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Stanley Jedidiah Samartha ( kn, ಸ್ಟಾನ್ಲಿ ಜೆದಿದಿಃ ಸಮರ್ಥ; 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 Rapids, 1999. pp.588-589

/ref> and a participant in inter-religious dialogue. Samartha's major contribution was through the
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
(WCC) sub-unit "Dialogue with People of Living Faiths and Ideologies" of which he was the first director. Western Scholars on
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global po ...
like Jan Peter Schouten brings Samartha in the line of thinking of M. M. Thomas (an Indian thinker) and
Raimundo Panikkar Raimon Panikkar Alemany, also known as Raimundo Panikkar and Raymond Panikkar (November 2, 1918 – August 26, 2010), was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and a proponent of Interfaith dialogue. As a scholar, he specialized in comparative reli ...
(a
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 layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
) terming them as the "Great Three" Jan Peter Schouten, ''Jesus as Guru: The Image of Christ Among Hindus and Christians in India'', Rodopi, Amsterdam, 2008. pp.206-207.

/ref> of whom Samartha was very involved in the developments in the Church in India.


Early life and education

Stanley Jedidiah was born on 7 October 1920Union Theological Seminary (New York, N.Y.) The Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York New York : Alumni Office, 1970.Electronic reproduction. New York, N.Y. : Columbia University Libraries, 2007. JPEG use copy available via the World Wide Web. Master copy stored locally on DVDs#: ldpd_6122000_000 01,02,03,04,05,06. Columbia University Libraries Electronic Books. 2006. p.321

/ref> in
Karkala ''Karkala'' also known as Karla in Tulu language, is a town and the headquarters of Karkala taluk in the Udupi district of Karnataka, India. Located about 60 km from Mangalore in the Tulu Nadu region of the state,it lies near the footh ...
, Karnataka into a pastoral family. His mother was a primary school TeacherStanley Jedidiah Samartha, ''Between Two Cities - Part I: Early Years''. WCC Web Site

/ref> while his father was a Pastor with the Basel Evangelical Mission. Stanley had his education at the Basel Evangelical Mission High School after which he enrolled at the local Government College. Later in 1939 he joined the Society of Jesus, Jesuit St. Aloysius College ''(then affiliated to the
University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...
)'' from where he obtained a B.A. in 1941.


Divinity

It felt natural for Stanley to follow in the footsteps of his father, a Pastor. The Basel Evangelical Mission Board approved his candidature for theological studies and sent him to the United Theological College,
Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
in 1941. While pursuing theology, Stanley was afflicted with typhoid which kept him out of the Seminary for a year. While at the Seminary, Samartha came under the influenceO. V. Jathanna, ''Memorial Service Sermon'', St. Mark's Cathedral, Bengaluru, 4 August 2001

/ref> of his Professors, particularly Marcus Ward and Paul David Devanandan, P. D. Devanandan. In 1945, he was awarded the graduate degree of BD from the Seminary.


Pastor and lecturership

From 1945 to 1947, Stanley served as an Assistant to the Pastor in
Udipi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...
. Stanley was appointed as lecturer in the Basel Evangelical Mission Theological Seminary (now
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 Mangalore of Karnataka in South India, and is affiliated to the na ...
) , Mangalore beginning from the academic year 1947 - 1948 to teach Theology and Religions. After availing study leave for the period 1949 - 1952 Samartha returned to the Seminary and resumed teaching responsibilities. The Basel Evangelical Mission ordained S. J. Samartha on 30 March 1952. In 1952, the Seminary made Samartha its Principal, a position in which he continued up to 1960. In fact, he was the Seminary's first Indian Principal.Constantine Devaprasad Jathanna (Ed.), ''Dialogue in Community: Essays in Honour of Stanley J. Samartha'', KTCRI, Mangalore, 1982.

/ref> It was during Samartha's period at Mangalore that the Seminary became affiliated to the
Senate of Serampore College (University) The Senate of Serampore College (University) is located in Serampore in West Bengal, India. Serampore was granted the status of university in 1829, making it India's first institution to have the status of a university.Government of India, Mini ...
, West Bengal.


Higher studies

The Basel Evangelical Mission sent Stanley to the
Union Theological Seminary in the city of New York Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...
for post-graduate studies (
S.T.M. The Master of Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Magister; abbreviated STM) is a graduate-level, North American, academic degree in theology equivalent to ThM. The Roman Catholic equivalent is the Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL). An ...
) in 1949. He studied under
Paul Tillich Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German-American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran Protestant theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most influential theolo ...
, the Christian existentialist Philosopher and worked out a thesis titled ''The Hindu View of History According to Dr. S. Radhakrishnan'' which eventually got published. In 1950, Stanley enrolled as a doctoral candidate at the
Hartford Theological Seminary The Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (formerly Hartford Seminary) is a private theological university in Hartford, Connecticut. History Hartford Seminary's origins date back to 1833 when the Pastoral Union of Connectic ...
,
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
and was awarded a PhDNews from Hartford Seminary, December 2001, Volume XIII, No. 3 (Special Issue). in 1951. Samartha's doctoral thesis was entitled ''The Modern Hindu View of History according to Representative Thinkers''. After completion of doctoral studies at Hartford Theological Seminary in 1951, Samartha spent a year at
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...
, Switzerland at the invitation of the Basel Mission Board. Being at Basel seemed to have thrilled Samartha since it was the very mission board through which his parents came to Christ. While spending his days here, he also began attending
Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary ''The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declara ...
's weekly lectures at the
University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universitie ...
besides visiting the local congregations in Switzerland as well as in Germany. It was here that he also met Hendrik Kraemer, the Dutch Reformed Theologian and the first Director of the Ecumenical Institute, Bossey.


Sabbatical

While being the Principal at Mangalore, Samartha availed a sabbatical and taught for an academic year (1957–1958) at his ''alma mater'', the Hartford Theological Seminary before returning to Mangalore.


Professorship


Bengaluru

In 1960, Samartha moved to the United Theological College, Bengaluru where he began teaching Philosophy and History of Religions.


Serampore

William Stewart had been the Principal of Serampore College from 1959 to 1966. The Council of Serampore College appointed Samartha as the Principal of
Serampore College , founders = William Ward (missionary), William Ward, William Carey (missionary), William Carey, & Joshua Marshman , religious_affiliation = Baptists, Baptist , rector = , location = 8, William Carey RoadSerampore – 712201West Be ...
' in 1966. Samartha led the College through turbulent times up to 1968 after which he took up an assignment with the
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
. Among those who studied under his Principalship in Serampore included James Massey, S. Jeyapaul David and G. Babu Rao.


Appraisal by other Scholars

* Israel Selvanayagam, Principal, United Theological College, Bengaluru. * Andreas Anangguru Yewangoe of
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
:Andreas Anangguru Yewangoe, ''Theologia Crucis in Asia: Asian Christian Views on Suffering in the Face of Overwhelming Poverty and Multifaceted Religiosity in Asia'', Rodopi, 1987. pp. 95-103. This was originally a doctoral dissertation presented to the
Vrije university The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...
, Amsterdam in 1987

/ref> * Hans Schwarz,
University of Regensburg The University of Regensburg (german: link=no, Universität Regensburg) is a public research university located in the medieval city of Regensburg, Bavaria, a city that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university was founded on ...
,Hans Schwarz, ''Theology in a Global Context: The Last Two Hundred Years'', William B. Eerdmans,
Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
, 2005. pp.523-526

/ref> Germany. *
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen (born 1958) is a Finnish theologian. He is Professor of Systematic Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is an ordained Lutheran minister (ELCA - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and an expert on Pentecostal- ...
, Professor of Systematic Theology,
Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller consistently has a student body that compr ...
,
Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...
. * Timothy Yates, an Anglican Evangelical Missiologist,
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
. * Kirsteen Kim, Past Lecturer,
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 ...
,
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
.Kirsteen Kim, ''India'' in John Parratt (Ed.), ''An Introduction to Third World Theologies'', Cambridge University Press, 2004. pp.44-73

/ref>


Contribution

Samartha was acknowledged as a leading authority on inter-religious dialogue. S. Wesley Ariarajah quotes Samartha on dialogue:


Criticism

Criticism wasn't too far. Sunand Sumithra in his doctoral dissertation defended at the
University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W� ...
, Germany in 1981 criticised ''(page 217)'' the work of Samartha arguing that Samartha failed to project Christ's distinctness in a pluralistic context. However, Samartha responded that Sunand Sumithra was not aware of the beliefs of other faiths. Kirsteen Kim believed that Sunand Sumithra was indeed aware of the beliefs of others and only wanted to distinguish Christ from others. Further, Sunand Sumithra in a book on ''Christian Theology from an Indian Perspective'' evaluated Samartha's writings. He summarised that Samartha resorted to Advaitic system not on theological grounds but on mere empirical enquiry.Sunand Sumithra, ''Christian Theology from an Indian Perspective'', Theological Book Trust, Bengaluru, 1995 (Revised Edition). pp.187-197. Similarly,
Ken Gnanakan Ken Gnanakan was an Indian educator, environmentalist and theologian. He was a frequent speaker worldwide at workshops, seminars and conferences. Gnanakan was the founder and chancellor of ACTS Group of Institutions (www.actsgroup.org), a ...
of ACTS Institute, Bengaluru, argued that Samartha's writings failed to uphold the Biblical Text in a setting of theology of religions. Sunand Sumithra and Ken Gnanakan may have been right in their argument if one looks into a recent doctoral work by Dirk Griffioen submitted to the Utrecht University where Dirk brings to light the fact that Samartha rejected the Dutch Reformed Theologian Hendrik Kraemer's version of Christology stating that it was Christomonistic and not theocentric. Samartha first met Hendrik Kraemer in
Bossey Bossey (; frp, Bossè) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Located on the Swiss border, it had a population of 1,031 as of 2018. Personalities Bossey is the birthplace of poet J ...
during his sabbatical in
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...
.


Stint at WCC

After being relieved as Principal of Serampore College, Serampore in 1968, Samartha served as Associate Secretary, Department of Studies in Mission and Evangelism in Geneva up to 1971 working closely with Hans-Jochen Margull, Professor of Missions at the
University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...
, Hamburg. It was at the Central Committee meeting at
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, ...
in 1971 that a sub-unit of the WCC ''Dialogue with People of Living Faiths and Ideologies'' was set up with Samartha as its first director. S. Wesley Ariarajah succeeded Samartha at the WCC.


Honours

In 1982, the Karnataka Theological College, Mangalore brought out a
festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the ...
in his honour edited by the then Principal Rev. Dr. C. D. Jathanna entitled ''Dialogue in Community: Essays in Honour of Stanley J. Samartha''. India's first University, the Senate of Serampore College (University) in West Bengal conferred upon Samartha an honorary doctorate in 1986Senate of Serampore College (University), List of the Recipients of the degree of doctor of divinity (honoris causa). In the same year, the
Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollm ...
,
Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...
,
The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Nether ...
also awarded him an honorary doctorate.


Retirement and death

In 1980, Samartha returned to India after his stint in
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...
with the WCC was over and was Consultant to the Christian Institute for Study of Religion and Society (CISRS), Bengaluru and also Visiting Professor at the United Theological College, Bengaluru. After 1989, Samartha returned to India and got empanelled on South Asia Theological Research Institute's Committee supervising theses on Theology and Religions in Bengaluru. A Press Release issued by the World Council of Churches Office of Communication on 24 July 2001 stated that Stanley Samartha died of prolonged illness on 22 July 2001World Council of Churches Office of Communication, Press Release on 22 July 2001

/ref> in Bengaluru.


Tributes

* Georges Lemopoulos, Acting general secretary (2001),
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
, Geneva.


See also

* The Reverend, Rev. Dr B. V. Subbamma * The Reverend, Rev.
Yisu Das Tiwari Yisu Das Tiwari (1911–1997) was an Indian theologian and a leading participant in Hindu-Christian dialogue. He was a scholar in Sanskrit, Hindi and Greek. The Bible Society of India entrusted him with revision of the Hindi Bible ''( New Te ...
* Bishop
N. D. Ananda Rao Samuel N. D. Ananda Rao Samuel (1928–1999) was Bishop of Krishna Godavari of the Church of South India. Early years Ananda Rao Samuel was born on 29 December 1928Union Theological Seminary (New York, N.Y.) The Union Theological Seminary in the City ...
* The Reverend, Rev. Fr. Dr
D. S. Amalorpavadass Rev. Fr. Duraiswami Simon Amalorpavadass (15 June 1932 – 25 May 1990) was a Catholic South-Indian theologian who played a vital role in the renewal of life and mission of the Roman Catholic Church in India, particularly after Vatican II. ...
* The Reverend, Rev.
Emani Sambayya Canon Emani Sambayya (1905–1972) was an Anglican Priest, who was born in Bodipalem in Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh.Cecil Hargreaves, ''Three Assignments in the Church'', Indo-British Review, Indo-British Historical Society, Chennai, 1988. ...
* Bishop
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 ...
* The Reverend, Rev.
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 year ...


References


Further reading

* S. K. Samartha, ''Introduction to Radhakrishnan'' (1964) * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samartha, Stanley Jedidiah People in interfaith dialogue Hartford Seminary alumni Indian Christian theologians Kannada people Indian Anglican priests Christian clergy from Bangalore Mangaloreans People from Dakshina Kannada district 1920 births 2001 deaths Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni Academic staff of the Senate of Serampore College (University)