K. Rajaratnam Endowment Lectures | The Aaron Chair Endowment Lecture

Kunchala Rajaratnam Endowment Lectures

The 19th of January 1988 marks a significant event in the life of our Director Dr. Kunchala Rajaratnam, who received another birth from God's hand - a new life through miraculous healing. Hence it is a day of thanksgiving of God's mercies on him, hearing the prayers of the Gurukul family in the chapel while Dr. Rajaratnam was undergoing a major surgery at Zurich, Switzerland. Endowment lecture on the theme "Faith of our Fathers and Mothers: Contemporary Witness" is an initiative to continue to offer special thanks to God for His mercies on His servant Dr. Kunchala Rajaratnam. The following are the lectures given by eminent theologians and Christian social scientists. These lectures have been entitled under two volumes as "Contemporary Reflections of the Faith of Our Mothers and Fathers: Personal Witness (Vol.1, 2)". These volumes are being compiled and published for the benefit of wider readership.

• "Ecological Dimension of our Faith: Towards a Theology of Nature"
  - Fr. Dr. Samuel Rayan
  
  
• "Contextualisation of Feminist Theology and Women and Christology"
  - Dr. Ms. Rosemary R. Reuther
  
  
• "Churchman's Reflection on Contemporary Issues: Personal Witness"
  - Rev. Dr. J. Russell Chandran
  
  
• "Liberative Solidarity: Church in Witness and Reconciliation"
  - Rev. Dr. K. C. Abraham
  
  
• "Indigenous Traditions, Respect for Nature, and the Concept of Justice: Implication for our Christian Faith" - Fr. Dr. Walter Fernandes
  
  
• "Faith and Culture in Indian Christian Identity: "Who are my Mother and My Brothers?"
  - Rev. Dr. Eric J. Lott
  
  
• "Emergence of a Local Christianity in North East India"
  - Rev. Dr. Renthysoba Keitzer
  
  
• "The Religious Relevance of Mass Media"
  - Dr. William F. Fore
  
  
• "A Dialectical Approach to Faith and Reflection with special reference to the world of Dalits"
  - Rev. Dr. Kothapalli Wilson
  
  
• "What is Neighbour-Love when our Christ is Cosmic?"
  - Rev. Dr. Charles P. Lutz
  
  
• "The Knowledge that Liberates"
  - Rev. Dr. Gnana Robinson
  
  
• "My Encounter with the Witness to Lutheran Piety: August Hermann Francke"
  - Prof. Dr. Drs. Multi H. C. Paul Raabe
  
  
• "Karl Barth and Amartya Sen on Human Freedom"
  - Dr. Chris Barrigar
  
  
• "Mission History Revisited: An Asian Theological Perspective"
  - Dr. D. Preman Niles
  
  
• "What is the Good News for India? - Bridging the Gap between Christianity and Jesus"
  - Dr. P. Dayanandan
  

The Aaron Chair of History of Christianity Endowment Lecture

The Protestant Mission in India traces its origin to Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg. He came to Tranquebar, near Tanjore, on July 9th, 1706. In 1718 he baptised a covert from Cuddalore and gave him the name Aaron. On December 28, 1733 he was ordained as the first Pastor of the Tamil Protestant Church. He was indeed the first indigenous Protestant Pastor not only in India, but also in Asia. His ordination has been a source of inspiration to protestant Churches in India, and even in Europe.

In 1999, the Aaron family instituted a Chair in the name of their distinguished ancestor Pastor Aaron, the first native Protestant Indian pastor to promote research in the history of Christianity in India and to organise an annual lecture highlighting special issues. lecture is held every year.

• "Indian Founders of the Protestant Church in South India"
  - Dr. Daniel Jayaraj
  
  
• "Asian Christians in 20th Century"
  - Rev. Hannes Gaenrs Baner
  
  
• "Indo-German Relationship after the Reunification of Germany"
  - Mr. Hans-Joachim Kiderlen
  
  
• "Hindu Nationalism and Indian Christianity"
  - Fr. Dr. Felix Wilfred
  
  
• "Madras in Olden Times: Three German Eyewitness Reports"
  - Dr. C. S. Mohanavelu
  
  
• "National Workers in the Tranquebar Mission: Their Role as Religious and Social Middlemen"
  - Dr. Heike Liebau
  
  
• "The First Protestant Historian of Christianity in India: Mathurin Veyssiere de la Croze"
  - Dr. Will Sweetman