[The North India Church Review] Earlier this year the 26th diocese of the Church of North India came into existence. Pune Diocese was formed out of part of the Diocese Kolhapur. Shifting population, with increased urbanisation in Pune, meant that the church needed to address the changing pastoral needs of clergy and people in the area.

After some delays in the process for setting up the new diocese, churches in Pune came together in a move to speed the formation of the diocese. On 15th June 1999 the Diocese of Pune was created, consisting of 38 churches from Pune, Solapur, Osmanabad and Latur, with the Rt Revd B F Gavit as Bishop.

A thanksgiving service was held on 21st August 1999 at the Church of the Holy Name, Panch Howd, Pune, to mark the launch of the new diocese. In his address, the Bishop of Chotanagpur, the Rt Revd Z J Terom, pointed out that, to begin with, a diocese is just an inanimate administrative unit, but that the work and witness of its bishop, clergy and people breathe life into it. He encouraged those in the new diocese not to lose heart in the face of the evils of the modern world but to look up to Jesus Christ as they faced the challenges of the 3rd millennium.