Barthollomaeus Ziegenbalg

Three Missionaries II

Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg began his work among Tamils of Tranquebar on the southeast coast of India on July 9, 1706.   His original purpose was to introduce German Lutheran pietism to the people.  But his encounter with the Tamil people, culture and literature transformed him so much that he became the author for Tamil culture and religious heritage.  He translated the New Testament into Tamil.  The first convert to Christianity was baptized about ten months after Ziegenbalg began preaching.  His work was opposed by Hindus and also by the Danish authorities in the area.  Ziegenbalg was imprisoned for his work on a charge of converting the natives.  Today, the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran church carries on his work.  One biographer writes that Ziegenbalg can be regarded as the father of modern Tamil prose.  He died in 1719.