Bishop Emeritus In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the c ...

John S. Sadananda (born 24 September 1949) was the Master of Serampore College (University), the nation's first University ')'' with degree-granting authority validated by a Danish Charter and ratified by the

Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the Administrative division, principal administrative authority of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal, created by the Constitution ...

.'' Sadananda was appointed as the Master of the University in 2010. As an academic, Sadananda had been a Senator of the University from 1993 onwards since the time he was appointed as Principal of the

Karnataka Theological College Karnataka Theological College ''(founded in 1847)'' is an ecumenical seminary catering to the Kannada-speaking students wishing to pursue the priestly vocation. KTC is located in Mangaluru of Karnataka in South India, and is affiliated to the na ...

which has been an affiliated institution of the University. From 2006 to 2011, Sadananda had been President of the University. In ecclesiastical matters, Sadananda was the fifth Bishop in

Karnataka Southern Diocese Karnataka Southern Diocese is one of the twenty-two dioceses of the Church of South India covering the southern part of Karnataka. The other Church of South India dioceses in Karnataka are Karnataka Northern Diocese and Central Karnataka Di ...

of the

Church of South India The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of Protestant denominations in South India that occurred after the independence of India. With a membership of over 4.5 million, it ...

occupying the

Cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

placed in CSI-Shanthi Cathedral,

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

from 2009 to 2013.

Studies

Licentiate

Sadananda underwent ministerial formation as a candidate of the Basel Evangelical Mission at the

, affiliated to the nation's firstUNESCO Structures of University Education in India, 1952
/ref> University in 1965, the very year of the formation of the institution under the Principalship of Robert Scheuermeier taking a

Licentiate in Theology Licentiate may refer to: * Licentiate (degree), a degree below a PhD granted by universities in some countries; may indicate a medical doctor qualification in the UK and other countries. * Licentiate (Pontifical Degree), second cycle of ecclesiast ...

in 1968 awarded by the Serampore College (University) led by its Registrar, C. Devasahayam. After a one-year ministerial period, he was ordained''Daijiworld'', Thursday, 27 August 2009 8:42:08 AM (IST), ''Mangalore: Rev Dr J S Sadanand is New CSI Bishop''.

/ref> as a Deacon in 1969 by which time the Basel Evangelical Mission unionized itself into the

due to which Sadananda became a Deacon of the

under which he continued his ministry in the Diocese.

Graduate

In order to upgrade his academics, Sadananda joined the

United Theological College, Bangalore United Theological College (UTC) is an ecumenical Mainline Protestant, mainline seminary founded in 1910. It is situated in the southern city of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka in South India and affiliated to India's first Theological Unive ...

in 1972 where he studied up to 1974 taking a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

under the Principalship of

Joshua Russell Chandran Joshua Russell Chandran (1918–2000) was an Indian Christian theologian, who served as President of Senate of Serampore College, Bengal (1970–1), and as President of the United Theological College, Bangalore (1954–83), and was for some yea ...

.K. M. Hiwale (Compiled), ''Directory of the United Theological College 1910–1997'', Bangalore, 1997. Past students of the college diploma course, p.46; During his two-year period at the Seminary in Bangalore, although a graduate student, Sadananda evinced keen interest in the Sacred Scriptures and the ancient Biblical languages which caught the attention of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

Scholar, E. C. John as well as the postgraduate students specialising in

, G. Solomon, A. P. Chacko,

Basil Rebera Basil A. Rebera (1935–2021) was an Old Testament Scholar and a Translation Consultant with the United Bible Societies focusing on translations of the Bible the world over. As a contributor to scholarly research, Rebera's writings have been r ...

, G. Babu Rao,

Nitoy Achümi N. K. Achümi was''Nagaland Post'', BSI Dmu auxiliary releases Pochury Bible, 26 September 2014./ref> a Bible Translator who was Translations Advisor with the United Bible Societies and was based in Nagaland. As a Linguist, Achümi was involved ...

, S. J. Theodore, and

Timotheas Hembrom Timotheas Hembrom (31 July 1939 – 18 August 2020) was an ordained Minister of the Church of North India and an Old Testament Scholar who taught at the Bishop's College, Kolkata, affiliated to the nation's first University, the Senate of Seram ...

. As part of the University requirements, Sadananda wrote his graduate thesis drawing parallels between the

Book of Proverbs The Book of Proverbs (, ; , ; , "Proverbs (of Solomon)") is a book in the third section (called Ketuvim) of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh)/the Christian Old Testament. It is traditionally ascribed to King Solomon and his students. When translated into ...

and the proverbial collections in

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

which the

Teacher G. Babu Rao highlighted in one of his works. Sadananda's graduate companions included

Sydney Salins Sydney S. Salins is a New Testament scholar who teaches at the Karnataka Theological College, Mangalore, a seminary established in 1965 and affiliated to the nation's first university, the Senate of Serampore College (University). Salins was a ...

Christopher Asir Asirwadham Christopher Asir (5 December 1947 – 3 February 2012) was the bishop of Madurai Ramnad Diocese of Church of South India. He had also served as the Deputy moderator of Church of South India. Early years Christopher Asir was born ...

, P. Surya Prakash, D. Dhanaraj and others. During the final year of his study in Bangalore, the

Scholar,

Gerhard Wehmeier Gerhard Wehmeier (1935–2009) was an Old Testament Scholar hailing from Germany from the Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck. Wehmeier taught Old Testament at the United Theological College, Bangalore from 1973 through 1978.K. M. Hi ...

joined the College enriching the interest in

studies and Sadananda submitted a thesis entitled ''A Comparative Study of the Form and Content of the

and of

Sarvajna Sarvajña was a Kannada poet, pragmatist and philosopher of the 16th century. The word "Sarvajna" in Sanskrit literally means "the all knowing". His father was Kumbara Malla and his mother was Mallaladevi. His birth anniversary is celebrated ...

Vachanagalu''John S. Sadananda, ''A Comparative Study of the Form and Content of the

and of

Vachanagalu'', B. D. Thesis, 1974, available at the Archives in the library of

. done under the supervision of the

Scholar

G. M. Butterworth G. M. Butterworth is an Old Testament scholar who taught at the United Theological College, Bangalore from 1972 through 1978K. M. Hiwale (Compiled), ''Directory of the United Theological College 1910-1997'', Bangalore, 1997. and later on moved to ...

. The University awarded a degree at its Convocation held on 1 February 1975''Convocation Brochure'', 1 February 1975 Serampore College, Serampore. at the

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 ...

Serampore Serampore (also called Serampur, Srirampur, Srirampore, Shreerampur, Shreerampore, Shrirampur or Shrirampore) is a city in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Srirampore subdivision. It is a part ...

where incidentally the

Commemoration Commemoration may refer to: *Commemoration (Anglicanism), a religious observance in Churches of the Anglican Communion *Commemoration (liturgy), insertion in one liturgy of portions of another *Memorialization *"Commemoration", a song by the 3rd a ...

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

was conducted by G. Babu Rao of

at the CNI-St. Olave's Church,

Postgraduate

Sadananda also pursued a postgraduate degree from the

University of Mysore The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and the premiership of Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The university is recognised by t ...

taking a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

Research studies

Sadananda enrolled at the

Goethe Institute The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

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 ...

during 1977/1978 for language proficiency courses in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

after which he proceeded to Germany in 1978 for an integral course leading to

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

specializing in

with his B.D. degree from the Serampore College (University) which is considered by the

German universities This is a list of the university, universities in Germany, of which there are about seventy. The list also includes German ''Technische Universitäten'' (universities of technology), which have official and full university status, but usually foc ...

for entry into doctoral programmes. Sadananda researched for 5 years at the University under Professors Hans-Joachim Kraus and R. Smend. In 1983, Sadananda was able to complete his doctoral dissertation entitled ''Revelation in the Psalms'' and submitted it to the University which awarded a

degree which was later published by the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

in October 1983. During Sadananda's study period in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(1978–1983), he was joined by his senior from his

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 ...

days in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

J. W. Gladstone John Wilson Gladstone (born 25 December 1945) was the Moderator of the Church of South India as well as Bishop of South Kerala. Early years Rev. Dr. Gladstone was born on 25 December 1945 in Travancore.Prof. J. M. Stewart in Profile of the Bis ...

who enrolled at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...

in 1978''

Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) is a Public university, public research university located in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teacher training in 1962, it was granted university status in 2005. ...

'', Academic year 2007/2008. for pursuing doctoral studies in

Church History Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...

. A year later, they were joined by D. Dhanaraj, who happened to be Sadananda's graduate companion, who enrolled at the

in 1979 to pursue doctoral studies in

. Two year's later in 1982, they were joined by G. Babu Rao, their postgraduate companion during their

days' in

, who came for a 2½ year study period''Minutes of the meeting of the executive board of the academy mission at the University of Hamburg (Protokoll der sitzung des vorstandes der missionsakademie an der''

) 6 April 1983 to the

. While Gladstone, Dhanaraj and Babu Rao were in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

in the northern part of

, Sadananda was at

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

in the central part but was able to meet G. Babu Rao during the biannual Kirchentag that took place at

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

in 1983.

Ecclesiastical career

Pastoral ministry

From 1968 to 1970, Sadananda pastored parishes of the erstwhile Basel Evangelical Mission which already joined the newly trifurcated Diocese of Mysore. Due to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, Sadananda was allotted the

led by its Bishop

S. R. Furtado S. R. Furtado ''(April 25, 1912 – November 4, 1995)'' was the first Bishop - in - Karnataka Southern Diocese of Church of South India headquartered in Mangalore.K. M. George, ''Church of South India: life in union, 1947–1997'', Jointly publ ...

. Again from 1974 to 1978, he pastored CSI- St. Paul’s Church, Mangalore.

Teaching ministry

Ever since Sadananda's completion of graduate studies at the Protestant Regional Seminary in Bangalore in 1974, he began teaching at the Protestant Seminary in

led by Principal

C. D. Jathanna C. D. Jathanna (Constantine Devaprasad Jathanna) (6 July 1928 - 23 July 1996) was the fourthK. M. George, ''Church of South India: life in union, 1947–1997'', Jointly published by Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and Christava ...

both of whom taught

for successive batches of students undergoing ministerial formation at the Seminary. After a period of study leave (1978-1983), Sadananda returned to

and taught along with D. Dhanaraj. While this was so, Sadananda's postgraduate companion, G. Babu Rao, first taught

and later moved to the Protestant Regional Theologiate in

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 ...

while

, his senior, taught

at the Kerala United Theological Seminary in

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the largest and ...

. In 1992, Sadananda was made Principal of the College and led the Protestant Seminary in a responsible manner and represented it at the Serampore College (University) as an Invitee on

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

basis. In 2009, after teaching for nearly 35 years (1974–2009), Sadananda gave up his teaching and administrative responsibilities at the

as he was elected to the

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

Bishopric

In 2009, the

Church of South India Synod Church of South India Synod is the highest administrative body of the Church of South India. The Synod (CSI Synod) governs the whole church and convenes the annual general meeting of CSI. The Moderator of the Synod is a Bishop who is a presiding o ...

declared Sadananda as the fifth Bishop-elect leading to Sadananda's consecration at the CSI-Shanthi Cathedral on 28 August 2009 in

by the Principal Consecrator,

, Moderator and

, Deputy Moderator of the

in the presence of other clergy. After a 5-year bishopric, Sadananda vacated the

on attaining superannuation resulting in

sede vacante In the Catholic Church, ''sede vacante'' is the state during which a diocese or archdiocese is without a prelate installed in office, with the prelate's office being the cathedral. The term is used frequently in reference to a papal interre ...

which was filled with the consecration of

Mohan Manoraj Mohan Manoraj (born 16 November 1954) is the present Bishop in Karnataka Southern Diocese of the Church of South India, the sixth in succession, and occupies the Cathedra at the CSI-Shanthi Cathedral in Mangalore who has been consecrated on 14 ...

Honorary commitments

Senate

Since 1993, Sadananda has been a Senator of the Serampore College (University) right until 2010, a record 18-year period during which he was involved in academic commitments within the University. He held many responsibilities at the University, especially during the Registrarship of

D. S. Satyaranjan D. S. Satyaranjan (19 January 1939 – 13 June 2022) was a Silver Jubilee Pastor, a New Testament Scholar, and an AdministratorSamson Prabhakar (Edited), ''Together with People: Essays in honour of Rev. D. S. Satyaranjan'', BTESSC / SA ...

which later continued with successive Registrars who were at the helm, * 1993-2010, Senator, Serampore College (University), * 1994-2005, Secretary,

Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College The Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College (BTESSC) is the arm of theological education under the Senate of Serampore College (University). BTESSC was formed in 1975. The Senate of Serampore College (University), unde ...

, * 2005-2010, President,

, * 2005-2010, President, Serampore College (University),

Other institutions

Sadananda also served in other ecclesiastical institutions, *

Ecumenical Christian Centre Ecumenical Christian Centre (ECC) was founded in 1963 by M. A. Thomas. ECC is located in Whitefield in Bengaluru on a campus. Taking the total context of the world as "the text" and "the context" of theologizing: > Involving all churche ...

, as Chairperson from 2005 through 2009, * Inter-Church Service Association,

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, as Chairperson,

Writings

* 1974, ''A Comparative Study of the Form and Content of the

and of

Vachanagalu'', * 1983, ''Revelation in the Psalms'',John S. Sadananda, ''Revelation in the Psalms'', Göttingen, 1983
/ref> * 1985, ''The Concept of Partnership: A response to Rev. Robert Scheuermeier'', * 1989, ''Theology by the People - An Old Testament Perspective'',John S. Sadananda, ''Theology by the People - An Old Testament Perspective'' in John S. Sadananda (Edited), ''Vision and Reality: Essays in honour of C. D. Jathanna'', KTCRI, Mangalore, 1989.

/ref> * 2001, ''Equipping the People of God'', * 2006, ''Mission perspectives and Search for an Ecclesiology'', * 2006, ''Peace and justice-commitment for Sahodaya and Sarvodaya'',John S. Sadananda, ''Peace and justice-commitment for Sahodaya and Sarvodaya'' in M. J. Joseph, P. Jegadish Gandhi, K. C. John (Edited), ''Upon the winds of wider ecumenism: essays and tributes in honour of Rev. Dr. M. J. Joseph'', ISPCK, New Delhi, 2006, p.16

/ref>

Honours

In 2015, the

published a festschrift in honour of Sadananda edited by Wati Longchar and P. Mohan LarbeerWati Longchar and P. Mohan Larbeer (Edited), ''Communion on the Move: Towards a Relevant Theological Education – Essays in Honour of Bishop John Sadananda'', BTESSC, Bangalore, 2015.

with essays written by friends and colleagues of Sadananda.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadananda, John Christian clergy from Karnataka Kannada people 21st-century Anglican bishops in India Anglican bishops of Karnataka Southern 1949 births Indian Christian theologians Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni University of Göttingen alumni University of Mysore alumni Indian biblical scholars Old Testament scholars Academic staff of the Senate of Serampore College (University) Living people