Diocese of Hyderabad (Church of Pakistan)

The Diocese of Hyderabad, Church of Pakistan is one of the eight Dioceses of the Church of Pakistan which is a recognized national church by the Government of Pakistan. The Church of Pakistan is a united Church, formed in 1970 because of the merger of Anglicans, Scottish Presbyterians, Methodist and Lutherans Churches in Pakistan. The Diocese of Hyderabad was established by the Church of Pakistan in 1980 and it has 26 parishes in its three regional divisions Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Sukkur.  These three regions include all the districts of Sindh province of Pakistan except Karachi which is a separate Diocese.  

The Diocese of Hyderabad is registered under the Societies Registration Act-1860. Furthermore, the Diocese of Hyderabad has also achieved the registration with the Economic Affair Division (EAD) of the Government of Pakistan and the certification from the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP). The Diocese is also registered with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and a taxpayer organization with the NPO status. Apart from the above-mentioned registrations and certifications, the Diocese of Hyderabad is also registered as a Trust, and it supervises and governs the properties of the Church of Pakistan established and located within its jurisdiction in the Sindh province.

Since its establishment in 1980, the Diocese of Hyderabad has further developed and strengthened its church setup in the Sindh province including the development of the church infrastructure, development of the Christian worship and education resources for churches and provision of the quality theological education to its clergy and catechists serving in the different parishes.  Since 1980, three Bishops have served in the Diocese of Hyderabad while the present Bishop Rt. Rev. Kaleem John has been serving as the fourth Bishop of the Diocese since October 24, 2011. The three others who served before him include Rt. Rev. Bashir Jiwan (1981-1997), Rt. S.K. Dass (1997-2002) and Rt. Rev. Rafiq Masih (2003-2011).

Apart from the successful management and administration of its church setup, the Diocese of Hyderabad has also been serving the poor Christian as well as marginalized communities from all faiths through its educational, health and capacity building institutions as well as community development and welfare projects (including disaster relief and rehabilitation initiatives) mainly in Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Umerkot, Badin, Sanghar and Sukur districts. These institutions and projects have empowered thousands of poor and marginalized children, especially girls, for quality education up to 12th grade and provided access to quality health and WASH services to the poor patients at their doorsteps. The education, health, capacity building and life skills development initiatives have transformed the lives of thousands of poor and marginalized women educationally, economically, socially, and physically.  All the Diocesan institutions, community development and welfare initiatives have contributed a lot in Government of Pakistan’s efforts to achieve its target first for the Millenium DGs and now for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

There are about 26 parishes that under the purview of the diocese. Most of them have a core urban congregation of Punjabi and Indian families who had converted to Christianity at the turn of the century. Rural agricultural Punjabi families make up a vast majority of the rural congregation scattered throughout the diocesan influence. A large number of new converts come from tribal Hindus living in rural Sindh.^[1]

HYDERABAD REGION (5 Urban, 5 Rurals)

1. St. Thomas Cathedral Parish, Hyderabad (Urban)
2. St. Philip's Parish, Hyderabad (Urban)
3. St. Andrew's Parish, Latifabad, (Urban)
4. Christ Parish, Kotri, (Urban)
5. St. Steven's Parish, Sikanderabad (Urban)
6. St. Peter's Parish, Tando Mohammad Khan (Rural)
7. St. Paul's Parish, Tando Allahyar (Rural)
8. All Saints Parish, Badin (Rural)
9. St. Philip's Parish, Tando Jam (Rural)
10. All Souls Church, Sajawal Parish (Rural)

MIRPURKHAS REGION (2 Urban, 8 Rurals)

1. Rawat Memorial Parish, Mirpurkhas (Rural)
2. St. John's Parish, Civil Lines Mirpurkhas (Urban)
3. Raj Wadhawamall Parish, Rattanabad (Rural)
4. St. Matthew’s Parish, Mubarik Centre (Rural)
5. St. Mary's Parish, Sultanabad (Rural)
6. Kunri Ashram Parish, Kunri (Rural)
7. Church of Reconciliation Parish, Khipro (Rural)
8. St. John's Parish, Mithi (Rural)
9. Awami Church Parish, Tando Adam (Rural)
10. St. Paul's Parish, Sanghar (Urban )

SUKKUR REGION (3 Urban,3 Rurals)

1. St. Saviour's Parish, Sukkur (Urban)
2. Agape Parish, Rohri (Urban)
3. St. Barnabas Parish, Nawabshah (Urban)
4. Vincent Memorial Parish, Mehrabpur (Rural)
5. St. Peter's Parish, Khairpur Mirs (Rural)
6. Henry Holland Parish, Shikarpur (Rural)

The diocese has had four bishops at the head of the office:

• Rt. Rev. Bashir Jiwan (1981–1997)
• Rt. Rev. S. K. Dass (1997–2002)
• Rt. Rev. Rafiq Masih (2003–23 June 2011^[2])
• Rt. Rev. Kaleem John (2011–present)