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Some God's men
are very rich, here is one
WSN Bureau
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This Indian
church got Rs 1,040 crore as foreign funding in the last 18
years. A probe is now on as Kerala continues to hunt for fake
godsmen |
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 KERALA:
At a time when the Kerala government, students, NGOs, and youth
bodies have been acting as self-styled vigilantes, carrying out a
drive against fake godmen and street-side spirituality retailers, a
new revelation has jolted many and provided fodder for the right
wing Hindutva groups.
Investigators have stumbled on the empire of Kerala-based evangelist
and self-consecrated archbishop Dr K.P. Yohannan.
The church in India, in the southern state of Kerala, has been found
to have gotten foreign funding to the tune of Rs 1,040 crore in the
last 18 years. A probe may soon be on, said Kerala Home Minister
Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. The Believers’ Church was founded by Yohannan,
a Pentecostal follower and president of Gospel for Asia (GFA).
Yohannan’s highly spirited preaching won him lakhs of followers
across the world. Athmeeya Yathra, one of the dozen trusts Yohannan
set up, has been broadcasting religious radio programmes. Yohannan’s
GFA has 54 Bible colleges in various countries, where over 8,000
missionaries train to spread the word of Christ. The GFA Biblical
Seminary near Thiruvalla houses students from 31 different
evangelical denominations.
Yohannan’s tryst with controversy began after he set up Believers’
Church about eight years ago at Thiruvalla, the NRI town in
Pathanamthitta district. It was then that this preacher decided he
was cut for higher things in life. He voluntarily donned the garb of
a bishop and hired the service of K.J. Samuel, a bishop of a sister
church. In normal course, only a priest can become a bishop and his
action stunned his community. Both the Church of South India and the
Church of North India pulled up their bishops for conducting the
installation ceremony, the nature of which had been unprecedented in
Christian circles. But Yohannan wouldn’t stop at that. He later
upgraded his post to that of an archbishop and appointed six other
junior bishops.
Archbishop Yohannan now heads over a dozen charitable trusts. A
major chunk of Yohannan’s followers are outside his home state,
particularly in the northeast. Believers’ Church claims a flock of
15 lakh in India, with Kerala accounting for a mere 15,000. Like
other churches, Yohannan’s church also runs a posh school, housing
1,800 students.
Believers’ Church purchased 2,263 acres of rubber estate from
Harrison Malayalam Limited for Rs 63 crore. It also owned Cheruvally
estate, one of the best-managed rubber estates in Kerala, besides
several tracts of land, paddy fields and islands with tourism
potential in various parts of central Kerala. Nobody was under any
illusion that the rubber estate and paddy fields were meant for
sowing the seeds of gospel.
Politicians have rarely bothered to look into the transactions of
the Church. The church has however said its accounts are
transparent. The State Revenue Department has initiated a probe into
land dealings by the Church.
18
June,
2008
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