K. Reuben Mark

The Right Reverend K. Reuben Mark is the present (2015^[1] onwards) Bishop - in - Karimnagar and the sixth in succession. Reuben Mark occupies the Cathedra of the Bishop placed in Karimnagar's CSI-Wesley Cathedral.

Prior to assuming the ecclesiastical office of the Bishop, Reuben Mark was Professor^[2] - in - Homiletics from 1995 through 2015 at the Protestant Regional Theologiate in Hyderabad, a near-ecumenical Seminary.

Ministerial formation

Graduate

After the completion of graduate studies in Hanumakonda, Reuben Mark was sent for spiritual formation by then Bishop G. B. Devasahayam to the United Theological College, Bangalore, where he studied Bachelor of Divinity degree from 1984 to 1988^[3] under the Principalship of E. C. John and was taught by faculty that comprised G. D. Melanchthon,^[3] James Carl,^[3] Theodore N. Swanson, D. N. Premnath and others. In 1988 when Reuben Mark returned to the Diocese, he was ordained in 1988/1989 by then Bishop K. E. Swamidass following which he began ministering in parishes of the Diocese of Karimnagar.

Postgraduate

In 1992, Reuben Mark was resent to the United Theological College, Bangalore to upgrade his academics and studied from 1992 to 1994 during the successive Principalships of E. C. John and Gnana Robinson taking a postgraduate degree in Master of Theology^[3] specializing in Homiletics under Professor P. Surya Prakash, then Faculty Member^[3] at the United Theological College, Bangalore. Reuben Mark was awarded graduate and post-graduate degrees by the Senate of Serampore College (University) during the Registrarship of D. S. Satyaranjan.

Research studies

After a period of teaching ministry at the near-ecumenical Seminary in Hyderabad, Reuben Mark was again sent by his Bishop S. John Theodore for research studies at the University of Copenhagen Faculty of Theology, Copenhagen, Denmark where he researched from 2000 to 2004 on the theme, A Homiletical analysis of the Revival Sermons of D. G. S. Dhinakaran and its Relevance of the Dalit Perspective^[4] and later transferred himself to the Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Allahabad researching under the able guidance of Prof. V. K. Singh^[4] and was awarded the doctoral degree in 2009.^[5][6]

Ecclesiastical ministry

Pastoral

After his Seminary studies, Reuben Mark was ordained as a Deacon in 1988 by then Bishop K. E. Swamidass and the following year as a Presbyter at the CSI-Wesley Cathedral in Karimnagar and began pastoring parishes within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Diocese of Karimnagar until 1992 when he went to upgrade his academics in the Protestant Seminary in Bangalore. After his return from the Seminary in 1994, Reuben Mark began re-pastoring the parishes until 1995 when Bishop S. John Theodore sent him for teaching ministry to the Protestant Regional Seminary in Hyderabad.

Teaching

In 1995, Reuben Mark joined the Faculty of the Andhra Christian Theological College, Hyderabad affiliated to India's first^[7] University, the Senate of Serampore College (University) {a University under Section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956}^[8]with degree-granting authority validated by a Danish Charter and ratified by the Government of West Bengal and began teaching Practical Ministry/Homiletics^[2] at the Andhra Christian Theological College, Hyderabad from 1995 to 2015 and taught in a near-ecumenical setting beginning with the periods of Principalship comprising the Church of South India, the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars, the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches, and the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church notably under The Rev. R. Yesuratnam, CSI, The Rev. K. D. G. Prakasa Rao, CBCNC and D. J. Jeremiah, CBCNC, The Rev. B. J. Christie Kumar, STBC, The Rev. N. V. Luther Paul, AELC, The Rev. Ch. Vasantha Rao, CSI and The Rev. T. Mathews Emmanuel, CBCNC.

After a two-decades teaching ministry that began in 1995, Reuben Mark was recalled to the Diocese of Karimnagar by the Church of South India Synod in mid-2015 as his name was announced as Bishop-elect for the Diocese of Karimnagar resulting in his resignation from the Faculty of the near-ecumenical Protestant Regional Theologiate in Hyderabad.

Bishopric

During the period when Reuben Mark was teaching at the Seminary in Hyderabad, the Diocese of Karimnagar saw the change of at the Bishopric in 2007 following which P. Surya Prakash, Reuben Mark's Professor at Bangalore was consecrated as the fifth Bishop - in - Karimnagar who occupied the Cathedra up to 2014 until his resignation on account of superannuation resulting in sede vacante. The Church of South India Synod conducted elections for the Bishopric following which G. Dyvasirvadam, Moderator of the Church of South India Synod announced the appointment of K. Reuben Mark as Bishop-elect for the Diocese of Karimnagar.

On 4 May 2015^[1] the Most Reverend G. Dyvasirvadam, Moderator principally consecrated Reuben Mark with other co-consecrator, The Right Reverend Thomas K. Oommen, Deputy Moderator at the CSI-Wesley Cathedral, Karimnagar in the presence of Bishops of the adjoining dioceses, B. D. Prasada Rao, Eggoni Pushpalalitha, V. Prasada Rao and the General Secretary of the Church of South India Synod, Daniel Sadananda. Also present were the two living patriarchs of the Diocese of Karimnagar, the Old Testament Scholar S. J. Theodore and P. Surya Prakash.^[1]

References

Further reading

• Anantha Sudhaker Bobbili (2000). "The Road from Poodur in Biographical Passages: Essays in Victorian and Modernist Biography : Honouring Mary M. Lago, University of Missouri, North America". ISBN 978-0-8262-1256-6.