MCI Hyderabad region gets new bishop
Dr Anil Kumar Servand has been appointed as Bishop of the Bombay Regional Conference and the Gujarat Regional Conference. These developments within the MCI unfolded dramatically in just a week

Hyderabad: The Methodist Church in India (MCI), the country’s largest Christian congregation, has appointed new bishops, including one for the Hyderabad Regional Conference (HRC). Bishop Dr Elia Pradeep Samuel will be the resident bishop of the Hyderabad Episcopal Area, which covers Telangana and parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
In addition to this role, he is given additional charge of the Delhi and Calcutta episcopal areas. Churches across the HRC welcomed the decision.
Talking to Deccan Chronicle, Bishop Samuel said he would be arriving in Hyderabad on February 6 to oversee HRC matters. Expressing his joy at assuming the role again, he noted that he had previously served as Bishop of the Bombay Regional Conference.
Dr Anil Kumar Servand has been appointed as Bishop of the Bombay Regional Conference and the Gujarat Regional Conference. These developments within the MCI unfolded dramatically in just a week.
A total of four bishops have been appointed for MCI across India. This change comes as four previous bishops retired after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70, as per the MCI constitution. The constitution mandates that bishops must retire at the General Conference, which is conducted every four years. However, the process was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the constitution allows a maximum delay of 180 days in case of adjournments, the conference has been repeatedly postponed.
This week, the executive council convened and made an immediate decision to resolve the delay. Rev. Dr Newton Parmar, executive secretary and general secretary of the MCI Executive Council, informed churches that the resolution had been passed and that Bishop Dr Elia Pradeep Samuel and Bishop Dr. Anil Kumar Servand had secured the majority vote and would take charge immediately.