Bible Society of India Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary

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Bible Society of India Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary
Formation1951
Founded at Secunderabad
Type Bible Society
Legal status Charitable trust
PurposeLiterary
Headquarters Bangalore
Location
Region
Andhra Pradesh
ServicesRaising contribution, translating, printing, distribution
Official language
Telugu
Auxiliary Secretary
 The Rev. K. John Vikram, [2] CSI, [3] M. Th. (Yonsei) [4]
President
Medidi Johnson [5]
Key people
The Rev. M. Mani Chacko, CSI, PhD (London), General Secretary of the BSI, Bangalore
Main organ
India Bible Society Trust Association
Parent organization
 Bible Society of India
Subsidiaries 1 (Visakhapatnam)
Affiliations United Bible Societies
Budget (2014 [6] )
Rs. 1.10,00,000.00 [6]
Website http://www.bsind.org/andhra_pradesh.html
Formerly called
Book Depot of the Tamil Nadu Auxiliary

The Bible Society of India Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary [7] is located in Guntur. [1]

Contents

From 1951 through 2016, the Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary was housed at the Bible House on Rashtrapathi Road in Secunderabad until it was moved to Guntur. [8] This Auxiliary assists the Translations Department of the BSI to translate the Scriptures into the languages spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh that include not only Telugu language, but also Urdu language, Lambadi language and other minority linguistic groups.

Telugu version

In the Annual report of the British & Foreign Bible Society [9] John Hay had undertaken the revision of the Telugu Bible (of Lyman Jewett?). In the same report, mention was made of the Secunderabad Branch. [10]

In 1953, the Telugu Bible was revised from earlier version which had been translated by John Hay, Edward Pritchett, [11] John Smith Wardlaw (1813–), James William Gordon, John Redmond Bacon and Dhanavada Anantam. [12]

The Rev. A. B. Masilamani who majored in Greek [13] at Serampore College was Auxiliary Secretary as well part of the Translation Team providing stylistic corrections in Telugu. Modern translations of the Telugu Bible in common language were taken up by The Rev. Victor Premasagar and The Rev. G. Babu Rao, [14] both of whom were Scholars of Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Greek as well as colleagues at the Protestant Regional Theologiate in Secunderabad.

During the Auxiliary Secretaryship of The Rev. B. G. Prasada Rao, a team consisting of The Rev. Suppogu Israel and The Rev. G. Babu Rao began translating portions of the Bible into modern Telugu which included,

Old Testament Scholar, The Rev. Graham S. Ogden, Asia-Pacific Regional Translations Coordinator of the United Bible Societies used to liaise with the Auxiliary during the Secretaryship of The Rev. L. Prakasam, providing scholarly inputs and also reviewing the progress of the Telugu-Old Testament Common Language Project Coordinator, The Rev. G. Babu Rao in the presence of the Old Testament Scholar, The Rev. G. D. V. Prasad, then Director – Translations of the Bible Society of India.

A Living Bible in Telugu was also proposed as early as 1980. [17]

Lambadi version

The Auxiliary released the New Testament in Lambadi language on 25 October 1999 [18] in the presence [19] of then Auxiliary Secretary, The Rev. G. Babu Rao, then Director – Translations of the Bible Society of India, Central Office, Bengaluru, The Rev. G. D. V. Prasad and then General Secretary, B. K. Pramanik at the STBC-Centenary Baptist Church, Secunderabad under the shepherdship of Pastor N. Thomas. Speaking at the release, Pastor Lazarus Lalsingh [20] of Badao Banjara Phojer [19] who put in efforts for bringing the New Testament in Lambadi recalled the earlier efforts of The Rev. B. E. Devaraj in translating texts into Lambadi at the release in 1999. [19]

Auxiliary Secretaries

The first Auxiliary Secretary was appointed in the 1950s beginning with The Rev. E. Prakasam, AELC who served till the 1960s, followed by The Rev. A. B. Masilamani, CBCNC, both of whom were hymn writers. During the 1970s, The Rev. B. G. Prasada Rao, CSI who was one of the first postgraduates in theology at the United Theological College, Bangalore led the Auxiliary till the 1980s and was followed by The Rev. T. B. D. Prakasa Rao, CSI who had an inter-disciplinary academic record at three different universities, who was succeeded in the 1990s by The Rev. L. Prakasam, CBCNC who had substantial ministerial track.

When the 21st century began, Old Testament Scholar, The Rev. G. Babu Rao was already at the helm since the concluding years' of 1990s and had also led the Telugu language Old Testament common language translations [14] of the Bible Society of India since the 1970s, and was succeeded as Auxiliary Secretary by The Rev. N. L. Victor of the Salvation Army in the 2000s. In the beginning of 2010s, The Rev. B. S. Rajashekar, STBC took over as Auxiliary Secretary and was followed by and The Rev. K. John Vikram, CSI, who was installed in 2020s. [2]

TenureAuxiliary Secretaries of Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary
{From AP (1956–2014) to present-day AP}		Earned Academic Credentials
1953–1963The Rev. E. Prakasam, AELC [7] [21] L. Th. (Serampore)
1963–1969The Rev. A. B. Masilamani, CBCNC [7] [21] L. Th. (Serampore), B. D. (Serampore), M. A. (Calcutta), Th. M. (Toronto), PhD (Osmania)
1969–1976The Rev. B. G. Prasada Rao, CSI [7] [22] B. D. (Serampore), M. Th. (Serampore)
1976–1981The Rev. T. B. D. Prakasa Rao, CSI [7] [23] B. A. (Andhra), B. D. (Serampore), M. A. (Osmania), BEd (Andhra)
1981–1998The Rev. L. Prakasam, CBCNC [7] [24] L. Th. (Serampore)
1998–2001The Rev. G. Babu Rao, CBCNC [7] BSc (Andhra), Double majors in Mathematics B. D. (Serampore), M. Th. (Serampore)
2001–2012The Rev. N. L. Victor, SA [7] [25] B. A.
2012–2020The Rev. B. S. Rajashekar, STBC [26] [7] [25] B. Com. (Nagarjuna), B. D. (Serampore), M. Th. (Serampore)Double Masters
2020–presentThe Rev. K. John Vikram, [2] CSI [3] BSc (Andhra), MSc (Andhra), B. D. (Serampore), M. Th. [27] (Yonsei) [4]

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References

Notes
  1. 1 2 BSI auxiliary office opened in Guntur in The Hindu, Guntur, 3 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 BSI Appointments.
  3. 1 2 CSI Synod, Ministerial roll of Diocese of Krishna Godavari.
  4. 1 2 Yonsei University brochure.
  5. ↑ Google groups
  6. 1 2 "Sowing Circle, Volume 31, Number 1, January–April 2015" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Prema Sakshi, Volume 6, Issue 4, August 2008. pp.11–41. Prema Sakshi, a monthly registered (APTEL 07419/01/2002) magazine published by I. C. Ashok Kumar at Neena Publications, Door Number 1-5-4/1/A, First Floor, Behind Sai Raja Deluxe Cinema, Musheerabad, Hyderabad 500 048.
  8. ↑ "Guntur"
  9. ↑ Annual report of the British & Foreign Bible Society, British and Foreign Bible Society, Printed for the Society by J. Tilling, 1867.
  10. ↑ Howard Benjamin Grose, Missions: an international Baptist magazine, Volume 9, 1918.
  11. ↑ Arrived in India, 17 November 1811
  12. ↑ John Hay, Edward Pritchett, John Smith Wardlaw, John Redmond Bacon, Dhanavada Anantam, The Holy Bible containing the Old and New Testaments: translated into the Telugu language (with references), under the auspices of the British and Foreign Bible Society, Bible Society of India, Pakistan and Ceylon, Secunderabad Auxiliary, 1953.
  13. ↑ G. Babu Rao, in Souvenir of Birth Centenary Greetings of The Rev. A. B. Masilamani, New Life Associates, Hyderabad, 2014, p.19
  14. 1 2 H. S. Wilson (Edited), The Church on the Move, Essays in honour of Victor Premasagar , Christian Literature Society, Madras, 1988, p.vi.
  15. ↑ Suppogu Israel, G. Babu Rao (Translated), Book of Ruth , The Bible Society of India, Bangalore, 1976.
  16. ↑ Suppogu Israel, G. Babu Rao (Translated), Man You Cannot Ignore, The Bible Society of India, Bangalore, 1976.
  17. ↑ Roger E. Hedlund, World Christianity: South Asia, Volume 3 of World Christianity, Missions Advanced Research and Communication Center, Missions Advanced Research and Communication Center, 1980. p.60.
  18. ↑ New Testament in Lambadi, Bible Society of India, Bengaluru, 1999
  19. 1 2 3 Sowing Circle, A Bulletin of the Bible Society of India, Volume 15, Number 1, January–April 2000 (For Private Circulation), Bengaluru. pp.24–25.
  20. ↑ Tony E. Samuel Hilton, Lazarus Lalsingh, Banjara: a people in India, People series, People India Research & Training Institute, 1999.
  21. 1 2 Annual Report of the American Bible Society, Volume 147, 1963, American Bible Society, p.140.
  22. ↑ Annual Report of the American Bible Society, Volume 160, 1975, p.105
  23. ↑ Annual Report of the American Bible Society, Volume 165, 1980, p.90
  24. ↑ Pastors who served Calvary Baptist Church, Visakhapatnam
  25. 1 2 Sowing Circle, Volume 28, 2, May–August 2012, pp.46–47
  26. ↑ Sowing Circle  : A publication of the Bible Society of India, Volume 28, Number 2, (May – August 2012), pp.24, 25, 46, 47. Archived 8 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ↑ Senate of Serampore College (University), list of those qualifying for M. Th. result, 2015.
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