Baptist Theological Seminary

Baptist Theological Seminary[4] (founded in 1882)[1] is a Protestant seminary of the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars (CBCNC) located in Jagannaickpur, Church Square, Kakinada in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The seminary was affiliated to nation's first University, the Senate of Serampore College (University) in 1949.[5] In the successive years', the Seminary embarked on an ecumenical initiative in 1964[6] along with other Protestant societies operating in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, namely,

• the Lutherans
  • Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church headquartered in Guntur,
  • South Andhra Lutheran Church headquartered in Tirupati
• the Anglicans, Congregationalists, and Wesleyan Methodists
  • Church of South India, headquartered in Chennai,
• the Methodists
  • Methodist Church in India, headquartered in Hyderabad
• the Baptists
  • Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches

Baptist Theological Seminary, Kakinada

Seminary
The Baptist Theological Seminary, Jagannaikpur, Kakinada
Type	Propaedeutic Seminary
Established	2 October 1882[1]
Affiliation	Formerly affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University), Serampore 712 201, Hooghly District, West Bengal
Dean	The Reverend K. J. Emmanuel, CBCNC (Chairperson of the Seminary Council)
Principal	Rev. K. Ranjit Kumar,[2][3] CBCNC
Academic staff	3+
Location	Church Square, Jagannaickpur, Kakinada 533 002, East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh, India 16°56′15″N 82°14′18″E

Together with the above Protestant societies, the CBCNC and the Baptist Theological Seminary founded the Andhra Christian Theological College in Rajahmundry. However, the Seminary continued to function as a Propaedeutic Seminary in Kakinada without University affiliation.

The Seminary Council administers the Seminary as well as other institutions, the Eva Rose York Bible Training and Technical School for Women, Tuni, the Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad, and the Shanthi Parishodana Patashala, Rajahmundry.

Founding

Thomas Gabriel (missionary) founded the Canadian Baptist Mission in 1874 along with the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec. A Seminary in Samalkot in 1882[7] under the stewardship of the John McLaurin, a companion of Thomas Gabriel (missionary). In 1912,[7] 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 comprising the American Baptists and the Canadian Baptists began taking classes. In 1928, the Seminary was reopened in Kakinada and the faculty were recalled from Ramayapatnam.

In 1964 the Seminary moved to Rajahmundry in the campus of the Lutheran Theological Seminary.[8] With the formation of the ecumenical seminary – Andhra Christian Theological College in 1964, the B.Th. and B.D. classes were moved in 1964[6] 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,[6] 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 in 1964 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. The BTS was upgraded from S. Th to B. Th from August 2015 onwards

Members of Faculty

Present (Resident and Visiting)

• The Rev. N. Leela Grace,[10] CBCNC, Faculty member,
• The Rev. B. Devasahayam,[11] CBCNC, Faculty member,
• The Rev. B. Theophilus, CBCNC, Faculty member,
• The Rev. Vara Joseph Deepak Raj Kumar,[12] CBCNC, Faculty member,
• The Rev. K. Ranjit Kumar,[13] CBCNC, Faculty member and Principal,
• The Rev. P. V. Raja Babu, CBCNC, Faculty member

Resident

• Prof. M. Theophilus, CBCNC,
• The Rev. B. Arjuna Rao, CBCNC,
• The Rev. T. Theophilus, CBCNC,
• The Rev. G. Noah Raju, CBCNC,
• The Rev. G. S. Albert Ezekiel,[14] CBCNC,
• The Rev. K. P. Israel,[14] CBCNC,
• The Rev. I. Samuel,[14] CBCNC,
• The Rev. C. L. Timpany,[14] CBM
• The Rev. J. I. Richardson,[14] CBM

Visiting

• The Rev. K. David,[15] CBCNC,
• The Rev. G. Babu Rao,[16] CBCNC,
• The Rev. D. J. Jeremiah,[17] CBCNC,
• The Rev. K. D. G. Prakasa Rao,[18] CBCNC,
• The Rev. Paul Carter,[19] CBM

Succession of Seminary Principals

Years	Succession of Seminary Principals	Academic Credentials (earned)
1882[20]-1887[21]	The Rev. John McLaurin, CBM	B. A. (Canadian Literary Institute)[22]
1888[21]-1898[21]	The Rev. H. E. Stillwell,[7] CBM	B. A.[21]
1899-1905[21]	The Rev. John Craig, CBM	B. A. (Toronto)[23]
1912[24]-1920	The Rev. H. B. Cross,[25] CBM	B. A.[21]
1926-1939[24]	The Rev. J. B. McLaurin,[20] CBM	B.A.,[26] B. Th.[27] M. A.[27]
1939-1945[24]	The Rev. Gordon P. Barss,[28] CBM	B.A. (Acadia), B.D. (Rochester)
1945-1952[24]	The Rev. Archibald Gordon, CBM	B.A. (Brandon), B.Th., (Brandon), B.D. (Toronto)
1952-1955[24]	The Rev. C. Bhanumurthy,[29] CBCNC	L.Th. (Serampore)
1955-1958[24]	The Rev. A. B. Masilamani,[29] CBCNC	L.Th. (Serampore), B.D. (Serampore), M.A. (Calcutta), Th.M. (Toronto), Ph.D. (Osmania)
1958-1964[24]	The Rev. Waldo Penner,[30] CBM	B.A. (McMaster), B.D. (Berkeley), M. Th. (Berkeley)
1964-1966[24]	The Rev. Victor Hahn, CBM	B.A. (McMaster), B.D. (McMaster), S.T.M. (Andover)
1966-1968[24]	The Rev. Paul Antrobus, CBM	B.A. (Brandon), B.D. (McMaster), Ph.D. (Waterloo)
1968-1969[24]	The Rev. T. Gnananandam, CBCNC	B.D. (Serampore), M.A. (Calcutta)
1975-1977[24]	The Rev. Gordon D. Barss, CBM	B.A. (Acadia), B.D. (Andover)
1977-1993[24]	The Rev. S. E. Krupa Rao, CBCNC	L.Th. (Serampore), B.D. (Serampore), S.T.M. (Union)
1993-2014	The Rev. C. L. Johnson, CBCNC	B.Sc. (Andhra), B.D. (Serampore)
2014-2017	The Rev. P. V. Raja Babu, CBCNC	B.A. (Andhra), B.D. (Serampore)

Notable Alumni

BTS Alumni: The Rev. P. V. George & Mrs. Dhimathamma (ca 1926-1929)

• The Rev. P. V. George (ca 1926-1929)[31] and Wife Srimati Pulletikurti Dhimathamma (ca 1926-1929)

See also

• Eva Rose York Bible Training and Technical School for Women, Tuni
• Canadian Baptist Ministries, Canada
• Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars
• Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh
• Senate of Serampore College (University), Serampore, West Bengal

References

Notes

1. Orville E. Daniel, Rising Tides in India, Canadian Baptist Foreign Mission Board, 1963, p.91.
2. Senate of Serampore College (University), Common Entrance Examination 2012 - Missiology.
3. Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, Chennai Inter-Theologiate Seminar 2014.
4. Ministry of Home Affairs List of organizations
5. Indian Church History Review, Volume 13, Church History Association of India, 1979, p.77.
6. Prospectus 1964 of the Andhra Christian Theological College, Printed by A. Nageswara Rao at Saraswathi Printing Press, Rajahmundry, 1969.
7. M. L. Orchard, Canadian Baptists at Work in India, Published by Read Books, 2008.
8. 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.
9. Please refer to Andhra Christian Theological College – The Kretzmann Commission
10. Senate of Serampore College (University), Statement of marks for M. Th. qualifying examination, 2013, p.13.
11. The Rev. B. Devasahayam underwent ministerial formation at the Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad where he took his B.D. After a period of ecclesiastical ministry, Devasahayam pursued an M. Th. at the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, Chennai where he studied Christian theology from 2013-2015 and attended the convocation of the University held at his alma mater, the Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad in February 2016 where he was awarded a degree by the Master of the University, John Sadananda.
12. Senate of Serampore College (University), Madras Theological College and Seminary - Examination paper registration for B. D., 2013, p.1.
13. Senate of Serampore College (University), Teaching faculty.
14. Indian Church History Review, Volume 13, Church History Association of India, 1979.
15. K. David, The development of the concept of salvation in the Qumran Community and its significance for our understanding of salvation in the NT, Indian Journal of Theology, Volume 30, Issue 3-4, July–December 1981, pp.131-137.
16. H. S. Wilson (Edited), The Church on the Move: Essays in honour of Victor Premasagar, Christian Literature Society, Madras, 1988, p.vi.
17. D. J. Jeremiah, Christian Ministerial Training in the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars from 1882 to 1971. A B. D. thesis submitted to the Senate of Serampore College (University) through the Andhra Christian Theological College, Rajahmundry, 1971. Cited by W. G. Carder in On theological education in Andhra Pradesh of the Canadian Baptist Mission Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars 1880-1975 in Indian Church History Review, Volume 13, Issue 1, 1979, pp.70-84.
18. See Succession of Principals in Andhra Christian Theological College.
19. Paul Carter pastors First Baptist Church, Orillia, Canada. Surge 2007, p. 12.
20. 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.
21. John Craig, Forty Years Among the Telugus: A History of the Mission of the Baptists of Ontario and Quebec, Canada, to the Telugus, South India, 1867-1907, 1908, pp.123-178.
22. William H. Brackney, Biographical note on John McLaurin in Gerald H. Anderson (Edited), Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids/Cambridge, 1999, p.450.
23. University Monthly, Volume 10, 1910, p.377
24. C. L. Johnson (Edited), Canadian Baptist Mission 125 years Jubilee Celebrations of Baptist Churches in Northern Circars, Baptist Theological Seminary, Kakinada, 1999, p.217-219.
25. Colin Campbell McLaurin, McLaurin (Eds.), Pioneering in Western Canada: A Story of the Baptists1 1854–1940, 1939. p.232.
26. Calendar, McMaster University, Hamilton, 1906, p.85.
27. The Calendar, University of Calcutta, Calcutta, 1930, p.638.
28. Stanley Reed (Ed.), The Times of India Directory and Year Book including Who's Who, Bennett and Coleman, 1922.
29. 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.
30. Waldo Penner, Jeremiah's Idea of Religion, McMaster University, 1945.
31. P. J. Devasahayam, Platinum Jubilee (125th Year) Celebrations of Church Construction, Andhra Baptist Church Bheemunipatnam 2012.

Further reading

• N. Surya Rao (1984). "The History of the Theological Training Institute at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh 1882–1964. Unpublished M.Th. thesis, United Theological College, Bangalore". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• D. J. Jeremiah (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, Secunderabad". OCLC 46565446. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• G. Beaulah Pearl Sunanda (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". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Martin Senftleben (1992). "Influences of Hinduism on Christianity in Andhra Pradesh. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupati" (PDF). I. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2006. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

• __________________ (1992). "Influences of Hinduism on Christianity in Andhra Pradesh. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupati" (PDF). II. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2006. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links

• Official site of the Canadian Baptist Ministries