William D. Coleman (November 26, 1915 - October 22, 2001) was the first Principal of 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 ...

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 ...

. Coleman was born in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

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 ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. When four theological colleges came together to start

, William D. Coleman was installed as the Principal of the College in 1964. The

comprised faculty from four previous entities: * Andhra Union Theological Seminary,

Dornakal Dornakal is one of the largest town in Mahabubabad district of Telangana, India. The town is important as a Railway Junction where a branch line emanates to Manuguru and Bhadrachalam Road and is also on the Vijayawada - Warangal - Secunderabad ...

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 ...

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 ...

* Lutheran Theological College,

* Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological Seminary,

Ramayapatnam Ramayapatnam is a small village in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, India on the bank of the Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangl ...

W. D. Coleman worked in an

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 ...

environment together with

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 Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

Anglicans Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

, and

Wesleyans 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 ...

. It was Coleman who supervised the relocation of the College from

as well as establishing the new campus in

, especially during the

Licence Raj The Licence Raj or Permit Raj (''rāj'', meaning "rule" in Hindi) was the system of licences, regulations, and accompanying red tape, that hindered the set up and running of businesses in India between 1947 and 1990. Up to 80 government agenci ...

Studies

Scholastic and collegiate

Coleman studied up to twelfth standard at the

Kodaikanal International School Kodaikanal International School (KIS) is a co-educational independent residential school offering education for grades P-12. It is located on in Kodaikanal, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India. Kodaikanal is a hill station at in the Palani Hills, n ...

Dundigal Dundigal, officially Dundigal Gandimaisamma, is a city and a municipality in Medchal-Malkajgiri district in the Indian state of Telangana. It is the mandal headquarters of Dundigal mandal in Malkajgiri revenue division of Medchal-Malkajgiri di ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

(

) and proceeded to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

where he pursued a graduate degree in arts at the

Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German patriarch of Luthera ...

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in T ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

from where he obtained a

B.A. 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 ...

in 1936.

Graduate and postgraduate

In fall 1936, Coleman enrolled at the

Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), also known as the ''Philadelphia Seminary,'' was one of eight theological seminaries associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in North ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

for a graduate course in spirituality leading to B.D. Coleman studied at the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

during the Registrarship of

The Rev. The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

Frederic Whipp Friday''

Calendar for 1936-1937'' available at the Registrar's office. and completed his studies by 1939 and was ordained the same year and returned to

for

Christian mission A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such ...

service. During 1946-1948, Coleman went to the

where he again enrolled at his alma mater, the

and submitted a dissertation fulfilling the requirements for the

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 ...

course based on which the

awarded him a B.D. degree in 1947. In fall 1946, Coleman enrolled for a postgraduation course leading to S.T.M. at the

where he spent two semesters studying under Frederick Nolde, Roswell P. Barnes, Henry Smith Leiper,

Franklin Clark Fry Franklin Clark Fry (August 30, 1900 – June 6, 1968) was a leading American Lutheran clergyman, known for his work on behalf of interdenominational unity. Early years Fry's parents were Franklin Foster Fry and Minnie C. Fry, née McKeown. He w ...

, and other faculty. Coleman also attended two additional seminars in 1947-1948 and was able to submit a dissertation entitled ''The Doctrine of Incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity'' based on which the

awarded him with an S.T.M. degree in 1948.

Doctoral

During 1953-1954, Coleman pursued doctoral studies at the

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

and the

Hartford Seminary The Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (formerly Hartford Seminary) is a private theological university in Hartford, Connecticut. History Hartford Seminary's origins date back to 1833 when the Pastoral Union of Connecti ...

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

where he wrote a thesis titled, ''The Development of the Indigenous Church in the Andhra Area in India on the Background of Hinduism'', leading to the award of

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

by the

Ecclesiastical ministry

After initial theological studies in the

, Coleman returned to India in 1939''The Lutheran'', Volume 22, Issue 11, 1939, p.24
/ref> and began serving as Missionary of the

Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

Pastoral

After Coleman returned to India in 1940, he was given the role of District Missionary in

Bheemavaram Bheemavaram is a village in Khammam district of the Indian state of Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest stat ...

and Narsapur Fields of the

which he served from 1941-1946. After a two-year gap, Coleman was assigned as Evangelistic Missionary in the East Godavari Synod during 1948-1953.

Spiritual Formator

1952-1964

In 1952, Coleman was taken on the teaching staff of the Lutheran Theological College in

and also continued his role as an Evangelistic Missionary in the East Godavari Synod up to 1953. Coleman taught for more than a decade from 1952-1964 and also became Principal of the Lutheran Theological College in 1962.

1964-1981

When

efforts fructified resulting in the formation of the

in 1964 in the erstwhile premises of the Lutheran Theological College, Coleman was chosen as the Principal of the College, a position in which he continued up to 1973 in

. In 1973, when the College was relocated to

, Coleman continued to teach at the College and was Dean of External Studies from 1974-1981.

Retirement and death

Coleman resigned from the College in 1981 and took up a role with the Division of World Mission and Ecumenism of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...

and was stationed in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

during 1981-1982. After serving for a year, Coleman retired from the

. After leading a retired life for nearly 18 years', Coleman died on 22 October 2001 at Colebrook,

(

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

Reminisce

Talathoti Punnaiah who studied a 3-year theology course leading to

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a three- to five-year undergraduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, denomination, or parachurch organization. ...

at the

, both at

and at

from 1970-1973 recalls his association with W. D. Coleman,