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President M. Victor Paul,AELC Ayyagaru | |
|---|---|
| The Reverend | |
| Church | Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church |
| Elected | 1993 |
| In office | 1993–1997 |
| Predecessor | K. Nathaniel,AELC |
| Successor | G. Emmanuel,AELC |
| Previous posts | Pastor,Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society(1962–1969) Teacher – in –New Testament,Andhra Christian Theological College,Rajahmundry/Secunderabad(1969–2000) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | April 1962 by K. Krupadanam,AELC |
| Consecration | 1993 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mortha Victor Paul (1935-04-07)7 April 1935 |
| Died | 14 October 2013(2013-10-14) (aged 78) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Denomination | Christianity |
| Parents | Mother:Smt. Sundaramma, Father: Mortha Sudarshanam |
| Occupation | Priesthood |
| Education | B. A. (Andhra), BEd (Andhra), B. D. (Serampore), M. Th. (Serampore), S. T. M. (Luther Seminary), D. Min. (Luther Seminary) |
| Alma mater | Andhra-Christian College,Guntur, Government Training College,Rajahmundry, Gurukul Lutheran Theological College,Chennai, Luther Seminary,Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| Signature |  |
M. Victor Paul (7 April 1935 – 14 October 2013) was abiblical scholar who served as President of theAndhra Evangelical Lutheran Church from 1993 to 1997.
Victor Paul was born on 7 April 1935 into apastoral family[1] inRajahmundry,East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh as the eldest of nine children toSmt. Sundaramma and Pastor Mortha Sudarshanam. After undergoing schooling at the Lutheran Boarding inPeddapuram, his parents sent him to theAndhra-Christian College,Guntur. Paul studied arts (B.A.)[1] in the college whenRao Sahab T. S. Paulus[2] was at the helm of affairs. After completing graduate studies inGuntur, Victor Paul returned toRajahmundry where he underwent studies in education at the local Government Training College leading toBEd.[1]
Continuing thepriestly family tradition, Victor Paul chose to pursue divinity and his Church Society, then underG. Devasahayam,AELC, sent him toMadras during the academic year 1959–1960 for ministerial formation at theGurukul Lutheran Theological College (GLTC),[1]Madras{affiliated to theSenate of Serampore College (University)} where Victor Paul pursued a graduate course in theology (B.D.), which was then headed by Dr. P. David,AELC and was awarded a graduate degree after completion of studies byC. Devasahayam,CBCNC, then Registrar of theSenate of Serampore College (University).
After serving as a Pastor, Victor Paul's Church Society underG. Devasahayam,AELC (second term of presidency) sent him again toMadras where Paul was to pursue a post-graduate degree inNew Testament (M.Th.)[1] beginning from the academic year 1963–1964. Initially Victor Paul spent a year working onGreek with Jim Bergquist[3] as well as on the revision of portions from the Westminster Dictionary of the Bible (Revised Edition) edited by Henry Snyder Gehman and John D. Davis.
From 1964 to 1965 onwards, Victor Paul registered as anM.Th. student with theGurukul Lutheran Theological College and worked out a thesis[4] entitledA theological exposition of 'to know' in the Johannine literature with some points of contact and contrast between John and Gita under the guidance of his Professor, Jim Bergquist and later at the end of the academic year 1965–1966, theSenate of Serampore College (University) awarded the post-graduate degree ofM.Th. inNew Testament, again during the Registrarship ofC. Devasahayam,CBCNC.
In 1966, Victor Paul went to theJesuit De Nobili College,Poona along with Gali Bali[5] to attend the biennial conference of the scholarly Society for Biblical Studies in India held on the themeThe significance of the historical in the New TestamentKerygma.
WhenW. D. Coleman,AELC was principal of theAndhra Christian Theological College,Rajahmundry, the Board of Governors of the college accorded study leave to Victor Paul who proceeded toSaint Paul, Minnesota and pursued anS.T.M.[1] inPastoral theology and Ministry and for academic years 1971–1973 and worked out a thesis titledToward a Counseling Oriented Ministry to the People of Andhra Pradesh[6] in theLuther Seminary (a degree granting authority accredited by theAssociation of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada duly recognised by theUnited States Government as an accrediting agency).[1] James A. Bergquist[7] then Professor at theLuther Seminary was the guide of Paul and one of his companions hailing from Indian included the Religions Scholar, P. Kambar Manickam,TELC.[8]
In 1976, A. A. Sitompul on behalf of theLutheran World Federation invited Victor Paul to pursue doctoral studies(D.Min.) in Practical Ministry at theLuther Seminary,Saint Paul, Minnesota.[9]Victor Premasagar,CSI, then principal of the college put up the matter before the Board of Governors of the college which decided to accord study leave to Victor Paul.[10] While at theLuther Seminary, Victor Paul's doctoral thesis was entitledSocio-cultural dimensions of the Renewal of Ministry inAndhra Pradesh[11] done under the supervision of James A. Nestingen,[12] currently Professor Emeritus of Church History. By 1979, Victor Paul was awarded the doctoral degreeD.Min. by theLuther Seminary and he returned to take up his teaching responsibilities back inIndia.
At the end of the academic year 1961–1962, Victor Paul was awarded aB.D. and ordained in April 1962 as a Priest of theAndhra Evangelical Lutheran Church headquartered inGuntur. He was assigned a pastoral role inSamalkot andPeddapuram parishes. Victor Paul also replacedS. W. Schmitthenner,AELC, as honorary Youth Director of the Church Society.[1]
When Victor Paul returned fromMadras after his post-graduate studies, he was reassigned his formerecclesiastical duties inSamalkot andPeddapuram. Paul continued to serve in pastoral roles from 1966 to 1969 in the assigned Parishes.
In 1969, Victor Paul was relieved as Pastor and madeTeacher – in –New Testament at the ecumenicalAndhra Christian Theological College then located inRajahmundry where he began teachingNew Testament andGreek along withMuriel Carder,CBCNC and K. David,CBCNC, then members of the faculty teachingNew Testament.[1]
After a period of overseas exposure in spirituality during 1970–1973, Victor Paul resumed teaching responsibilities beginning with the academic year 1973–1974 at the ecumenical Seminary in Secunderabad after completing studies in North America. Among the new additions to the college faculty inSecunderabad wereG. Solomon,STBC,Ryder Devapriam,CSI,R. R. Sundara Rao,AELC,R. Yesuratnam,CSI, andRavela Joseph,STBC. By then,Victor Premasagar,CSI, had already become principal of the college in Secunderabad.
Again after a period of doctoral studies, Victor Paul rejoined the college in 1979 in Secunderabad, which by then had already seen new teaching staff being added onto its rolls,[13] B. C. Paul,AELC,[14] G. Sampurna Rao,AELC[14] and B. J. Christie Kumar,STBC,[14] who had just completed their postgraduate studies[14] had joined the college in 1977. While this was so, theOld Testament Scholar[15] G. Babu Rao,CBCNC ofSerampore College[16] had also moved, the same year, in 1977 toSecunderabad after efforts ofVictor Premasagar,CSI[17] in bringing him to the Seminary fructified.
The Church HistorianR. Joseph, a colleague of Victor Paul at ACTC, who compiled a bibliography of original Christian writings in Telugu with the assistance ofB. Suneel Bhanu under the aegis of theBoard of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College included a book by Victor Paul entitledThe Liberated Ones: Explanations of Lutheran Catechism and Confessions published as early as 1981.[18]
Victor Paul also authored the following theological books inTelugu published by the Telugu Theological Literature Board, Secunderabad[1] which are devotional commentaries on:
Under the aegis of the Andhra Pradesh Council of Churches in 1974, a discussion was initiated on the themeRenewal of the ministry in Andhra Pradesh in which Victor Paul also participated. The findings of the consultation were later tabled before the Churches of Andhra Pradesh.[19] A. A. Sitompul and others of theLutheran World Federation took cognizance[20] of Victor Paul's paper on Parish Renewal as early as September 1975[21] at an international consultation held at theEcumenical Institute of Bossey in September 1975.
Martin Senftleben[22] who researched at theSri Venkateswara University inTirupati acknowledged Victor Paul to be a Scholar.[23]
Michael Bergunder, Professor of Missions at theRuprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, Germany believes that Victor Paul attempted to recogniseCharismatic Christianity which was fast enveloping traditional Christianity.[24] Being a person who puts theory into practice, Victor Paul as principal of ACTC once went ahead and invited the pioneer charismatic Pastor, Apostle P. L. Paramjyoti,IPC[25] to deliver the graduation address of the college in a particular year.
Excerpt from Victor Paul's article quoted byProf. Michael Bergunder:[26]
In the midst of leadership crisis, institutionalism, materialism, corruption and spiritual lethargy, there shines a ray of hope in the form of charismatic lay movement.... Today in almost all congregations of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC), charismatic groups are evident and are begging for recognition.... AELC is faced with two options: one is to reject them totally as a religiously and emotionally perverted group or to recognize this lay charismatic movement as a natural reaction and a mute protest against evils and secularism existing in AELC. It is time now to own and recognise these charismatics.... With proper investigation, study and reflection on the charismatic Lay Movement within the established churches, one may help the traditional churches to re-discover their identity and relevancy of their faith and service in today's world.
Victor Paul first began teachingNew Testament in ACTC from 1969. Past-timers acknowledge Victor Paul as having an influence in students lives in unique[27] ways. After the four-year cycle of principalship of theSamavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches ended in the academic year 1989–1990, theAndhra Evangelical Lutheran Church's cycle of principalship began. Besides Victor Paul, there were four other faculty from this Church Society teaching in the college at that time, namely, B. W. David Raju,AELC, B. C. Paul,AELC, G. Sampurna Rao,AELC, and C. Yesupadam,AELC. Since the participating Church agency decides the name of the principal, the Board of Governors of the college left the decision to theAndhra Evangelical Lutheran Church, then under the presidency of K. Nathaniel,AELC, which chose to nominate Victor Paul[1] to the principalship of the ecumenical seminary for a term of four years.[13]
Then Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the college,S. E. Krupa Rao of theConvention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars appointed Victor Paul as principal of the college for a term of four years. As principal, Victor Paul was able to prove himself as an able Administrator following the footsteps of his predecessors and advocated theOrdination of women. One of the early women graduates[14] of theUnited Theological College, Bangalore, Johanna Rose Ratnavathi,[14]AELC,[28] and a founding member of theAssociation of Theologically Trained Women in India was a three-time Dean of Women during the tenure of Victor Paul.
In the final phase of Victor Paul's tenure as principal, he contested the bishopric of theAndhra Evangelical Lutheran Church and proceeded on leave from the college. To fill the vacancy, the AELC then nominated Victor Paul's companion G. Sampurna Rao,AELC, as principal of the college.
When the term of K. Nathaniel,AELC, as President of theAndhra Evangelical Lutheran Church ended, Victor Paul contested and was elected in 1993 as the ninth president[1] of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church headquartered in Guntur.[29] In 1997, before Victor Paul's term ended, he returned to Secunderabad to teach at theAndhra Christian Theological College then headed byR. Yesurathnam,CSI. Victor Paul retired in 2000.
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Principal, Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad 1990–1993 | Succeeded by G. Sampurna Rao,AELC |
| Preceded by | Teacher – in –New Testament, Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad 1969-2000 | Succeeded by V. Manikya Rao,AELC |
| Religious titles | ||
| Preceded by K. Nathaniel,AELC | President, Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society 1993–1997 | Succeeded by G. Emmanuel,AELC |
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