Diocese of Medak | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | India |
Territory | Telangana |
Deaneries | 3 District Church Councils (DCC) (Godavari DCC, Medak DCC, and Town DCC) [1] |
Subdivisions | 105 Pastorates [1] |
Headquarters | Medak |
Statistics | |
Members | 1/3rds of a million [1] |
Information | |
Denomination | Protestant |
Rite | Church of South India (A Uniting church comprising Wesleyan Methodist, Congregational, Lutheran, Calvinist and Anglican missionary societies – SPG, WMMS, LMS, Basel Mission, CMS, and the Church of England) |
Established | 3 October 1947 [2] |
Cathedral | Medak Cathedral |
Secular priests | 200 [3] |
Language | English, Hindi, Kannada, Urdu, Lambadi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu |
Calendar | Church of South India Liturgical calendar |
Music | Contemporary worship music |
Current leadership | |
Parent church | Church of South India Synod |
Patriarch | A. Dharmaraj Rasalam (Moderator) |
The Right Reverend | Moderator's Commisary (K. Padma Rao) |
Vicar General | The Reverend T. Bhaskar (Vice-Chairperson of the Diocese) [3] |
Archdeacons | |
Website | |
www |
The Diocese of Medak is one of the prominent Dioceses in the Church of South India, a United Protestant Church with its headquarters in Medak comprising nearly 200 [3] Presbyters ministering to Telugu, Lambadi, Tamil, [2] Kannada, Malayalam, [5] Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu), [6] English [2] and other linguistic groups numbering nearly 1/3rds [1] of a million spread over 105 [1] pastorates and administered through 3 District Church Councils [1] (DCC), namely, the Town DCC, the Medak DCC and the Godavari DCC geographically located in the erstwhile civil districts of Adilabad, Nizamabad, Medak, Rangareddy, Hyderabad and Mahboobnagar in Telangana.
Saint Bartholomew, one of the Twelve Apostles landed [7] in Maharashtra and began his mission in Kalyan [8] and was followed by Saint Thomas [7] who landed in Gujarat during the reign of King Gondophares [9] and initiated the Gospel in parts of Bharuch [10] and Taxila before traveling southward to Kerala in 52 A.D. where he won many converts and established many churches, eventually traveling to Tamil Nadu where he was martyred in 72 A.D. After centuries of inactivity, the missions were again revived with the arrival of Saint Francis Xavier in 1542 followed by Robert de Nobili in 1605 who arrived in Goa on the western coast. The first Protestant missionaries arrived in 1706 with Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau of the Lutheran Missions who landed at Tranquebar on the eastern coast of Tamil Nadu. However, the modern missions began to take shape only with the arrival of the Baptist Missions in 1793 led by William Carey, the Father of the Modern Missionary Movement. [11]
It was with this background [12] that Jawaharlal Nehru, [13] the first Prime Minister of India remarked in a parliamentary debate in 1955 [14] in the Lok Sabha that,
"Christianity in India is as old as Christianity itself."
Catholic missionaries first set foot in the erstwhile Hyderabad State in 1535 [2] during the sixteenth century followed by the American Methodist missions in 1873, [2] the Baptist missions in 1875, [2] the Mennonite Brethren missions then followed by the Wesleyan Methodist missions in 1878 [15] [2] during the nineteenth century.
Once the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society set foot in the erstwhile Hyderabad State in 1878, [2] the missionaries led by Henry Little, William Burgess and the Indian Evangelist Benjamin Wesley [2] who pioneered the spread of the Gospel and helped in establishing of churches in areas northward of Hyderabad City winning of new converts to the fold of Christianity.
Meanwhile, efforts were made by visionary Pastors to form the Church of South India for which missionary societies came forward for negotiations who included [16] Anglicans, Baptists, Congregationalists, Lutherans, and Wesleyan Methodists. However, the talks towards Church Union did not go well with the laymen hailing from the Baptists and the Lutherans in spite of efforts by their Clergy [17] led by Professor Muthyala Theophilus, CBCNC and William Powlas Peery, AELC [18] to join the Church of South India. Meanwhile in 1923, [19] the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society participated in the negotiations towards Church union and formally agreed to join the Church of South India in 1947 and Frank Whittaker became the first Bishop of the Diocese of Medak.
From 1947 onward, the church came under the Church of South India overseen by a Bishop residing in Medak, the ecclesiastical headquarters of the Diocese of Medak and was overseen by Bishops beginning with Frank Whittaker. The Bishops used to appoint Pastors to lead the congregations in Christian love and faith so that the Christians lead selfless lives and set example for others. The Clergy consisted of Pastors who had theological grounding under able scholars in seminaries either at the Andhra Christian Theological College or at the United Theological College, Bangalore. [2] The church also had visiting preachers from the nearby seminary, the Andhra Christian Theological College as well as other non-CSI churches in the city.
The Ministerial Secretary of the Diocese of Medak acts as the Vocation Promoter and for those discerning their avocation towards priesthood, the Diocese of Medak through its Ministerial Secretary examines candidates to determine their preparedness for the priestly vocation at varying points of time. First, candidates are admitted to the Diocese of Medak and attached with a Priest in congregations and after a year or two they are sent for ministerial formation to a seminary affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University). Presently, the Diocese of Medak divides candidates between the Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad and to the United Theological College, Bangalore.
It was in Medak [20] that the first seminary was established prior to 1947. [20] Incidentally, this College moved over to Dornakal and became the Andhra Union Theological College which later in 1964 [21] joined hands with the Anglicans, Baptists, Congregationalists, Lutherans, Methodists and Wesleyan Methodists to form the Andhra Christian Theological College, [21] originally located in Rajahmundry and moved to Secunderabad in 1972. [22] The Diocese is also represented in the United Theological College, Bangalore which was established in 1910. [20]
The Diocese of Medak through its scholarly Clergy who have been involved in ministerial formation both at the Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad and at the United Theological College, Bangalore. Some of its Clergy who have been sent on lien to teach in such spiritual formation centres include,
Name of the Presbyter | Specialization | Seminary | Year's taught |
---|---|---|---|
Frank Whittaker | Theology | Andhra Union Theological College, Dornakal | 1960-61 |
Eric J. Lott | Religions | Andhra Union Theological College, Dornakal, Andhra Christian Theological College, Rajahmundry/Secunderabad and United Theological College, Bangalore | 1962-64, 1964–76, 1977–88 |
M. Vidyanandam [23] | Old Testament | Andhra Christian Theological College, Rajahmundry | 1964-66 |
P. Victor Premasagar | Old Testament | Andhra Union Theological College, Dornakal and Andhra Christian Theological College, Rajahmundry/Secunderabad | 1964-66, 1966–80 |
R. Yesurathnam | Systematic theology | Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad | 1973-01 |
P. Surya Prakash | New Testament and Homiletics | United Theological College, Bangalore | 1991-00 |
Ch. Vasantha Rao | Old Testament | Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad and United Theological College, Bangalore | 1994-17, 2017-present |
M. Sundar | New Testament | Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad | 2007-14 |
M. Rajeshwar Solomon | Christian ministry | Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad | 2019-present |
M. Gnanak Gerhardson | Christian theology | Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad | 2021-present |
B. J. Moses Shanthi Kumar | Christian theology | Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad | 2017-present |
The Bishops that have led the Diocese of Medak were notable and exemplary and having focused on the objective of the Mission and Evangelism as shown through the Gospels. The lives of the Bishops have been documented by Church historians and available in book form include,
From [A] | Until [B] | Incumbent | Notes (earned theological credentials) |
---|---|---|---|
27.9.1947 | Mar 1960 [27] | Frank Whittaker | M.A. (Cambridge) |
Apr 1960 | 31.10.1960 | See vacant (overseen by the Church of South India Synod: H. Sumitra) | |
1.11.1960 [27] | 1967 | Eber Priestley | B.A. (Birmingham) |
1967 | 1968 | See vacant (overseen by the Church of South India Synod: P. Solomon) | |
3.2.1969 [28] | 1975 | H. D. L. Abraham | B.D. (Serampore) |
1975 | 1976 | See vacant (overseen by the Church of South India Synod: N. D. Ananda Rao Samuel) | |
1976 | 1981 | B. G. Prasada Rao | B.D. (Serampore), M.Th. (Serampore) |
1981 | 1983 | See vacant (overseen by the Church of South India Synod: Solomon Doraiswamy and I. Jesudason) | |
1983 | 1992 | P. Victor Premasagar | B.D. (Serampore), M.A. (Cambridge), Ph.D. (St Andrews) |
1992 | Aug 1993 | See vacant (overseen by the Church of South India Synod: Ryder Devapriam) | |
Sep 1993 | Sep 2008 | B. P. Sugandhar | B.D. (Serampore) |
Sep 2008 | 16.8.2009 | See vacant (overseen by the Church of South India Synod: P. Surya Prakash and J. W. Gladstone) | |
17.8.2009 | 2012 | T. S. Kanaka Prasad | B.Th. (Serampore), B.D. (Serampore) |
2012 | 11.10.2016 | See vacant (overseen by the Church of South India Synod: G. Dyvasirvadam) | |
12.10.2016 | 29.11.2022 | A. C. Solomon Raj | B.D. (Serampore), M.Th. (Serampore) |
29.11.2022 | Present | See vacant (overseen by the Church of South India Synod: K. Padma Rao) |
During the 1950s, the Diocese accommodated Bishop Bunyan Joseph of the erstwhile Anantapur-Kurnool Diocese which had since been integrated into Rayalaseema Diocese. He was Assistant [29] Bishop - in - Medak and worked together with Frank Whittaker, Eber Priestley, B. G. Prasada Rao [29] and others. Bunyan Joseph also served as Presbyter - in - Charge at the CSI-Church of St. John the Baptist, Secunderabad during 1956-57 [30] and 1960-61 [30] until he finally retired in October 1963. [31]
Church | Location | Founding Year | Founding Mission |
---|---|---|---|
CSI- Church of St. the Baptist | Secunderabad | 1813 | Church of England (CoE) |
CSI-Garrison Wesley Church | Secunderabad | 1881 | Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society (WMMS) |
CSI-Holy Trinity Church | Secunderabad | 1847 | Church of England (CoE) |
CSI-St. George's Church | Hyderabad | 1844 | Church Missionary Society (CMS) [32] |
CSI-Christ Church | Hyderabad | 1868 | Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) |
CSI-All Saints Church | Secunderabad | 1860 | Church of England (CoE) |
CSI-Medak Cathedral | Medak | 1924 | Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society (WMMS) |
CSI- St. Luke's Hindustani Church | Hyderabad | 1919 [32] | Church Missionary Society (CMS) [32] |
CSI - Wesley Tamil Church | Secunderabad | 1880 | Scottish Presbyterian Mission |
Victor Premasagar (1927–2005) was the fourth successor of Frank Whittaker as Bishop in Medak. He was an Indian churchman and Old Testament scholar who made major contributions to research on the Old Testament and to the field of theology. Premasagar's articles appeared in the Expository Times (1966), the Vetus Testamentum (1966), the International Review of Mission (1972), and the Indian Journal of Theology (1974) and cited in major works relating to the theme of Promise in the Bible and critical works on Psalms LXXX and the Hebrew word HOQ in the Tanakh.
Andhra Christian Theological College (ACTC) is a seminary in Telangana which was founded in 1964. It is affiliated with India's first university, the Senate of Serampore College (University), and has degree-granting authority under a Danish charter ratified by the government of West Bengal. ACTC is on the Hussain Sagar canal (north) in Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the Secunderabad Junction railway station.
B. P. Sugandhar was the fifth successor of Frank Whittaker as Bishop - in - Medak of the Church of South India whose bishopric lasted for more than a decade and half from 1993 through 2009 coinciding with the archbishoprics of Samineni Arulappa and Marampudi Joji of the Archdiocese of Hyderabad.
Govada Dyvasirvadam is Bishop Emeritus of Krishna-Godavari Diocese of the Church of South India.
Bishop Emeritus P. Surya Prakash was the fifth Bishop-in-Karimnagar Diocese of the Church of South India. from 2007 through 2014 and occupied the Cathedra in Karimnagar's Wesley Cathedral. He retired on account of superannuation in 2014 following which the Church of South India Synod headquartered in Chennai appointed a successor to him in 2015.
Henry Diwakar Luther Abraham was the second successor of Frank Whittaker as Bishop in Medak and an able administrator.
Frank Whittaker was the first Bishop - in - Medak in the Church of South India, with his see in Medak in the Indian state of Hyderabad. Originally a Methodist, he became a bishop when several denominations in India merged to form the Church of South India on 27 September 1947.
Bishop T. B. D. Prakasa Rao was the fourth CSI-Bishop - in - Krishna-Godavari of the Protestant Church of South India who occupied the Cathedra placed at CSI-St. Paul's Cathedral, Vijayawada. The Bishopric of Prakasa Rao lasted for two decades from 1981 through 2001, one of the longest in the history of the Church of South India Society. Prakasa Rao led the bishopric of Krishna-Godavari that comprised the Christian missions established by the London Missionary Society (LMS) and the Church Missionary Society (CMS) which merged its South India Christian missions in India into the Church of South India Society which was inaugurated in 1947 at the CSI-St. George's Cathedral, Madras.
Ryder Devapriam was systematic theologian who taught during the 1960s and the 1970s at the Andhra Christian Theological College, a Protestant Regional Theologiate in Secunderabad, affiliated to the nation's first University, the Senate of Serampore College (University) {a University under Section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956}with degree-granting authority validated by a Danish Charter and ratified by the Government of West Bengal.
G. T. Abraham was Bishop - in - Diocese of Nandyal of the Church of South India. He also taught Christian Ministry at the Andhra Christian Theological College. Hyderabad
Telugu Christians or Telugu Kraistava are a religious community who form the third-largest religious minority in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. According to the 2001 Census of India, there are over a million Christians in Andhra Pradesh, constituting around 1.51% of the state's population. This is a decrease from the 1971 census figure which put the percentage of Christians in state as 2%, and this decrease is mainly a result of low birth rates and emigration.
STBC-Centenary Baptist Church Secunderabad is a Baptist Church in the city of Secunderabad, India which was established in 1875 by the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (ABM) and was later led by the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches (STBC) through the Deccan Association. STBC-Centenary Baptist Church has a current membership of more than 3000. The original older structure and a new centenary structure built in 1991 exist side by side in the same premises. Worship services are only held in the new sanctuary. The church conducts worship in Telugu, English, Hindi and Manipuri.
Ravela Joseph was a Sapphire jubilee-Priest involved in Spiritual formation from the mid-1960s into the early 2000s in the Telugu states. He taught Systematic theology in Major Seminaries affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University), the nation's first modern University {a University under Section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956} with degree-granting authority validated by a Danish Charter and ratified by the Government of West Bengal.
Bishop G. B. Devasahayam(born 23 August 1925; died 20 August 1996) was the second elected CSI-Bishop - in - Karimnagar Diocese of the Church of South India who occupied the Cathedra from 1982 through 1987 placed in the CSI-Wesley Cathedral in Karimnagar Town in Telangana, India
Bishop Babbili Prabhudass(died 1996) was the first elected Bishop - in - Karimnagar Diocese of the Church of South India which was ecclesiastically bifurcated from the Diocese of Dornakal of the Church of South India in early 1978. Prabhudass led the bishopric for a period of five years from 1978 through 1982.
A. C. Solomon Raj is the seventh successor of Frank Whittaker and eighth Bishop in Medak of the Protestant Church of South India Society and shepherds the Diocese from the Cathedra of the Bishop housed in the CSI-Medak Cathedral in Medak Town, Telangana, India. On 12 October 2016, the Church of South India Synod headquartered in Chennai, appointed Solomon Raj to assume the ecclesiastical Office of the Bishopric of Medak and was consecrated the next day on 13 October 2016 at the CSI-St. George's Cathedral, Chennai, ending four years of sede vacante in the Diocese of Medak which was without a bishop during the intervening period of 2012–2016.
CSI-Garrison Wesley Church located in Trimulgherry is among the oldest churches in Secunderabad under the auspices of the Protestant Church of South India (CSI) within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Diocese of Medak. Situated in Lal Bazar civilian area of the Secunderabad Cantonment, the CSI-Garrison Wesley Church is in near vicinity of the Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME), and the church has continued to attract not only its regular worshipers but also the new visitors from the nearby military stations of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force through its regular Sunday Mass as well as its annual Good Friday, Easter and Christmas programmes.
G. Solomon was an Old Testament Scholar and a Baptist Patriarch hailing from the Protestant Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches Society (an affiliate member of the Baptist World Alliance and the National Council of Churches in India) and led it as its President during the years 1978-1982 overseeing the spiritual affairs of the Church Society whose ecclesiastical jurisdiction comprises the three states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with 873 Churches comprising nearly a million members per present statistics.
Regunta Yesurathnam was a priest hailing from the Diocese of Medak of the Church of South India, headquartered in Medak, notable as a systematic theologian who served as a faculty member from 1974 through 2001 of the Andhra Christian Theological College, affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University), in Secunderabad, Telangana, India,.
Bishop Bunyan Joseph was the first and only elected Bishop - in - Anantapur-Kurnool Diocese who was consecrated on 27 September 1947 and was among the 15 inaugural Bishops when the Church of South India was inaugurated at the CSI-St. George's Cathedral, Chennai. He was presented for consecration by The Venerable F. F. Gladstone and Canon T. Sithers. to the Presiding Bishop Cherakarottu Korula Jacob, who as the first Moderator, consecrated Bunyan Joseph.
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