and also a CMS priest like Mathai Upadeshi. He arrived in Kerala in 1875, but his ministry declined after the failure of his prediction that Jesus Christ would return in 1881. A second wave of growth among the Kerala Brethren started in 1894 with the arrival of V.D. David, better known in Kerala as Tamil David, and L.M. Wordsmith, the latter an Indian Tamil from Colombo, Sri Lanka. They were joined by Herbert Handley Bird, who established assemblies in Northern Kerala. They were helped by Baptist preacher and Keswick Convention speaker J.G. Gregson, who visited Kerala in 1896. Although a Baptist, he was sympathetic to Brethren viewpoints and helped to found the first Brethren assembly in Travancore, central Kerala. He also preached in Ayroor, near Kumbanad, paving the way for German missionary Volbrecht Nagel to conduct the first Brethren "meeting" (as they usually call their services) there on 19 March 1899. Persecution Meanwhile, a period of persecution from the older churches had broken out in 1897. Concerned about losing members, some priests in the Mar Thoma Syrian Church spoke out against the Brethren movement. P.C. John, a young Mar Thoma Christian influenced by Brethren ideas, was physically assaulted by his priest. John and his cousin, P.E. Mammen, who was a Mar Thoma priest, subsequently left that church and joined the Brethren. The Brethren further strengthened by continued defections from the Mar Thoma Church. K.V. Simon was excommunicated from the Mar Thoma Church in Edayaranmula for undergoing and practicing believer's baptism. After this event, which took place on 25 December 1915, Simon joined the Brethren movement. Sporadic persecution of the Brethren continued. Lonappan, an evangelist, and Kidangoor Thaipparambil Joseph were physically attacked in November 1921 by a mob which burned Bibles and destroyed their agricultural produce. Brethren unity 1929 was a significant year, when a small group of Viyojitha assemblies that stemmed from the work of K.V. Simon came into fellowship with the wider Indian Brethren movement on 20 January. In practical terms, this meant that the Indian Brethren, who were similar in doctrine to the Open Brethren movement, recognized the Viyojitha Brethren as fellow-believers who shared the same principles of church order. Edwyn Hunter Noel of the Indian Brethren was instrumental in this coming together. They were subsequently joined by the Kerala Brethren, under the encouragement of P.E. Mammen. Conventions and conferences There is no General Convention for Brethren Assemblies