G. T. Abraham (25 September 1940 - 16 February 2018) was Bishop - in -

Diocese of Nandyal of the Church of South India 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 Alfred ...

.Constance M. Millington, ''An ecumenical venture: the history of Nandyal diocese in Andhra Pradesh, 1947-1990'', Issue 214 of ATC publication, Asian Trading Corporation, Bengaluru, 1993.

/ref> He also taught Christian Ministry at the Andhra Christian Theological College. Hyderabad

Studies

Abraham studied sciences at the Government Arts College in Kadapa. He later enrolled at the United Theological College,

Bengaluru 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 studied theology (

B. D. 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 ...

) during 1962-1966 when Joshua Russell Chandran was the College Principal. As part of the University requirements, Abraham submitted a dissertation entitled ''An Estimate of the Missionary and Pastoral Ministry of Bishop Azariah from 1922 to 1945'' after which the Senate of Serampore College (University) under the Registrarship of

Chetti Devasahayam Chetti Devasahayam (6 October 1913 – 28 February 1993) was the Registrar of the nation's first University, the Senate of Serampore College (University) who was in office from 1960 through 1975.

awarded him a graduate degree. Later, Abraham was assigned pastoral roles in the parishes of Nandyal Diocese. Abraham later undertook post-graduate studies in theology at the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia leading to a Master of Theology in 1983 and returned for parish work in the Diocese. He was later deputed to teach at the Andhra Christian Theological College, Hyderabad.

Ecclesiastical ministry

Pastoral

In 1967, after the

Diocese of Nandyal 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 missionary, missionaries who came to Nandyal were Arthur Inman ...

ordained Abraham, he pastored parishes within the Diocese which was still experimenting with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the

Church of North India The Church of North India (CNI) is the dominant united Protestant church in northern India. It was established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together the Protestant churches working in northern India. It is a province of the worldwide Anglica ...

and finally 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 ...

Teaching

During the Principalship of Suppogu Joseph, STBC at the Protestant Regional Theologiate in

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 ...

, Abraham joined as Faculty Member in 1987 and began teaching Theology to ministerial aspirants in a near-

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

setting of Anglicans,

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

, Lutherans, Methodists, Wesleyan Methodists and others from the small and indigenous Churches during the teaching tenures of

M. Victor Paul M. Victor Paul (7 April 1935 – 14 October 2013) was a Biblical studies, biblical scholar who served as President of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church from 1993 to 1997. Early years and education Victor Paul was born on 7 April 1935 int ...

, AELC, G. Dyvasirvadam, CSI, R. Yesurathnam, CSI and other notable faculty that included the Serampore College ' duo,''The Story of Serampore and its College'', Council of Serampore College, Serampore (Fourth Edition), 2005, p.9

/ref> namely P. Joseph, STBC and 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 ...

Scholar,G. Babu Rao, ''

Wisdom tradition Wisdom Tradition is a synonym for Perennialism, the idea that there is a perennial or mystic inner core to all religious or spiritual traditions, without the trappings, doctrinal literalism, sectarianism, and power structures that are associated ...

and the Indian Parallels with special reference to Telugu literature'' in ''Reflections on Theology Today'', ACTC,

, 199

G. Babu Rao,

CBCNC The Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars (CBCNC) is a Baptist Christian denomination in north coastal Andhra Pradesh. The churches are part of the Telugu Christian community of Southern India. Its language is Telugu. It is affiliat ...

. When Abraham joined the Andhra Christian Theological College in

in 1987, he became the third Spiritual Formator to have taught at the Seminary, with the first two being,

B. E. Devaraj B. E. Devaraj was a translator who pioneered the Lambadi version of the New Testament. He was Acting Commissary and Vicar General of the Archdeaconry of Nandyal from 1950 to 1951. Devaraj also taught in the Andhra Christian Theological Colleg ...

and

Ryder Devapriam Ryder Devapriam (3 July 1931 – 4 September 1992) was systematic theologian who taught during the 1960s and the 1970s at the Andhra Christian Theological College, a Protestant Regional Theologiate in Secunderabad, affiliated to the nation's fi ...

who taught at Rajahmundry and

during the 1960s and the 1970s respectively.

Bishopric

In 1992,

breathed his last during an overseas visitation to Germany leading to '' Sede vacante'' in the

leading to the direct supervision of the ecclesiastical affairs 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 ...

led by Vasanth P. Dandin for nearly two years' until 1994 when the

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

conducted elections and declared Abraham as the Bishop. After more than a decade of serving as Bishop - in - Nandyal, Abraham retired on attaining superannuation in 2005.

Honours

While attending the Lambeth Conference, 1998, the Virginia Theological Seminary conferred upon Abraham an honorary doctorate at a special academic convocation on 27 July 1998 in

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

Crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

in Canterbury, Kent by Bishop Peter James Lee of Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.

References

;Notes ;Further reading * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, G. T. 1940 births 2018 deaths Anglican bishops of Nandyal 20th-century Anglican bishops in Asia Indian Christian theologians Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni Virginia Theological Seminary alumni Academic staff of the Senate of Serampore College (University) Church of South India clergy Indian Christians