Baptist Theological Seminary
| Seminary Principals |
- John McLaurin[1]
- H. E. Stillwell[2]
- H. B. Cross[3]
- J. B. McLaurin[1]
- Gordon P. Barss[4]
- Chetty Bhanumurthy[5]
- A. B. Masilamani[5]
- Waldo Penner[6]
- Victor Hahn
- Paul Anthrobus
- T. Gnananandam
- Gordon P. Barss
- S. E. Krupa Rao
- C. L. Johnson
|
Baptist Theological Seminary[7] is a Baptist seminary located in Jagannaickpur, Church Square, Kakinada in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, India.
History
More than a century ago, missionaries from Canada stepped onto coastal Andhra Pradesh to spread the Gospel. The area of their operation included the district of Srikakulam in the north through the district of Krishna in the south. This apart from their work in the interiors of Orissa.
They established a Seminary in Samalkot in 1882[2] under the stewardship of the pioneer Canadian Baptist Missionary John McLaurin. In 1912,[2] the Seminary was shifted from Samalkot to Kakinada. However, in 1920, the Seminary closed and was merged with the Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological Seminary and a joint faculty composed of the American Baptists and the Canadian Baptists began taking classes. In 1928, the Seminary was reopened in Kakinada and the faculty recalled from Ramayapatnam. In 1959 the Seminary moved to Rajahmundry in the campus of the Lutheran Theological Seminary[8] and functioned as a separate entity along with the American Baptists. With the formation of the ecumenical seminary – Andhra Christian Theological College in 1964, the B.Th. and B.D. classes were moved to it while the Seminary retained the stand-alone diploma courses.
In the beginning, the seminary was affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University).[9] However, with the formation of the Andhra Christian Theological College (ACTC) in 1964, the seminary began sending its students for Bachelor of Theology and Bachelor of Divinity to ACTC.
After the formation of ACTC, an ecumenical seminary in Rajahmundry in 1964, the BTS got itself amalgamated into it for Senate approved courses.
However, the BTS began offering self managed and operated Graduate of Theology courses under the seal of the Seminary Council since then.
Seminary council
The Seminary presently is overseen by a Council composed of Pastors belonging to the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars.
Present Staff
Resident Faculty
- Rev. C. L. Johnson,[10] Principal
- Rev. Noah Raju, Faculty Member
- Rev. P. V. Raja Babu, Faculty Member
Visiting Faculty
Past Faculty
- M. Theophilus
- B. Arjuna Rao
- T. Theophilus
- G. S. Albert Ezekiel[12]
- K. P. Israel[12]
- I. Samuel[12]
- C. L. Timpany[12]
- J. I. Richardson[12]
See also
External links
- Official site of the Canadian Baptist Ministries [12]
References
- Notes
- ^ a b Paul R. Dekar, Biographical note on John Bates Mclaurin pp.450–451 in Gerald H. Anderson Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1999.[1]
- ^ a b c M. L. Orchard, Canadian Baptists at Work in India, Published by Read Books, 2008.[2]
- ^ Colin Campbell McLaurin, McLaurin (Eds.), Pioneering in Western Canada: A Story of the Baptists1 1854–1940, 1939. p.232. [3]
- ^ Stanley Reed (Ed.), The Times of India Directory and Year Book including Who's Who, Bennett and Coleman, 1922.[4]
- ^ a b R. R. Sundara Rao, Bhakti Theology in the Telugu Hymnal, Published for the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, Bengaluru by the Christian Literature Society, Chennai, 1983. pp.56–58.[5]
- ^ Waldo Penner, Jeremiah's Idea of Religion, McMaster University, 1945.[6]
- ^ Ministry of Home Affairs [7] List of organizations
- ^ Robert George Torbet, Venture of Faith: The Story of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society and the Women's American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, 1814–1954, Judson Press, 1955. [8]
- ^ Please refer to Andhra Christian Theological College – The Kretzmann's Commission
- ^ Freedom's Ring [9] Letters
- ^ Paul Carter pastors First Baptist Church, Orillia, Canada. Surge 2007, p. 12. [10]
- ^ a b c d e Indian Church History Review, Volume 13, Church History Association of India, 1979. [11]
- ^ S. E. Krupa Rao was also the past Coordinator for Church-related ministries of the Canadian Baptist Ministries.
- Further reading
- Rao, N.Surya [13] (1984). The History of the Theological Training Institute at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh 1882–1964. Unpublished M.Th. thesis, United Theological College, Bangalore.
- Jeremiah, D. J. (1990). The Relationship of the Baptist Churches in Andhra Pradesh to the Church Union Movement in South India since 1919. Reflections on Theology Today: Papers Presented by the ACTC Faculty during the Academic Year 1988–89 on Theology and the Mission and Ministry of the Church, Andhra Christian Theological College, Hyderabad. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/46565446.
- Sunanda, G. Beaulah Pearl (1990). An Insight into the History of the Canadian Baptist Mission in Andhra Pradesh (1874–1924). Unpublished M.Phil.(History) Thesis, Madras Christian College, Madras.
- Senftleben, Martin (1992). Influences of Hinduism on Christianity in Andhra Pradesh. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupati. I. http://www.drmartinus.de/bio/de/thesis1.pdf.