Christinity & Christan Community in Western Odisha
Christianity is India's third-largest religion, with approximately 24 million followers, constituting 2.3% of India's population. The works of scholars and Eastern Christian writings state that Christianity was introduced to India by Thomas the Apostle, who visited Muziris in Kerala in 52 CE to proselytize amongst Kerala's  Christianity in Western Odisha develop during the British rule . Christan population is high in the Tribel area of Western Odhisha like Sundargarh,Balangir,Boudh area. We can devided this community in 3 catagories.
(i) Roman Cathlolic : Which is connected with vatican city of Itali
(ii) Indipendent Oriya baptist church :the people who belives in christinity & faith in lord jisu. Originaly they were Hindu but their fore father accepted christitity by the process of Duban.Indipendent Oriya Baptist church organisation is controled  from Cuttack.There is a old church in Bargarh Hatpada.
(iii)Diocese: the third catagory of churchs are control & managed by different  Diocese. There are three main Diocese in Western Odisha .They are Sambalpur Diocese,Balangir Diocese & Sundargarh Diocese.
Sambalpur Diocese :
Bishop’s House, Ainthapali,
P.O. Budharaja,Dt. Sambalpur,
Orissa - 768004.
Ph : 066302540327, 2541656, 2540295
Fax : 0663 2541656
E-mail : diogese@sancharnet.in
Website : www.sambalpurdiocese.org
Persons Present
Bishop : Rt. Rev. Lucas Kerketta,
Rourkela Diocese
The Diocese of Rourkela was created by the Papal Bull "cum Cordi" dated July 4, 1979 by taking the entire civil district of Sundargarh from the diocese of Sambalpur in Orissa. At the time of erection of Rourkela, the diocese of Sambalpur, erected in 1951, comprised of the four Orissa districts of Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Bolangir and Dhenkanal.The new diocese of Rourkela is bounded on the north by Archdiocese of Ranchi and on the South by the diocese of Sambalpur to the west and the north-west lies the diocese of Raigarh, while the diocese of Jamshedpur and Balasore lie to the east and South-East.Jesuit Missionaries began evangelization of this part of the Chotanagpur Mission, Fr Constant Livens (1856 - 1893) being the most prominent among them. After the Second World War, the Jesuits faced two major problems - personnel and finance. They, therefore, requested the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD) who had been working in the neighbouring states of Central India since 1932, to take up the Gangpur Mission in Northern Orissa. The SVDs set their feet in this mission land in 1948. The Late Bishop Herman Westermann, SVD, who had several years of experience in Central India, was ordained the first Bishop of Sambalpur in 1951. During his tenure as well as that of Bishop Raphael Cheenath, SVD (1974 - 1979), mission work in this ecclesiastical territory progressed in leaps and bounds.
Balangir  Diocese
The Diocese of Balangir  is now managing the churches of Western Odisha coversing the districts of Bargarh,Balangir,Sonepur,Boudh,Nuapada & Kalahandi

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