Template:Infobox Christian leader G. Devasahayam[1] was the Indian President of the Protestant Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society and served during the periods 1956–1960[1] and again from 1963–1964.[1] During his second stint as President of the AELC, Devasahayam participated[2] in the opening of the newly formed Andhra Christian Theological College then located in the same campus of the Lutheran Theological College in Rajahmundry.
Studies
Gorikapudi Devasahayam completed his graduate studies[3] at the Lutheran Theological College, Rajahmundry which at that time was directly affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University) and was assigned pastoral ministry. Later, Devasahayam was appointed to teach at his alma mater, the Lutheran Theological College in Rajahmundry.[3]
The AELC Society sent Devasahayam on study leave to the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia during 1953–1954[4] where he studied during the period of the eminent human rights specialist, Frederick Nolde. The seminary awarded a postgraduate degree in Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.) upon Devasahayam in the succeeding convocation in 1955.Template:Citation needed
Ecclesiastical ministry
Devasahayam began teaching at the Lutheran Theological College in Rajahmundry from 1944 onwards until his elevation to the Presidency of the Lutheran Society in 1956 and again in 1963 when Devasahayam proceeded to Guntur to take up the responsibilities of the Society. After his second stint as President ended in 1964,[5] Devasahayam returned to Rajahmundry and joined the faculty[6] of the newly formed Andhra Christian Theological College, a Protestant Regional Theologiate that included the Anglicans, Baptists, Congregationalists, Lutherans, Methodists and Wesleyans.
During the time as Professor in Rajahmundry, Devasahayam also served as a Pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Rajahmundry from 1947–1950.[7]
Reminisce
Talathoti Punnaiah who studied a 3-year theology course leading to Bachelor of Theology at the Andhra Christian Theological College, both at Rajahmundry and at Hyderabad from 1970–1973 recalls his association with Devasahayam, Template:Quote
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedKolluri - ↑ 1966 Yearbook, United Lutheran Church in America United Lutheran publication house, 1965, p.11. [1]
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Annual Report of the Foreign Missions of the United Lutheran Church in America for the Year, 1945, p.25. [2]
- ↑ Minutes of the Annual Convention, 1955, p.86
- ↑ The Times of India Directory and Year Book Including Who's who, Bennett and Coleman, Calcutta, 1964, p.88. [3]
- ↑ Prospectus ACTC, Printed by A. Nageswara Rao at Saraswathi Power Press, Rajahmundry, 1969, p.2.
- ↑ Martin Luther Dolbeer, The Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church: A Brief History, 1951, p.77. [4]
Further reading
- Towards Self-Reliance : A historical survey of the programmes and efforts of Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church from 1927–1969, Published by Christopher and Kanakaiah, Vijayawada({Template:Year).
- Die südindische Pfingstbewegung im 20. Jahrhundert: eine historische und systematische Untersuchung{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(1999). ISBN 978-3-631-33771-4
- Bibliography of Original Christian Writings in India in Telugu({Template:Year).
- Influences of Hinduism on Christianity in Andhra Pradesh. Unpublished PhD thesis, Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupati({Template:Year).
- Influences of Hinduism on Christianity in Andhra Pradesh. Unpublished PhD thesis, Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupati({Template:Year).
- Parish Renewal in Reflections on Theology Today – Papers presented by the ACTC faculty during the academic year 1988–1989 on Theology and Mission and Ministry of the Church({Template:Year).
- The Emergence of a Church in South India: A Study of the Growth and Development of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church: 1905–1927. Unpublished Th. D. thesis submitted to the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.({Template:Year).