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During this period the Lord raised many men from the decaying church in India who began studying and teaching the pure word of God, denying the spiritual efficacy of church rituals. This eventually led to a greater interest in studying the pure word of God, and many began to gather in homes to search the scriptures -- particularly in the tiny south Indian state of Kerala. With the establishment of a printing press, the Bible was easily available (though costly) in this language. These investigations eventually led them to the discovery of the doctrines of justification by faith, the priesthood of all believers, and the baptism of believers as opposed to infant baptism practices in their own churches.
The discovery led to action, and soon four men who accepted Christ as savior were baptized. Two who were not baptized were present as observers. Convinced of the need for believers to commemorate the death of the Lord in a non ritualistic manner, they celebrated the first Lord's Supper under a tree in 1887. This is reckoned by many to be technically the birth of the Brethren Assemblies in India. Just as the Lord raised a group of people for Himself in the West, He also raised a group unto Himself independently in the East.
==Opposition And Spread==
