This week in Christian history: Scottish preacher martyred, OPC founder born, Lutheran missionary to India

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, July 26, 2020

Lutheran missionary arrives in India – July 30, 1750

A nineteenth century image of Christian Frederich Schwarz (1726-1798), a Lutheran missionary to India. | Public Domain

This week marks the anniversary of when German Lutheran missionary Christian Frederick Schwartz arrived at Tranquebar, India, for what became nearly five decades of mission work.

A native of what is now Poland, Schwartz served as a schoolmaster and became fluent in multiple local languages. He also served as a chaplain for British military forces.

“Schwartz’s love of people, his faithful preaching, and his use of native languages won him universal respect,” noted the Christian History Institute.

“During famines, brought on by war, he expended himself in relief efforts. He founded orphanages. Observers said that he did the work of several men and did it honestly.”