Representatives of Catholic, Protestant, and independent Christian denominations formally launched the National Federation of Churches in India (NFCI) at a meeting held at St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences in Bengaluru, constituting what church leaders described as the first all-inclusive national body of Christian Churches in the country.
The launch took place during the Fourth National Ecumenical Bishops' Fellowship Meeting, attended by approximately 45 participants including Archbishops, Bishops, Church Heads, and delegates from various Christian denominations. The NFCI's founding Guidelines were approved at the meeting, and its leadership elected. Cardinal Anthony Poola, Archbishop of Hyderabad and President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), was chosen as Chairman.
Archbishop Joseph D'Souza, President of the Good Shepherd Church in India and All India Christian Council; Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt, Chairman of the CBCI Office for Dialogue and Desk for Ecumenism; and Bishop Vincent Vinod Kumar, CSI Bishop of Karnataka Central Diocese, were selected as Conveners. The federation was formally inaugurated with a prayer of dedication offered by Bishop Akhlesh Edgar, General Secretary of the Council of Evangelical Churches in India.
The new body is intended to serve as an umbrella organisation and apex body of Christian denominations across India, presenting a unified face of Christianity to the nation and acting as a single voice for the community on matters of national concern.
While several national-level forums and councils of Churches exist in India, organisers said none is fully inclusive of all denominations, and no all-India platform exclusively for Bishops and Heads of Churches has previously existed. The NFCI is designed to facilitate collaboration among member Churches while respecting their individual identities, traditions, and internal structures.
The federation's formation follows two years of deliberation and has been driven, its founders say, by a series of escalating challenges facing Christians in India. These include violent attacks on pastors and worshippers, anti-conversion laws that critics say are widely misused, proposed amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) that could enable government seizure of Church-linked properties, and a proposed Christian Welfare and Property Board that church leaders regard as a mechanism of state control over ecclesiastical assets.
Data compiled by the United Christian Forum (UCF) shows a consistent year-on-year increase in recorded incidents of violence against Christians in India over the past decade, from 151 cases in 2014 to 486 in 2021, 601 in 2022, 734 in 2023, and 834 in 2024.
By November 2025, 706 incidents had been documented for that year, with the full-year figure estimated to approach 900, making 2025 the fifth consecutive year to set a new record. (CSI International) Open Doors, an international Christian advocacy organisation, reported more than 2,900 incidents of persecution from January to November 2025 alone.
UCF monitoring data indicates an average of at least two attacks per day, encompassing physical violence, murder, sexual violence, intimidation and threats, social boycotts, damage to religious properties, desecration of religious symbols, and disruption of prayer services. Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have been identified as the states with the highest concentration of such incidents.
The Evangelical Fellowship of India's Religious Liberty Commission verified 640 incidents of violence and discrimination in 2024, compared to 147 in 2014, representing more than a fourfold increase over a decade.
The commission noted that many incidents are strategically timed to occur during Sunday worship services, suggesting organised monitoring of Christian religious gatherings. Of 579 incidents reported between January and September 2025, only 39 resulted in police cases, a documentation gap of approximately 93 percent.
Anti-conversion laws, which officially prohibit conversion by force, fraud, or inducement, have been criticised by Christian leaders and human rights lawyers as frequently invoked without evidence and used to disrupt church services, intimidate pastors, and pressure worshippers. As of January 2026, at least 110 Christians remained in detention on charges under such laws, following the release of more than 600 Christians in 2025 after legal intervention by faith-based groups.
The Christmas season of 2025 brought a concentrated series of incidents across multiple states. In Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, a dispute over the burial of a man who had converted to Christianity escalated between December 15 and 18 into violence in which multiple churches were set on fire, Christian homes were destroyed, and clashes with police left around 20 officers injured.
In Madhya Pradesh, four parishes were denied permission for Christmas programmes and carol singing, and in Rajasthan and Nalbari, extremists stormed schools, vandalising property and destroying decorations. A BJP politician was filmed confronting and assaulting a visually impaired woman attending a Christmas service in Jabalpur, footage that drew widespread attention on social media.
In Telangana, a group of Christmas carolers was attacked by a mob of approximately 60 people in Nalthur village; a pastor was beaten unconscious with stones and two others were seriously injured. No arrests were made.
The proposed FCRA amendment has emerged as a separate but equally prominent concern. The amendment would allow the government to seize all assets of any organisation whose FCRA license has been blocked or has lapsed. It would also give the executive branch authority to redirect funds and reassign management of a place of worship without going through a court first.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India warned that the legislation could endanger the very operational survival of minority institutions, while the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council called it unconstitutional and draconian.
The All India Christian Council stated that the amendment amounted to a move to take away Christian properties meant for the development of Dalits, tribals, and other marginalised communities, built through a combination of local and foreign funds dedicated to welfare, education, healthcare, and livelihood support.
Since 2014, more than 20,000 FCRA licenses have lapsed or been cancelled, effectively blocking those organisations from receiving foreign funding. (FIACONA) Government representatives have maintained that the amendment targets money laundering, not any religious community, and that organisations operating within the law have nothing to fear.
The meeting in Bengaluru opened with an Ecumenical Prayer Service for Christian Unity drawn from resources jointly prepared by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity of the Roman Catholic Church and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches for 2026.
Cardinal Poola's welcome address called for unified action by the Churches in response to the community's concerns. Bishop Kallarangatt's Inaugural Address drew on ecumenical scholarship to argue for the necessity of cross-denominational cooperation. An open-house ecumenical dialogue was moderated by Archbishop D'Souza.
Church leaders described the NFCI as a significant step toward visible Christian unity as envisioned in the Gospel of John (17:21), and a new chapter in inter-denominational solidarity in India. The federation is expected to engage with national institutions on issues of common concern, represent the Christian community before government bodies, and strengthen the ecumenical movement across the country.
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