St. John's Regional Seminary (Philosophate)
| St. John's Regional Seminary, Kondadaba (Philosophate) | |
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| St John's, Kondadaba | |
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| Latin: REGIO SEMINARIUM SANCTUS IOHANNES (PHILOSOPHIA) | |
| Motto | Latin: SAPIENTES, SANCTUS English: WISDOM, HOLINESS. |
| Established | 1987 |
| Type | Propaedeutic Seminary |
| President | Rev. Fr. Raminedi Balaraju SDB, (Provincial) |
| Rector | Fr. Koonananickal Jose, SDB |
| Principal | Fr. Mathiekal Wilson, SDB |
| Location | Kothavalasa, Vizianagaram District 535 183, Andhra Pradesh. Telephone:91 08966 273412, India 17°53′56″N 83°9′8″E / 17.89889°N 83.15222°E |
| Campus | Rural |
| Affiliations |
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| Website | www.stjohnskondadaba.blogspot.com |
| Data as of September 2010 | |
St. John's Regional Seminary (Philosophate)[1] founded in the year 1987[2] is a propaedeutic seminary equipping students with philosophical training. It is located in the rural town of Kothavalasa in Vizianagaram District in Andhra Pradesh, India.
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[edit] Affiliation
Those pursuing philosophy here are eligible for pursuing theology in other seminaries. The seminary as such is not affiliated to any University[3]. However, the Seminary is listed as a propaedeutic seminary under the Roman Curia[4].
Since inception, the seminary used to offer a two-year course in philosophy[5]. However, from the academic year 1999-2000, the seminary began offering a three-year course[6] in philosophy in order to enable its students to simultaneously pursue the secular graduate degrees of Bachelor of Arts (B. A.) and Master of Arts (M. A.) through the School of Distance Education, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam.
[edit] Background
St. John's Regional Seminary[7] was founded in the year 1965[8] in Ramanthapur, Hyderabad to train Priests for the Catholic Church in Andhra Pradesh. Later in 1987, the Seminary was bifurcated into two[9]. The theologiate was retained in Hyderabad while the philosophate was moved to Kothavalasa in the northern circars of Andhra Pradesh[10].
[edit] Authorities and Officials
According to an Agreement signed between the Andhra Pradesh Bishop’s Council and the Salesian Province of St. Joseph, Hyderabad, on 24 May 1993 the Management of this Seminary has been entrusted to the ‘Salesians of Don Bosco’ for a period of ten years. This contract was renewed at the end of the scholastic year 2002–2003 for a period of six years. It is renewed once again in 2009 for a period of ten more years.[11] The Seminary is overseen by the following Salesians:
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- Provincial - Rev. Fr. Raminedi Balaraju, SDB
- Rector - Fr. Koonananickal Jose, SDB
- Dean - Br. Vincent Castilino, SDB
- Principal - Fr. Mathiekal Wilson, SDB
- Administrator - Fr. Cherapanath Rinoy, SDB
[edit] Admissions
The Seminary follows semester system[12]. Admission is for Catholic pupils who are eligible to pursue priestly studies and hailing from any of the ten Catholic dioceses and two archdioceses in Andhra Pradesh as well as any religious Congregation willing to send their students for Priestly formation.[13].
[edit] Formation Paradigm
We, at St John’s Regional Seminary, would like to ground the entire formation process on profound God-Experience, which is Christ’s own experience of the Father.[14] Hence this focus is maintained in all that we plan to do in the seminary, giving the seminarians a profound and intimate relationship with God, the ground of all being. We aim to provide integral formation, closely combining Personal, Spiritual, Intellectual and Pastoral Formation[15], so as to make the seminarians authentic disciples of Jesus Christ. Through the three-year programme of the seminary which integrates intellectual formation with spiritual growth and personal effectiveness, the students are helped to form a critical, realistic and holistic vision of the world, human being and God, which is in harmony with the Christian faith and capable of responding to the needs and challenges of the contextual reality in which they find themselves.[16]
In the integrated curriculum of studies that the seminary offers, philosophical formation is given special importance as it brings together faith, culture and life. Care is taken to harmonize all philosophizing with daily life in leading to radical life-commitments. Human, social and educational sciences are also integrated into the formation plan to give it greater completeness. A special effort is made to contextualize all formation programmes in the Seminary. Every occasion is exploited to philosophize from within the religious, cultural, social and philosophical traditions of the land, remaining open to the truth which manifests itself from whatever quarters and trying to understand and appreciate better the culture of our own people. Keeping in mind the pastoral orientation of the academic formation offered in the seminary, the seminarians are encouraged to involve themselves in apostolic activities to help them remain close to their own people.[17]
The integrated formation aimed at by the Seminary will become concrete and real, when the vision of reality and the effective response to it are harmonized in the formation community by the staff and students together. It is our earnest prayer that all formation in St John’s Regional Seminary, Kondadaba, be an endeavor to grow day by day in conformity to the person of Jesus Christ, resembling him evermore,[18] and whose risen presence we seek to recognize in the daily events of our own lives and those of our brothers and sisters.
[edit] Current Staff
[edit] Faculty[19]
[edit] Visiting Faculty[20]
- Sr. Philomena D'Souza, FMA
- Fr. G. Lazar, [Divine Word Missionaries|[SVD]]
- Fr. Mark K. Raj, SJ
- Fr. C. P. Varghese, SDB
- Fr. Francis Stephen, MSFS
- Fr. P. Antony
- Fr. P. Johnson, OFM Cap.
- Fr. Francis Stephen, MSFS
[edit] Other Staff[21]
- Assistant Librarian and Clerk
- Sri Ch. Sai Ram
- Computers
- Sri R. Joseph
[edit] Past Faculty
- Bishop G. Prasad
[edit] See also
Other University-affiliated seminaries in Andhra region
Theological degrees:
- Doctor of Divinity, Doctor of Theology, Master of Theology, Bachelor of Divinity, Bachelor of Theology, Licentiate in Theology, Licentiate in Sacred Scripture
Members of the Andhra Pradesh Federation of Churches
- Archbishop M. Joji
- Bishop G. Prasad
- Bishop D. M. Prakasam
- Bishop G. Dyvasirvadam
- Bishop V. E. Christopher
- Bishop B. P. Sugandhar
Indigenous Scholars
- B. V. Subbamma
- Y. D. Tiwari
- D. S. Amalorpavadass a.k.a. Swamy Amalorananda
[edit] References
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Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (March 2011) |
- ^ Bosco Seva Kendra. Official Site. Internet, accessed 24 September 2008. [1]
- ^ Handbook and Calendar 2008-2009, St. John's Regional Seminary, Kondadaba, Kothavalasa 535 183, Vizianagaram District.
- ^ Handbook and Calendar 2008-2009, op. cit.
- ^ The Roman Curia. Internet, accessed 25 September 2008
- ^ Handbook and Calendar 2008-2009, op. cit.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Carlo Torriani, History of the PIME IN Andhra Pradesh, PIME Publications, Eluru. [2]
- ^ J. N. M. Wijngaards, Life and Work. Internet, accessed 24 September 2008. [3]
- ^ Handbook and Calendar 2010 -2011, p. 5
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Ibid. 5.
- ^ Ibid., pp. 5-9
- ^ Inferred from List of Students, Handbook and Calendar 2010-2011, pp. 22-24
- ^ cf. CBCI, Life and Ministry of Priests, 1997, 2.
- ^ cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis 13; Ad Gentes 16
- ^ cf. Optatam Totius 15.
- ^ cf. Ad Gentes 16.
- ^ cf. Pastores Dabo Vobis 5.
- ^ Handbook and Calendar 2010-2011, op. cit. p. 17
- ^ Ibid., p. 18
- ^ Ibid., p. 17
