E. Prakasam

E. Prakasam, a Lutheran, was the first[4] Indian[1] President[5][6] of the Protestant Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society whose ministry was primarily based in the Guntur District and also in East Godavari District, West Godavari District, Krishna District, and Visakhapatnam District. Being one of the established Indian Pastors, Prakasam was elected as president and served from 1944 to 1950 after which he resumed his Pastoral duties as a Lutheran Pastor.

E. Prakasam, AELC
The Reverend
ChurchLutheran
DioceseSynods of East Godavari, West Godavari, East Guntur, West Guntur, Central Guntur
SeeAndhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC)
In office1944–1950
PredecessorPost Created[1]
SuccessorA. N. Gopal[1]
Personal details
Born1897[2]
Andhra Pradesh, India
DiedIndia
Previous post(s)Pastor, AELC St. Paul's Church, Rajahmundry[3]

B. C. Paul and K. L. Richardson, Professors of Church History at the Protestant Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad have successively researched the history of the Protestant Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church. B. C. Paul first researched at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago covering the period from 1905 to 1927[7] while K. L. Richardson covered the period from 1927 to 1969[1] at the United Theological College, Bangalore. Both of them have covered the era of E. Prakasam in their research.[1]

When the Bible Society of India Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary was created, E. Prakasam was appointed to the key ecumenical position in 1953, a post which he held until his retirement in 1963[8] and was succeeded by A. B. Masilamani of the Protestant Church Society, Canadian Baptist Mission/Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars.

Contribution

E. Prakasam was a prolific writer. Ravela Joseph and Suneel Bhanu on behalf of the Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College compiled original Christian writings in Telugu. They have included two of the titles of Prakasam in their exhaustive compilation:[9]

  • Original writings in Telugu
    • Peter Pope, the story of the first Protestant Indian Christian, 1942[9]
    • Modern Trends in Hinduism, 1950[9]

Further, the Church Historian, James Elisha Tanetim has written that E. Prakasam was the series editor at the Christian Literature Society, Madras for the volume Telugu Church Founders.[10]

The Christian Hymnal in Telugu lists one lyric written by E. Prakasam, Hymn 153, Nerchukonare Yesuvaduka...[2]

Giḍugu Vēṅkaṭa Sītāpati,[11] writing in the Sahitya Academy publication brings to light one of the writings of E. Prakasam entitled The Origin and Progress of the Christian Church in Andhra Desa. Professor Golla Narayanaswamy Reddy also cites an article of E. Prakasam with special reference to the influence of English in Telugu literature.[12]

References
  1. Kolluri Luther Richardson, Towards Self-Reliance : A historical survey of the programmes and efforts of Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church from 1927 to 1969, Published by Christopher and Kanakaiah, Vijayawada, 2003, p.78.
  2. Andhra Christian hymnal. Christian Literature Society. 1966. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  3. Religion and Society. Bangalore: Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society. 1982. ISSN 0034-3951. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  4. Hambye, Edward René (1982). The St. Thomas Christian encyclopaedia of India. Vol. 1. p. 67. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  5. Report of the ninetieth Synod, Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church, Augustana Book Concern, 1949, p.205.
  6. St. Paul's Lutheran Church, York, Pa: 125th Anniversary. St. Paul's Lutheran Church (York, Pa.). 1961. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  7. B. C. Paul, The Emergence of a Church in South India: A Study of the Growth and Development of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church: 1905–1927. Unpublished Th. D. thesis submitted to the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. 1984. "ELCA Global Mission Bibliography: India". Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 2015-07-19.
  8. Annual Report of the American Bible Society, Volume 147, 1963, American Bible Society, p.140.
  9. Ravela Joseph, Suneel Bhanu (Compiled), Bibliography of Original Christian Writings in India in Telugu, published by the Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore, Bangalore, 1993, p.12 and 60.
  10. James Elisha Taneti, History of the Telugu Christians, Scarecrow, Plymouth, 2011, p.8.
  11. Giḍugu Vēṅkaṭa Sītāpati, History of Telugu Literature, Sahitya Academy, 1968, p.104
  12. G. Narayanaswamy Reddy, The Influence of English on Telugu Literature, 1800–1950: With Reference to Translations and Adaptations, 1988, p.53.

Further reading
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