Andhra Christian Theological College

Campus

Academic block face

Bell tower

Creche

ACTC constituted the Kretzmann Commission in 1969,[19] consisting of:

• M. L. Kretzmann, D.D., secretary for planning, study and research of the Lutheran World Federation's Department of World Missions
• K. Devasahayam, M.A., B.D. (Hon.), S.T.M., Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church
• A. B. Masilamani, M.A., Th.M., Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars
• C. S. Sundaresan, bishop of the Church of South India's Diocese of Rayalaseema

The commission's report, presented to the board of governors, suggested increasing the Bachelor of Divinity curriculum and abolishing the Licentiate in Theology programme.

Personalities

Bishop A. C. Solomon Raj, Chairperson of Board of Governors

Aprem Mooken, a Visitor to the college in 1988.[20]

Homiletics Scholar, The Rev. A. John Prabhakar, an Alumnus of this institution, and past Principal.

In 1964, the college was founded in Luthergiri, Rajahmundry, East Godavari with the merger of three[21] theological colleges:[22] Andhra Union Theological College in Dornakal, Baptist Theological Seminary in Kakinada,[23] and Lutheran Theological College in Rajahmundry.[23]

With William D. Coleman as its first principal, the college was dedicated on 1 July[24] 1964 by R. M. Clark[24] of the BTESSC.[lower-alpha 1] The inaugural address was delivered by Senate of Serampore College registrar C. Devasahayam in Rajahmundry.[25]

The Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological Seminary was a separate part of the college in Rajahmundry until it merged in 1972.[13][24][12] By 1973, the college had moved from Rajahmundry to Secunderabad due to pollution from nearby paper mills.[26] The new buildings were dedicated by Church of South India bishop Pereji Solomon in the presence of Catholic archbishop Samineni Arulappa and seminarians from St. John's Regional Seminary.[27] During the 1990s, the college's postal address changed to Hyderabad (now in Telangana).

The college is administered by a board of governors composed of representatives of participating Protestant ecclesiastical societies:

• Telangana
  • Church of South India (CSI) Dioceses of Dornakal, Karimnagar, Medak (headquartered in Dornakal, Karimnagar and Medak)
  • Good Samaritan Evangelical Lutheran Church (headquartered in Bhadrachalam)
  • Methodist Church in India, Hyderabad Regional Conference
  • Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches Society, Deccan Association
• Tamil Nadu
  • CSI Dioceses of Madras and Vellore (headquartered in Chennai and Vellore)
• Andhra Pradesh
  • Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church, headquartered in Guntur
  • CSI Dioceses of Krishna-Godavari, Nandyal and Rayalaseema (headquartered in Machilipatnam, Nandyal and Kadapa, respectively)
  • Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars, originally headquartered in Kakinada
  • Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches, originally headquartered in Nellore
  • South Andhra Lutheran Church, headquartered in Tirupati

The college motto is derived from Ephesians 4:12, which reads in the Latin Vulgate: "Ad consummationem sanctorum in opus ministerii..."[53] ("For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry..." in the King James Version).

W. D. Coleman, the college's first principal, explained the hall system: "Each of the participating denominations has its own 'hall'. There are two hours of instruction each week about the liturgy, history, and policy of each denomination".[54]

The churches commonly associated with Protestantism in southern India include the Anglicans, Congregationalists, Wesleyan Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans and Methodists. Each church has its own tradition. At ACTC, students learn their respective church doctrine in addition to general theology.[55]

The principal serves a four-year term (2022-2026), with each participating church having an opportunity to provide a principal. The current principal is the Rev. T. Swami Raju, D.Th. (Serampore).

ACTC and Serampore[57] offer two degrees for pastors: Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) and Master of Theology (M. Th.) under the aegis of Advanced Institute for Research on Religion and Culture (ARRC).[56]

Through distance education, ACTC has Bachelor of Christian Studies (B.C.S.) and Master of Christian Studies (M.C.S.) programmes for Christian students[58] and a Diploma in Christian Studies (Dip. C.S.) programme for Christian and non-Christian students.[56]

When the college was founded in 1964, university registrar Chetti Devasahayam (CBCNC) delivered its inaugural address;[25] registrar D. S. Satyaranjan visited the college annually. Current registrar S. K. Patro has visited ACTC to investigate the prospect of upgrading the college to a postgraduate institution.[59]

1887 drawing of Senate of Serampore College (University)

• Senate of Serampore College (University) has held two convocations at ACTC. The February 1979 convocation[60] was hosted by college during the tenures of the Old Testament faculty Victor Premasagar, CSI and G. Babu Rao, CBCNC; both had been associated with the Serampore College.[61] The convocation was attended by university registrar D. S. Satyaranjan and master A. D. Khan. The university president was Victor Premasagar.[62] The Commemoration Mass was led by G. Babu Rao (CBCNC) at St. Gregorios Malankara Orthodox Syrian Cathedral near[63] the college,[64] and the convocation address was delivered by Samuel Rayan,[60] S.J.[62]
• The college hosted[59] the 2016 convocation under the tenure of Old Testament scholars T. Matthews Emmanuel,[59] CBCNC and Vasantha Rao, CSI. The university was represented by master John Sadananda,[59] Senate president Issac Mar Philoxenos,[59][62] South Asia Theological Research Institute dean P. G. George[59] and university registrar S. K. Patro. The convocation address was delivered by Klaus Schäfer.[62] honorary doctoral degrees were conferred on D. S. Satyaranjan[59] (who led the 1979 convocation) and Klaus Schäfer,[59] who taught New Testament courses at the college from 1988[65] to 1993.[66]

Campus

Dormitory

Refectory

Residential quarters

ACTC's library has reading-room facilities, over 38,000[91] books and 35 periodicals. When the college was founded, it was known as the Dunkelberger Memorial Library.[24] The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America[92] had sponsored the library[92] in memory of Roy Martin Dunkelberger,[93] AELC, a Lutheran missionary in Rajahmundry.[94]

The library was renamed the Gipson Memorial Library in 2014 in honour of Baptist missionary T. G. Gipson, STBC, who had modernized the library during his second term as a visiting faculty member at the college.[95] The renaming ceremony was held during the tenure of T. Matthews Emmanuel (CBCNC) as principal, in the presence of board of governors chair K. Frederick Paradesi Babu (AELC) and board member V. Prasada Rao (CSI).