Bishop Emeritus Sanki John Theodore was the fourth Bishop-in-

Karimnagar Diocese of the Church of South India The Diocese of Karimnagar is a diocese of Church of South India in Telangana state of India.The diocese is one among the 22 dioceses of Church of South India. History of the Diocese The Wesleyan Methodist Missionaries from England began worki ...

Studies

John Theodore'sK. M. Hiwale (Compiled), ''Directory of the United Theological College 1910-1997'', Bangalore, 1997. pp.38 and 109 spiritual formation was at the

United Theological College, Bangalore United Theological College (UTC) is an Eccumenical Christian seminary founded in 1910 situated in the southern city of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka in South India and affiliated to India's first Theological University, the Senate of Seram ...

affiliated to India's first University, the Senate of Serampore College (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 subnational government of the Indian state of West Bengal , created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial authority. The ...

where he studied the graduate degree of

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

from 1966-1970. After a two-year ministerial work, Theodore again studied from 1972-1974 enrolling for a postgraduate degree of Master of Theology specializing in Old Testament under

E. C. John Revd. E. C. John (8 November 1927 – 29 October 2020) was an Indian Old Testament scholar and a member of the Society for Biblical Studies in India. He was also a member of the George Bell Institute at the University of Chichester, Chichester ...

G. M. Butterworth, and

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. H ...

, working out a dissertation entitled ''The concept of creation in the Book of Deutero-Isaiah''S. J. Theodore, ''The concept of creation in the Book of Deutero-Isaiah'' in ''Thesis Titles'',

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), under ...

, Bangalore, 1991. at the

. Theodore was part the pioneer group of postgraduate students who specialised in

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated 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 writings by the Israelites. The ...

comprising A. P. Chacko,

Basil Rebera Basil A. Rebera is 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 reviewed in Journ ...

, G. Babu Rao, Nitoy Achümi, and

Timotheas Hembrom Timotheas Hembrom is 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 Serampore College (University). As a B ...

. Theodore's graduate and post-graduate degrees were awarded by the University during the Registrarship of

Chetti Devasahayam Chetti Devasahayam (6 October 1913 – 28 February 1993) was the Registrar of the nation's first University, the Senate of Serampore College (University) who was in office from 1960 through 1975.

Ministry and Teaching

Ever since his return in 1970 from the Protestant Seminary in Bangalore, Theodore began to minister parishes in the

Dornakal Diocese of the Church of South India Dornakal Diocese is a diocese of the Church of South India in Telangana state of India. It is among 22 dioceses of the Church of South India.The diocese mainly covers the pastorates in Warangal, Nalgonda, East Godavari and Khammam districts a ...

until its bifurcation resulting in the creation of

in 1978 on account of which he was reassigned to the ecclesiastical Diocese of Karimnagar.

Bishopric

In 1992, the bishopric of Karimnagar led by K. E. Swamidass fell vacant due to his resignation on attaining superannuation. In the resulting elections that were conducted by the

Church of South India Synod Church of South India Trust Association (CSITA) Director board is the highest administrative body of CSI (Church of South India). Synod (CSI Synod) is the annual general meeting of CSI. Moderator of the Synod is a Bishop who is a presiding officer ...

, the name of John Theodore came into the panel of three probable Bishops for Karimnagar. Bird Ryder Devapriam then Moderator of the Church of South India Synod announced the appointment of Sanki John Theodore as the fourth Bishop-in-Karimnagar. Bird Ryder Devapriyam principally consecratedNational Council of Churches Review, Volume 113, 1993, p.193
/ref> John Theodore as Bishop - in - Karimnagar at the CSI-Wesley Cathedral, Karimnagar in the presence of Jason S. Dharmaraj, the Deputy Moderator,

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 ...

, Bishop - in - Medak, Bishop T. B. D. Prakasa Rao from the

Diocese of Krishna-Godavari Krishna-Godavari Diocese is a diocese of Church of South India in Andhra Pradesh state of India. The diocese is one among the 22 dioceses of Church of South India. About The diocese covers the Krishna Godavari areas of Andhra Pradesh state. The ...

and three patriarchs of Karimnagar Diocese, B. Prabhudass, G. B. Devasahayam and K. E. Swamidass. During Theodore's bishopric from 1992-2007, he attended the thirteenth Lambeth Conference presided by George Carey then

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. In 2007, Theodore retired on attaining superannuation causing a sede vacante. The

announced the appointment of P. Surya Prakash of the adjoining

Diocese of Medak The Diocese of Medak is one of the prominent Dioceses in the Church of South India, a Protestant Uniting Church with its headquarters in Medak comprising nearly 200 Presbyters ministering to Telugu, Lambadi, Tamil,P. Y. Luke, J. B. Carman, ' ...

Studies

Ministry and Teaching

Bishopric

References

Further reading