Bishop D. N. Samuel was the fifth Bishop - in - Dornakal Diocese of the Church of South India who occupied the Cathedra in the CSI-Epiphany Cathedral in Dornakal from 1986 until his sudden death on 13 July 1996 resulting in an unexpected sede vacante.

Dara Noah Samuel
Bishop – in – Dornakal (1986-1996)
ChurchChurch of South India
DioceseDornakal
In office1986-1996[1]
PredecessorG. S. Luke
SuccessorA. Rajarathnam
Previous post(s)Pastor, Diocese of Dornakal(1966-1986)
Orders
Ordination1 May 1968[1]
by Bishop P. Solomon
Consecration5[1] January 1986[2]
by I. Jesudason, Moderator, Church of South India Synod and Sundar Clarke, Deputy Moderator, Church of South India Synod[2]
Personal details
Born
Narayanapuram,[1] Khammam District
Died13 July 1996[1]
Khammam[1]
BuriedEpiphany Cathedral Compound, Dornakal

Samuel studied joined the Andhra Union Theological College (AUTC), Dornakal in 1963 but within a year, he moved along with the College to Rajahmundry as the AUTC together with other Seminaries formed the Andhra Christian Theological College in Rajahmundry in 1964. Samuel was awarded a Licentiate in Theology in 1966 and upgraded his academics by pursuing a Bachelor of Theology as well as a Bachelor of Divinity degree through the Andhra Christian Theological College which by then relocated to its present campus in Hyderabad. The Andhra Christian Theological College, Hyderabad where Samuel studied is affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University), India's first[3] {a University under Section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956}[4] with degree-granting authority validated by a Danish Charter and ratified by the Government of West Bengal.

Noah Samuel studied at the CSI-Noble College at Machilipatnam taking a Secondary School Leaving Certificate in 1949 and continued his studies by passing the Matriculation Examination offered by the Andhra University and worked as a civilian with the Singareni Collieries Company. Akin to the early Church Fathers, in this case, Bishop Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, Noah Samuel left his civilian work in 1963 and enrolled for spiritual studies. On his ordination as Deacon on 24 April 1966 followed by his ordination as a Pastor in 1968 by Bishop P. Solomon, he served at the parishes of the Diocese of Dornakal.

In 1985 when Bishop G. S. Luke retired on attaining superannuation, the Diocese of Dornakal became sede vacante following which the Church of South India Synod appointed D. N. Samuel as the fifth Bishop - in - Dornakal to succeed Bishop G. S. Luke who was principally consecrated by I. Jesudason, Moderator, Church of South India Synod in the presence of Sundar Clarke, Deputy Moderator, Church of South India Synod[2] and the co-consecrator.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f M. Edwin Rao (Compiled), Prophet Azariah and the Blessed Dornakal: A centenary revisit 1912-2012, Dornakal Diocese, Dornakal, 2012, pp.88-90
  2. ^ a b c K. M. George, Church of South India: life in union, 1947–1997, Jointly published by Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and Christava Sahitya Samithi, Tiruvalla, 1999, pp. 20-23 and p. 109. [1]
  3. ^ Sankar Ray, The Hindu (Business Line), 11 April 2008 Almost a century later, the charter was endorsed officially under the Bengal Govt Act IV of 1918. Internet, accessed 30 November 2008. [2]
  4. ^ The Senate of Serampore College (University) is a University within the meaning of Section 2 (f) of the UGC Act, 1956 under which a University means a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act, and includes any such institution as may, in consultation with the University concerned, be recoginsed by the Commission in accordance with the regulations made in this behalf under this Act. The UGC took the opinion that the Senate fell under the purview of Section 2 (f) of the said Act since The Serampore College Act, 1918 was passed by the Government of West Bengal.
Religious titles
Preceded by
G. S. Luke
1980-1985
Bishop - in - Diocese of Dornakal
Church of South India

1986-1996
Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by
G. S. Luke
1980-1985
Member, Board of Governors,
Andhra Christian Theological College
Hyderabad

1986-1996
Succeeded by

Further reading

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  • Anantha Sudhaker Bobbili (2000). The Road from Poodur in Biographical Passages: Essays in Victorian and Modernist Biography : Honouring Mary M. Lago, University of Missouri, North America. ISBN 978-0-8262-1256-6.