I.R.H. Gnanadason (1915-1973) was an illustrious pastor, eloquent preacher and efficient administrator in the then Travancore diocese. He became a defining Bishop of the new diocese of Kanyakumari (1959) and a well- respected Moderator (1972) of the Church of South India. His death was premature, due to illness. However, his exemplary life and daring initiatives for the sake of the gospel continue to be fresh in the memory of those who knew and worked with him. The author, who started his church ministry under IRHD highlights his life and ministry, drawing resources from the records available and shared memories of those living. It is not a usual type of biography. The book places the life, ministry and leadership of Gnanadason in the backdrop of biblical insights on power and authority, the tragic developments about the interpretations and institution of episcopacy in history, and the struggle to clarify the unique understanding of episcopacy and its practice in the Church of South India, the first organic union in the history of Christianity. The role model of Bishop Gnanadason, the author affirms, has led many to perceive that though dead, he still speaks."
Encouraged and appointed by Bishop Gnanadason for church ministry in Kanyakumari Diocese, Israel Selvanayagam has developed himself to be a bible lover, theologian and minister with a special focus on interreligious dialogue. He has taught Bible, Religions, particularly the Hindu Religious Traditions and Mission in a multireligious world at TTS Madurai, UTC Bangalore, Gurukul Chennai and three colleges in England. He has published extensively in both Tamil and English. The Christian World Imprints have had the pleasure of publishing a number of his books of which "The Great Act of Faith: The First Organic Union of the Church of South India' (2019) is most remarkable. Since 1996 he lives in between cultures and countries and currently serves as a Methodist minister and interreligious practitioner in the multireligious city Leicester in the United Kingdom.
Isaac Richard Harrison Gnanadason' (1915-1973) was an illustrious pastor, cloquent preacher and efficient administrator in the then Travancore diocese, as well as a defining Bishop of the new diocese of Kanyakumari (1959) and a well-respected Moderator of the Church of South India. His death was premature, due to illness. However, his exemplary life and daring initiatives for the sake of the gospel continue to be fresh in the memory of those who knew and worked with him. My attempt to highlight his life and ministry is to record such a memory which has a special background.
As a teenager I first met Gnanadason on 10 Sept. 1967 when he visited my local church (Parakkanvilai) for confirmation. His tall stature, bright and charming face and the reasoned words of his sermon had a great appeal to my life. We the members of the Young Men's Association of the church were excited about the privilege of taking a black-and-white group photograph with him; so also were members of other groups.
On 5 August 1968, I participated in a diocesan youth camp in the diocesan property behind the Kallukuttom church, and the task was to dig pits to plant coconut saplings. I had never expected that I would be paired with the bishop. Dressed in pant and banyan with supportive straps, the way he dug suggested that he was an experienced gardener. I did not have the guts to engage with him in conversation, and anyway some senior pastors swarmed around him, particularly Edward Sam, for humorous chats and explosive laughter.
In early 1969 my local church worker (S. Davidson) took me to the bishop's house, travelling on the first bus early in the morning. When we reached there around 6 am, Gnanadason as usual was already ready clad in his white cassock sitting on a chair in the open veranda as if he was waiting for us, although a prior appointment had not been made (perfectly acceptable in those days!). My church worker showed more interest than myself to enter into Christian ministry! With my mind wavering, we explored possibilities.
As the Church of South India celebrates its Platinum Jubilee, we are in fact celebrating a great legacy which runs back far beyond the seventy-five years of God's grace. Of the saintly visionaries who led this church, one who would stand tall by any yardstick would be I.R.H. Gnanadason. I am glad that a thoroughly researched publication is being presented to the future generations lest they forget the great people who were instrumental in the building up of the future that they cherish today.
I have watched Bishop Gnanadason and his beloved wife Joy from a distance, but with great admiration. I still recall the days when he was commissary of the South Kerala Diocese, when Bishop William Paul Wachalan had his unexpected heavenly call. Also, I recollect the pain expressed by the people when we heard of the too early homegoing of Bishop Gnanadason while in office as the Moderator of the CSI.
It would have been a coincidence that I was called to present my vision statement for the Church of South India during the inauguration of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2021, and I read with great interest the vision statement of Moderator Gnanadason as the CSI celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 1972. He had a great passion for the gospel and a clear theological understanding of what the church is and what the office of the bishop means.
Israel Selvanayagom is not only narrating how defining was the tenure of 1.R.H. Gnanadason as bishop in the Kanyaumari Diocese, as Moderator of the CSI and as a thinker for the global church, but also he is elucidating how he defined the very office of the Bishop in a way any well-meaning successor could emulate. The author defines power and journeys through a very interesting historical pilgrimage where power, especially episcopal power, acquired different shades and meaning. Juxtaposing this with the model of the servant-lord revealed by Jesus, Israel establishes how special a bishop Gnanadason was.
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