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John Wilson Gladstone (born 25 December 1945) was the Moderator 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 ...
as well as Bishop of South Kerala.
Early years
Rev. Dr. Gladstone was born on 25 December 1945 in
Travancore.
[Prof. J. M. Stewart in Profile of the Bishop in Mateer Memorial Church, Thiruvananthapuram, Keral]
/ref> into a pastoral family. His father, Rev. J. Wilson, was a Pastor of the Church of South India, CSI[Canterbury Christ Church University, Biographies of new Honorary Fellows ]
He had an inclination towards priesthood and after his schooling pursued bachelor's and master's degrees in economics
Divinity and higher studies
In 1969, Rev. Dr. Gladstone joined the United Theological College TC, Bangalore – ''the only autonomous college under the Senate of Serampore College (University)">Senate of Serampore College
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 he received a Bachelor of Divinity degree.
After finishing his studies in divinity in 1972 he again enrolled at UTC where, in 1975, he obtained a Master of Theology degree in the discipline of
church history.
Ordination and lecturership
After returning from Bangalore, Rev. Dr. Gladstone was ordained as a priest of the Diocese of South Kerala of the Church of South India on 20 July 1975.
The diocese designated him as Youth Pastor
and thereafter, Gladstone was assigned a teaching task at the
Kerala United Theological Seminary
Kerala United Theological Seminary (KUTS) is run by the Church of South India with an ecumenical outlook. It was founded in 1943, and is affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University), West Bengal. KUTS is located in Kannammoola in T ...
, ''
UTS – affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College' Thiruvananthapuram.
Research studies
Later in the year 1978,
Rev. Dr. Gladstone took study leave from KUTS and proceeded to the
University of Hamburg in Germany for research studies in church history.
In 1983,
the University of Hamburg awarded him a
Doctorate of Theology
Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equiva ...
degree ''
magna cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...
''. His doctoral thesis was entitled ''Protestant Christianity and People's Movements in Kerala, 1850–1936'' which was later published by the KUTS, Thiruvananthapuram in 1984.
Return to KUTS
Subsequently, Rev. Dr. Gladstone returned to Thiruvananthapuram to resume his teaching responsibilities. In 1991 he became Principal of the KUTS, Thiruvananthapuram.
Works
Church historian
Rev. Dr. Gladstone is a member of the Church History Association of India (CHAI), a body of church historians and has published more than 100 articles.
Senate responsibilities
Rev. Dr. Gladstone served as the President of the Senate of Serampore College, India's first university, from 2000 to 2005
Bishopric
On 16 September 1997, Rev. Dr. Gladstone was consecrated as the Bishop in South Kerala.
Moderatorship
During the XXXI session of the synod of the CSI held in Visakhapatnam from 11–14 January 2008, Rev. Dr. Gladstone was elected as the Moderator of the CSI for a biennium. He succeeded the Most Reverend
B. P. Sugandhar
B. P. Sugandhar (28 September 1943 – 5 December 2017) was the fifth successor of Frank Whittaker as Bishop - in - Medak of the Church of South India whose bishopric lasted for more than a decade and half from 1993 through 2009 coinciding wi ...
(
Bishop-in-Medak
The Diocese of Medak is one of the prominent Dioceses in the Church of South India, a Protestant Uniting Church with its headquarters in Medak comprising nearly 200 Presbyters ministering to Telugu, Lambadi, Tamil,P. Y. Luke, J. B. Carman, ...
).
Memberships and honours
Memberships
* Church History Association of India
Honours
In 2005, Rev. Vinod Victor and Rev. Gideon Sobhanam brought out a
festschrift in honour of Gladstone entitled ''Shepherd of a Pilgrim People: Essays in Honour of Bishop J. W. Gladstone''
[Vinod Victor, Gideon Sobhanam, ''et al.'', Shepherd of a Pilgrim People: Essays in Honour of Bishop J. W. Gladstone, Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, New Delhi, 2005.]
/ref>''
In 2008 Canterbury Christ Church University
, mottoeng = The truth shall set you free
, established = 2005 – gained University status 1962 – teacher training college
, type = Public
, religious_affiliation = Church of England
, city ...
, (established in 1962 by the Church of England with degree granting authority), admitted Rev. Dr. Gladstone to its honorary fellowship at Canterbury Cathedral on 1 February.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gladstone, John Wilson
People from Thiruvananthapuram district
20th-century Anglican bishops in India
21st-century Anglican bishops in India
Anglican bishops of South Kerala
1945 births
Living people
Indian Christian theologians
University of Hamburg alumni
Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni
Academic staff of the Senate of Serampore College (University)
Moderators of the Church of South India