OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA. BY THE REV. JAMES HOUGH, M. A., F. C. P. S. PERPETUAL CURATE OF HAM: LATE CHAPLAIN TO THE HONOURABLE EAST-INDIA COMPANY AT MADRAS. VOL. I. BODI PUBLISHED BY R. B. SEELEY AND W. BURNSIDE: FLEET STREET, LONDON. MDCCCXXXIX. 110. l,213. ΤΟ THE RIGHT REVEREND CHARLES RICHARD, LORD BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, PRELATE OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER, ETC. ETC. ETC. THE LIBERAL PATRON OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONS TO THE HEATHEN WORLD. THIS ATTEMPT TO RECORD THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA IS, WITH HIS LORDSHIP'S PERMISSION, GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED BY HIS OBEDIENT SERVANT THE AUTHOR. PREFACE. A HISTORY Of Christianity in India has long been desired by persons interested in the progress of the Gospel in the East. The only general work of the kind, is the Histoire du Christianisme des Indes, by La Croze a work little known in England, and, though of great value, yet not full enough for a mere translation of it to supply the desideratum. For the earlier annals of the Indian Church, the materials are very scanty; and they are mixed up with much that tends to obscure, rather than elucidate, the few fragments of history that are unquestionably authentic. But there is no lack of information on the subject during the last three centuries, for readers who have leisure to explore its ample resources; which, however, is by no means the case with all who are interested in their contents. So numerous are the volumes, consisting chiefly of portions of history and missionary correspondence, that have been published; they are written in such a variety of languages; and some of the most important of them are become so scarce; that they are inaccessi |