K. V. Mathew

Kuzhuvelil Varkey Mathew (born 2 November 1931) is an Indian biblical scholar and a member Fr. Max Gonsalves (Ed.), Society for Biblical Studies in India Directory 1998. Entry 131, page 30. of the Society for Biblical Studies in India.

Education

Kuzhuvelil Varkey Mathew was born in Keezhuvaipur in Kerala to Rachel and K. T. Varkey. Mathew studied at the local CMS High School in Mallapally in Pathanamthitta District and later underwent pre-university studies at the CMS College in Kottayam.

After Mathew evinced interest in pursuing studies in divinity, the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church then headed by Juhanon Mar Thoma ''(Mar Thoma XVIII)'' sent him to Serampore College, Serampore where he pursued graduate studies in theology from 1951 to 1954. S. J. Samartha, M. P. John (Compiled), ''Directory of students 1910-1967'', Serampore College (Theology Department), Serampore, 1967, p.16. The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church ordained Mathew as a Clergy in 1955. He was made Vicar in Mylom. After briefly donning the pastoral role, Mathew was sent again to Serampore College from 1956 to 1957. He then studied at the United Theological College, Bengaluru in the ensuing academic year to pursue post-graduate studies in Biblical Studies leading to M. Th. in Old Testament thereby becoming the first Indian to pursue a post-graduate course in Old Testament under the Senate of Serampore College (University), a State UniversityUnder Section 2 (f) of the UGC Act, 1956, ''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. of the Government of West Bengal and recognised by the University Grants Commission under Section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. Mathew studied Old Testament under the Old Testament specialist, Professor Norman Henry Snaith, then a visiting professor at the seminary in Bengaluru,K. M. Hiwale (Compiled), ''The United Theological College, Directory 1910-1997'', Bengaluru, 1997. p.7 and p.10

/ref> and worked out a thesis using the Septuagint.

From 1958 to 1960 Mathew was Vicar of the Mar Thoma Parish in Calcutta.

Career

Mathew began teaching Old Testament in Serampore College, a constituent College of the Senate of Serampore College (University),V. C. Samuel (Edited), ''The Indian journal of theology'', Volume 13, 1964.

/ref> Serampore beginning from the academic year 1960The Council of Serampore College, ''The Story of Serampore and its College'', Fourth Edition 2005, Serampore. till 1971 when his parent Church, the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church recalled him to Kottayam for teaching in the Mar Thoma Theological Seminary. Paulose Mar Paulose, D. S. Satyaranjan, G. Babu Rao, S. Jeyapaul David and James Massey were few of the students of K. V. Mathew. One of his old students, G. Babu Rao returned to Serampore to teach Old Testament from 1974. Mathew's teaching colleagues included Y. D. Tiwari and others.

Starting from the academic year 1971–1972, Mathew began teaching Old Testament in the Mar Thoma Theological Seminary, Kottayam. In 1981, he was made Principal of the Mar Thoma Theological Seminary and continued in that position till 1986.

Mathew was also on the panel of Professors under the Federated Faculty for Research in Religion and Culture (FFRRC), Kerala and served as a guide to post-graduate and doctoral students. In 2000, K. V. Mathew was invited by the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar (Delhi Diocese) to serve as the PrincipalNational Council of Churches Review, Volume 120, Published by National Christian Council of India, 2000. p. 950

/ref> of Dharma Jyoti Vidyapeeth ', Faridabad. Mathew held the reins of this institution in Faridabad till 2002.

After two decades of teaching in the Seminary in Kottayam, Mathew was made the Secretary of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in 1987 continuing till 1990 under Metropolitan Alexander Mar Thoma ''(Mar Thoma XIX)''.

The Society for Biblical Studies in India was constituted by Biblical Scholars to foster Biblical scholarship in relation to the Indian context. Mathew also served as an office-bearer of the SBSI. He was twice elected as its president in 1983 and 1994.

Research

Mathew did original research on the Psalms at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.Katharine Smith Diehl, ''Early Indian imprints'', Published by Scarecrow Press, 196

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Mathew edited the ''One-Volume Bible Commentary'' in Malayalam. He worked with Chief Editor E. C. John.P. Jegadish Gandhi, K. C. John, ''Upon the winds of wider ecumenism: essays and tributes in honour of Rev. Dr. M. J. Joseph'', Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, New Delhi, 2006. p.349

Publications

* ''Ancient Religions of the Fertile Crescent and the Sanatana Dharma''
* ''Trinity-Semantic Considerations''
* ''The Concept of God and Nature in the Psalms''Ronald E. Manahan, ''A Re-examination of the Cultural Mandate: An analysis and Evaluation of the Dominion Materials'', An unpublished thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Theology in Grace Theological Seminary, May 1982, Winona Lake, Indiana.

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* ''The Hermeneutical Struggle in India''
* ''Indigenisation: An Old Testament Perspective''
* ''The faith and practice of the Mar Thoma Church''
* ''Walking humbly with God : A Biography of the Rev. C. E. Abraham''
* ''Ecological Perspectives in the Book of Psalms''
* ''Crisis and Hope in Israel's Exile''K. V. Mathew, ''Crisis and Hope in Israel's Exile'', A paper presented at the XVIIth Conference of the SBSI held in Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, 1998. Cited in Indian Theological Studies, Volume 35, 1998.

/ref>
* ''Dr. M. M. Thomas – A Grateful Memory''
* ''Last Supper – A Kingdom Perspective''
* ''Ecology and Faith in the Old Testament''

Higher studies

While teaching Old Testament in Serampore College, Mathew proceeded to the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in the academic year 1962 to 1963 and enrolled to pursue doctoral studies in the field of Old Testament under Professors G. W. Anderson, N. W. Porteous and R. E. Clements,Edward Ball (Edited), ''In search of true wisdom: Essays in Old Testament interpretation in honour of Ronald E. Clements'' (
Volume 300 of Journal for the study of the Old Testament), Published by Continuum International Publishing Group, 1999

/ref> who were then teaching at the University of Edinburgh. Between 1964 and 1968, Mathew returned to Serampore College, Serampore to take up his teaching assignments. He left the college again in 1968–1969 to spend a year at the University of Hamburg, Germany under Klaus Koch. In the final phase of his doctoral research, he spent the final academic year ''(1969-1970)'' at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and submitted a thesis on the topic ''God and Nature in the Book of Psalms'' thereby becoming the first Indian to be awarded a doctorate by the Faculty of Theology of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Visiting scholar

After leaving the Seminary in Kottayam in 1994, Mathew spent three years as a Vicar of the Parish in Ranni. In 1997, he was Visiting Professor at the Aizawl Theological College, Aizawl. In 1999 and 2008, he was a guest professor at his '' alma mater'' in Serampore. From 2000 to 2002 he took up the principalship of Dharma Jyoti Vidyapeeth in Faridabad.

See also

* Y. D. Tiwari
* Klaus Koch
* S. J. Samartha

References

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External links

"Churches Hope to Reunite India's Legacy of the Apostle Thomas" – Christianity Today

"The Great Hill Stations of Asia, Volume 1998" – Google Books

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathew, K. V.
1931 births
Living people
Old Testament scholars
Christian clergy from Kottayam
Indian Christian theologians
Indian biblical scholars
Indian lecturers
Mar Thoma Syrian Church
Malayali people
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni
Senate of Serampore College (University) faculty
Syriac Orthodox clergy