B. V. Subbamma
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B. V. Subbamma also known as Bathineni Venkata Subbamma (1 July 1925 – 12 January 2009) was an Indian theologian and scholar. Noted for founding Christian ashrams, she was widely recognized for her analysis of Christianity from a cultural perspective. She was one of the first women in India to attain theological training and was one of the inaugural women pastors ordained by the
Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC) was constituted in the year 1927 in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is the Indian successor to the United Lutheran Church in America which was started as a self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating ...
(AELC) in 1999 at AELC-St. Matthews West Parish, Guntur.


Biography

Venkata Subbamma Bathineni was born on 1 July 1925 in Bodipalem in the
Guntur District Guntur district is one of the twenty six districts in the Coastal Andhra region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is located at Guntur, the List of urban agglom ...
of
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
, India to a family of traditional
Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
.Women on the move – Her Story.
Published by the LWF
After studying at a missionary school in Bodipalem, she went to the Government High School of Pedanadipadu. During her education, she resisted converting to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
because she believed that the Christian faith was only for outcastes. She believed that "
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
was the lowest of all the gods". However, Rajagopal Ayyangar, her
Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
high school teacher, encouraged her to read the bible instead of taking a stand against it. After reading the bible and reflecting on it, in 1942, despite the staunch opposition from her Hindu family, she converted to Christianity. Continuing her studies, Subbamma entered the
Andhra-Christian College The Andhra Christian College or A.C. College is one of the oldest colleges in India located in Guntur Andhra Pradesh. It started in 1885. AC College is part of the education enterprise of the Protestant churches. It admits intermediate, undergr ...
graduating with a BA in 1947. She also earned a Bachelor of Education from St. Joseph's College of Education in Guntur and began teaching school. After nearly a decade of teaching, she enrolled in a master's program through the
New York State University The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive systems of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...
and graduated with her M.A. in Education in 1958. She returned to India and served as principal for Charlotte Swenson Memorial Bible Training School for another decade before deciding to pursue theological training, but continued to serve as principal at the school with 27 years of service. She entered the
Andhra Christian Theological College Andhra Christian Theological College (ACTC) is a seminary in Telangana which was founded in 1964. It is affiliated with India's first university, the Senate of Serampore College (University) (a university under section 2(f) of the University Gr ...
in
Rajahmundry Rajahmundry ( ), officially Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and district headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the fifth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the district of Rajahmu ...
, an affiliate of the Senate of
Serampore College 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 and Presidency College in Kolkata, a ...
earning a Bachelor of Divinity in 1968. That same year in June, she founded a Christian ashram at Rajahmundry with the goal of helping women attain an education and become nurses, social activists and leaders. In 1969, she returned to the United States, completing a master's degree at the
Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an Evangelical seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller has a student body of approximately 2,300 students from 90 countries and ...
in
Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...
in 1970 and then began studying for a PhD at the Hamma School of Theology at
Wittenberg University Wittenberg University (officially Wittenberg College) is a private liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio. It has 1,326 full-time students drawn from 33 states and 9 foreign countries. Wittenberg University is associated with the Evangelical ...
in
Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in Clark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in southwestern Ohio along the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, about west of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus and northeast of ...
. While she was in the U.S., she spoke at several Lutheran conferences. After obtaining her theological training, Subbamma wrote extensively on colonialism, culturalism, Christianity and women's opportunity. She was recognized as "one of the most influential women leaders in the Third World Christian church", for her mission work and ministry. She focused on introducing Christianity to Hindu women, believing that an indigenous approach brought understanding and integration of cultures. From 1977-1984, Subbamma served on the Executive Committee of the
Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; ) is a global Communion (religion), communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish city of L ...
(LWF) in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
and was an honored guest as a pioneer in missions at the LWF's 50th anniversary convention held in Hong Kong in 1997. She served on the board of trustees of the Institute for Ecumenical Research in
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
and was a member of the Senate of
Serampore University The Senate of Serampore College (University) is an ecumenical regulatory and affiliating body for Christian theological education, which works in partnership with Bible colleges, seminaries and theological research institutes in the Indian subco ...
, the first woman to hold a post on the university senate. In 1994, Serampore University granted her an honorary
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 ...
degree. Subbamma retired in 1985 but continued volunteering with the
United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (UELCI) is a communion of twelve Lutheran Christian denominations in India. It has approximately four million members. It is a member of the World Council of Churches, Christian Conference of Asia, the ...
(UELCI) of Chennai. On 20 February 1999, she was finally ordained into the ministry, when the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC) allowed 17 women ordination. Of the 32 men and 17 women who were ordained, Subbamma was the oldest and was acknowledged to have been one of the first women who earned theological training in India. She died on 12 January 2009 in Guntur.


Selected works

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References


Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Subbamma, B. V. 1925 births 2009 deaths People from Guntur district New York University alumni Fuller Theological Seminary alumni Wittenberg University alumni 20th-century Indian Lutheran clergy Women religious writers Women writers from Andhra Pradesh Andhra University alumni Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni Indian Christian theologians 20th-century Indian women writers Writers from Andhra Pradesh Indian religious writers Women Lutheran clergy