Periyasami, Veerannan and Harikrishnan, all youths in their Twenties, belonging to the southern districts, would henceforth be called by Christian names.
They were baptised today by a team of pastors belonging to the Seventh Day Adventist Church, at its `Thirumarai Peruvizha', `South Tamil Conference', held at the Seventh Day Adventist Matriculation Higher Secondary School, at Ellis Nagar in the city.
These youths were among a 250-strong group, drawn from Dindigul, Ammapatti, Sankarankovil, Tirunelveli, Manamadurai and Sivaganga, by the pastors who had convinced them about the benefits accruing to them if they embraced Christianity.
The baptism was held as the final event on the second and final day of the conference. Earlier, the villagers were asked to affirm their commitment to Christianity by raising their hands to about 10 questions relating to Jesus Christ's second coming, their determination to go by the Ten Commandments and their determination to donate one- tenth of their monthly earnings for missionary work.
Enquiries show that the villagers, mostly below the poverty line, had been brought for baptism with promises of ``economic emancipation.''
During 2001, the Seventh Day Adventist Church here had converted 1,500 Hindus belonging to Sholavandan, Perayur, Tirumangalam and Melur to Christianity, said a member of the Church. They were given clothes and money, and promised employment with the mission and free education for their children.
According to an organiser of the
baptism, the president of Seventh Day Adventist Church, India, D.R. Watts,
a Canadian, had set a ``tough target'' for the pastors, titled `go one
million', four months ago. The website, `maranatha.org', reveals the activities
carried out by this congregation throughout the country, particularly in
Nellore, Ongole and Tenali in Andhra Pradesh, where thousands of Hindus
were converted.