Andhra Christian Theological College


Andhra Christian Theological College is a seminary in Telangana which was founded in 1964. It is affiliated with India's first university, the Senate of Serampore College , and has degree-granting authority under a Danish charter ratified by the government of West Bengal. ACTC is on the Hussain Sagar canal in Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, about from the Secunderabad Junction railway station.
The college was founded on the Lutheran Theological College campus in Rajahmundry and the founding societies included the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Church of South India, the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars, the Methodist Church in India and the South Andhra Lutheran Church. The Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches held its B.D. classes at ACTC in 1967, and in 1972 the B.D. programme of the Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological Seminary was integrated into the college. When M. Victor Paul was principal, Good Samaritan Evangelical Lutheran Church joined the college.
Christian missions in Andhra Pradesh opened seminaries in Gooty, Dornakal, Ramayapatnam, Luthergiri, Kakinada and Shamshabad. Although professors were exchanged among the seminaries, Bachelor of Divinity students attended Serampore College in West Bengal.
Participating ecclesiastical societies

Overview

Kretzmann Commission

ACTC constituted the Kretzmann Commission in 1969, consisting of:
The commission's report, presented to the board of governors, suggested increasing the Bachelor of Divinity curriculum and abolishing the Licentiate in Theology programme.

Merger

In 1964, the college was founded in Luthergiri, Rajahmundry, East Godavari district with the merger of three theological colleges:
Andhra Union Theological College in Dornakal, Baptist Theological Seminary in Kakinada, and Lutheran Theological College in Rajahmundry.
With William D. Coleman as its first principal, the college was dedicated on 1 July 1964 by R. M. Clark of the BTESSC. The inaugural address was delivered by Senate of Serampore College registrar C. Devasahayam in Rajahmundry.
The Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological Seminary was a separate part of the college in Rajahmundry until it merged in 1972. By 1973, the college had moved from Rajahmundry to Secunderabad due to pollution from nearby paper mills. The new buildings were dedicated by Church of South India bishop Pereji Solomon in the presence of Catholic archbishop Samineni Arulappa and seminarians from St. John's Regional Seminary. During the 1990s, the college's postal address changed to Hyderabad.

Administration and faculty

Board of governors

The college is administered by a board of governors composed of representatives of participating Protestant ecclesiastical societies:
The college motto is derived from Ephesians 4:12, which reads in the Latin Vulgate: "Ad consummationem sanctorum in opus ministerii...".

Hall system

, the college's first principal, explained the hall system: "Each of the participating denominations has its own 'hall'. There are two hours of instruction each week about the liturgy, history, and policy of each denomination".
The churches commonly associated with Protestantism in southern India include the Anglicans, Congregationalists, Wesleyans, Baptists, Lutherans and Methodists. Each church has its own tradition. At ACTC, students learn their respective church doctrine in addition to general theology.

Principals

The principal serves a four-year term, with each participating church having an opportunity to provide a principal. The current principal is the Rev. A. John Prabhakar, D.Th..

Serampore University affiliation

The college has affiliated since its founding with the Senate of Serampore College.

Degrees for pastors

ACTC and Serampore offer two degrees for pastors: Bachelor of Divinity and Master of Theology under the aegis of Advanced Institute for Research on Religion and Culture.

Distance education

Through distance education, ACTC has Bachelor of Christian Studies and Master of Christian Studies programmes for Christian students and a Diploma in Christian Studies programme for Christian and non-Christian students.

Registrar visits

When the college was founded in 1964, university registrar Chetti Devasahayam delivered its inaugural address; registrar D. S. Satyaranjan visited the college annually. Current registrar S. K. Patro has visited ACTC to investigate the prospect of upgrading the college to a postgraduate institution.

University convocations

The college has begun an initiative to admit Christian candidates to a Master of Divinity programme, for which it has been accredited by the Asia Theological Association.

Academics

SubjectNameGenderDenominationDegreeStudyingInstitutionLeave period
Christian MinistryY. J. Rajendra Prasad, STBCMBaptistM.Th.D.Th. in
Christian Ministry		UTC, Bangalore2016-2019;
extended to 2020
Christian theologyB. N. Ratna Prakash, AELCMLutheranM.Th.D. Th. in
Christian theology		UBS, Pune2018-2021
Christian ministryK. T. Vijayakumar, CSIMAnglicanM.Th.D. Th. in
Homilitics		SATHRI, Serampore2019-2022

Library

ACTC's library has reading-room facilities, over 38,000 books and 35 periodicals. When the college was founded, it was known as the Dunkelberger Memorial Library. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America had sponsored the library in memory of Roy Martin Dunkelberger, AELC, a Lutheran missionary in Rajahmundry.
The library was renamed the Gipson Memorial Library in 2014 in honour of Baptist missionary T. G. Gipson, STBC, who had modernized the library during his second term as a visiting faculty member at the college. The renaming ceremony was held during the tenure of T. Matthews Emmanuel as principal, in the presence of board of governors chair K. Frederick Paradesi Babu and board member V. Prasada Rao.

Student life

ACTC has recreational facilities which include throwball, tennis, basketball and volleyball courts, a table tennis room and a playing field for football and cricket. Daily mass is said in the chapel for students and teachers, and Sunday mass is open to the public. College festivals include the Christian Home Festival, Carey Day, CSI Day, Reformation Day, and Independence Day.

Notable figures

of this institution, the present Principal.