By E. T. Malone, Jr. Lambeth Conference Communications

Anglican World magazine, the international publication of the Anglican Communion, is a "great strength" for Christians in South India, who constitute only two percent of the local population, said the Rev. J. Prabhakara Rao, an Anglican Consultative Council representative attending the Lambeth Conference.

Since 1996, Mr. Rao, a priest at the Basel Mission Girls' School in Dharwad, Karnatak, has received a free subscription through the magazine's arrangement to provide complementary copies to Anglicans in two-thirds world countries. "Otherwise, it would be impossible for me to read," he said. "The annual cost in India would be one-fourth of my monthly salary."

The magazine is placed in the vestry of his church and circulated among all his parishioners. "It is an important way to reach people," he said, noting that it helps Christians feel connected with others around the world. "We say in India that we are a minority, but in the worldwide Anglican Communion we can feel part of a majority."

Within his parish there are 40 families from six language groups. "We use English as our common language, and everyone can read Anglican World," Mr. Rao said. "ThroughAnglican World the Anglican spirit binds us all together."

Unity among Christians is a high priority, sometimes to the point of taking extreme steps, he said.

"When Anglicans joined with other Christians-Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Congregationalists, and so on-to form the Church of South India, we Anglicans had to burn our vestments and put away other liturgical symbols to make the others feel comfortable with us," he said. "We were like a candle burning itself to give light to others. We sacrificed ourselves."

In a country divided not only by language and religion, but also by the social hierarchies of caste, Mr. Rao said his congregation does its best to avoid even that barrier. "In this congregation we ask no questions about caste. We say we are Christians," he said.