G. Devasahayam was the Indian President of the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

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 ...

Society and served during the periods 1956–1960 and again from 1963–1964. During his second stint as President of the AELC, Devasahayam participated in the opening of the newly formed

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 ...

then located in the same campus of the Lutheran Theological College 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 ...

Studies

Gorikapudi Devasahayam completed his graduate studies at the Lutheran Theological College,

which at that time was directly affiliated to the

Senate of Serampore College (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 ...

and was assigned pastoral ministry. Later, Devasahayam was appointed to teach at his ''

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

'', the Lutheran Theological College in Rajahmundry.The Annual Report of the Foreign Missions of the United Lutheran Church in America for the Year, 1945, p.25.

/ref> The AELC Society sent Devasahayam on study leave to the

Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) was one of eight theological seminary, seminaries associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheranism, Lutheran denomination in Lutherans#North America, No ...

during 1953–1954 where he studied during the period of the eminent

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

specialist, Frederick Nolde. The seminary awarded a postgraduate degree in

Master of Sacred Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

( S.T.M.) upon Devasahayam in the succeeding convocation in 1955.

Ecclesiastical ministry

Devasahayam began teaching at the Lutheran Theological College in

from 1944 onwards until his elevation to the Presidency of the Lutheran Society in 1956 and again in 1963 when Devasahayam proceeded to Guntur to take up the responsibilities of the Society. After his second stint as President ended in 1964, Devasahayam returned to

and joined the faculty of the newly formed

, a Protestant Regional Theologiate that included the

Anglicans Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Congregationalists Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

, Methodists and

Wesleyans Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christian tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significa ...

. During the time as Professor in Rajahmundry, Devasahayam also served as a Pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Rajahmundry from 1947–1950.Martin Luther Dolbeer, ''The Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church: A Brief History'', 1951, p.77.

/ref>

Reminisce

Talathoti Punnaiah who studied a 3-year theology course leading to

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a two- to five-year undergraduate degree or graduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically (but not exclusively) pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, de ...

at the

, both at Rajahmundry and at

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

from 1970–1973 recalls his association with Devasahayam,

Studies

Ecclesiastical ministry

Reminisce

References

Further reading