Gordon Dewolfe Barss

Gordon Dewolfe Barss (1916 – 2010) was a Baptist missionary who served in India during 1939[5]-1980[1] through the Canadian Baptist Ministries.[6]

The Reverend Gordon Dewolfe Barss CBM
Born	Gordon Dewolfe Barss 13 February 1916[1] Pithapuram (India)[1]
Died	14 December 2010 (aged 94)[1] Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, (Canada)[1]
Nationality	Canadian
Citizenship	Canadian
Education	1933[2]-1936,[1] B.A., 1951,[3] B.D.[4]
Alma mater	Acadia University,[2] Andover Newton Theological School[3]
Occupation	Ecclesiastical Administrator and Pastor
Years active	1939[5]-1980[1] in India[6]
Religion	Christianity
Church	Canadian Baptist Ministries
Ordained	1938[1]
Writings	1949, The early eastward spread of Christianity[7]
Offices held	Principal, Baptist Theological Seminary, Kakinada (India), (1975-1977)[8]
Title	The Reverend

Early life and studies

Dewolfe Barss was born in at the CBM Christian Medical Centre, Pithapuram[1] in 1939 and later schooled at the Kodaikanal International School in Tamil Nadu. For graduate studies in theology, Dewolfe moved to Canada where he took a B.A. in theology from the Acadia University in 1936.[1] In 1938, Dewolfe was ordained as a Baptist Pastor by the Canadian Baptist Ministries following which he returned to India to serve as a missionary in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.[1] After a decade of missionary service in India, Dewolfe Barss upgraded his academics by enrolling in a Bachelor of Divinity programme at the Andover Newton Theological School, Andover during 1949[4]-1951[3] and again returned to India to resume his ecclesiastical responsibilities with the Canadian Baptist Ministries.

Ecclesiastical career

When the Baptist Theological Seminary, Kakinada was revived in 1975, Dewolfe Barss took up the Principalship of the Seminary and led the administration for two successive academic years following which the Seminary Council of the Baptist Theological Seminary appointed S. E. Krupa Rao in 1977 to take over the Principalship from Dewolfe Barss. After serving in India until 1980, Barss settled down in Canada. During 1989-1990,[9] Barss volunteered as a missionary to Kenya.[1]

Honours

In 1992, the Acadia University honoured Dewolfe Barss with a Doctor of Divinity[1] degree by honoris causa.

References

1. Dignity Memorial, In Memory of Gordon Dewolfe Barss, 2010
2. Calendar, Acadia University, 1933, Wolfville, p.139
3. Catalogue 1959-1950, Andover Newton Theological School, Andover, 1951, p.54.
4. Gordon D. Barss, The early eastward spread of Christianity, Andover, 1949. Cited in Xiaoxin Wup (Edited), Christianity in China: A Scholars' Guide to Resources in the Libraries and Archives in the United States, Second Edition, Routledge, New York, 2015, p.611.
5. W. G. Carder, Hand to the Indian Plow: Volume One, Carder, Hyderabad, 1976, Appendix II, p.5.
6. Yearbook 1991, Baptist Union of Western Canada, 1991, p.401
7. Gordon D. Barss, The early eastward spread of Christianity, Andover, 1949. Cited in Archie R. Crouch, Steven Agoratus, et. al., Christianity in China: A Scholars's Guide to Resources in the Libraries and archives of the United States, 1989, p.169.
8. C. L. Johnson (Edited), Canadian Baptist Mission 125 year's Jubilee Celebrations of Baptist Churches in Northern Circars, Baptist Theological Seminary, Kakinada, 1999, p.217-219.
9. Directory of Churches, Alphabetic by City, Church, Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec, 1995, p.D-18.