Eggoni Pushpa Lalitha (born 1956) is the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Nandyal Diocese Nandyal Diocese is a diocese of Church of South India in Andhra Pradesh state of India. The diocese is one among the 22 dioceses of Church of South India in India. History The first missionaries who came to Nandyal were Arthur Inman and Alf ...

of the

Church of South India The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of mainline Protestant denominations in South India after independence. The Church of South India is the successor of a number of Pr ...

. She is the first woman to become a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. The

, part of the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

, created history when then Moderator, G. Devakadasham and Deputy Moderator G. Dyvasirvadam consecrated Pushpa Lalitha in 2013 making a woman

Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

become a

. Pushpa Lalitha is a member of the CSI Order of Sisters headquartered 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 ...

and although she is the first woman to be consecrated as

, the first woman to be consecrated

in any church in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

was A. Katakshamma of the

Good Samaritan Evangelical Lutheran Church Good Samaritan Evangelical Lutheran Church is a Christian denomination in India. It has about 40,000 members. Its headquarters is in Bhadrachalam, Madhya Pradesh. It has been founded in 1972. It is led by T. Esther Rani. The other churches belongin ...

Bhadrachalam Bhadrachalam is a census town in Bhadradri Kothagudem district in the Indian state of Telangana. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage town with the Bhadrachalam Temple of Lord Rama, situated on the banks of Godavari river. It is located east o ...

. The first ordained woman priest in India is Sr. Elizabeth Paul, also of the CSI Order of Sisters.

Early years

Eggoni Pushpa Lalitha was born to a family of agriculturists in Diguvapadu village in Kurnool district of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. She acknowledges the influence of the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Missionaries who lead a selfless life and she very much wanted to lead such a life and became a member of the CSI Order of Sisters.Diocese of Oxford, God in the Life of Bishop of Nandyal
/ref>

Ministerial Formation

Pushpa Lalitha had her ministerial formation at 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 ...

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 ...

affiliated to the nation's firstUNESCO Structures of University Education in India, 1952
/ref> University, 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 ...

where she studied from 1979-1982 during the period of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

Scholars, Victor Premasagar, H. S. Wilson (Edited), ''The Church on the Move: Essays in honour of Victor Premasagar'', Christian Literature Society,

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, 1988, p.vi

/ref> Church of South India, CSI and G. Babu Rao, CBCNC. She later had an exposure in 1984–1985 at the

Selly Oak Colleges Selly Oak Colleges was a federation of educational facilities which in the 1970s and 1980s was at the forefront of debates about ecumenism - the coming together of Christian churches and the creation of new united churches such as the Church of ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

and at the United Church of Jamaica and Cayman Islands,

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

. Pushpa Lalitha also studied advanced courses at Berkeley, California during 1993–1995 at the

Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS) is a private Lutheran seminary in Berkeley, California. It is affiliated with California Lutheran University and is a member school of the Graduate Theological Union. History Pacific Lutheran Theolo ...

Ordination and pastorship

Eggoni Pushpa Lalitha was ordained, as Deaconess in 1983 and as a priest on 1984. She held the post of Director of ''Vishranthi Nilayam'', the headquarters of the CSI Order of Sisters on Infantry road in

and the administrative head of the

women fellowship. She has also served as Chairperson of the Deanery committee.

Bishopric

Eggoni Pushpa Lalitha was appointed as the

on 25 September 2013. She was consecrated as

on 29 September 2013 at the Church of South India, CSI-Holy Cross Cathedral in

Nandyal Nandyal is a city and District headquarters of Nandyal district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Nandyal mandal in Nandyal revenue division. Demographics In the 2011 census of India, Nandyal ...

by Moderator G. Devakadasham and Deputy Moderator G. Dyvasirvadam.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lalitha, Pushpa 1956 births Living people People from Rayalaseema People from Kurnool district Anglican bishops of Nandyal Women Anglican bishops CSI Order of Sisters Indian Christians Church of South India Telugu people Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni Church of South India clergy Women Christian clergy

Early years

Ministerial Formation

Ordination and pastorship

Bishopric

Further reading

References