RESEARCH PAPER CHECKLIST AND COVER PAGE

(To be used for all research papers submitted to Dr. Shivraj K. Mahendra)

Name of the Student : Victor Paul Veerla

Class and Subject : MTh -1 (MS) & Challenges and Future Directions of Christian Mission in

India (CFDCMI)

Paper Title : Biographical Paper on C. F. Andrews

Total words : 2501

Checklist for writing and evaluation

No. Topic Explanation Yes/No Professor’s

remarks

1 Introduction  Clearly Introduces the topic Yes

 Includes a thesis/purpose statement. eg: ‘the Yes
purpose of this paper is…’
 Explain the research methodology: how the Yes
paper will find the answer/solution?

2 Body/content  Discusses at least 3 main points related to the

topic Yes
 Elaborates/gives additional information on the
main points Yes
 Critically analyzes/reflection on the
points/topic/sub-topic for its relevance for Yes
ministry

3 Conclusion  Gives a closing summary of the study/findings Yes

4 Reference  Uses 10 or more sources Yes
 Follows required methods of footnote and Yes
bibliography
 All cited sources are duly acknowledged Yes

5 Grammar  The paper is free from all grammatical and Yes

and Spelling spelling errors
 The opinions are coherently expressed. Yes
 iii. Word limit maintained Yes
 BIOGRAPHICAL PAPER ON C. F. ANDREWS (1871-1940)

1. INTRODUCTION

This paper is an attempt to comprehend a few details about the life of

Charles Freer Andrews. Among western missionaries working in India during the

struggle for national independence, a unique position was occupied by Charles Freer

Andrews.1 Even people outside the church remember him with great affection and

admiration. So, this paper deals with works of the Andrews as a missionary, as an

author, as a Friend of India and Friend of Poor. At the end few Missiological

implications are also discussed.

2. EARLY LIFE OF C. F. ANDREWS

2.1 Birth & Family

Charles Freer Andrews was born on February 12, 1871, in Newcastle-upon-

Tyne in the northeast of England. Later, when he was six years old as a family they

moved to the midlands, Birmingham. He was one of fourteen children born to John

Edwin Andrews and Mary Charlotte Andrews. His family belonged to the Catholic

Apostolic Church. Despite having illnesses as a child, his mother's silent influence

over him advised to stay focused so that his fundamental belief in God and Christ

remain unshaken.2 Andrews was well-loved by his family and received a good

education.3 Andrews at the age of 69, he suffered from gallstones and admitted to the

Presidency General Hospital in Calcutta. But he died on 5th April 1940, just four days

1
Eric J. Sharpe, “C. F. Andrews.” In Mission Legacies: Biographical Studies of Leaders of the Modern
Missionary Movement, edited by Gerald H. Anderson et al. (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1994), 316. (Hereafter
cited as: Sharpe, Mission Legacies,).
2
Daniel O’Connor, The Testimony of C. F. Andrews (Madras: The Christian Literature Society, 1974),
67. (Hereafter cited as: O’Connor, The Testimony,).
3
Sharpe, Mission Legacies, 316.

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 after the operation.4 It is reputed that Andrews on his deathbed uttered the following

last words, “God has given me in my life the greatest of all gifts, namely; the gift of

loving friends.”5

2.2 Education

Charles Freer Andrew's father was his first teacher at his home. Andrews

had his early education in Miss Hopkins Dame School and Mr. Deakins

Preparatory School.6 Later, he had his high school education at Birmingham's

King Edward VI School. He was a shy, awkward, thoughtful, studious, and

serious-minded schoolboy. He frequently participated in group discussions,

bringing to them (friends) the political viewpoints he had learned at home.

Andrews was particularly drawn to social reform debates because his father had

instilled this interest in him at a young age.7 Andrews served as the school

Chronicle's8 assistant editor for the last two years of his academic career in school.

Moving on to Pembroke College in Cambridge in 1890, from which he earned a

Classics and Theology degree three years later (in 1893).9 He conducted a special

study and wrote a thesis on the doctrine of atonement during his final two years of

college at Cambridge.10

4
M. M. Thomas and P. T. Thomas, Towards an Indian Christian Theology: Life and Thought of some
Pioneers (Tiruvalla: Christava Sahitya Samithi, 1998), 104. (Hereafter cited as: M. Thomas and T. Thomas,
Towards an Indian,).
5
Bernardo A. Michael and Saramma Michael, “Practicing Faith & Reconciliation through Friendship:
Remembering Charles Freer Andrews (1871-1940).” History Educator Scholarship. 65 (2018): 1-7. (Hereafter
cited as: A. Michael and Michael, Practicing Faith,).
6
M. Thomas and T. Thomas, Towards an Indian, 103
7
Benarsidas Chaturvedi and Marjorie Sykes, Charles Freer Andrews: A Narrative (New York: Harper
& Brothers, 1950), 9. (Hereafter cited as: Chaturvedi and Sykes, A Narrative,).
8
The Chronicle is the school’s annual magazine.
9
Sharpe, Mission Legacies, 317.
10
C. F. Andrews, What I Owe to Christ (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1932), 127. (Hereafter cited as:
Andrews, What I Owe,).

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 2.3 Conversion

He underwent a conversion experience while he was a student at Pembroke

College in Cambridge, which transformed him into a new man. One day, as he was

kneeling for an evening prayer, a powerful conviction of sin and uncleanness

overcame him.

“The struggle went on, long into the night. At last a new and wonderful

sense of peace and forgiveness came stealing into my life at its very

centre, and the tears rushed out, bringing infinite relief. From that time I

knew that Christ was my saviour and my redeemer, and his love had won

my heart forever. The chain of evil habit was broken, and its hold over

me had vanished.”11

His life underwent a lot of change that night. Andrews' life now centred on

religion; he regularly attended Holy Communion on Sundays and the college chapel

service at 7:30 a.m. Andrews was greatly attracted to the Cambridge inter-collegiate

Christian union members because of their sincere devotion to Christ and their

unwavering faith. As a result, he joined them for prayer and evangelism.12

3. WORKS OF C. F. ANDREWS

Andrews’ theology was largely influenced by Brooke Foss Westcott.13 He

gave special attention to the Gospel of John. The Johannine approach emphasised

Christ as the Light and Life of all mankind, and it was translated by Andrews into a

programme of social action.14

11
Andrews, What I Owe 92.
12
Chaturvedi and Sykes, A Narrative, 14.
13
Brooke Foss Westcott, (Born on Jan. 12, 1825, near Birmingham. Died on July 27, 1901),
Anglican bishop of Durham, England and biblical scholar.
14
Sharpe, Mission Legacies, 318.

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 3.1 As A Missionary

He put all of his effort into the work of the Christian Social Union's15

Cambridge branch, for which he had been appointed as secretary. On various

holiday weekends, he volunteered at the Pembroke College Mission in Walworth,

South London, and was a passionate member of the college committee in charge

of providing support.16 He was passionate about the mission's goals of providing

food, clothing, and social services to the local people and sought to help its

members by teaching Sunday school classes in an attempt to spread Christian

values. He served at Walworth as a missionary for almost three years.17 Andrews

received his ordination as a priest at Southwark Cathedral in June 1897 after being

made a deacon the previous year (1896). But later, in 1903, following a brief

teaching career at Pembroke College, he was accepted by the Cambridge

brotherhood of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) for missionary

work in the diocese of Lahore.18 Andrews' understanding of Christianity was

practical. His distinctiveness was primarily found in the missionary zeal with

which he worked to translate that vision into a life of practical service.19 He

believed that being a Christian means living out one's faith in service to others,

and that a person's religious faith should be demonstrated in the way he or she

lives and acts. Everywhere he went, he carried a message of reconciliation,

among individuals and communities and nations. And always his great principle

of reconciliation was the cross of Christ.20 He came to Delhi as a missionary and

15
It was a union of churchmen to study in common how to apply the moral truths of Christianity to the
social and economic difficulties of the present time.
16
Chaturvedi and Sykes, A Narrative, 17.
17
Hugh Tinker, The Ordeal of Love: C. F. Andrews and India (New York: Oxford University Press,
1979), 11. (Hereafter cited as: Tinker, The Ordeal,).
18
Ashish K. Mondal, “Charles Freer Andrews: A Disciple Extraordinary.” Indian Church History
Review, Vol 25, No. 1, 1991, 49-62. (Hereafter cited as: Mondal, Charles Freer Andrews,).
19
Sharpe, Mission Legacies, 318.
20
Sharpe, Mission Legacies, 321.

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 his main concern was Church that his dream was that India would one day become

a Christian country.21

3.2 As an Author

His theology was Christo-centric, with a strong emphasis on the

incarnational dimension. So, the concept of Son of Man was used frequently in his

writings.22 He had published his first book, a prize essay on The Relation of

Christianity to the Conflict between Capital and Labour (1896).23 He wrote books

about prominent personalities of India, such as Sadhu Sundar Singh: A Personal

Memoir (1934), Mahatma Gandhi: His Own Story (1930), and Zaka Ullah of

Delhi (1929).

Along with that India and Indians appear in several of his writings:

Routledge Revivals: India and The Pacific (1937), India and Britain: a Moral

Challenge (1935), Documents Relating to the Indian Question (1914), and North

India (1908).

Other writings treat various topics on Social and Spiritual matters: The

Good Shepherd (1940), Christ and Labour (1924), and The meaning of Non-co-

operation (1920). Andrews' autobiography, What I Owe to Christ (1932), was also

published. Andrews continued to write even during the years that preceded his

death, which focused on Christian devotion, such as The Inner Life (1939), Christ

and Prayer (1937), Christ and Human Need (1937), and Christ in the Silence

(1933).24

21
M. Thomas and T. Thomas, Towards an Indian, 105.
22
M. Thomas and T. Thomas, Towards an Indian, 106.
23
Tinker, The Ordeal, 9.
24
Adrian Giorgiov, “Charles Freer Andrews: A Paradigm Shifter in Mission Work in India,”
Perichoresis Volume 11. Issue 1 (2013): 123-144. (Hereafter cited as: Giorgiov, Charles Freer Andrews,)

[5]
 3.3 Friend Of India

Before moving to India, Andrews lived his first 30 years in England. The

area in which Andrews moved was friendship.25 His arrival in Bombay, India, on

March 20, 1904, became known as his "Indian Birthday." As he proudly declared,

it marked his entrance into a new world of experiences and made him one of the

"Twice-born." In 1904, he began teaching philosophy at St. Stephen's College in

Delhi as a missionary with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.26 His

first few months in India were spent in Simla, where he went to study the

language in the hot weather. He absorbed impressions of Indian life during his

first ten years there that he would carry with him for the rest of his life. His first

two years of life were devoted to learning about India and finding a suitable place

there.

He hoped that the Christian spirit would reconcile Britain and India, Hindu

and Muslim.27 He strongly believed in the reconciling power of Christianity and

sought to use it to bring peace and understanding between India's many religions.

Andrews tried to do his best to prove that Christianity as understood from the

Bible is not a colonizing religion or the religion of the white man being imposed

upon the rest of the world.28 He sees the need to end the practice of indenture of

Indian labourers in South Africa and in India.29 His openness to other religions did

not mean giving up the uniqueness of Christ. All these theological convictions

made Andrews to move out of his narrow priestly vocation to one of prophetic

25
Sharpe, Mission Legacies, 320.
26
https://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-biography/a-c/andrews-charles-freer-1871-1940/
accessed on 31/01/2023.
27
Tinker, The Ordeal, 18.
28
Giorgiov, Charles Freer Andrews, 141.
29
M. Thomas and T. Thomas, Towards an Indian, 106.

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 mediation and peace-making.30 He once said the true spirit of religion was not to

be found in hostile isolation, but in “a zeal that makes for harmony and peace.”31

He had rejected high positions and careers (in the fields of religious service and

education) both in England and in India. He donated his meager possessions to the

Indian National Congress so that he could live a life of frugality.32

3.4 Friend of Poor

At the time of conversion itself he convinced that God sending him to work

among the poor.33 During his college years, his greatest wish was to spend his

entire life working among the poor. His heart was with the poor, and he loved to

be among them. He once said, "There among the poor I found Christ."34 His

conversion led him to the Camden street slums; his concern is for the

downtrodden and exploited labourer. He visited their homes and learned about

their struggles.35 He once said that “There some of the happiest years of my life

were spent among the poor. The joy of the Christ’s own service of love was so

great that no labour seemed too hard for me at that time.”36 Despite the time that

he spent among the leaders of Indian, Andrew's greatest compassion was always

shown for the suffering poor.37 Andrews worked hard not only on helping the

poor, but he tried to get to the roots of the poverty; the social customs of those

days were rather strongly established roots of poverty.38 Another early vision that

Andrews never lost was the Franciscan ideal of service to the poor; his happiest

moments, he wrote, were found "not in university centres, or among the rich, or

30
Mondal, Charles Freer Andrews, 54.
31
Chaturvedi and Sykes, A Narrative, 89.
32
A. Michael and Michael, Practicing Faith, 5.
33
O’Connor, The Testimony, 70.
34
Andrews, What I Owe, 122.
35
Chaturvedi and Sykes, A Narrative, 17
36
O’Connor, The Testimony, 74.
37
Sharpe, Mission Legacies, 321.
38
Giorgiov, Charles Freer Andrews, 126.

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 even among the middle classes, but among the suffering poor."39 Many called him

a friend of the poor, “Dheenabandhu”. Andrews had a very practical interest in

Spirituality, not as a subject for academic study, but as life-experiences.40

4. RELATIONSHIP WITH PROMINENT LEADERS OF INDIA

4.1 Sushil Kumar Rudra

In India first Andrews met Sushil Kumar Rudra41 who welcomed him in

Delhi and in whom Andrews found a friend. Rudra is the one who taught Andrews

about the people of India. Slowly Andrews became the family member of Rudra.42

4.2 Rabindranath Tagore

Andrews first met Bengali poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, in

London in 1912; two years later, he quit his job as a teacher and moved in with

Tagore at his ashram, Santiniketan in the West Bengal. Tagore was attracted by

Andrew’s writings as strongly as Andrews had been attracted by Tagore writings.

Common ideals and aspirations for India’s national destiny had drawn them

together.43 Andrews was greatly influenced by Tagore's educational theories and

his life-style philosophy while at the ashram. Andrews made friendship with

Tagore and spent a lot of time conversing with.44 Andrews was viewed by Tagore

as a Christian sadhu.45

39
Sharpe, Mission Legacies, 318.
40
M. Thomas and T. Thomas, Towards an Indian, 107
41
Sushil Kumar Rudra (7 January 1861 – 29 June 1925). The eldest child of Rev. Pyari Mohan Rudra,
a high-caste Bengali convert. Sushil kumar Rudra was Indian educationalist and associate of Mahatma Gandhi
and C. F. Andrews who served as the first Indian principal of St Stephen's College, Delhi.
42
Andrews, What I owe, 156-161.
43
Chaturvedi and Sykes, A Narrative, 81.
44
Giorgiov, Charles Freer Andrews, 126
45
Sharpe, Mission Legacies, 316.

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 4.3 Mahatma Munshi Rama

In 1913, in Delhi he met great personality Mahatma Munshi Rama46 of the

Arya Samaj. Andrews looked up to the Mahatma as to a loved elder brother,

admiring his energy, his humour, his simplicity of life. Andrews created friendly

atmosphere between Government officials and prominent leaders of India.47

4.4 Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Shocked by the racism that he found in British India, Andrews sought out

friendships with Indians and immersed himself in the study of Hindu and Buddhist

traditions and literature. Through his acquaintance with Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a

social reformer and nationalist, Andrews became aware of the maltreatment and

exploitation suffered by Indian indentured labourers throughout the British

Empire. In 1914 Andrews travelled to South Africa at Gokhale’s urging to

participate in the campaign for Indian rights there.48

4.5 Mohandas K. Gandhi

In 1914, Andrews met Mohandas K. Gandhi and started a relationship with

him that would last the rest of his life. Mahatma Gandhi and Andrews became close

friends after they met in South Africa during a trip intended to ease tensions between

the country's Indian community and the government. Andrews was known as

Gandhi’s closest friend. On the basis of his name's initials, Gandhi gave him the

nickname "Christ's Faithful Apostle." Probably one of the main common values that

Andrews shared with Gandhi was the non-violent approach to the liberation of the

46
Swami Shraddhanand (22 February 1856 – 23 December 1926), also known as Mahatma Munshi
Ram, was an Indian Independence activist and an Arya Samaj sannyasi who propagated the teachings of
Dayananda Saraswati.
47
Chaturvedi and Sykes, A Narrative, 87.
48
Charles Freer Andrews. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Freer-Andrews accessed on
08/02/2023.

[9]
 masses.49On the day Andrews died, Gandhi gave the message that “not only England,

not only India, but humanity had lost a true son and servant…. I have not known a

better man or a better Christian than C. F. Andrews. India bestowed on him the title of

Deenabandhu, he deserved it.50 Gandhi once said, "It is better to allow our lives to

speak for us than our words, C. F. Andrews never preaches, he is incessantly doing

his work. He finds enough work and stays where he finds it and takes no credit for

bearing the Cross. I have the honour to know hundreds of honest Christians, but I

have not known one better than Andrews.51

5. MISSIOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

 At the mission, Andrews was closely associated with many leaders from who

he learned many things, for example he was closely associated with his tutor

Charles prior who carefully thought out each step the way forward. 52 Even in

our ministry we should seek to learn from our elders and friends.

 Andrews encounter with people of many religions during his years of service

undoubtedly shaped his attitudes towards other religions. He respected and

refused to condemn other religions, which is very important in today’s

context. In my place, I’ve seen people publicly condemning idol worship and

people belonging to other faiths. This attitude towards other religions builds

barriers for Christians to spread the gospel.

 Andrews even read the Scriptures of Hinduism and Buddhism.53 Reading

Hindu scriptures enables us to effectively carry out ministry among them in

our today’s context, where we coexist with Hindus or people of other religion.

I was inspired and encouraged to read and learn about the scriptures of other

49
Giorgiov, Charles Freer Andrews, 139.
50
Tinker, The Ordeal, 309.
51
Sharpe, Mission Legacies, 319.
52
Andrews, What I Owe, 131.
53
Chaturvedi and Sykes, A Narrative, 85.

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 religions by Dr. Rajendra Prasad Diwedi during the mission emphasis meeting

at NTC.

 Andrews always made an effort to understand the culture and traditions of

other religions. Because of his friendships with religious leaders of other

faiths, he was even referred to as a "missionary spy" by some people. In the

same way we will undoubtedly receive criticism while serving in the mission

field, but we shouldn't give up.

 It is important for missionaries to remain on good terms with the general

public.

6. CONCLUSION

Andrews’ life and work have left behind a rich legacy for us to pursue in

the twenty first century. Friendships as one of the vehicles for human renewal,

engagement, liberation, and ethical living in our world today which Andrew practiced

throughout his life. He can be a good example and inspiration for many people in

India, because we need missionaries who can relate themselves with both the leaders

and people.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Andrews, C. F. What I owe to Christ. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1932.

Chturvedi, Benarsidas and Sykes, Marjorie. Charles Freer Andrews: A Narrative. New York:

Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1950.

O’Connor, Daniel. The Testimony of C. F. Andrews. Madras: The Christian Literature

Society, 1974.

Sharpe, Eric J. “C. F. Andrews.” In Mission Legacies: Biographical Studies of Leaders of the

Modern Missionary Movement, edited by Gerald H. Anderson et al. Maryknoll: Orbis

Books, 1994.

Thomas, M. M. and Thomas, P. T. Towards an Indian Christian Theology: Life and Thought

of some Pioneers. Tiruvalla: Christava Sahitya Samithi, 1998.

Tinker, Hugh. The Ordeal of Love: C. F. Andrews and India. New York: Oxford University

Press, 1979.

Mondal, Ashish K. “Charles Freer Andrews: A Disciple Extraordinary” Indian Church

History Review, Vol 25, No. 1 (1991): 49-62.

Michael, Bernardo A. & Michael, Saramma. Practicing Faith & Reconciliation Through

Friendship: Remembering Charles Freer Andrews (1871-1940). History Educator

Scholarship. 65 (2018): 1-7.

Giorgiov, Adrian. Charles Freer Andrews. A Paradigm Shifter in Mission Work in India,

Perichoresis. Volume 11, Issue 1 (2013): 123-144.

Andrews, Charles Freer (1871-1940). Source: https://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-

biography/a-c/andrews-charles-freer-1871-1940/ accessed on 31/01/2023.

Charles Freer Andrews. Source: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Freer-

Andrews accessed on 08/02/2023.

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