Pururava: Creating...

2026-04-27T04:31:38Z

Creating...

New page

{{Infobox organization
| name = Unitarian Union of North East India
| formation = {{start year and age|1887}}
| former_name = Khasi Hills Unitarian Union
| founder = Hajjom Kissor Singh
| location = India
| region_served = [[Khasi Hills]], [[Meghalaya]]
| affiliations = [[Unitarianism]]
}}
The '''Unitarian Union of North East India (UUNEI)''', formerly the Khasi Hills Unitarian Union, is a [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] church based in the [[Khasi Hills]] in [[Meghalaya]], India. It was founded by Hajjom Kissor Singh in 1887.

== Recognition ==
Unitarian Day, held annually on 18 September in honor of the church's founding, has been a state holiday in Meghalaya since 1908.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-09-19 |title=Prayer sessions mark 137th Unitarian Day in Meghalaya |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/shillong/137th-unitarian-day-celebrated-in-meghalaya-with-special-prayer-sessions/articleshow/113471806.cms |access-date=2024-12-02 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Spiritual transcendence marks 137 yrs of Unitarianism in state |url=https://theshillongtimes.com/2024/09/19/spiritual-transcendence-marks-137-yrs-of-unitarianism-in-state/ |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=[[The Shillong Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Notifications |url=https://meghalaya.gov.in/notifications/content/47350 |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=Meghalaya Government Portal}}</ref>

== Size ==
The UUNEI is the third or fourth largest Unitarian community in the world (estimates of member numbers differ), behind the [[United States]] and [[Romania]]. A 2011 estimate put the UUNEI at 45 congregations and 10,000 members, while a 2021 estimate put the number of churches in the KUU at more than 35.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Morales |first=Peter |date=2011-03-02 |title=Unitarians in the Khasi Hills {{!}} International Unitarian Universalism |url=https://www.uua.org/global/blog/unitarians-in-khasi-hills |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=[[Unitarian Universalist Association]] |language=en}}</ref>

== History ==
The Khasi Hills Unitarian community was founded by Hajjom Kissor Singh (June 15, 1865 - November 13, 1923) in 1887. Kissor Singh had been raised in a family which practiced traditional Khasi religion, but after he and his brother were sent to a missionary school, he converted to the [[Presbyterian Church of Wales|Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church]] at age 15.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Lavan |first=Spencer |date=2003-11-02 |title=Singh, Hajom Kissor |url=https://www.uudb.org/singh-hajom-kissor/ |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Rex |first=John |date=March 2001 |title=Khasi Unitarians of India |url=http://uucuv.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Khasi_Unitarians_of_India_by_John_Rex.pdf |website= |publisher=Quest |via=Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Upper Valley}}</ref> He became dissatisfied with the doctrine he was taught, and became determined to leave them to find "the true religion of Jesus, the love of God".<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=2012-09-18 |title=Unitarianism in Khasi-Jaintia Hills: A unique movement |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/unitarianism-in-khasi-jaintia-hills-a-unique-movement/articleshow/16454581.cms |access-date=2024-09-10 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2021-09-30 |title=The Founding of Khasi Hills Unitarians in India |url=https://www.first-unitarian-pgh.org/khasi-hills-4/ |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

Much of Kissor Singh's early independent religious study was influenced by correspondence with Unitarian minister Charles Dall, who was working as a missionary in [[Kolkata|Calcutta]].<ref name=":1" /> In 1887, Kissor Singh decided to found a new religious movement under the name ''Ka Niam Unitarian'' (the Unitarian religion) with the assistance of American Unitarians, defining it as "duty to God, to fellow humans and to oneself". He led the movement's first service at his home in [[Jowai]], attended by two men and one woman, on September 18, 1887.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" /> By 1889, the group had grown enough to build their own church building in [[Nongtalang]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |date=1910 |title=National Alliance of Unitarian and Other Liberal Christian Women |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Unitarian_Word_and_Work/TUUUAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=khasi+unitarian&pg=RA16-PA15&printsec=frontcover |journal=Unitarian Word and Work |publisher=[[American Unitarian Association]] |pages=15-16}}</ref>

The American Unitarians also sent Kissor Singh money to print 500 copies of a [[Khasi language]] hymnbook in 1892.<ref name=":0" /> Kissor Singh translated many of the hymns himself. By 1899, the church had 214 members.<ref name=":3" />

By the 1910s, charity initiatives were organized by Khasi Unitarian women, such as one initiative where women put aside a handful of rice from each meal to give to community members in need.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wendte |first=Charles W. |date=1911-04-20 |title=Unitarian Missionary Duty Abroad |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/English_Mechanic_and_Mirror_of_Science_a/B-AfAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=khasi+unitarian&pg=PA443&printsec=frontcover |journal=The Christian Register |pages=443}}</ref> In 1923, a Unitarian church was established in [[Nongthymmai]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2023-07-01 |title=Centenary celebration of Unitarian Church Nongthymmai held |url=https://meghalayamonitor.com/centenary-celebration-of-unitarian-church-nongthymmai-held/ |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=Meghalaya Monitor |language=en-US}}</ref>

By 2011, the UUNEI's mother church in Jowai had 1,000 congregants.<ref name=":4" /> In 2012, in honor of the church's 125th anniversary, they organized a 4K run to raise awareness of environmental issues.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-06-05 |title=Hundreds Participate in Race for Environmental Awareness in Khasi Hills {{!}} International Unitarian Universalism |url=https://www.uua.org/global/blog/hundreds-participate-in-race-environmental-awareness-in-khasi-hills |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=[[Unitarian Universalist Association]] |language=en}}</ref>

=== Education ===
The Jowai group opened a free co-ed school in August 1893, headed by a female teacher. Initially serving twenty students, after two years the school had 60 students taught by four teachers.<ref name=":3" /> By the 1910s, the church was also leading various night and day schools and music classes.<ref name=":5" />

An official education committee of UUNEI was founded later. In 1982, the committee established 10 schools, expanding to more than 15 schools by 1992. The committee currently oversees two higher secondary schools, five secondary schools, ten upper primary schools, and 33 lower primary schools.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UUNEI Education History |url=https://uuneieducation.org/?page_id=14 |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=UUNEI Education Committee |language=en-US}}</ref> The schools are located in [[East Khasi Hills district]], [[West Jaintia Hills district]], and [[Ri-Bhoi district]] in Meghalaya, and [[Karbi Anglong district]] in [[Assam]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=UUNEI Schools 2020 |url=https://uuneieducation.org/?page_id=46 |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=UUNEI Education Committee |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Theology ==
The Khasi Unitarian statement of faith, published in 1888, reads: "We believe (1) in the unity of God; (2) in the Fatherhood and Motherhood of God; (3) in the Brotherhood of Man; (4) in Love, Union, Worship, and Faith; and (5) in Immortality".<ref name=":0" /> Additional [[catechism]] is drawn from The Book of Brief Questions About Unitarianism, which was co-written by Kissor Singh and Robin Roy. The book is split into six chapters: chapters one and two deal with "the subject of God," chapters three, four, and five address duties to God, other people, and the self, while the final chapter addresses sin, "defined as not doing one's duty, or going against the commands of God".<ref name=":1" />

Khasi Unitarianism merges elements of traditional Khasi religious teachings and practices with Christian practices (Sunday services, ministerial hierarchy, and church buildings, among others) brought to the region by missionaries.<ref name=":1" />

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:1887 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1887]]
[[Category:Christianity in Meghalaya]]
[[Category:Unitarianism|India]]

Unitarian Union of North East India - Revision history

Pururava: Creating...