The Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College (BTESSC) is the arm of theological education under the

Senate of Serampore College (University) The Senate of Serampore College (University) is located in Serampore in West Bengal, India. Serampore was granted the status of university in 1829, making it India's first institution to have the status of a university.Government of India, Mini ...

. BTESSC was formed in 1975. The Senate of Serampore College (University), under which the BTESSC was constituted, is a university within the meaning of Section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 ''(as modified up to 20 December 1985)''. In fact, Serampore was the first institution to be given the status of a university in India. The BTESSC is one of the major representative bodies of churches legally constituted and responsible for administering theological education in South Asia Secretary of BTESSC, The Rev. T. Matthews Emmanuel, CBCNC died on 24 April 2021 in Bangalore. He began his theological studies in

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 ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

and upgraded his studies in Union Biblical Seminary, Pune. For postgraduate studies, he enrolled in Federated Faculty for Research in Religion and Culture,

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...

and went on to complete doctoral studies in

South Asia Theological Research Institute South Asia Theological Research Institute (SATHRI) was established by the Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College (BTESSC) in the year 1989. It is located at Mack House Complex in Serampore. It offers doctoral programm ...

, then in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. He began his teaching career from Baptist Theological College,

Pfütsero Pfütsero is a town located in the Phek District of the Indian state of Nagaland. It is the highest-altitude town and the coldest inhabited place in Nagaland with temperatures occasionally dropping below 0 °C during winter nights. It is he ...

(

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

), Mennonite Brethren Centenary Bible College,

Shamshabad Shamshabad is a city in the Indian state of Telangana. It is located in Shamshabad mandal of Rajendranagar revenue division. The international airport of Hyderabad is located here. History In former times the area was known as Sedanti village, ...

(

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

), and

Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...

(Telangana). He was Secretary of BTESSC from 2018 to 2021.

Membership

The BTESSC is a participating member in the World Conference of Associations of Theological InstitutionsWOCATI web site. Internet, accessed 28 June 2008

History

Serampore was the only means of validating evangelical theological training in India until 1978.D. K. Sahu, Reorganizing the Structure: A possibility for Mission Today , p.12 The Union Biblical Seminary, Poona was constituted in 1953 as an evangelical theological college at B.Th. and B.D. levels. It was accredited by the Board of Theological Education of the National Council of Churches in India in 1964 which was formed in 1955 to bring together the unaffiliated Bible schools and seminaries. UBS was affiliated to Serampore in 1973 at B.D. level. After a series of joint consultations with Serampore, the Board of Theological Education of NCCI decided in favour of the formation of one national structure for Theological Education in India. When Serampore accepted the proposal, a joint structure was formed in July 1975 as the Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College.

Its functions

The functions of the Board as given in the Constitution of the BTESSC (revised and adopted on 3–4 February 1994 portray its mandatory role in the promotion of theological education in the country, ''viz.'', * Reflection and pioneering on new methods and style in theological education in relation to the need of the country and of the Churches * Production of theological literature in general especially in regional languages * Promotion of the welfare of theological teachers and students * Development of ecumenical cooperation among theological institutions and their libraries * Promotion of relationship between Churches, Theological institutions and study centres * Any other issues related to theological education * The Board shall recommend names of persons to be considered by the Senate for nomination to be appointed as Senators. In matters of theological education, the BTESSC acts as an "advisory body" of the

and the Senate is its voice.

Administration

* Chairperson -

The Rev. The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

Zacharias Mar Aprem * Secretary – ''Vacant'' * Treasurer – The Rev. Akumarthi Samuel

Notable persons associated with BTESSC

* C. L. Furtado, CSI, * H. S. Wilson, CSI, * Daniel D. Chetti, CBCNC, * T. M. Emmanuel, CBCNC

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College College accreditors in India Seminaries and theological colleges in India Universities and colleges in Kolkata Educational institutions established in 1975 Reformed church seminaries and theological colleges Anglican seminaries and theological colleges School accreditors Christian seminaries and theological colleges in India Affiliated institutions of the National Council of Churches in India 1975 establishments in Karnataka