Samuel Amirtham

Bishop Samuel Amirtham CSI
The Right Reverend
Church	Church of South India
Diocese	South Kerala Diocese
Appointed	20 May 1990
In office	1990-1997
Retired	19 August 1997
Predecessor	Isaiah Jesudason, CSI
Successor	J. W. Gladstone, CSI
Previous post(s)	Teacher - in - Old Testament, United Theological College, Bangalore, (1963-1969), Principal, Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary, Madurai (1969-1978), Director, Programme on Theological Education, World Council of Churches, Geneva (1978-1990)
Orders
Ordination	1957 by A. H. Legg, CSI
Consecration	20 May 1990 by P. Victor Premasagar, CSI and Vasanth P. Dandin, CSI
Rank	Bishop
Personal details
Born	Samuel Amirtham (1932-08-19)August 19, 1932 Parassala, Kerala
Died	September 26, 2017(2017-09-26) (aged 85) as birth_place
Buried	Parassala
Nationality	Indian
Denomination	Christianity
Parents	Mother: Smt. Annal, Father:Sri J. Amirtham
Occupation	Pastor
Education	B. Sc. (Madras), B. D. (Serampore), Dr. Theol. (Hamburg)
Alma mater	Madras Christian College, Tambaram (Tamil Nadu), United Theological College, Bangalore (Karnataka), Missions Academy at the University of Hamburg, Hamburg (Germany)

Samuel Amirtham (19 August 1932 - 26 September 2017) was an Indian religious figure. He was the bishop of the South Kerala Diocese of the Church of South India between 1990 and 1997. He also spent many years working with the World Council of Churches in Geneva, writing and lecturing on ecumenical issues.

Studies

After completing his bachelor's degree in Divinity, Samuel Amirtham was appointed as pastor in the London Mission Pastorate Church, Parassala, now named the Abbs Memorial Church, Parassala, after founder and LMS Missionary Rev. John Abbs. He was instrumental in the construction of the new Church building. He also secured a substantial amount as donation from the Hessan Churches in West Germany for this construction. Finally the Church Building was erected at a total cost of Rs 55,000. The Most Revd AH Legg, moderator of South India and Bishop in South Kerala Diocese dedicated the new Church Building on 4 November 1961. His efforts behind the installation of the electric bell, the electric cluster lights, and the lightning arrester are appreciable.

He was also a tutor in Physics at Scott Christian College Nagercoil, lecturer at the United Theological Seminary Bangalore, and visiting professor at the Garreut Theological Seminary. In 1969, Amirtham was appointed as the first principal of the Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary in Madurai. He introduced the gurukulam model of community living at the seminary, and is known for having established a living theology concept. The Rural Theological Institute was thus established, and he became its director. He established the Palmyrah Workers Development Society (PWDS) in 1977.

He was Director of the Programme on Theological Education and Director of the Ecumenical Institute, Bossey of the World Church Council (WCC) from 1980 to 1990. In 1986, Amirtham and C. H. S. introduced a new concept when they presented "The Teaching of Ecumenics" at the WCC. The next year, they co-edited a book by the same name. Amirtham was the bishop of the South Kerala Diocese of the Church of South India from 1990 to 1997.

Honors

The Serampore University conferred on him an honorary doctorate in 1987.

Further reading

• Samuel Amirtham, C. R. W. David (1990). "Venturing into life: the story of the first twenty years of the Tamilnadu Theological Seminary". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• David J. Hesselgrave, Edward Rommen (1989). "Contextualization: Meanings, Methods, and Models". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)