Roger Gaikwad ''(born February 13, 1953)'' was General Secretary of the

National Council of Churches in India The National Council of Churches in India is an ecumenical forum for Protestant and Orthodox churches in India. History The Council was established in 1914 as the "National Missionary Council." In 1923, the Council constituted itself as the "Nat ...

(comprising

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

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Church Societies in India) and has been in office from 2010 through 2019.''Asir Ebenezer takes over as NCCI general secretary'', Matters India, January 5, 201

/ref> Gaikwad also served as a Senator of 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 ...

, the nation's first University from 2011-2014 representing the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Studies

After Gaikwad's graduate studies at the

Wilson College, Mumbai The Wilson College, established in 1832 in Mumbai, is one of India's oldest colleges; its foundation precedes that of the University of Mumbai, to which it is affiliated, by 25 years. Wilson College was granted autonomy by Mumbai University in ...

, he was awarded a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in honours (special) by the

Bombay University The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...

. For ministerial formation, Gaikwad enrolled at the Leonard Theological College,

Jabalpur Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. J ...

, a Seminary where 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 Wolfgang Roth once taught, affiliated to the nation's first University

Murli Manohar Joshi Murli Manohar Joshi (born 5 January 1934) is an Indian politician. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of which he was the President between 1991 and 1993, and the former Member of Parliament for Kanpur parliamentary constitue ...

, ''Higher Education in India Vision and Action, A paper presented at the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education in the Twenty First Century, Paris, 5–9 October 1998. Internet, accessed 22 August 2008. '' as a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

student from where he obtained a

Bachelor of Divinity 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 ...

degree awarded by the

after his three-year course from 1974-1977. During Gaikwad's stint at the

Aizawl Theological College Aizawl Theological College is an ecumenical seminary of the Presbyterian Church in Aizawl, Mizoram, India. It is affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University). The college is owned by the Mizoram Presbyterian Church and administere ...

Aizawl Aizawl (; Mizo: ) is the capital of the state of Mizoram in India. Aizawl was officially established on 25 February 1890. With a population of 293,416, it is the largest city in the state. It is also the centre of administration containing all ...

, he went on study leave and enrolled at the North India Institute for Post Graduate Theological Studies, a joint initiative of the Bishop's College,

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

and the

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 he pursued a

Master of Theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a stand ...

degree specialising in

Religions Religion is usually defined as a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, tran ...

. During the penultimate year of his study, Gaikwad moved to

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 pursued a one-year special course at the

United Theological College, Bangalore United Theological College (UTC) is an Eccumenical Christian seminary founded in 1910 situated in the southern city of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka in South India and affiliated to India's first Theological University, the Senate of Seram ...

in 1981,K. M. Hiwale (Compiled), ''Directory of the United Theological College 1910-1997'', Bangalore, 1997. Special course, p.98. then under the Principalship of

Joshua Russell Chandran Joshua Russell Chandran (1918–2000) was an Indian Christian theologian, who served as President of Senate of Serampore College, Bengal (1970–1), and as President of the United Theological College, Bangalore (1954–83), and was for some year ...

, where he worked on his dissertation entitled ''Karma and Transmigration in Modern Hinduism: An evaluation of the interpretation of the concepts of the thought of M. K. Gandhi, Aurobindo and S. Radhakrishnan''. For doctoral studies, Gaikwad joined the

South Asia Theological Research Institute South Asia Theological Research Institute (SATHRI) was established by the Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College (BTESSC) in the year 1989. It is located at Mack House Complex in Serampore. It offers doctoral programm ...

where he researched and worked out a dissertation entitled ''Major Issues in Dialogical Pluralism for Inter-relationship''. after which the

under the Registrarship of D. S. Satyaranjan awarded him a

Doctor 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 in 1995.

Ecclesiastical ministry

Gaikwad was a Teacher at the

from 1978 through 2010. From 2002 through 2008, Gaikwad went on leave and served as Director of the Senate Centre for Extension and Pastoral Theological Research of the Senate of Serampore College in

and returned in 2008 to take over as the Principal of the

Writings

* 1997, ''Rethinking Indian Christianity From A Tribal Perspective'' * 2002, ''Forces of communalism in India'' * 2002, ''Issues in Christian Relationships with People of Other Faiths in Asia'' * 2004, ''Diversified Theological Education'', * 2006, ''Some stances of Christians on integrating peace concerns in our lives'' * 2006, ''The Jubilee - an Alternative to Globalisation - (Luke 4:16-21 and Leviticus 25)'' * 2008, ''The Extension Programme of the Senate of Serampore College''

Honorary commitments

Gaikwad was Chairperson of the World Student Christian Federation, Asia Pacific Region from 2005 through 2008. In fact Gaikwad had already been Chairperson of the Student Christian Movement of India during the terms 1996-2001 and again 2003-2005. As General Secretary of the

, Gaikwad is ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' member of the following ecclesiastical organisations, *

Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College The Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College (BTESSC) is the arm of theological education under the Senate of Serampore College (University). BTESSC was formed in 1975. The Senate of Serampore College (University), under ...

, * Council of Management of the Christian Literature Society,

Chennai 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 ...

, *

Henry Martyn Henry Martyn (18 February 1781 – 16 October 1812) was an Anglican priest and missionary to the peoples of India and Persia. Born in Truro, Cornwall, he was educated at Truro Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge. A chance encount ...

Institute,The Annual Report (2013 - 2014) of the Director
/ref>

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaikwad, Roger Scientists from Mumbai Indian Presbyterians Indian Methodists 20th-century Indian Christian clergy Indian Christian theologians Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni Living people Academic staff of the Senate of Serampore College (University) 1953 births Leonard Theological College alumni