In 1903, Sherwood Eddy founded with Anglican Bishop V.S. Azariah the first purely Indian Mission Society of Tinnevelly and in 1905 the National Missionary Society of India. Sherwood Eddy was the only non-Indian present at its founding conference in Serampore. Because of his perfect command of Tamil and his deep empathy for the Indians, he was considered one of them, which he described as one of the greatest compliments he ever received. Professor Rick Nutt considers that this initiative played a role in the emergence of Indian national sentiment. The NMS was also ecumenical as it brought together members from all Protestant churches in South India. It showed the way for churches that then also sought unity. In 1908 the South India United Church regrouped the Presbyterian and Congregationalist churches of South India, but efforts to integrate the Anglican faith into the union were unsuccessful until September 1947 when the Church of South India was created, bringing together the Anglican, Methodist, Congregationalist, Presbyterian and Reformed communities. Sherwood Eddy appears there as a pioneer of ecumenism between Protestant churches; although this had been the YMCA's policy since their inception, the merger of actual churches in India was one of the first achievements of this type ever.