Bishop Gladston new CSI Moderator
Visakhapatnam | Sunday, Jan 13 2008 IST
Bishop J W Gladston of Thiruvananthapuram has been elected as the Moderator of
the Church of South India (CSI) at the ongoing session of the 31st CSI Synod
here. Talking to UNI, Bishop Gladston said Bishop A. Christopher Asir (Madurai)
was elected as the Deputy Moderator and Mr M Jayakumar of Bangalore and Mr
Devasahayam of Warangal elected General Secretary and Treasurer respectively.
Sixty-six members from South India were elected as executive members. About 500
delegates, including foreign delegates were participating in the Synod, which
would conclude tomorrow.
The next Synod would be held in January, 2010.
RT.REV.DR.J.W.GLADSTONE
BISHOP IN SOUTH KERALA DIOCESE C.S.I.
A PROFILE
THE PERSON:
Consecrated as the Bishop in the CSI South Kerala Diocese on 16 th September
1997, Rt. Rev.Dr. J.W. Gladstone, with his unusual capability for untiring hard
work, intellectual acumen, spirit of sacrificial service, administrative skill
and a score of other extraordinary qualities has by now taken the Diocese far
forward into the realms of spiritual, social, educational and material
advancement. The Diocese would not have enjoyed these achievements but for his
daring and dedicated leadership that has won him the reverence and admiration of
the people of his own diocese, other dioceses of the Church of South India, all
other Christian denominations as well as of the non-Christian public. He is very
often invited to play important roles in almost all the public issues where
impartial initiative, mature mediation and Christian counseling are required. He
knows that a person in the administrative seat should have the maturity, resolve
and determination and at the same time to be loving, impartial and kind while
handling delicate situations.
The pastoral proficiency and allied virtues we find in him have been inherited
from his father, the Rev. J. Wilson, well known for his selfless services in
this diocese, now leading retired life.
MINISTRY BEGINS:
Rt. Rev. Dr. J.W.Gladstone was born on the Christmas day in 1945. After securing
a Post- Graduate degree in Economics, he joined the Serampore Theological
College from where he took his Bachelor of Divinity ( B.D.) and Master of
Theology (M.Th.) degrees. He was ordained on July 20th 1975. He secured his
Doctorate in Theology from the University of Hamburg, Germany.
Having secured high Theological Degrees with distinction, Rev. Dr.Gladstone was
the natural choice for the Vice-Chairmanship of the Diocese, an office he held
for 6 years. During this period he had served as Bishop's Commissary on a few
occasions. For 9 years he was the Manager of the Christian College, Kattakada,
It was under his management the College could achieve several Physical and
academic developments.
His long tenure of service that lasted for more than two decades on the faculty
of the United Theological College, Kannammoola, Trivandrum, from 1975, of which
6 years (1991 to 1997) as Principal, the College witnessed extraordinary
development. Almost all the infrastructure facilities we see in the campus of
the Seminary today are the fruits of his unremitting efforts of this
Master-builder.
FIELDS OF ACTIVITIES:
His relationship with the Synod of the CSI is long and diverse. He started as an
elected representative to the Synod from the Diocese in early 1970s. This
representation repeated several times during which he had been Member of the
Synod Executive Committee, Synod Working Committee and Convener of the Synod
Theological Commission. He continues to be so in the capacity of the Bishop.
He holds several important offices in various Church and Inter-church bodies. He
is the President of the Senate of Serampore. He is associated with the
activities of various Ecumenical Bodies of the Anglican Church Communion, the
Faith and Order Commission of the WCC to mention a few.
He serves in several secular bodies of the State and Central Governments on
their request. He is the Chairman of the Society for the Integrated Development
of Rural People and Marginalised Women, Member of the Anthropological Survey of
India, Member of the District Literacy Committee of the Government of Kerala;
Member of the Peace Team organised by the Government of Kerala during communal
riots; Member of the Advisory Board of the Christian Study Centre of the
University of Kerala, to mention a few.
A SCHOLAR AND AN AUTHOR:
Bishop Gladstone has by now earned the reputation as an authority in Church
History. He has published more than 125 articles on Theological, Biblical and
Social subjects, both in Malayalam and English. He was called upon to contribute
sections and chapters in different books published by leading publishers. But
the most valuable contribution to his credit in this field is the publication of
12 books in Malayalam and English on various subjects in Theology, Church
History, Bible, Biography and the Social History of the people of his Diocese.
EXTENSIVE EXPOSURE:
Bishop Gladstone has traveled all over the world in connection with
international conferences to which he had been invited either to present papers
or to participate as a distinguished member. He has visited almost all European
Countries, the United States and most of the Third World Countries.
He had been made the Moderator's Commissary in the North Kerala Diocese and in
the newly formed Thoothukkudi – Nazareth Diocese of the CSI. He is by now a
renowned trouble-shooter appreciated and accepted by all.
A UNIQUE ACHIEVEMENT:
Bishop Gladstone inspires his people to think big, aim very high and he will
always be there in the forefront. He has an inherent ability to judge people and
to win the moral and personal support of all in whom he recognizes qualities
useful for the accomplishment of great projects of his dreams. This confidence
in his people, the courage to take risks, desire to keep all his people together
at any cost and the vision he dearly cherishes for the future of his Diocese
have given him the strength to embark upon a project of establishing a Medical
College in his Diocese which has the distinction of the very first and the only
one of its kind in the whole of the Church of South India. It became possible
with the power and courage he had drawn from God Almighty. He knows how to be
firm and undaunted in the face of any challenge.
Bishop Rt. Rev.Dr.J.W.Gladstone is a gift of God to the South Kerala Diocese and
in a wider sense, to the Church of South India.
(Thankyou - Prof.J.M.Stewart)
Deputy Moderator Rt.Rev.A.Christopher Asir ...More...
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