Chuauṭhuama ( Mizo: ; 1 April 1947 – 4 January 2024) was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister, biblical scholar and writer who had an extensive influence in the church and society in

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

. He was the first Mizo to earn a degree from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He specialized in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (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 and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

and

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...

and was the Chief Translator of the Mizo (Bible) Revised Version project under

Bible Society of India The Bible Society of India is a Christian body that is authorized to translate, produce, distribute and market the Bible and is a member of the United Bible Societies. The motto of the Society is to translate the word of God into languages, which ...

starting from the year 2017 till the day he died.

Early life

Chuauṭhuama was born in the village of Bukpui,

Lushai Hills District The Mizo District, formerly called Lushai Hills District, was an autonomous district of the Indian state of Assam from 1947 till 1972 until it was granted the status of a Union Territory. This region was a significant part of Mizo history as it ...

to Tawna and Buaii. He was the youngest of six. His father was a

church elder In Christianity, an elder is a person who is valued for wisdom and holds a position of responsibility and authority in a Christian group. In some Christian traditions (e.g., Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, Methodism) an ''elder'' ...

and worked as a teacher in a primary school run by the church. He started schooling at the age of 7, and was noted for excelling in his studies. In 1963, he went to

Aizawl Aizawl (, American English, US: , British English, UK: ; Mizo language, Mizo: ), formerly known as Aijal, is the capital city and the most populous city of Mizoram, India. It is also the third largest city in northeast India. It is situated ato ...

for higher studies, however, his studies was cut short in 1966 by the

Mizo National Front uprising The Mizo National Front uprising ( Mizo: ''Rambuai'') was a revolt against the government of India aimed at establishing a sovereign nation state for the Mizo people, which started on 28 February 1966. On 1 March 1966, the Mizo National Front ( ...

. He went back home and spent the remaining year helping his parents in their field.

False imprisonment by the Indian Army

In 1967, Chuauṭhuama and his friends decided to go to

Jowai Jowai (IPA: ʤəʊˈwaɪ) is the headquarters of the West Jaintia Hills district of the state of Meghalaya, India, and is home to the Pnar, a sub-tribe of the Khasi people. It is located on a plateau surrounded on three sides by the Myntdu r ...

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

for studies as all schools were closed in the district. On their journey, they were arrested by security forces. Chuauthuama was falsely implicated to be a high ranking rebel, viz, a Commissioner in the Mizo National Army. He was subsequently jailed for three years in Tezpur Central Jail.

Career

In January, 1970 he was released from jail. He joined Synod High School and completed his matriculation exam in 1972. From 1973-1977, he worked as a Lower Division Clerk (LDC) in the Mizoram Home Guard. While working he also did his

Bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ( ...

, enrolling in Pachhunga Memorial College (Evening shift). He graduated in 1976 with Distinction, he was ranked 2nd in NEHU. From 1978, he worked as a teacher in Hrangchhuana High School rising to the rank of Headmaster. In 1983, he resigned from his post as Headmaster to begin his theological studies. He enrolled for a

Bachelor of divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

United Theological College, Bangalore United Theological College (UTC) is an ecumenical Mainline Protestant, mainline seminary founded in 1910. It is situated in the southern city of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka in South India and affiliated to India's first Theological Unive ...

. In 1987, he graduated in first class. He won 13 academic first prize and 2 academic second prize. He was ranked first in BD in the

University of Serampore Serampore College is located in Serampore, in West Bengal, India. Established in 1818, it is the fourth oldest college in the country after Old Seminary, Kottayam (Established 1815), CMS College Kottayam, CMS College, Kottayam and Presidency U ...

and won the Senator's Prize for Highest Proficiency. From 1988-1990, he studied and completed his M.Phil (Old Testament & Hebrew Language) at

. He subsequently finished a course on "The Bible & Its Setting" at St. George's College, Jerusalem. In 1998, he also attended a course on "Reading the Bible from the Jewish Perspective" in

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Ministry

In 1990, he returned to Mizoram and was appointed as a probationary pastor. He was appointed to the

Lunglei Lunglei (, locally ), formerly rendered Lungleh, is the second-largest town in Mizoram, Northeast India, northeastern India, situated in the south-central part of the state. The town served as the capital of British rule in the Lushai Hills, Br ...

pastorate. In 1993, he was elevated into a full pastor. He worked at Aizawl Theological College as a lecturer from 1994 till 2007 when he reached retirement age. From 2008, he served as the principal of Centenary School, Dawrpui. He returned to Aizawl Theological College from 2011-2015 to teach when the college started teaching a M.Th (

) degree. During his 34 years of ministry, he undertook the following roles: *Pro Pastor, Lunglei Bial (1991-1993) *Lecturer Aizawl Theological College (1994- 2001) *Registrar ATC (2002-2007) *Synod Secretary Jr. (2000) *Synod Secretary Sr. (2001) *Synod Literature & Publication Board (1998- 2000) *Mizo Sunday School Union (2001-2003) *Presbyterian Publication Board (2004-2006) *Research & Evaluation Wing (2004- 2006, 2019-2021) *Synod Worship Committee (2007-2009, 2010-2012, 2013-2015) *PCI General Assembly Executive Committee (2001-2003, 2004-2006, 2006-2009) *Christian Home Committee (2001-2002) *Synod Social Front (2010-2012) *Synod Pastoral Committee (2013-2015, 2016-2018) *Synod Pension & Provident Fund Board (2013-2018) *MTC Governing Committee (2019-2021) *Synod Executive Committee (2019- ''till death'') For his exemplary service to the church and society and his literary contributions he was conferred

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

(

Honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

) by Serampore College (University) on December 4, 2023.

Death

Chuauṭhuama was very healthy throughout his life. He reportedly took only five days of casual leave throughout his career as a lecturer in Aizawl Theological College. After his retirement, he had some minor problems with his eyes. In addition to this he also had mild hypertension. On 4 January, 2024, he went to the hospital for a checkup regarding his hypertension. The doctors found that he had had a heart attack, he was consequently put into an ICCU at Ebenezer Hospital. He was put under a ventilator and he died at 10:20 pm.

Works

He wrote 58 books and co-authored/edited 17 books/journals. He was a

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

for

Vanglaini ''Vanglaini'' is a daily newspaper in Mizoram, northeast India, published in the Mizo language. It is registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India (no. RNI 34227/79. : MZR/67/2012-2014). It is owned, edited, and published by K. Sapdang ...

from 2013 till his death.

References

{{reflist 1947 births Mizo people 2024 deaths Presbyterian writers Protestant writers Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Indian Christian theologians Scholars from Mizoram