P. Kambar Manickam is a

Priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

of the

Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church The Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church is a Christian denomination in south India, which was established in 1919 and has approximately 500,000 members. Its headquarters is in Trichy, Tamil Nadu. It is one of the prominent mainline Lutheran c ...

and current

Asia Pacific Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

representative of the International Council on Pastoral Care and Counselling.

Contribution

Christian Yoga

In the 1970s, Manickam researched on

Yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

as a means for finding

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

, thereby espousing the cause for a Christian Yoga and its contribution to Indian Christian spirituality. During the successive decades, Research scholars have also espoused the cause of Yoga as a means to find oneness with

Jesus Christ 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 ...

. Justin O'Brien (1996), finds that oneness with

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

could be attained only through

for which he quotes

Swami Rama Swami Rama (; 1925 – 13 November 1996) was an Indian yoga guru. He moved to the US in 1969, initially teaching yoga at the YMCA, and founding the Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Illinois in 1971; its headquarters moved t ...

, who found that

was the only means in attaining it. Susan Bordenkirche (2006) has called for a

-centric Yoga while

Cyprian Consiglio Cyprian Consiglio, O.S.B. Cam., is an American composer, musician, Camaldolese monk and Catholic priest. He is noted for his musical work to support the practice of meditation. He is the author of four books. Life He was born in 1958 as Phillip ...

, OSB Cam. (2015) had strived for a revisitation of Indian spirituality as strived by

Bede Griffiths Bede Griffiths OSB Cam (17 December 1906 – 13 May 1993), born Alan Richard Griffiths and also known by the end of his life as Swami Dayananda ("bliss of compassion"), was a British Catholic priest and Benedictine monk who lived in ashrams i ...

, OSB Cam., Henri Le Saux, OSB and others with special reference to

Third world dependency and the case for Indian ethos

Muthyala Theophilus M. Theophilus (7 May 1895 – 10 December 1946) was a Baptist Patriarch and Spiritual Formator of the Protestant Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars, a major congregation along the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh, India that exte ...

, CBCNC (1895-1946) then

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

of 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 ...

was the pivot for the formation of the

Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars The Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars (CBCNC) is a Baptist Christian denomination in north coastal Andhra Pradesh. The churches are part of the Telugu Christian community of Southern India. Its language is Telugu. It is affil ...

as a direct Indian successor of the

Canadian Baptist Ministries Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) or is a Baptist Christian denomination in Canada. It is a member of the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarter is in Mississauga, Ontario. History The first Baptist church in what is now Canada was founded by a ...

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 ...

and towed the line of Indian ethos in Missiological leadership in

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 ...

and had been more practical that saw periodical reduction in overseas contribution to the missions in

. Similarly, the

Bible Society of India The Bible Society of India is a Christian body that is authorized to translate, produce, distribute and market the Bible and is a member of the United Bible Societies. The motto of the Society is to translate the word of God into languages, which ...

, since the 1960s was also instrumental from the time of the rural

Pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

, A. E. Inbanathan, CSI in being able to tide over overseas support and build up contributions from within the country by means of an effective fund raising system. James A. Berquist who once taught at the

Gurukul Lutheran Theological College Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute is an ecumenical seminary situated in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, South India. It is affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University).Indiaedunews.net Nepal Christians to renew t ...

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, together with Kambar Manickam brought out a study in 1976 entitled ''The crisis of dependency in third world ministries: a critique of inherited missionary forms in India'', that sought to see the volume of dependency on partner countries and build up the case for indigenous support for the

Christian mission A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and a ...

P. Solomon Raj P. Solomon Raj ''(21 February 1921 - 28 December 2019)'' was a pastor of Protestant Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society headquartered in Guntur with major contribution to theological research and arts.Volker Kuester, ''Renunciation of I ...

, AELC (2003),

, ''New Wine Skins: The Story of the Indigenous Missions in coastal Andhra Pradesh'', published by the ISPCK, New Delhi for the Mylapore Institute for Indigenous Studies, Madras, 2003. Roger E. Hedlund,

SBM A Magellanic spiral galaxy is a spiral galaxy with only one Spiral galaxy#Spiral arms, spiral arm. Magellanic spiral galaxies are classified as the type Sm (with sub-categories SAm, SBm, SABm); the prototype galaxy and namesake for Magellanic spi ...

(1999) had also conducted studies on the new and indigenous Churches in

that were centred around

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

but independent of any western influence which even 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

Victor Premasagar Victor Premasagar (1927–2005) was the fourth successor of Frank Whittaker as Bishop in Medak. He was an Indian churchman and Old Testament scholar who made major contributions to research on the Old Testament and to the field of theology. Prem ...

, CSI (2003) heaped praises on such indigenous missions as not only espousing the

but also the Indian ethos.

Writings

*1972, ''Toward an Indian Christian spirituality : A case for Christian yoga'',P. Kambar Manickam, ''Toward an Indian Christian spirituality : A case for Christian

'',

Luther Seminary Luther Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the largest seminary of the ELCA. It also accepts and educates students of 41 other denominations and traditions. It is accredited ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, 197

/ref> *1976 (with James A. Bergquist), ''The crisis of dependency in third world ministries: a critique of inherited missionary forms in India'',James A. Bergquist, P. Kambar Manickam, ''The crisis of dependency in third world ministries: a critique of inherited missionary forms in India'', Christian Literature Society, Madras, 197

/ref> *1977, ''

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

and

Psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

: Their relevance for Pastoral Counselling'', *1979, ''Mental Health and Meditation'', *1990 (with Christoffer Grundmann and Daniel Manohar), ''Selected writings of Martin Luther'' (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

) - Volume 1, *1994 (with Christoffer Grundmann), ''Selected writings of

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

'' (

) - Volume 2,

Studies

After general studies leading to graduation at the

University of Madras The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

, Kambar Manickam entered the ministry of the Church as a ministerial candidate of the

(TELC), the direct successor of the first Protestant mission founded by

Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg (24 June 1683 – 23 February 1719) was a member of the Lutheran clergy and the first Pietist missionary to India. Early life Ziegenbalg was born in Pulsnitz, Saxony, on 24 July 1683 in a devout Christian family. His ...

and underwent

Spiritual formation Spiritual formation may refer either to the process and practices by which a person may progress in one's spiritual or religious life or to a movement in Protestant Christianity that emphasizes these processes and practices. The processes may inc ...

at one of the affiliated seminaries of the

, founded by the

Baptist missions Baptist Missions (BM) is a Baptist Mission (Christian), mission organisation and a department of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland (ABC). It is located in the Baptist Centre and is shared with ABC. The scope of their activities is in ...

led by

Joshua Marshman Joshua Marshman (20 April 1768 – 6 December 1837) was a Baptist missionary in Bengal, India from 1799 until his death. He was a member of the Serampore trio with William Carey (missionary), William Carey and William Ward (missionary), William ...

, William Carey and William Ward, and was ordained by the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC) and served as a

. During 1971-1973, Manickam underwent advanced spiritual studies at the

specializing in

Pastoral counseling Pastoral counseling is a branch of counseling in which psychologically trained ministers, rabbis, priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans ...

studying along with M. Victor Paul, AELC.

Ministry

Pastoral

Manickam pastored parishes within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the

Society for nearly eight years'.

Teaching

Manickam was a

Teacher at the

Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary (TTS) is an ecumenical seminary in Madurai, South India. TTS is affiliated with the Senate of Serampore College and Madurai Kamaraj University. The Principal is Rev. Dr. Margaret Kalaiselvi. The seminary celebrat ...

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

and became Principal in 1987 succeeding the

Scholar,

Gnana Robinson Gnana Robinson (17 March 1935 – 3 February 2019) was an Indian Biblical scholar who studied the Old Testament. Biography Robinson was born into a Christian family who were communicant members of what was then the South India United Church. ...

, CSI and stepped down in 1998Dhyanchand Carr, ''Invitation to reread the Bible''
/ref> on attaining superannuation paving way for the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

Scholar, Dhyanchand Carr, CSI who succeeded him as Principal. In 1995, Manickam participated in the

United Nations Commission on Human Rights The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the United Nations System, overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a ...

held 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 ...

as a representative of the

University administration

By virtue of being the Principal at the

, Manickam became an

Ex officio member 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 ri ...

of the

, the nation's first University, the

'' ''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 ...

coinciding with 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 ...

IPC IPC may refer to: Businesses and organizations Arts and media * Intellectual Property Committee, a coalition of US corporations with intellectual property interests * International Panorama Council, an international network of specialists in ...

, and as a Senate Commission member, he along with

, CSI, had visited the Mennonite Brethren Centenary Bible College,

Shamshabad Shamshabad is a census town in the Indian state of Telangana. It is located in Shamshabad mandal of Rajendranagar revenue division. Sri Vendikonda Siddalingeswara Devastanam temple is situated in Siddulagutta Road in Shamshabad mandal. The inter ...

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

in the 1990s for looking into the case for feasibility of affiliation of the College to the

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and also revisiting the Protestant Regional Theologiate in

Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...

for conducting periodical affiliation regimen at 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 ...

during the Principalship of R. Yesurathnam, CSI coinciding with the presence of the founding member of the Association of Theologically Trained Women in India,ATTWI Handbook
/ref> Johanna Rose Ratnavathi,K. M. Hiwale (Compiled), ''Directory of the United Theological College 1910–1997'',

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 ...

, 1998

/ref> AELC.'' Peoples Reporter'', Volume 26, Issue 5, 2013, p.

/ref>

Contribution

Christian Yoga

Third world dependency and the case for Indian ethos

Writings

Studies

Ministry

Pastoral

Teaching

University administration

References

Further reading