Pettah means “village,” and Christian Pettah is the village in which this revival story began, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Introduction
The central character in this revival is John Christian Aroolappen (Arulappan) (1810-1867), a national Indian who as a child studied at a missions school, and it was there during elementary and high school that he learned the English language. In 1822 he enrolled in a seminary started by Charles Rhenius, a German missionary with the Church Mission Society.
Anthony N. Groves
In 1833, Aroolappen began working as a translator for A.N. Groves, in the Tinnevelly district.
While interpreting for Groves, a Brahmin in the crowd accused Aroolappen of only working as an interpreter (being a Christian) because he was receiving a salary for doing so. Aroolappen then determined he would no longer accept financial support from European sources and commenced living a life of faith.
By 1840, Aroolappen’s ministry had expanded, and he obtained land from the government on which he established Christian Pettah (Christian Village). Persecuted Christians were then welcomed to come there and live and worship together.
This ministry continued to spread, and the number of congregations under Aroolappen’s oversight expanded to congregations in 33 villages, with the furthest one being 90 miles from his home. His ministry also had schools and a printing press.
Extraordinary Prayer
In 1860, Aroolappen had been reading about how God had visited His people in England and America with great awakenings in the preceding few years.
Locations where other significant revivals had been taking place:
► 1857 Anson Street Revival
► 1857 Hamilton, Ontario Revival
► 1857 Layman’s Prayer Revival
► 1859 Ulster, Ireland Revival
Then, with the American Presbyterian mission in Ludhiana, Punjab, calling for the second week of January, 1860, to be set aside for prayer for a world-wide revival, Aroolappen set his face to seek God for the same, and he inspired others to join him.
The “spirit of supplication” was poured out on the believers in Christian Pettah to pray for revival, so three times each day, morning, noon, and evening, they assembled to seek the Lord for the outpouring of the Spirit, like what had been experienced by those in other nations.
Extraordinary Prayer from Around the Globe
During the revivals taking place in Europe and America, those having experienced a reviving commenced praying for mission work around the globe, which included India.
Extraordinary Prayer and Fasting Perpetuated the Revival
Several months into the revival the believers were still committed to prayer and fasting, and they would make Sundays a special time for this. They would often abstain from food till after the Lord’s supper, which was served every Sunday evening at 8 pm.
What Happened
On February 26, 1860, Aroolappen was preaching on Luke 11:13,
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
This message stirred the hearts of the people to pursue the Lord for revival with even more intensity than before.
The sermon made a huge impression on a poor woman named Amoordam, the mother of five children. She, along with her husband, had been baptized a year earlier, but according to Aroolappen, “they were not earnest in the faith.”
Amoordam began to diligently read the Scriptures and was joined Annal, a young lady from the community. On the following Sunday, Aroolappen again spoke on the same subject, and it happened to be the day of their monthly meeting, when all their teachers, students, and other workers were assembled for prayer and communion. At the conclusion of his sermon, he exhorted the people to do three things:
1. Repent of all known sins.
2. Meditate on the Scriptures night and day.
3. Love the Lord Jesus Christ.
The following morning, while still sleeping, Amoordam had a dream in which she saw a man who asked her if she remembered what she had heard the previous evening, and she said that she did.
The man in this dream then asked her:
What has Christ done for you?
What love has he shown to you?
The question left her speechless. She didn’t know how to answer, and she was filled with fear. She was then told to go and ask Aroolappen what Christ had done for her.
Amoordam rose from bed immediately and woke Annal, and after telling her the dream she had, Annal replied,
I have seen a similar vision, and saw you coming to awake me.
It was now 5 am, and the bell rang for morning prayers, to which both Amoordam and Annal went. While there, Aroolappen taught from 1 Peter 1:18-19, speaking about the price of our redemption: “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
After the time of prayer concluded, the ladies went to Aroolappen’s wife and told her their dreams, at the same time confessing the great conviction of sin that they were experiencing.
When Aroolappen heard of this, he knew that this was the effect of the Holy Spirit’s work, similar to what he had heard having taken place during the outpouring of the Spirit in England.
Though Aroolappen gave them Scriptures to bring them comfort, the comfort would not come, and for three days they experienced tremendous anguish in their soul. This overwhelming conviction of sin, which manifested outwardly with deep groaning and bitter weeping, left them with no appetite, and they spent all their time reading the Bible and praying. And at the end of three days they experienced an overwhelming sense of joy and freedom knowing that their sins were forgiven.
Amoordam’s husband thought his wife was delusional and said, “You have a devil,” and he left to work in his field. While at work he fell into a trance, and with his eyes closed, as if in a deep sleep, someone appeared to him and told him to read Revelation chapter one, and to tell others
I am coming quickly!
After having experienced that, Amoordam’s husband told his son who was working with him, and others, what he had seen, and weeping, he ran back to his house and acknowledged the tremendous conviction that he himself was now experiencing. As others gathered around him to pray, he quickly found the peace and freedom from his sins.
This was the account of the revival’s start, and the same conviction of sin then spread to village after village.
Conviction of Sin
As the revival’s influence spread, the conviction of sin was a prominent feature. This conviction brought on:
► Deep mental anguish.
► Gasps, as if from suffocation.
► Piercing cries, as thoughts of the coming judgement kept coming to their minds.
► Sobs and groans/piercing cries for mercy.
► Bitter and profuse weeping.
► Involuntary prostration, which some missionaries described as being “Struck down,” or fainting.
► Fear of eternal torment in hell.
► Swaying of the body back and forth, being in deep distress.
► A melting of the heart, due to the Holy Spirit’s inner working.
► Physical trembling of the bodies.
► At times the necessity of public confession of sin before freedom could be experienced.
► Sleeplessness and loss of appetite for days on end if relief wasn’t soon experienced (like Saul of Tarsus who didn’t eat for 3 days—Acts 9:9).
► Those who had not been baptized found no peace from their conviction of sin until after having been baptized, and after receiving baptism they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44-48).
Evangelism
After having experienced a genuine reviving of their souls, they were compelled by the Holy Spirit to immediately take the Good News to the villages around them. This involved going to the various congregations under Aroolappen’s ministry, as well as into the streets and homes of the Hindus and Muslims in the district.
What the Christian Community Was Experiencing at Christian Pettah:
► They were very excited whenever they could partake of the Lord’s supper.
► There were about 100 people, including children, who all ate common meals together.
► There were three meetings held every day.
► The Hindus in the community were amazed at what was happening.
Opposition
As with every genuine revival, this one also had its opponents from within the Church. Most opposition came from European missionaries in the region who attempted to quench the work of the Holy Spirit, as they had never seen what they were witnessing.
When the newly revived Christians expected to see the signs mentioned in Mark 16:17, some missionaries tragically worked to quench their faith in that and other similar Scriptures. Aroolappen was also regretful because some would
prevent the people from coming together of their own accord for prayer, and they will not receive any of my people into their houses or places of prayer.
Change of Heart
Some of the European missionaries initially opposed the revival, but after having seen it continue for about five months, they began to recognize that their initial judgments were in error. The Rev. Mr. Dibb, a European missionary with the Church of England, who was initially opposed to the revival, said,
I am happy to say that the movement is still progressing. It is chiefly observed among careless and nominal Christians; But it is not confined to them. Heathen have here and there been brought under the influence of the movement.
For a number of months another missionary refused to report on the revival. He, like Dibb, was initially judgmental, but he also changed his perception after he saw the revival’s fruit:
Now that the movement has been going on for five months, accompanied with increasing manifestations of God’s blessing, and the outpouring of His Spirit, I cannot any longer keep back from you an account of what our eyes have seen, and our ears have heard.
As you are by this time aware, Ukkirankottei was the first village where the movement commenced in the Surandei district. In this place there is a congregation of about 220 souls. This congregation has been established for upwards of 80 years. The people were originally Romanists [Catholics]. Up to the month of March of the present year [1860], they were perhaps, one of the most disorderly and unsatisfactory congregations in Tinnevelly. Drunkenness, and others species of the lowest vice, neglect of the Lord’s day, quarreling, etc., were the striking features here…. I can testify that a marvelous reform has taken place since that time throughout the whole village.
The Missionaries’ Confessions
► They were filled with unbelief—just like the disciples after Jesus’ resurrection (Luke 24:25).
► There was jealousy, that the Holy Spirit did not use a missionary, nor a European mission agency to launch and lead the revival. The spark for the revival was a humble national believer with no outside financial resources, J. C. Aroolappen.
► They were jealous of the poor Indians through whom the Holy Spirit granted evangelistic power, as well as other gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Gifts and Manifestations of the Holy Spirit’s Working
This revival, just like all revivals through the centuries, included elements of Pentecostalism.
► Visions—often seen by up to 5 people at the same time, with them all being identical.
► Visions seen by the unconverted were those about hell and Jesus on the cross.
► Visions by Christians were those of heaven, or the return of Jesus Christ.
► Songs being sung by angels were heard by Christians.
► Speaking in tongues
► Interpretation of tongues
► Prophecy
► Words of knowledge, pointing out secret sins and calling individuals to repentance.
► Some saw signs in the sky.
► Some began to sing songs no one had ever heard before, and they were spontaneous.
► An ability to quote the Bible, without knowing the verses beforehand, with the verses being quoted accurately, and being applicable to their sinfulness, as well as to the mercy and forgiveness they could receive.
► An extraordinary ability to find passages in the Bible that directly addressed their sin.
Results of the Revival
Some questioned these manifestations of the Holy Spirit and attempted to say it was of Satan. But like the 1857 Ulster, Ireland Revival, when a “drunkard” said, “certainly it was not Satan who took me away from ‘whisky drinking’”; in the same way, how could someone say that it was not a move of God when these powerful manifestations and gifts of the Holy Spirit led people to these changes:
► There was a hatred of sin.
► In locations where drunkenness was rampant, it was now absent.
► A love of the Scriptures was evidenced by joy exhibited in searching out its truths.
► Love and unity were manifested among the believers.
► There was a willingness to freely give what one has to help others.
► They had a strong desire for private prayer, as well as uniting with others in prayer.
► There was a turning from and abhorring the Hindu worship of statues.
► There was continual evangelism taking place in the villages.
► They were filled with joy in all their work.
► The fruits of the Spirit were evident.
► As in America and Ireland, this revival was not confined to any one denomination or church.
► The students in the schools were more diligent in their lessons and daily tasks.
► There was an intense reverence for the Word of God, as well as the desire to be transformed by it.
► Reconciliation took place between those who previously were at odds.
► Vulgar language stopped.
► Believers were established in their faith and were looking for the return of Jesus Christ.
► There was no backsliding.
► The Hindus and Muslims in the area acknowledged that the Christians who were formerly disgraceful with their living were now respectable and living godly lives.
► The people were regularly attending the times of prayer and church services.
► There were frequent prayer meetings, as well as family prayers.
Duration of the Revival
In 1869, with J.C. Aroolappen having passed away two years earlier, his son wrote:
As to the revival it appeared in 1860, and lasted to the end of 1865 with vigor. …but after 1865 these earnest desires were much abated…
Even though the revival was said to have ended after 1865, here are some of the lingering effects that were noticed in the Christians:
► They live according to their godly conscience.
► They are still far better spiritually than they were before the revival.
► It has added to the numbers in each congregation.
► People are now able to pray publicly.
► Most still faithfully attend the set time for prayer.
► Sins of drunkenness and loose living have been totally abandoned.
Sources
► Anthony Norris Groves by Wikipedia
► Church Mission Society (CMS) by Wikipedia
► C.T.E. Rhenius by Wikipedia
► The Histories and Diaries of an Indian Christian (J. C. Aroolappen) by G. H. Lang
► Memoir of the Rev. C.T.E. Rhenius by J.R. Rhenius
► Pentecostalism in India by Stanley Burgess
► Pentecostal Phenomena and Revivals in India by Gary B. McGee
► Precursors to Pentecostalism in South India by Allan H. Anderson
► Rev. Ashton Dibb, a Tamil Scholar by kt-place.com
► Tirunelveli by Wikipedia
► The Missionary Reporter by J.W. Forrest
Return to List of Revival Stories
Chet & Phyllis Swearingen:
Office: (260) 920-8248
romans1015@outlook.com
Beautiful Feet
P.O. Box 915
Auburn, IN 46706
