Victor Premasagar

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Victor Premasagar
Image:Premasagar.jpg
Pseudonym(s): Victor
Born: October 14, 1926
Medak, Andhra Pradesh
Died: December 1, 2005
Guntur, Andhra Pradesh
Occupation(s): Theologian
Nationality: Indian
Influences: Prophets

Rev. Dr. P. Victor Premasagar was an acknowledged authority on Old Testament - a subject that he taught at the Andhra Christian Theological College in Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India.

He was well versed in Aramaic, Ugaritic, Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Sanskrit, in addition to Telugu, English and German.

He was a member of the Society for Biblical Studies in India incorporating Biblical Scholars of the Protestant and Catholic traditions.

Contents

[edit] Early days

The Wesleyan Methodist Society (WMS) of English origin pioneered missionary work in north Telangana areas. Rev. Premasagar's parents could have known Jesus Christ through these missionaries and taken to Christianity. With the Independence of India, the WMS got unionized into the Church of South India.

Premasagar was born in Medak and grew up in the Church tradition. Bedtime stories apart from the ancient Indian epics also included stories from the Bible.

Old Testament stories held much promise[1].

[edit] Education

He completed his schooling from Wesley School in Secunderabad. It was at this time that he chose the line of divinity.

He completed his B.A. from the century-old Andhra-Christian College, Guntur. His contemporaries there included Sri N.T. Rama Rao[2](a film actor and later Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh) among others.

Being a natural athlete, football was his favourite.

[edit] Divinity

Pursuing his zeal for the study of the Bible, he went to the United Theological College in Bangalore and took his Bachelor of Divinity.

While at UTC, Bangalore, his classmates included Rev. Dr. E.C. John (another Old Testament Scholar and later the Principal of the United Theological College), Rev. Dr. Sam Amirtham (a renowned figure in the World Council of Churches), Rev. N.D. Ananda Rao Samuel (Bishop-in-Krishna Godavari and Moderator of the Church of South India in the 1970s), Rev. Dr. C.D. Jathanna (another Old Testament Scholar who later was the Principal of Karnataka Theological College as well as Bishop-in-Karnataka Central of the Church of South India) among others.

[edit] Pastor

The Church of South India first posted him to a rural congregation.

In due course of time, he was sent to Cambridge University where he studied the Old Testament and was awarded the Cambridge tripos.

[edit] Professor

After returning from Cambridge, he undertook teaching Old Testament in the Andhra Christian Theological College (ACTC) in the river town of Rajahmundry.

In due course of time, the Board of Governors of ACTC accorded him study leave which Rev. Premasagar utilized to go to St. Andrews University, Scotland for further studies in Old Testament and was awarded a Ph.D.. Afterwards, he returned to ACTC to continue his teaching and later became its first Indian Principal.

Together with his wife Mrs. Daisy, they gave round-the-clock attention to the needs of the students, the staff, and to the faculty. Mrs. Daisy's nursing skills gained in England were put to use. For the first couple of the College, the whole College community was its family. Such was their dedication.

On invitation from Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, in the United States of America, he took sabbatical from ACTC to teach there for a year.

On return, the Board of Governors was pleased to extend the term of Principalship by one more term. Usually, a Principal is given a term of four years in ACTC.

Rev. Dr. K. David[3], a New Testament Scholar succeeded Dr. Premasagar at ACTC.

Preceded by:
Rev. Dr. W.D. Coleman
Principal of ACTC Succeeded by:
Rev. Dr. K. David

[edit] Bishopric

After returning to ACTC, he was elected as the General Secretary of the Synod of the CSI based in Chennai.

Later, he was elected as the Bishop-in-Medak diocese, Asia's largest bishopric. It was at this time that indigenous methods were devised and put into practice for raising funds from the local congregations for supporting Church programmes which was met with widespread success.

In due course of time he was elected as the Moderator of the Church of South India. He was instrumental in bringing rapid development of the Church - congregation-wise as well as in its social action.

As for the educational institutions in the diocese of Medak, schools were made to adapt to modern trends in order to face the changing pattern. Dynamism was infused into a few Educators and rapid changes brought into the administration of schools. St.George's Grammar School, Wesley College and other educational institutions went on a modernisation spree during Premasagar's tenure.

In the year 1983, the Queen of England, Elizabeth II came to Hyderabad. On 20 November, 1983, the Queen celebrated her wedding anniversary in the Holy Trinity Church in Bolarum, Secunderabad. The Church service was officiated by Bishop Premasagar and his ministerial colleagues Rev. Prabhakar and Rev. B.P. Sugandhar, the present Bishop-in-Medak and the Moderator of the CSI.

Preceded by:
Rt. Rev. B.G. Prasada Rao
Bishop-in-Medak Succeeded by:
Rt. Rev. B.P. Sugandhar

[edit] Lambeth Conference

The Church of South India to which Dr. Premasagar belonged was formed as a result of an amalgamation of The Church of England and other Church societies with origin in England. The CSI is part of the Anglican Communion. By virtue of this, Bishop's of the CSI are invited to the decennial Lambeth Conference[4] held at the Lambeth Palace, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London.

During his tenure as Bishop-in-Medak, Rev. Premasagar and his spouse, Mrs. Daisy attended the twelfth conference in 1988.

[edit] Bible Society of India

Premasagar was a translator for the Bible Society of India (BSI) in its Telugu Bible Common Language Translation Programme since the 1960s. In fact he headed the Translations Committee of the Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary of the BSI till the 1990s and then passed on the mantle to Rev. G. Babu Rao[5], his colleague while at ACTC.

Preceded by:
'
Convenor of Translations Committee Succeeded by:
Rev. G. Babu Rao

He was also the President of the Bible Society of India headquartered in Bangalore for a long period where he displayed his administrative skills.

[edit] Retirement

After retirement from the Bishopric of the Church of South India, Rev. Ryder Devapriyam, Bishop-in-Nandyal and a former colleague of Rev. Premasagar while at ACTC, succeeded him as the Moderator.

Preceded by:
'
Moderator of the Church of South India Succeeded by:
Rt. Rev. Ryder Devapriyam

For a couple of years, Rev. Premasagar taught part-time at ACTC.

He was later invited by Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, Chennai to teach and was Professor Emeritus of Old Testament.

Later, on invitation from Rev. P.N.S. Chandra Bose, the Director of Bethel Bible College, Guntur and also the Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary President of the Bible Society of India to take up its Principalship.

Rev. Premasagar left for Guntur from Chennai and taught the enthusiastic rural students with missionary zeal until he breathed his last there[[6].

[edit] Senate of Serampore College (University)

The Senate of Serampore College (University) was founded by the Serampore trio, Rev. Dr. William Carey, Rev. Dr. Joshua Marshman and Rev. Dr. William Ward and has the power to confer degrees in accordance with the authority vested in it by the Danish Charter and the Bengal Act.

During the tenure of Rev. D.S. Satyaranjan as the Registrar, Rev. Premasagar was a member in the Senate of Serampore College [University] by virtue of being the Principal of the Andhra Christian Theological College. At one point of time, Dr. Premasagar became the President of the Senate.

In 1995 he was conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity by honoris causa by the Senate of Serampore College (University). In 1991 Mother Teresa was the receipient of this degree from the same University.

[edit] Scholarship

As a teacher of the Old Testament he was widely acknowledged for his scholarship. He struck original ground in research[7].

He was invited to many fora. One among them was the National Biblical, Catechetical and Liturgical Centre (NBCLC)[8], Bangalore which invited him along with Rev. Dr. K. David for taking up scholarly talks.

[edit] Authorship

  • He emptied Himself - Bible Studies on Jesus Christ Frees and Unites, The Christian Literature Society, Chennai, 1976[9]
  • Promise in the Ancestral Narratives: A theme of the early Hebrew traditions, The Christian Literature Society, Chennai, 2000[10]
  • Interpretive Diary of a Bishop - Indian Experience in Translation and Interpretation of some Biblical passages, The Christian Literature Society, Chennai, 2002[11]

Some essays were written in his honour (fetschrift) commemorating his shastipoorthi and brought into a book entitled:

  • The Church on the move - Edited by H.S. Wilson[10], The Christian Literature Society, Chennai, 2002[12]

In fact, a majority of the writings of Dr. Premasagar in various Biblical journals are found in the last section of this book.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Notes
  1. ^ In the foreword to Promise in the Ancestral Narratives, Premasagar makes a mention of the Biblical stories that his mother told during his childhood and the promise they held
  2. ^ It is interesting to note that after a year of Dr. Premasagar's consecration as the Bishop-in-Medak, his college-mate, Sri N.T.R. became a Chief Minister. Soon, a visit to the Cathedral in Medak was arranged followed by a public meeting in the Church compound - photo study from the Bishop's archives.
  3. ^ The second Indian Principal at ACTC was Rev. Dr. K. David belonging to the Canadian Baptist Mission [1]
  4. ^ The Lambeth Conference[2]
  5. ^ Premasagar and Rev.Babu Rao together taught Old Testament at ACTC[3]
  6. ^ The Hindu[4]12 December 2005
  7. ^ Rev. Dr. Dass Babu, a disciple of Premasagar, in introducing He Emptied Himself makes mention about the scholarly abilities of his guru
  8. ^ The Catholic Bishops's Conference of India [5] NBCLC
  9. ^ Merging Currents[6] Books on Christianity in India, Hinduism and Indian culture and history. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
  10. ^ Merging Currents[7] Books on Christianity in India, Hinduism and Indian culture and history. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
  11. ^ Merging Currents[8] Books on Christianity in India, Hinduism and Indian culture and history. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
  12. ^ Merging Currents[9] Books on Christianity in India, Hinduism and Indian culture and history. Retrieved April 23, 2006.