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St. John's Regional Seminary (Philosophate)
Encyclopedia
St. John's Regional Seminary (Philosophate) founded in the year 1987 is a propaedeutic
seminary equipping students with philosophical training. It is located in the rural town of Kothavalasa
in Vizianagaram District
in Andhra Pradesh
, India
.
.
Since inception, the seminary used to offer a two-year course in philosophy. However, from the academic year 1999-2000, the seminary began offering a three-year course in philosophy in order to enable its students to simultaneously pursue the secular graduate degrees of Bachelor of Arts
(B. A.) and Master of Arts
(M. A.) through the School of Distance Education, Andhra University
, Visakhapatnam
.
was founded in the year 1965 in Ramanthapur
, Hyderabad to train Priests for the Catholic Church in Andhra Pradesh. Later in 1987, the Seminary was bifurcated into two. The theologiate was retained in Hyderabad while the philosophate was moved to Kothavalasa
in the northern circars of Andhra Pradesh
.
pupils who are eligible to pursue priestly studies and hailing from any of the ten Catholic dioceses and two archdioceses in Andhra Pradesh as well as any religious Congregation willing to send their students for Priestly formation..
In the integrated curriculum of studies that the seminary offers, philosophical formation is given special importance as it brings together faith, culture and life. Care is taken to harmonize all philosophizing with daily life in leading to radical life-commitments. Human, social and educational sciences are also integrated into the formation plan to give it greater completeness. A special effort is made to contextualize all formation programmes in the Seminary. Every occasion is exploited to philosophize from within the religious, cultural, social and philosophical traditions of the land, remaining open to the truth which manifests itself from whatever quarters and trying to understand and appreciate better the culture of our own people. Keeping in mind the pastoral orientation of the academic formation offered in the seminary, the seminarians are encouraged to involve themselves in apostolic activities to help them remain close to their own people.
The integrated formation aimed at by the Seminary will become concrete and real, when the vision of reality and the effective response to it are harmonized in the formation community by the staff and students together. It is our earnest prayer that all formation in St John’s Regional Seminary, Kondadaba, be an endeavor to grow day by day in conformity to the person of Jesus Christ, resembling him evermore, and whose risen presence we seek to recognize in the daily events of our own lives and those of our brothers and sisters.
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Theological degrees:
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Members of the Andhra Pradesh Federation of Churches
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Indigenous Scholars
Propaedeutics
Propaedeutics or propedeutics is a historical term for an introductory course into a discipline: art, science, etc. Etymology: pro- + Greek: paideutikós, "pertaining to teaching"....
seminary equipping students with philosophical training. It is located in the rural town of Kothavalasa
Kothavalasa
Kotha-valasa or Kotta-valasa is a census town and mandal in Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.-Geography:Kothavalasa is located at . It has an average elevation of 209 meters .-Demographics:...
in Vizianagaram District
Vizianagaram district
Vizianagaram district , also known as Vijayanagaram district is one of the northern coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, India. Vizianagaram town is the district headquarters...
in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Affiliation
Those pursuing philosophy here are eligible for pursuing theology in other seminaries. The seminary as such is not affiliated to any University. However, the Seminary is listed as a propaedeutic seminary under the Roman CuriaRoman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
.
Since inception, the seminary used to offer a two-year course in philosophy. However, from the academic year 1999-2000, the seminary began offering a three-year course in philosophy in order to enable its students to simultaneously pursue the secular graduate degrees of Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(B. A.) and Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
(M. A.) through the School of Distance Education, Andhra University
Andhra University
Andhra University or Andhra Viswa Kala Parishad , located in Visakhapatnam, north east coastal Andhra Pradesh, is one of the older premier universities in India with a broad focus...
, Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...
.
Background
St. John's Regional SeminarySt. John's Regional Seminary
St. John's Regional Seminary is the theologiate of the Catholic Church of Andhra Pradesh. It is a major seminary training students to become priests.St. John's Regional Seminary is situated in Ramanthapur in Hyderabad.-Background:...
was founded in the year 1965 in Ramanthapur
Ramanthapur
Ramanthapur is a neighbourhood in the Indian city of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. It lies close to Uppal, between Uppal and Amberpet on the road from Uppal to Kachiguda. Other notable landmarks include the CFSL Hyderabad, the Hyderabad Public School, the Central Detective Training School, the...
, Hyderabad to train Priests for the Catholic Church in Andhra Pradesh. Later in 1987, the Seminary was bifurcated into two. The theologiate was retained in Hyderabad while the philosophate was moved to Kothavalasa
Kothavalasa
Kotha-valasa or Kotta-valasa is a census town and mandal in Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.-Geography:Kothavalasa is located at . It has an average elevation of 209 meters .-Demographics:...
in the northern circars of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
.
Authorities and Officials
According to an Agreement signed between the Andhra Pradesh Bishop’s Council and the Salesian Province of St. Joseph, Hyderabad, on 24 May 1993 the Management of this Seminary has been entrusted to the ‘Salesians of Don Bosco’ for a period of ten years. This contract was renewed at the end of the scholastic year 2002–2003 for a period of six years. It is renewed once again in 2009 for a period of ten more years. The Seminary is overseen by the following Salesians:- ProvincialProvincial superiorA Provincial Superior is a major superior of a religious order acting under the order's Superior General and exercising a general supervision over all the members of that order in a territorial division of the order called a province--similar to but not to be confused with an ecclesiastical...
- Rev.The ReverendThe Reverend is a style most often used as a prefix to the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. The Reverend is correctly called a style but is often and in some dictionaries called a...
Fr. Raminedi Balaraju, SDBSDBSDB or sdb can stand for:* Safe deposit box, a type of safe* Salesians of Don Bosco, a Roman Catholic religious order* Schiller-Duval body, a pathologic finding pathognomonic for Endodermal sinus tumors... - RectorRectorThe word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
- Fr. Koonananickal Jose, SDBSDBSDB or sdb can stand for:* Safe deposit box, a type of safe* Salesians of Don Bosco, a Roman Catholic religious order* Schiller-Duval body, a pathologic finding pathognomonic for Endodermal sinus tumors... - DeanDean (religion)A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
- Br. Vincent Castilino, SDBSDBSDB or sdb can stand for:* Safe deposit box, a type of safe* Salesians of Don Bosco, a Roman Catholic religious order* Schiller-Duval body, a pathologic finding pathognomonic for Endodermal sinus tumors... - Principal - Fr. Mathiekal Wilson, SDBSDBSDB or sdb can stand for:* Safe deposit box, a type of safe* Salesians of Don Bosco, a Roman Catholic religious order* Schiller-Duval body, a pathologic finding pathognomonic for Endodermal sinus tumors...
- AdministratorAcademic administrationAn academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities...
- Fr. Cherapanath Rinoy, SDBSDBSDB or sdb can stand for:* Safe deposit box, a type of safe* Salesians of Don Bosco, a Roman Catholic religious order* Schiller-Duval body, a pathologic finding pathognomonic for Endodermal sinus tumors...
Admissions
The Seminary follows semester system. Admission is for CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
pupils who are eligible to pursue priestly studies and hailing from any of the ten Catholic dioceses and two archdioceses in Andhra Pradesh as well as any religious Congregation willing to send their students for Priestly formation..
Formation Paradigm
We, at St John’s Regional Seminary, would like to ground the entire formation process on profound God-Experience, which is Christ’s own experience of the Father. Hence this focus is maintained in all that we plan to do in the seminary, giving the seminarians a profound and intimate relationship with God, the ground of all being. We aim to provide integral formation, closely combining Personal, Spiritual, Intellectual and Pastoral Formation, so as to make the seminarians authentic disciples of Jesus Christ. Through the three-year programme of the seminary which integrates intellectual formation with spiritual growth and personal effectiveness, the students are helped to form a critical, realistic and holistic vision of the world, human being and God, which is in harmony with the Christian faith and capable of responding to the needs and challenges of the contextual reality in which they find themselves.In the integrated curriculum of studies that the seminary offers, philosophical formation is given special importance as it brings together faith, culture and life. Care is taken to harmonize all philosophizing with daily life in leading to radical life-commitments. Human, social and educational sciences are also integrated into the formation plan to give it greater completeness. A special effort is made to contextualize all formation programmes in the Seminary. Every occasion is exploited to philosophize from within the religious, cultural, social and philosophical traditions of the land, remaining open to the truth which manifests itself from whatever quarters and trying to understand and appreciate better the culture of our own people. Keeping in mind the pastoral orientation of the academic formation offered in the seminary, the seminarians are encouraged to involve themselves in apostolic activities to help them remain close to their own people.
The integrated formation aimed at by the Seminary will become concrete and real, when the vision of reality and the effective response to it are harmonized in the formation community by the staff and students together. It is our earnest prayer that all formation in St John’s Regional Seminary, Kondadaba, be an endeavor to grow day by day in conformity to the person of Jesus Christ, resembling him evermore, and whose risen presence we seek to recognize in the daily events of our own lives and those of our brothers and sisters.
Faculty
- Theology and Spirituality, English
- Fr. K. Jose
- Fr. S. Devadas
- Systematic Philosophy
- Fr. M. Wilson
- Fr. C. Rinoy
- Br. V. Castilino
Visiting Faculty
- Sr. Philomena D'Souza, FMA
- Fr. G. Lazar, [Divine Word Missionaries|[SVD]]
- Fr. Mark K. Raj, SJSociety of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
- Fr. C. P. Varghese, SDBSDBSDB or sdb can stand for:* Safe deposit box, a type of safe* Salesians of Don Bosco, a Roman Catholic religious order* Schiller-Duval body, a pathologic finding pathognomonic for Endodermal sinus tumors...
- Fr. Francis Stephen, MSFS
- Fr. P. Antony
- Fr. P. Johnson, OFM Cap.
- Fr. Francis Stephen, MSFS
Other Staff
- Assistant Librarian and Clerk
- SriSriSri , also transliterated as Shri or Shree or shre is a word of Sanskrit origin, used in the Indian subcontinent as polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language, or as a title of veneration for deities .-Etymology:Sri has the root meaning of radiance, or...
Ch. Sai Ram
- Sri
- Computers
- SriSriSri , also transliterated as Shri or Shree or shre is a word of Sanskrit origin, used in the Indian subcontinent as polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language, or as a title of veneration for deities .-Etymology:Sri has the root meaning of radiance, or...
R. Joseph
- Sri
See also
Other University-affiliated seminaries in Andhra region- Master's College of TheologyMaster's College of TheologyMaster's College of Theology is an ecumenical theological seminary located in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is a ministry of Vision Nationals, founded in 1996.....
, VisakhapatnamVisakhapatnamVisakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was... - Bethel Bible College, GunturBethel Bible College, GunturBethel Bible College is an ecumenical theological seminary located in Guntur in Andhra Pradesh in India. It was founded in the year 2000 and is affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College , Serampore, West Bengal....
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Theological degrees:
- Doctor of DivinityDoctor of DivinityDoctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
, Doctor of TheologyDoctor of TheologyDoctor of Theology is a terminal academic degree in theology. It is a research degree that is considered by the U.S. National Science Foundation to be the equivalent of a Doctor of Philosophy....
, Master of TheologyMaster of TheologyA Master of Theology is an advanced theological research degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries.-North America:In North America, the Master of Theology is considered by the Association of Theological Schools to be the minimum educational credential for teaching...
, Bachelor of DivinityBachelor of DivinityIn Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
, Bachelor of TheologyBachelor of TheologyThe Bachelor of Theology is a three to five year undergraduate degree in theological disciplines. Candidates for this degree typically must complete course work in Greek or Hebrew, as well as systematic theology, biblical theology, ethics, homiletics and Christian ministry...
, Licentiate in TheologyLicentiate in TheologyThe Licentiate of Theology or the Licence in Theology is a theological qualification commonly awarded for ordinands and laymen studying theology in the United Kingdom, Malta, Canada, Australia and New Zealand...
, Licentiate in Sacred Scripture
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Members of the Andhra Pradesh Federation of Churches
- ArchbishopArchbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
M. JojiM. JojiMarampudi Joji was the third Archbishop of Hyderabad. He was born in Bhimavaram and died at the Bishop's House, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh... - BishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
G. PrasadG. PrasadG. Prasad is the fourth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cuddapah, in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India.St. Mary's Cathedral in Kadapa is the seat of the Bishop of Cuddapah.... - BishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
D. M. PrakasamD. M. PrakasamD. M. Prakasam is the fourth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nellore, in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India.St. Joseph's Cathedral in Nellore is the seat of the Bishop of Nellore.... - BishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
G. Dyvasirvadam - BishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
V. E. ChristopherV. E. ChristopherV. E. Christopher was the Moderator / Bishop of India's largest Lutheran Church, the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church.-Early years:Ernest Christopher was born into a pastoral family in Bhimavaram in Andhra Pradesh to Rev. Vardanapu Krupadas and Smt. Bhagyamma. His father, Rev. V. Krupadas was a... - BishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
B. P. SugandharB. P. SugandharBadda Peter Sugandhar was the fifth successor of Frank Whittaker as Bishop in Medak in the Church of South India . He was consecrated by Vasant P...
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Indigenous Scholars
- B. V. Subbamma
- Y. D. TiwariY. D. TiwariYisu Das Tiwari was an Indian theologian and a leading participant in Hindu-Christian dialogue.He was a Scholar in Sanskrit, Hindi and Greek. The Bible Society of India entrusted him with revision of the Hindi Bible into a contemporary version.-History:Yisu Das Tiwari was born Badri Prasad...
- D. S. AmalorpavadassD. S. AmalorpavadassDuraiswami Simon Amalorpavadass was a third-world theologian who played a vital role in the renewal of life and mission of the Roman Catholic Church in India, particularly after Vatican II...
a.k.a. Swamy Amalorananda