Documentation of Christianity in Asia Consortium

The Documentation of Christianity in Asia Consortium (DCIA) is a collaborative project, the purpose of which is to improve the documentation of Christianity in Asia through the identification and description of both primary and secondary source documents.

The DCIA Guide (currently under development) is envisioned to be a web based tool that will identify where primary sources and other material related to Christianity in Asia are located. Additionally, other resources may be located through consortial members' catalogs and special collections, including the Special Collections of the Yale University Divinity Library, The Centre for the Study of Christianity in Asia (CSCA), and the online library catalogs of the participating member institutions.

The website for the project is hosted by Yale University Library.

Historical Background

On October 5-6, 2005, a consultation was held at Trinity Theological College in Singapore with the support of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia. The purpose of the consultation was to carry out a needs analysis to determine whether or not a program should be developed to improve the documentation of Christianity in Asia.

The participants in this initial consulation were: Paul Stuehrenberg (Yale Divinity Library), Martha Smalley (Yale Divinity Library), Michael Poon (Trinity Theological College), Michael Mukunthan (Trinity Theological College), Irene Wong (Hong Kong Baptist University), William Yoder (McGilvary Divinity School, Payap University), Chayan Hiranpan (Payap University Archives).

In March 2006, the participants agreed to form a consortium to carry out the documentation program.

Institutional Members of the Consortium and Institutional Representatives

The consortium currently is comprised of four institutions:

Scope of the Project

Geographical Regions

The project encompasses the following geographic regions:

  • Myanmar
    • Yagnon
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • Thailand
    • Bangkok
  • Timor-Leste
  • Vietnam
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cambodia
  • Hong Kong
  • Indonesia
    • Jakarta
  • Lao PDR
  • Malaysia
    • Kuching
    • Penang
    • Sibu

Historical Period

The project is focused mainly on the 20th century, especially the post-1945 era. Specifically, the project will seek to identify and describe documentation from these historical periods:

  • 1910 to Pacific War (World War II)
  • Pacific War (World War II)
  • Post-1945 to 1967
  • 1967 to 2000

Church Organizations

The project will be concerned mainly with identifying documentation from the national or mainline churches, but documentation from other church bodies will be included, when appropriate:

Document Types

  • "Official" publications
    Annual reports, directories, periodicals, newsletters
  • "Grey" literature
    Archives of denominations, church related agencies, ecumenical agencies, and congregations
  • Archival material
  • Personal papers of church leaders
  • Photographs
  • Oral histories
  • Government records
    • Land deeds
    • Laws governing the conduct of Christianity (and other religious bodies)

The DCIA Guide

The DCIA Guide is currently under development and is not yet available. It is envisioned to be a web based tool that will identify where primary sources and other material related to Christianity in Asia are located. The member institutions of the consortium are responsible for gathering data about the location of such resources, which will then be input into the DCIA Guide. A survey tool, Current Publications and Historical Documents Survey, is also under development as a tool to assist the member institutions in idenftifying the location of resources.

CSCA: Source Documents on the Study of Christianity in Asia

The Centre for the Study of Christianity in Asia (CSCA), the mission research arm of Trinity Theological College, Singapore, is one of the member institutions of the consortium. The CSCA publishes on its website a list of source documents on the study of Christianity in Asia.

Online Library Catalogs

Secondary sources on Christianity in Asia may be located through the use of the participating institutions' online library catalogs:

Current Publications and Historical Documents Survey

The Current Publications and Historical Documents Survey is survey tool, currently under development, that will assist the member institutions in the retrieval of data. Members of the consortium may use this survey to gather data about churches or church-related institutions in their area.

Other Resources

The following are other internet resources related to the documentation of Christianity in Asia:

Yale Divinity School Southeast Asian Manuscripts
Manuscripts from Southeast Asia located in the Special Collections of Yale Divinity School Library.

Mundus: Missionary Collections in the United Kingdom
Mundus is a gateway to missionary collections in the United Kingdom. Click on the links below to see collections related to specific locations in Asia: