At his death, Bishop Newbigin was a member of the United Reformed Church in the United Kingdom. He was ordained as a Presbyterian minister by the Church of Scotland in 1936 and sent to work in India. Throughout his life, Bishop Newbigin was totally committed to the movement for church unity not just in theory but also in practice. He worked tirelessly in negotiations such as those which led to the establishment of the Church of South India in 1947. At the inauguration of the CSI he was appointed bishop in Madurai and Ramnad.

Bishop Newbigin's great theological insight was evident in his leadership of the International Missionary council, which he led to the point of its integration in the WCC at the New Delhi Assembly in 1961, and in his subsequent roles of WCC Associate General Secretary and Director of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism until 1965. He then returned to serve the CSI as Bishop of Madras until he retired in 1974.

Just over a year ago, Bishop Newbigin was present at the latest Conference on World Mission and Evangelism in Salvador, Brazil where he challenged the churches to address the current domination of the world by the "Western free-market culture". He chided the churches for not doing more: "We are so domesticated in Western culture that we have not had the courage to challenge it".

The loss of Bishop Newbigin will be felt throughout the Christian world. However, his legacy will live on and continue to shape the ecumenical vision for the new millennium."