M. S. G. Lalitha Kumari a.k.a. Lalitha Krupa Rao (1 June 1942 – 25 September 2013) was the eighth Principal of

Eva Rose York Bible Training and Technical School for Women Eva Rose York Bible Training and Technical School for Women was founded in 1922 by the Canadian Baptist Mission (CBM). The school is in Tuni in Andhra Pradesh, India. Background Missionaries of the Canadian Baptist Mission were involved in sprea ...

Tuni Tuni is a city in Kakinada district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a second biggest city in kakinada district. It is a major commercial marketing center for more than 100 surrounding villages in the district. Tuni is a border p ...

. She held the term from 1993 through 2011. Lalitha was a theologically trained woman who also used to pastor a Church. With her ordination in 1992, she became the first

Woman priest The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

in 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 ...

Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars 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 affilia ...

Studies

After scholastic studies in schools established by

Canadian Baptist Ministries Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) or ''Ministères Baptistes Canadiens'' is a federation of four regional Baptist denominations in Canada. The federation is a member of the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarter is in Mississauga, Ontario. Hist ...

in Gudlavalleru and Kakinada, she pursued collegiate studies at

Women's Christian College, Chennai Women's Christian College is an interdenominational women's college on College Road, Nungambakkam, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. History The Women's Christian College was founded in 1915 with 41 students and 7 faculty members, as a result of ...

. She later enrolled at

, where she underwent propadeutic courses. Between 1971-1974, she again pursued theological studies 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 ...

under faculty comprising

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 ...

, CSI, B. E. Devaraj, CSI, Eric J. Lott, CSI, W. P. Peery, AELC, G. Devasahayam, AELC, R. R. Sundara Rao, AELC, Ravela Joseph, STBC, Suppogu Joseph, STBC, Muriel Spurgeon Carder, CBCNC, Waldo Penner, CBCNC among others. This was the time when the Seminary was under transition''Minutes of the Biennial Convention, Issue 7'', Lutheran Church in America, 1974, p.55

/ref> from

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...

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 ...

. Then Principals included the Old Testament Scholars', W. D. Coleman, AELC followed by

Victor Premasagar Victor Premasagar (1927–2005) was the fourth successor of Frank Whittaker as Bishop in Medak. He was an Indian churchman and Old Testament scholar who made major contributions to research on the Old Testament and to the field of theology. Prem ...

, CSI. 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 ...

awarded the degree of B.Th. by then Registrars

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.

, CBCNC and J. T. Krogh, NELC at its Convocation held on February 1, 1975''Convocation Brochure'', February 1, 1975 Serampore College, Serampore. at

Serampore College , founders = William Ward, William Carey, & Joshua Marshman , religious_affiliation = Baptist , rector = , location = 8, William Carey RoadSerampore – 712201West Bengal, India , established = , principal = Vansanglura Va ...

Serampore Serampore (also called ''Serampur'', ''Srirampur'', ''Srirampore'', ''Shreerampur'', ''Shreerampore'', ''Shrirampur'' or ''Shrirampore'') is a city of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarter of the Srirampor ...

where the

Commemoration Commemoration may refer to: *Commemoration (Anglicanism), a religious observance in Churches of the Anglican Communion *Commemoration (liturgy), insertion in one liturgy of portions of another *Memorialization *"Commemoration", a song by the 3rd a ...

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

was conducted by the Old Testament Scholar, G. Babu Rao, CBCNC, then Faculty Member of

at the CNI-St. Olave's Church,

. She later upgraded herself from B. Th. to B. D. at her '' Alma mater''.

Career

She became a Bible Teacher at the School in 1964 teaching there between 1964-1968. The School was led by Ruth Fletcher who was succeeded by Winnifred Paskall. In 1975, she moved to

Kakinada Kakinada (List of renamed places in India, formerly called Kakinandiwada, Coringa, and Cocanada; ) is the List of cities in Andhra Pradesh by population, sixth largest city of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra P ...

teaching wives of Seminarians at the Baptist Theological Seminary up to 1993,. She was ordained in 1992 becoming the first such

in the

. In 1993, with the sudden death of then Principal of

, S. E. Krupa Rao, the Council of the

Baptist Theological Seminary 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 compete ...

in the presence of LaVerne Louise and Ray Waldock, then India representativesBaptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec, ''Directory of Churches, Alphabetic by City'', 1992, p. D-2

/ref> of

and G. Babu Rao, then Faculty Member

H. S. Wilson H. S. Wilson ''(born 1946)'' is Executive Director of Foundation for Theological Education in the Southeast Asia based in Philadelphia. Wilson is widely known in India for his contribution to theological education in India as Director (1980 thr ...

(Edited), ''The Church on the Move: Essays in honour of Victor Premasagar'', Christian Literature Society, Madras, 198

/ref> of

, proceeded to announce the name of Lalitha Kumari as 8th Principal of

solely on merits of her being an

Alumna Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

of the school during the 1960s coupled with her theological education.

Death and reminisce

Lalitha Kumari passed away on September 25, 2013K. Abraham, V. Alfred Sudhakar, S. I. Nirmal Kumar (Compiled), ''Ordained Women in Christian Ministry'', CBCNC Sompeta Field Council, Sompeta, 2017. due to natural causes while on vacation at her

, the

. The same day, she was taken by road to

. The next day, on September 26, 2013, her

Funeral mass A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

was held at the CBM Cemetery in Jagannaickpur locality, where she was buried with ecclesiastical honours.

References

;Notes ;Further reading * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krupa Rao, Lalitha 2013 deaths Telugu people People from Kakinada Indian Baptist missionaries 1942 births Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars Baptist missionaries in India People from Krishna district Canadian Baptist Ministries Indian Baptist ministers Women Christian clergy 20th-century Baptists