Antony Theodore (born 1954) is a bilingual German poet, pastor and educator who writes in both English and German.[1] He writes mostly on spiritual teachings ofJesus Christ and underlying unity of all world religions.[2][3] His spiritual poems are read as sermons atUnited Church of Christ.[4] He has also written spiritual biography of the American mysticThomas Merton.[5] More than 5000 of his poems have been posted on various poetry websites like Poem Hunter, where he is consistently ranked among top world poets.[6]
Antony Theodore was born on November 9, 1954, as John Antony Theodore Vazhakuttathil inAlleppey district ofKerala, India.[7] After early demise of his foster mother Genova Maa, Antony migrated to Germany. He studied atFordham University inNew York City andLudwig Maximilian University inMunich. He obtained two bachelor's degrees and also two doctorate degrees in English literature and philosophy of world religions.[8]In 1986 when Antony was travelling fromMumbai toFrankfurt thePan Am 73 flight carrying him got hijacked atKarachi airport.[9] In the 16 hour siege 22 of the 400 passengers were killed.[10][11] Antony miraculously escaped with four gunshot wounds.[12] After this traumatic experience Antony devoted his life to education and social service. He was ordained a pastor and worked as a chaplain in St Martin, Munich.[13] He has lived and worked most of his life inDortmund in Germany[14] although he has retained his association withDiocese of Alleppey.[15] He often conducts charitable fund raising activities for health and social work.[16]
More than 5000 of Antony's poems have been published on poetry websites like Poet Freak, Poem Hunter, Starlite Cafe, Micropoet and Poet's Garden etc. Besides the teachings of Christ, he has also written extensively on the universal truths expressed in the holy books of other world religions likeHinduism,Buddhism,Islam,Judaism,Confucianism andZoroastrianism etc.[17] His poem anti-abortion poem "I am Your Baby, Mother" has been translated into more than twenty languages including French, Italian, Russian, Greek, Arabic and Hindi.[18] His poetic works on comparative world religions titledPsalms of Love[19] andJesus Christ in Love[20] have been edited and commented by the Indian poetDr Tapan Kumar Pradhan.
Theodore, Antony (2018), "Relevance of Thomas Merton's Spirituality", in Jose, Fabian (ed.),Contemplative Prophetic Spirituality of Thomas Merton, vol. 1 (1st ed.), Berkeley: Santa Clara University.
Theodore, Antony (2016), "Humans Are Unique", in Mangattu, Manu (ed.),Pain, Pleasure and Paradox in Poetry – A Verse Compendium, vol. 1 (1st ed.), Los Gatos: Smashwords.
Theodore, Vazhakuttathil (2002), "Thomas Merton's Spiritual Quest", in Ackermans, Gian; Nissen, Peter (eds.),De verleiding van het vreemde, vol. 1 (1st ed.), Hilversum: Verloren.
