Bishop A. Rajarathnam was Bishop - in -

Dornakal Diocese of the Church of South India Dornakal Diocese is a diocese of the Church of South India in Telangana state of India. It is among 22 dioceses of the Church of South India.The diocese mainly covers the pastorates in Warangal, Nalgonda, East Godavari and Khammam districts a ...

and the sixth in succession. Like his predecessor D. N. Samuel, Rajarathnam also studied at the Andhra Union Theological College (AUTC), Dornakal in 1963 but within a year, he moved along with the College to Rajahmundry as the AUTC together with other Seminaries formed the

Andhra Christian Theological College Andhra Christian Theological College (ACTC) is a seminary in Telangana which was founded in 1964. It is affiliated with India's first university, the Senate of Serampore College (University) (a university under section 2(f) of the University G ...

in Rajahmundry in 1964. Rajarathnam was awarded a Licentiate in Theology in 1966 and upgraded his academics by pursuing a Bachelor of Theology as well as a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

degree through the

which by then relocated to its present campus in Hyderabad. The

, Hyderabad where Rajarathnam studied is affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University), India's first The Senate of Serampore College (University) is a University within the meaning of Section 2 (f) of the UGC Act, 1956 under which a University means a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act, and includes any such institution as may, in consultation with the University concerned, be recoginsed by the Commission in accordance with the regulations made in this behalf under this Act. The UGC took the opinion that the Senate fell under the purview of Section 2 (f) of the said Act since ''The Serampore College Act, 1918'' was passed by the Government of West Bengal. with degree-granting authority validated by a Danish Charter and ratified by the

Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal also known as the West Bengal Government, is the subnational government of the Indian state of West Bengal , created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial authority. The ...

. Rajarathnam first studied at the Mission school in Dornakal and became a Teacher from 1961-1963 where he taught at Madiripuram until 1963 when he enrolled for spiritual studies. After his ordination in 1966, he served as a Pastor in the

Diocese of Dornakal Dornakal Diocese is a diocese of the Church of South India in Telangana state of India. It is among 22 dioceses of the Church of South India.The diocese mainly covers the pastorates in Warangal, Nalgonda, East Godavari and Khammam districts a ...

. In 1996 when Bishop D. N. Samuel retired on attaining superannuation, the ensuing sede vacante was filled up by the

Church of South India Synod Church of South India Trust Association (CSITA) Director board is the highest administrative body of CSI (Church of South India). Synod (CSI Synod) is the annual general meeting of CSI. Moderator of the Synod is a Bishop who is a presiding officer ...

by appointing Rajarathnam to the bishopric in 1997 who was principally consecrated by Vasanth P. Dandin, Moderator,

and William Moses, Deputy Moderator,

. In 1998, Rajarathnam attended the thirteenth Lambeth Conference presided over by George Carey,

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. On 11 April 2006, Rajarathnam stepped down as the Bishop-in-Dornakal due to superannuation causing the

to be sede vacante. The Ramanuja Scholar,

B. S. Devamani Bishop B. S. Devamani was the seventh Bishop - in - Dornakal Diocese of the Church of South India whose bishopric was from 2006 to 2012. Studies After initial studies in English literature at the CSI-Noble College, Machilipatnam and teaching i ...

succeeded Rajarathnam as Bishop-in-Dornakal.

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Further reading