Timotheas Hembrom (31 July 1939 – 18 August 2020) was an ordained Minister of the

Church of North India The Church of North India (CNI) is the dominant united and uniting churches, united Protestant church in northern India. It was established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together most of the Protestant churches working in northern India. It i ...

and an

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 who taught at the Bishop's College,

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, affiliated to the nation's first University, 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 ...

. As a

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 ...

, Hembrom was a member Fr. Max Gonsalves (Ed.), Society for Biblical Studies in India Directory 1998. of the scholarly Society for Biblical Studies in India, with members from the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

Charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal. In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership. In Christian theology, the term ...

Church societies. He researched on Santali creation traditions and his work was first published in 1996 (reprinted in 2013) was simultaneously reviewed in the '' Indian Journal of Theology'' and the '' Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies''. Hembrom had been the editor of the Santali magazine, ''Jug-Sirijol'' published by the Santali Cultural and Literary Society, Kolkata in Roman script. A Santal drummer playing Tumda

Contributions

Comparative studies between creation stories

Hembrom's research and

exegetical Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretations ...

work on the Santhals highlights the hitherto unknown facts about their creation traditions which seem identical to the

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

creation traditions. K. P. Aleaz writes that Hembrom worked on finding out parallels between the

creation stories and the

Santal The Santal (or Santhal) are an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic-speaking Munda peoples, Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal in terms of population and are also found ...

creation stories, which seemed identical with those in the

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

creation stories. In this context of similarity, K. P. Aleaz in ''A Tribal Theology from a Tribal World - View'' considers Renthy Keitzer, Nirmal Minz and Hembrom as the Theologians with focus on

Tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

cultures and ideologies. In a recent work by the Scholar Ivy Imogene Hansdak of the

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia is a Public university, public and research university located in Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British R ...

creation stories the research of Hembrom was highlighted As a

comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including human migration, migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study ...

scholar who drew parallels between the Genesis creation story and the

creation traditions, Hembram attributes the lead given by

's leading Scholar,

Claus Westermann Claus Westermann (7 October 1909 – 11 June 2000) was a German Protestant Old Testament scholar.Luther Seminar Word & World (1/2) 1981 He taught at the University of Heidelberg from 1958 to 1978. Biography Born to African missionaries, he bega ...

, "''Our very extensive knowledge of literature about creation and primeval time does not allow us to draw a sharp line of distinction between the high cultures and the primitive cultures and then to exclude the latter from the pre-history of the biblical story of primeval events.''"

Santali Linguistics

The ''Jug-Sirijol'' which advances

Santali language Santali (, , , , ) is a Kherwarian languages, Kherwarian Munda languages, Munda language spoken natively by the Santals, Santal people of South Asia. It is the most widely-spoken language of the Munda subfamily of the Austroasiatic languages, ...

and literature focusing on the tribal identities continues to be published in

Roman script The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Gree ...

which has been in use since the

pre-colonial Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

times. Hembrom had been editor of ''Jug-Sirijol'' for a number of years'. Although a new script,

Ol Chiki alphabet The Ol Chiki () script, also known as Ol Chemetʼ (, , ), Ol Ciki, Ol, and sometimes as the Santali alphabet is the official writing system for Santali, an Austroasiatic language recognized as an official regional language in India. It was ...

was propagated in 1979,Divyendu Tudu Raska and Archer Anthony Marandi, ''Letter to the University of Berkeley Linguistics Department addressed to Prof. Deborah Anderson'', 30 November 2002. it had met dissent with the

Santhal people The Santal (or Santhal) are an Austroasiatic-speaking Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar, Assam ...

who voiced their concerns to the scholarly fora including the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and had also referred to the concerns of Hembrom who wrote on the use of

Studies

Pre-graduate

After early schooling at the Kaerabani Santal High School in Kaerabani,

Dumka district Dumka district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Dumka is the administrative headquarters of this district. This district covers an area of 3716.02 km. This district has a population of 1,321,442 (20 ...

, Hembrom had his ministerial formation at Santal Theological College, Benagaria, which had just then received affiliation from the nation's first University, the

. Hembram studied at the College during the Principalship of

J. T. Krogh Johannes Thoft Krogh (29 January 1919 – 22 October 1980) was the Registrar of the nation's first University, the Senate of Serampore College (University) who was in office from 1975 through 1978. till 1972. Krogh made significant contributio ...

and moved to

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 ...

in 1967

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.27. from where he obtained 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 ...

from the University under the Registrarship of C. Devasahayam.

Graduate

In order to upgrade his academics, Hembram proceeded to

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 ...

where he studied from 1968 to 1970K. M. Hiwale (Compiled), ''Directory of the United Theological College 1910-1997'', Bangalore, 1997. Past students of the college diploma course, p.38; Postgraduate course, p.107. at 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 ...

, affiliated to the nation's firstUNESCO Structures of University Education in India, 1952
/ref> University, the

, 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 ...

where he upgraded to

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. ...

. Hembram companions at the College included H. S. Wilson, P. J. Lawrence, J. W. Gladstone and others who studied at varying intervals.

Postgraduate

In his second stint at the College in

between 1971-1973, Hembrom enrolled for postgraduate studies,

Master of Theology 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 ...

, specialising in

under his Teachers, E. C. John, 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. Hi ...

working out a dissertation entitled ''Man and his destiny in the priestly sections of the

Pentateuch The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () o ...

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

comprising A. P. Chacko, Basil Rebera, G. Babu Rao, Nitoy Achümi, and S. J. Theodore. However, Hembrom was awarded a degree only in 1975 in the ensuing convocation of the

held on 1 February 1975''Convocation Brochure'', 1 February 1975 Serampore College, Serampore. at the

under the Registrarship of C. Devasahayam, Hembrom was awarded a

degree where the Convocation Commemoration

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 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 ...

companion, G. Babu Rao who had already become an

Teacher at

. at the CNI-St. Olave's Church,

Doctoral

While teaching at the Bishop's College,

, Hembrom availed study leave and pursued research studies with the South Asia Theological Research Institute,

, a doctoral-level institute under the

researching on the Santals with special reference to their creation stories and was supervised by Renthy Keitzar and Nirmal Minz who enabled him to work on his thesis after which Hembrom was able to submit his doctoral dissertation in 1991 which was originally entitled ''The Creation narrative of the Santals and the Genesis Creation narrative: A probing into their theological motifs''T. Hembrom, ''The Creation narrative of the Santals and the Genesis Creation narrative: A probing into their theological motifs''. Cited in ''Indian Church History Review'', Volumes 27-32, Church History Association of India, 1993, p.122.

/ref> after which the

awarded him a doctoral degree Senate, ''List of the Recipient of the Degree of Doctor of Theology''
during the registrarship of D. S. Satyaranjan.

Inculturation and the practicalities

Hembrom belonged to the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Danish Santal Mission (

Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church (NELC) is a multi-lingual Lutheran Christian church that is centred mainly in four states of North India - Jharkhand, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Bengal. The reach of the Church extends into Nepal and the NEL ...

). In the 1960s, an unexpected turn of events took place relating to the issue of

inculturation In Christianity, inculturation is the adaptation of Christian teachings and practices to cultures. This is a term that is generally used by Catholics and the Orthodox, whereas Protestants (such as Anglicans and Lutherans), especially associated ...

. Although Hembram had his schooling at the Mission schools established by the Danish Santal Mission which was founded in 1867,Günther Gassmann, Mark W. Oldenburg, ''Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism'', Second Edition, Scarecrow, Lanham, 2011, p.11

/ref> where he grew on strong

Christian ethics Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system. It is a Virtue ethics, virtue ethic, which focuses on building moral character, and a Deontological ethics, deontological ethic which emphasizes duty according ...

and enrolled for theological studies at the Santal Theological College,

and later at the Protestant Regional Seminary in

where he completed graduate studies in theology ''(

)'', returning to 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 1970 to resume teaching when

still happened to be the Principal. This was the 1960s when the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

had concluded and

Papal encyclicals An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...

were issued concerning the local cultures and their adaptation in the

Christian liturgy Christian liturgy is a pattern for Christian worship, worship used (whether recommended or prescribed) by a Christian congregation or Christian denomination, denomination on a regular basis. The term liturgy comes from Greek and means "public work ...

. Rev. Fr. D. S. Amalorpavadass who pitched for

at the

found that his appeals had been met. However, back at the Santal Theological College, the

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

were yet to adapt the local traditions into the

. During that period, Hembrom took a couple of his students to a Santali wedding where they happened to participate in music and dance which involved the playing of

Santal music The Santal people love music and dance. Like other ethnic groups of the Indian subcontinent, their culture has been influenced by mainstream Indian culture and by Western culture, but traditional music and dance still remain. Santal music differs f ...

using the Tamak' and

Tumdak' The tumdak is a hand-struck double-headed membranophone of the Santal people of the Indian subcontinent, distributed across Eastern India and Bangladesh. Tumdak is a Santali famous instrument. Tumdak is used santali traditional festival. The Sant ...

. The Danish Santali Mission (

) took a rigid stance debarring not only Hembrom but even those students who accompanied him. In the ensuing student unfriendly environment, the Principal,

voiced his apprehension at the decision of the Council of the

and left the College taking along with him the five debarred students as well as his debarred colleague Hembram and joined

en masse Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Eng ...

in the

-led

Bishop’s College, Calcutta Bishop's College, Calcutta is an Anglican educational establishment founded on 15 December 1820 at Sibpur by Thomas Fanshawe Middleton the first bishop of the Anglican diocese of Calcutta. The College was started in Shibpur, on the west bank ...

. The students continued their studies at the

, Hembrom was sent by the College for postgraduate studies to

while

Dansk Biografisk Leksikon (Danish Biographic Lexicon), 2011
/ref> was accommodated into the Faculty at the

. Hembrams continued to be grateful to the

Danish Santal Mission (

) and rather attributed the circumstances to lack of understanding at that point of time. The issue of

, also referred to as

indigenization Indigenization is the act of making something more indigenous; transformation of some service, idea, etc. to suit a local culture, especially through the use of more indigenous people in public administration, employment and other fields. The t ...

took a dominant role in the scholarly meetings of the Society for Biblical Studies in India in which Hembrams also happens to be a member. Successive biennial conclaves of the

and

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 ...

scholars of the

and

traditions discussed whether it is possible to interpret the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

in an

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 ...

n way. Rev. Fr. Joseph Pathrapankal, Rev. Dr. E. C. John, Rev. Fr. Matthew Vellanickal and other members of the scholarly society contributed immensely to the Indian interpretation and adopting of traditional forms in worship. Year's later,

Biblical scholars Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse academic discipline, disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the Biblical canon#Jewish canons, canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Judais ...

also published ''Indian Interpretation of the Bible'' in 2000 honouring Rev. Fr. Joseph Pathrapankal. Similarly,

Comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including human migration, migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study ...

scholars of the Indian seminaries began to adopt the native traditions and particularly the Indian ethos in

Ecclesiastical ministry

Benagaria

Hembrams was a Teacher at his

, the Santal Theological College, Benagaria and started his ecclesiastical teaching ministry. After a two-year break during 1968-1970 to upgrade his academics at Bangalore, he returned to the BenagariaRuby Hembrom, ''The Santals and the Bodding Paradox'', paper presented at the

Paul Olaf Bodding Paul Olaf Bodding (2 November 1865 – 25 September 1938) was a Norwegian missionary, linguist and folklorist. Biography Paul Olaf Bodding was born at Gjøvik in Oppland, Norway. He was the son of Edward Olsen Bodding (1825–1905) and Betzy E ...

Symposium during 3–5 November 2015 at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

.

/ref> and taught again during 1970-1971.

Cherrapunji

After Hembrams specialised in

, he proceeded to the Chera Theological College,

Cherrapunji Cherrapunji () - popularly known as, or Sohra - it's original native and official name, is a sub-divisional town (Proposed District) East Khasi Hills district in the Indian state of Meghalaya. It was the traditional capital of ''ka hima Sohra'' ...

where he taught from 1973-1977.

Kolkata

After a stint of four years at

, Hembram moved to the Bishop’s College,

and was Professor of Old Testament from 1977. His other colleagues at the Seminary included the renowned Religions Scholar,

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 Test ...

. During the latter half of the 1980s, G. D. V. Prasad who specialized in

joined the College as a Teacher and became a colleague of him . He also acted as Research Guide and was RegistrarNorth India Institute of Post Graduate Theological Studies, Administration. at the North India Institute of Post Graduate Theological Studies, a joint initiative of

and the Bishop’s College,

. As a member of the Church History Association of India, Hembrom was also elected as the Treasurer of the Eastern India Branch of the Society in 2006.

Ranchi

He is also taught at the Gossner Theological College,

Ranchi Ranchi (; ) is the capital city and also the largest district by population of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern ...

, an institution known for the

Theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

Nirmal Minz who happened to be one of his doctoral supervisors.

Death

Hembrom died on the 18th of August, 2020.

Writings

No date, ''Doing Theology with the people of primal religion in India: Absence of Hymns and Praises to God has a theological reason in the ancestral religion of the Santals''T. Hembrom, ''Doing Theology with the people of primal religion in India: Absence of Hymns and Praises to God has a theological reason in the ancestral religion of the Santals'' in '' Indian Journal of Theology'', Volume 37, p.3-10.

/ref>
1996, ''Maran Buru Bonga - Satan Equation a Theological Crime'',T. Hembrom, ''Maran Buru Bonga - Satan Equation a Theological Crime'' in '' Indian Journal of Theology'', 1996, Volume 32, Issue 2, pp.43-54.

/ref>
1996/2013,Adivani. ''Timotheas Hembrom’s new book is out!''
/ref> ''The Santals: Anthropological-Theological reflections on Santali and

Creation Traditions'',T. Hembrom, ''The Santals: Anthropological-Theological reflections on Santali and

Creation Traditions'', Punthi Pustak, Calcutta, 1996.

/ref>
2007, ''The significance of water in the Old Testament'',T. Hembrom, ''The significance of water in the Old Testament'' in V. J. John, ''Water Struggle'', ISPCK, New Delhi, 2007, pp.118, 49-5

/ref>
2012 (in Santali language, Santali), ''Santal, Sirjon binti ar bhed-bhangao''T. Hembrom, ''Santal, Sirjon binti ar bhed-bhangao'', Adivani, Kolkata, 2012.

Honours

In 2014, the Diocese of Durgapur of the

awarded the annual

memorial award to Timotheas Hembrom for his writings highlighting the

ethos of India.

References

;Notes ;Further reading * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hembrom, Timotheas 1939 births 2020 deaths Indian biblical scholars Old Testament scholars Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni Academic staff of the Senate of Serampore College (University) Indian Indologists Indian sociologists 21st-century Indian anthropologists Historians of South Asia 20th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian translators Indian Lutheran clergy 20th-century Indian Anglican priests Indian Christian theologians Scholars from Jharkhand Converts to Anglicanism from Lutheranism Anglican biblical scholars Adivasi writers Santali people Lutheran biblical scholars 21st-century Indian Anglican priests Church of North India clergy