Jnana Deepa (JD), Institute for Philosophy and Theology ( Pontifical Athenaeum) is located at

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is the academic component of Papal Seminary, Pontificium Athenaeum Kandiensis seu Pooniensis. Founded by the Pope Leo XIII with the motto “Filii tui India administri tibi salutis” in

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

(Sri Lanka) in 1893, it was transferred to Pune (India) in 1955. Catering primarily to the formation of diocesan priests but open to Catholic faithful and other religious orders, especially candidates to the

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

hood it is entrusted by the Holy See to the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

for training future Catholic leaders.

History

JD is the '' Athenaeum'' of the Papal Seminary which was founded in 1893 at

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. The

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

was founded by the

Apostolic Delegate An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

to India, Mgr Lasdislaus Zaleski and the Belgian

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

(Fr Sylvain Grosjean) in response to the letter ''Ad extremas'' of Pope

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the A ...

calling for the establishment of institutes for the training of the local clergy. Sri Lanka, with India and Burma was then part of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. After Indian Independence, it became increasingly difficult for Indian citizens to go to Sri Lanka for studies. In 1955, the Papal Seminary along with its Athenaeum moved to Pune, Maharashtra (India), near the already existing Jesuit Formation House 'De Nobili College'. The Athenaeum of the Papal Seminary adopted the Indian name 'Jnana Deepa' in 1972. In 2015 it celebrated its

diamond jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...

of transfer to Pune. It continues to offer philosophy and theology courses for those studying for the

Catholic priesthood The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

. It also serves as an intellectual centre for the

Catholic Church in India The Catholic Church in India is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope. There are over 23 million Catholics in India,inculturation In Christianity, inculturation is the adaptation of Christian teachings and practices to cultures. This is a term that is generally used by Catholics and the Orthodox, whereas Protestants (such as Anglicans and Lutherans), especially associated ...

since the 1970s. Its "Department of Indian Studies" brings "Indian" insights to the

Christian faith 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 ...

Programs

In the 1970s and 1980s JD was the driving force for

inculturation In Christianity, inculturation is the adaptation of Christian teachings and practices to cultures. This is a term that is generally used by Catholics and the Orthodox, whereas Protestants (such as Anglicans and Lutherans), especially associated ...

, inter-religious dialog, and " liberation theology" for the Indian church. Personalities like

Richard De Smet Richard De Smet (16 April 1916 – 2 March 1997) was a Belgian Jesuit priest, and missionary in India. As Indologist he became a renowned Sankara specialist. Life Born at Montignies-sur-Sambre, near Charleroi in Belgium, he came to Indi ...

, George Lobo, and George-Soares Prabhu enabled JD to lead a Catholic movement toward the concerns of the poor and marginalised in Indian society. Sara Grant taught philosophy and theology at the institute."Sara Grant - In Memoriam"
Monastic Inter-religious Dialogue, Bulletin 69, August 2002. ''Dead link''

JD has continued in its pioneering activities in the Indian catholic church, for more than a decade pursuing dialog between science and religion. It offers a Licentiate in Science and Religion (MSPR). More practical, contextual studies in sacred scripture have seen a revival, with the addition of a Licentiate programs in contextual

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

. Diploma and Licentiate Programme in

Ignatian Spirituality Ignatian spirituality, similar in most aspects to, but distinct from Jesuit spirituality, is a Catholic Church, Catholic spirituality founded on the experiences of the 16th-century Spanish Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order. The ...

began in the academic year 2016–17. Also, a pastoral management course was instituted for the administrative and service sector. It publishes an interdisciplinary quarterly, ''Jnanadeepa: Pune Journal of Religious Studies.''

Eminent faculty

* Gaspar Koelman, Philosophy with specialization in Patanjali Yoga * Antonio Sabino, Metaphysics *

, Indology. See the Memorial Lecture * Jean de Marneffe, Systematic Philosophy. See the Memorial Lecture * Felix Clausen, Theology * George Lobo, Ethics * George Soares-Prabhu, Scriptures * John Vattanky, Indology, Navya Nyaya philosophy * Salvino Azzopardi, Systematic Philosophy * Kurien Kunnumpuram, Ecclesiology * Cyril Desbruslais, Systematic Philosophy, Philosophy of liberation * Francis Pereira, Sacred Scripture * Lorenzo Fernando, Liturgy and Catechetics * Errol D'Lima, Systematic Theology * Noel Sheth, Indian Philosophy * Rui de Menezees, Scripture * Francis X D'Sa, Indian Studies * Jacob Kavunkal SVD, Mission, Culture and Religions * Paul Parathazham, Sociology *

Kuruvilla Pandikattu Kuruvilla Pandikattu Joseph, Society of Jesus, SJ (; born 28 November 1957) is an Indian Catholic priest and philosopher. He is Chair Professor, JRD Tata Foundation on Business Ethics at XLRI – Xavier School of Management, XLRI, Jamshedpur an ...

, Anthropology, Science-Religion * James Ponniah, Indian Studies * Nishant Alphonse Irudayadason, Ethics and Politics

References

External links

Official website

Science-Religion Dialog CentreASSR
at JD
St. Xavier's College, Jaipur
{{Authority control Education in Pune Universities and colleges established in 1883 Christian and Hindu interfaith dialogue Philosophy schools Jesuit universities and colleges in India 1883 establishments in India Christian seminaries and theological colleges in India

History

Programs

Eminent faculty

See also

References

External links