Samuel was born and raised in India. His Christian parents brought him up in a simple, austere tradition, gifting him with a deep knowledge and love of the Scriptures.

Samuel went to the Church Mission College at Tinnevelly, then in 1893, the Christian College, Madras. On leaving, he became secretary to the YMCA for South India. Convinced the Indian Church needed to outgrow its dependence on western missionaries, in 1903 he took a lead in founding the Indian Missionary Society of Tinnevelly. He tirelessly urged the need for Indian missionaries. One day a student asked him, “Why don’t you go yourself?” Samuel was ordained in 1909 began work in the remote countryside of Dornakal. In 1912 he became the first Indian Anglican bishop.

The new step of appointing an Indian was not taken without some grave misgivings from missionaries and higher caste Indians. Bishop Azariah’s ministry proved the rightness of the choice. He gave continuing direction to a mass movement of conversion mostly of low caste people serving the Diocese of Dornakal for over 30 years.

Indian clergy, were needed and ordained in increasing numbers, at first with such little training as was possible. However, Samuel, a keen student and the author of a number of practical books, worked consistently to raise the standard of education of his clergy. The secret of his strength, a disciplined life of prayer. His deep conviction and spirituality were shared by his wife Ambu. The lifestyle of the family was traditional and strict.

Samuel deeply appreciated the church community with its rich traditions, while convinced that the church must develop its own Indian flavour and culture and not merely transplant English culture. At Dornakal, worship employed Indian music and lyrics, festivals were celebrated Indian style, and when a cathedral was built it was of Indian design, not imitation Gothic. His vision of Christ for India made him a spokesman in the world missionary and ecumenical conferences. He was one of the mostly Indian group who met at Tranque-bar in 1919 to confer and pray about church union. Despite many setbacks they pressed on, convicted that the divisions inherent in the Christian Church in India, were not just a weakness, but a sin and a scandal. They were a very diverse group and together represented a broad range of Christian traditions. Samuel Azariah played an important part in their discussions and negotiations that finally led to the formation of the Church of South India in 1947, completed 2 years after his death. This event captured the imagination of a whole Christian generation. This union owed an enormous amount to the energy, love and vision of Samuel Azariah.

BORN: 1874, Vellalanvillai, Tirunelveli District, Tamilnadu, India.

DIED: 1 January 1945, Dornakal, Andhra Pradesh, British Raj.