who have collected this amount for us. This amount will be very useful to us.
The construction work of Block B is progressing well. The foundation work will be completed in another 10 days time.
With warm regards,
Dr Nanda
January Update- Construction of Block B
Diocese of Cuttack
Church of North India
The Diocese of Cuttack, Church of North India, is the oldest of the three Dioceses of the CNI, in Odisha. The membership comprises of 80% of Dalits, Tribals and Backward caste people. In the rural churches, there are marginal farmers and landless labourers, who are an exploited lot due to their ignorance and poverty. The Diocese was worst hit by a Cyclone of October 1999 and again in May 2019. The Diocese runs Educational Institutions such as Schools, Hostels and one College in the urban centres of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, and Homes in the rural areas. Most of these were started by the Oldest Baptist Missionary Society of England and continue to provide vital educational services. However, they are limited mostly to the urban elite.
The story of the rural Churches is, however, very different. Village Christians have remained poor for generations since conversion. They have suffered neglect, discrimination and deprivation, both by the Government and Church.
Statistical Information
- of Pastorates : 38
- of Congregations : 135
- of Communicant members : 12,214
- Graduate Level Science College : 1
- English Medium High Schools (ICSE) : 5
- Teacher’s Training Institute (Govt. Aided) : 1 (centenary Celebrated in 2002)
- Oriya Medium Girl’s High School (Govt. Aided) : 1
- Oriya Medium Primary School (Govt. Aided) : 1
- Hospital & Nursing School : 1 (centenary Celebrated in 2000)
- Girls’ Hostel : 1
The Diocese has under its wings, 4 Pastorate Unions and a number of institutions.
| Capital | Bhubaneswar |
| Government | Indian State |
| Currency | Indian rupee (INR) |
| Area | 155,820 km2 |
| Population | 41,947,358(2011 est.) |
| Language | Official: Oriya, English Regionally Spoken: Sambalpuri |
| Religion | Hinduism 94.35%, Christianity 2.44%, Islam 2.07%, Other 1.44% |
| Electricity | 230V/50Hz, Indian (Old British)/European plugs |
| Time Zone | UTC +5:30 |
Cuttack Archive
Cuttack Service 2022
Click the video on the right to watch the 2022 Cuttack Service
Cuttack Service 2021
Click the video on the right to watch the 2021 Cuttack Service
The Diocese is divided into 4 Pastorate Unions, each comprising a number of Pastorates, around 140 congregations, and an estimated 12,500 communicant members.
The Diocese works with partners to support a number of educational establishments, including 5 Stewart Schools, a Skills Centre at Mohana, and teacher training college, as well as a Christian Hospital at Berhampur.
The area includes the large urban populations of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, the coastal tourist resort of Puri with its historic Hindu temple, as well as numerous fishing communities.
Inland, the area is predominantly rural, mountainous and remote. Between 80-90% of the population in this area is made up of scheduled castes (Dalit) and scheduled tribes (Adivasi).
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