use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , other_names = ''K. V. Mathew Ayyagaru'' , years_active = 1955-''Present'' , occupation = Priesthood , education = B.D. (Serampore), M. Th. (Serampore), Ph.D. (Edinburgh) , alma_mater = * C. M. S. College Kottayam (Kerala) *

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 (West Bengal) *

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, ...

, Hamburg (Germany) *

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, Edinburgh (Scotland) , known_for = Old Testament exegesis , spouse = , partner = , parents =

Smt. Shrimati, also spelt Srimati, Shreemati, Shrimathi, and Shrimatty (, ; abbreviated as Smt.) is a traditional Indian honorific used to address or refer to married women. It is equivalent to the English title "Mrs." and is commonly prefixed to the n ...

Rachel and

Sri Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Assamese, Meitei ( Manipuri), Marathi, Malay (including In ...

K. T. Varkey , children = , relatives = , website = , footnotes = , signature = , signature_alt = , nocat_wdimage = , religion = Christianity , church =

Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian ChurchS. N. Sadasivan. A Social History of India''. APH Publishing; 2000. . p. 442. and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malab ...

, ordained = 1955 by Juhanon Mar Thoma XVIII , laicised = , writings = , congregations = Mylom , Calcutta , Ranni , offices_held = *President, Society for Biblical Studies in India *Secretary, Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church * Spiritual Formator **

, Serampore **Mar Thoma Theological Seminary, Kottayam **Aizawl Theological College, Aizawl **Federated Faculty for Research in Religion and Culture, Traivandrum/Kottayam **Dharma Jyoti Vidyapeeth, Faridabad , title = The Reverend Doctor , module = Kuzhuvelil Varkey Mathew (born 2 November 1931) is an Indian

biblical scholar Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...

and a member Fr. Max Gonsalves (Ed.), Society for Biblical Studies in India Directory 1998. Entry 131, page 30. of the Society for Biblical Studies 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 ...

Education

Kuzhuvelil Varkey Mathew was born in Keezhuvaipur in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

to Rachel and K. T. Varkey. Mathew studied at the local CMS High School in

Mallapally Mallappally is a census village in the Mallappally Mallapally Gram Panchayat, Gram Panchayat of Mallappally Taluk, Mallappally taluk, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala. It falls under the Thiruvalla Revenue Division and Thiruvalla Constituency. ...

Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality, city in southern Kerala, India, spread over an area of . It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 37,538 (as of 2011 census). The Hindu pilgrim centre Sab ...

District and later underwent pre-university studies at the CMS College in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

. After Mathew expressed his interest in pursuing studies in divinity, the

then headed by

Juhanon Mar Thoma Juhanon Mar Thoma XVIII (7 August 1894 – 27 September 1976) was the Metropolitan of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church from 1949–1976, who gave leadership to the church and at the same time actively participated in social and politica ...

''(Mar Thoma XVIII)'' sent him to

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 he pursued graduate studies in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

from 1951 to 1954.

S. J. Samartha Stanley Jedidiah Samartha (; 7 October 1920 – 22 July 2001) was an Indian theologianEeuwout van der Linden, ''Samartha, S. J.'' in Gerald H. Anderson, ''Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions'', William B. Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rap ...

, M. P. John (Compiled), ''Directory of students 1910-1967'', Serampore College (Theology Department), Serampore, 1967, p.16. The

ordained Mathew as a

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

in 1955 and he became a vicar in

Mylom Mylom is a village in Kollam district in the state of Kerala, India. Demographics India census, Mylom had a population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify ...

. After a year, Mathew returned to Serampore College from 1956 to 1957. He then studied at the United Theological College,

Bengaluru 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 ...

in the ensuing academic year to pursue post-graduate studies in Biblical Studies leading to his

M. Th. 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 ...

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 ...

Studies. In doing this, he became the first Indian to pursue a post-graduate course in Old Testament studies at 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 ...

Under Section 2 (f) of the UGC Act, 1956, 'University' means a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act, and includes any such institution as may, in consultation with the University concerned, be recognised by the Commission in accordance with the regulations made in this behalf under this Act.'' The UGC took the opinion that the Senate fell under the purview of Section 2 (f) of the said Act since ''The Serampore College Act, 1918'' was passed by the Government of West Bengal. Mathew studied Old Testament under Professor Norman Henry Snaith, then a visiting professor at the seminary.K. M. Hiwale (Compiled), ''The United Theological College, Directory 1910-1997'', Bengaluru, 1997. p.7 and p.10

/ref>

Career

From 1958 to 1960 Mathew was Vicar of the Mar Thoma Parish in Calcutta. Mathew began teaching Old Testament studies at Serampore College, a constituent College of the Senate of Serampore College (University),V. C. Samuel (Edited), ''The Indian journal of theology'', Volume 13, 1964.

/ref> Serampore from 1960The Council of Serampore College, ''The Story of Serampore and its College'', Fourth Edition 2005, Serampore. until 1971 when his parent Church, the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church recalled him to Kottayam for the purpose of teaching Old Testament studies in the Mar Thoma Theological Seminary. Mathew's teaching colleagues included Y. D. Tiwari. His students included Paulose Mar Paulose,

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 ...

, S. Jeyapaul David, James Massey and G. Babu Rao, who returned to Serampore to teach Old Testament from 1974. In 1981, Mathew was made Principal of the Mar Thoma Theological Seminary and continued in that position till 1986. Mathew was also on the panel of Professors under the Federated Faculty for Research in Religion and Culture (FFRRC),

and served as a guide to post-graduate and doctoral students. In 2000, he was invited by the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar (Delhi Diocese) to serve as the PrincipalNational Council of Churches Review, Volume 120, Published by National Christian Council of India, 2000. p. 950

/ref> of Dharma Jyoti Vidyapeeth ',

Faridabad Faridabad () is the most populous List of cities in Haryana by population, city near NCT of Delhi in the Indian state of Haryana and a part of National Capital Region (India), Delhi National Capital Region. It is one of the major satellite citie ...

. Mathew ran the institution until 2002. After two decades of teaching in the Seminary in Kottayam, Mathew was made the Secretary of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in 1987 continuing till 1990 under Metropolitan

Alexander Mar Thoma Alexander Mar Thoma XIX (10 April 1913 – 11 January 2000) was the Metropolitan of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church with its center in Kerala state in south-western India. Early life Family In the state of Kerala, India, on the banks ...

''(Mar Thoma XIX)''. The Society for Biblical Studies in India was constituted by Biblical Scholars to foster Biblical scholarship in relation to the Indian context. Mathew was twice elected as its president in 1983 and 1994.

Publications

* ''Ancient Religions of the Fertile Crescent and the Sanatana Dharma'' * ''Trinity-Semantic Considerations'' * ''The Concept of God and Nature in the Psalms''Ronald E. Manahan, ''A Re-examination of the Cultural Mandate: An analysis and Evaluation of the Dominion Materials'', An unpublished thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Theology in Grace Theological Seminary, May 1982, Winona Lake, Indiana.

/ref> * ''The Hermeneutical Struggle in India'' * ''Indigenisation: An Old Testament Perspective'' * ''The faith and practice of the Mar Thoma Church'' * ''Walking humbly with God : A Biography of the Rev. C. E. Abraham'' * ''Ecological Perspectives in the Book of Psalms'' * ''Crisis and Hope in Israel's Exile''K. V. Mathew, ''Crisis and Hope in Israel's Exile'', A paper presented at the XVIIth Conference of the SBSI held in

Union Biblical Seminary Union Biblical Seminary (UBS) is a theological seminary founded by Wesleyan and Methodist denominations in Pune, India. UBS started as a Marathi-medium Bible School opened by the Free Methodist Church and was finally established in 1953 and i ...

, Pune, 1998. Cited in Indian Theological Studies, Volume 35, 1998.

/ref> * ''Dr. M. M. Thomas - A Grateful Memory'' * ''Last Supper - A Kingdom Perspective'' * ''Ecology and Faith in the Old Testament'' Mathew also edited the ''One-Volume Bible Commentary'' in Malayalam. He worked with Chief Editor E. C. John.P. Jegadish Gandhi, K. C. John, ''Upon the winds of wider ecumenism: essays and tributes in honour of Rev. Dr. M. J. Joseph'', Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, New Delhi, 2006. p.349

Higher studies

Mathew travelled to the

, in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the academic year 1962 to 1963. He enrolled to pursue doctoral studies in the field of Old Testament studies under Professors G. W. Anderson, N. W. Porteous and R. E. Clements,.Edward Ball (Edited), ''In search of true wisdom: Essays in Old Testament interpretation in honour of Ronald E. Clements'' ( Volume 300 of Journal for the study of the Old Testament), Published by Continuum International Publishing Group, 1999

/ref> In 1964 and 1968, Mathew returned to Serampore to take up his teaching again. He left the college again in 1968 to spend a year at the

, Germany under

Klaus Koch Klaus Koch (October 4, 1926 – March 28, 2019) was an Old Testament scholar. Koch first studied in the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and later at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen. He did his doctoral dissertation at the Ruprec ...

. In the final phase of his doctoral research, he spent the final academic year (1969-1970) at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and submitted a thesis on the topic ''God and Nature in the Book of Psalms''.Katharine Smith Diehl, ''Early Indian imprints'', Published by Scarecrow Press, 196

/ref> In doing so he became the first Indian to be awarded a doctorate by the Faculty of Theology of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Visiting scholar

After leaving the Seminary in Kottayam in 1994, Mathew spent three years as a Vicar of the Parish in Ranni, Kerala, Ranni. In 1997, he was Visiting Professor at the Aizawl Theological College,

Aizawl Aizawl (, American English, US: , British English, UK: ; Mizo language, Mizo: ), formerly known as Aijal, is the capital city and the most populous city of Mizoram, India. It is also the third largest city in northeast India. It is situated ato ...

. In 1999 and 2008, he was a guest professor 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 ...

'' in Serampore. From 2000 to 2002 he took up the principalship of Dharma Jyoti Vidyapeeth in Faridabad.

References

;Notes ;Further reading * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

"Churches Hope to Reunite India's Legacy of the Apostle Thomas" - Christianity Today

"The Great Hill Stations of Asia, Volume 1998" - Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathew, K. V. 1931 births Living people Old Testament scholars Christian clergy from Kottayam Indian Christian theologians Indian biblical scholars Indian lecturers Mar Thoma Syrian Church Malayali people Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni Academic staff of the Senate of Serampore College (University) Syriac Orthodox clergy