Govada Dyvasirvadam
Govada Dyvasirvadam | |
---|---|
Bishop of Krishna-Godavari Diocese of the Church of South India | |
Church | Church of South India |
Diocese | Diocese of Krishna-Godavari |
See | Church of South India |
In office | 2002–2018 |
Predecessor | T. B. D. Prakasa Rao |
Successor | The Rt Rev Tantepudi George Cornelious |
Previous post(s) | General Secretary of the Church of South India |
Orders | |
Ordination | December 1979 |
Consecration | 24 November 2002 by K. J. Samuel |
Rank | Bishop,Moderator |
Personal details | |
Born | 28 March 1951 Challapalli, Andhra Pradesh |
Govada Dyvasirvadam (born 28 March 1951) was the Bishop of Krishna-Godavari Diocese of the Church of South India(incorporating Anglicans, Methodists, and Presbyterians).[1]
St. Andrew's Cathedral in Machilipatnam is the seat of the Bishop-in-Krishna Godavari.
Earlier, in 1998, Dyvasirvadam was elected as the General Secretary of the CSI, the youngest ever in the church's history.[2]
Dyvasirvadam was also a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches headquartered in Geneva.[3] as well as a member of the General Committee of the Christian Conference of Asia headquartered in Thailand.[4]
Early years
Dyvasirvadam was born on 28 March 1951 in Challapalli in Krishna District. He was the tenth child of his parents, Rev. Govada Devamani and Smt. Suguna Sundaram.[5] Schooling was in Krishna and West Godavari districts. He had been an alumnus of Sreemanthu Raja Higher Secondary School, Challapalli in Krishna District and the Municipal School in Eluru in West Godavari District.
He later did his college studies in A.V.N. College (established in 1860), one of the oldest institutes in Visakhapatnam.
Dyvasirvadam also pursued post-graduate studies in Noble College, Machilipatnam and was inspired by the then Bishop in Krishna-Godavari, N. D. Ananda Rao Samuel.
Ordination and pastorship
After studying at the Bishop's College in Calcutta, the Diocese of Krishna Godavari first posted him to Kanumolu near Hanuman Junction in Krishna District.[5]
In March 1978, he was ordained by Bishop Henry Lazarus as a Deacon in the St. Andrew's Church in Machilipatnam.[6] Later, he was posted to Christ Church in Eluru in West Godavari District. The then Moderator's Commissary, The Right Reverend H. D. L. Abraham (Bishop in Medak) ordained him as a priest.
Higher studies and professorship
With interest to pursue higher studies in theology, the Diocese granted him study leave. Dyvasirvadam proceeded to the United Theological College, Bangalore, [the only autonomous college under the Senate of Serampore College] and enrolled himself for the post-graduate degree of Master of Theology (M. Th.) in the discipline of Systematic Theology studying between the years 1982-1984[7] and worked out a dissertation entitled Eschatological motifs in process theologies[8] under the Principalship of Joshua Russell Chandran[9]
After successful completion of post-graduate studies in theology, his diocese assigned him a teaching task at the ecumenical Andhra Christian Theological College in Hyderabad in which his diocese is a participating member.[10] Dyvasirvadam taught Systematic theology to students pursuing Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) and Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degrees.
Research
Later, on invitation from the UTC, Bangalore, he went on study leave to serve as the Acting Registrar there. Subsequently, he enrolled for pursuing the doctoral degree (Doctor of Theology – D. Th.) in the South Asia Theological Research Institute (SATHRI) in Bangalore. He chose the discipline of Liberation Theology.[11]
Synod of the CSI
In 1992, Dyvasirvadam was recalled to the Church of South India Society by then Moderator, Bird Ryder Devapriam and was assigned the responsibility of overseeing pastoral concerns and became Director of the Pastoral Aid Department of the Church of South India Synod, Chennai.
The biennial Synod of the CSI elected Rev. Dyvasirvadam as its general secretary in 1998 in Arogyavaram in Chittoor District, succeeding George Koshy.[12] He was re-elected unanimously in the Synod of 2000 in Secunderabad and in the Synod of 2002 in Melukavumattam. Bishop G.Dyvasirvadam has been elected as the Deputy Moderator of CSI in the Synod of 2012 at Kanyakumari.
He has been elected as the Moderator of CSI in the Synod of 2014 at Vijayawada.
Bishopric
The CSI Diocese of Krishna-Godavari is one of the largest extending from Ongole District in the south through Srikakulam District in the norther circars of Andhra Pradesh. Its Cathedral was first erected in Eluru and was subsequently shifted to Vijayawada. Earlier Bishop's who served in this diocese were notable and exemplary. Following the retirement of The Right Reverend T. B. D. Prakasa Rao,[12] Rev. Dyvasirvadam contested and was elected unopposed. Subsequently, the Cathedral was shifted to Machilipatnam. St. Andrew's Church was consecrated as a Cathedral.
The Moderator of the CSI during that time was The Most Reverend K. J. Samuel who principally consecrated him in the St. Andrew's Cathedral in Machilipatnam.
Honours
In the year 2001, friends of the Bishop proceeded to write a 365-page festschrift in his honour on the occasion of the completion of fifty years. Rev. Vinod Victor, Leslie Nathaniel and Rev. Dr. P. Surya Prakash edited the festschrift.
References
- ^ Anglican Communion, Provincial Directory: Krishna-Godavari
- ^ Vinod Victor in Vinod Victor, Leslie Nathaniel (Eds.), Ecumenism: Prospects and Challenges – A Festschrift to the Rev. G. Dyvasirvadam, Indian Society for Promotion of Christian Knowledge (ISPCK), New Delhi, 2001, pp.xxix – xxxiv
- ^ The eighty assembly of the world council of churches held from 3–14 December 1998 in Harare, Zimbabwe elected a total of 37 members to its central committee [1]
- ^ The eleventh assembly of the CCA held in Indonesia from 2–6 June 2000 elected Dyvasirvadam as a member of its general committee.[2]
- ^ a b Vinod Victor, Leslie Nathaniel (Eds.), op. cit.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ K. M. Hiwale (Compiled), Directory of the United Theological College 1910–1997, Bangalore, 1997. Past students, postgraduate course, p.119.
- ^ G. Dyvasirvadam, Eschatological motifs in process theologies in Thesis Titles, Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College, Bangalore, 1991
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Vinod Victor, Leslie Nathaniel (et al.), op. cit.
- ^ a b K. M. George, Church of South India: life in union, 1947–1997, Jointly published by Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and Christava Sahitya Samithi, Tiruvalla, 1999. [3]
Further reading
- Thompson, A. Frank (1997). "The Bairagi Madonna: Leaves from a Calcutta Notebook, Indian Society for Promotion of Christian Knowledge (ISPCK), New Delhi". ISBN 81-7214-372-9.
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- People from Krishna district
- Telugu people
- 20th-century Christian clergy
- 21st-century bishops
- Anglican Bishops of Krishna-Godavari
- Andhra University alumni
- 1951 births
- Indian Anglican priests
- Indian Christian theologians
- Living people
- Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni
- Senate of Serampore College (University) faculty