Vadapalli Prasada Rao
V. Prasada Rao (1 December 1954[2] – 7 September 2020) was the eighth Bishop - in - Dornakal Diocese of the Church of South India who was principally consecrated on 12 June 2012[2] by then Moderator, G. Devakadasham[1] and co-consecrated by then Deputy Moderator, G. Dyvasirvadam of the Church of South India Synod at the CSI-Epiphany Cathedral, Dornakal. During the Synod of 2017, Prasada Rao also served as the Deputy Moderator[3] of the Synod for the triennium 2017–2019.
Bishop V. Prasada Rao, CSI Ayyagaru | |
|---|---|
| The Right Reverend | |
| Church | Church of South India (A Uniting church comprising Wesleyan Methodist, Congregational, Presbyterian and Anglican missionary societies – ABCFM, SPG, WMMS, LMS, Basel Mission, CMS, and the Church of England) |
| Diocese | Dornakal |
| In office | 2012[1] |
| Predecessor | B. S. Devamani, CSI |
| Successor | K. Padma Rao, CSI |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 29.6.1982[2] as Deacon, 29.6.1984 as Pastor[1] by G. S. Luke, CSI |
| Consecration | 12 June 2012[1] at CSI-Epiphany Cathedral, Dornakal by G. Devakadasham, Moderator, Church of South India Synod and G. Dyvasirvadam, Deputy Moderator, Church of South India Synod |
| Rank | Bishop |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Vadapalli Prasada Rao 1 December 1954[1] |
| Died | 7 September 2020 (aged 65) Dornakal |
| Buried | Epiphany Cathedral compound, Dornakal |
| Denomination | Christianity |
| Profession | Priest |
| Education | |
| Alma mater |
|
Studies
After schooling in Kistaram[1] and collegiate studies in Sathupalli,[1] Prasada Rao studied sciences leading to Bachelor of Science[2] degree at Ramavaram[1] after which he worked at the Singareni Collieries Company.[1] Much like the early Church Father Saint Ambrose of Milan, Prasada Rao relinquished civil work and took to priesthood and joined the Andhra Christian Theological College, Hyderabad in 1979 during the period of the Old Testament Scholars Victor Premasagar, CSI[4] and G. Babu Rao, CBCNC.[4] The Andhra Christian Theological College where Prasada Rao studied is affiliated with the Senate of Serampore College (University), India's first[5] {a university under Section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956}[6] with degree-granting authority validated by a Danish Charter and ratified by the Government of West Bengal. Prasada Rao was awarded a degree by the university during the Registrarship of the New Testament Scholar, D. S. Satyaranjan.
Ministry and Bishopric
Ever since his ordination as a Deacon on 29 June 1982[1] and later as a Pastor on 29 June 1984[1] by then Bishop G. S. Luke, Prasada Rao began ministering parishes in the Diocese of Dornakal. After nearly thirty years of pastoral ministry, Prasada Rao contested the bishopric during the sede vacante caused on the retirement of his predecessor B. S. Devamani. As the congregations in the Diocese of Dornakal were eagerly awaiting the declaration of the results by the Church of South India Synod, the Moderator, G. Devakadasham advised the congregations to seek holy guidance by observing prayer day on 5 June 2012 following which the Moderator announced the name of Prasada Rao as the eighth Bishop-in-Dornakal.[7]
On 12 June 2012,[7] Prasada Rao was principally consecrated at the CSI-Epiphany Cathedral, Dornakal by the Moderator, G. Devakadasham and co-consecrated by the Deputy Moderator, G. Dyvasirvadam in the presence of other Bishops, P. Surya Prakash and the other two living patriarchs of the Diocese of Dornakal, A. Rajarathnam and B. S. Devamani.[7] The consecration mass of the new Bishop was witnessed by nearly 8,000[8] people who thronged the Cathedral premises in Dornakal on Tuesday, 12 June 2012.
References
- M. Edwin Rao (Compiled), Prophet Azariah and the Blessed Dornakal: A centenary revisit 1912-2012, Dornakal Diocese, Dornakal, 2012, pp.96-97
- Diocese of Dornakal Ministerial Roll.
- CSI Synod, Officers of the Synod
- H. S. Wilson (Edited), The Church on the Move: Essays in honour of Victor Premasagar, Christian Literature Society, Madras, 1988, p.vi.
- 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.
- 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 recognised 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.
- K. Padma Rao, Consecration of the new Bishop, Right Reverend V. Prasada Rao, CSI Life, July 2012, p.6.
- Babu Thomas, CSI ordains new bishops, 23 July 2012
- George Conger, New moderator for the Church of South India, Anglican Link, 12 January 2020.
Further reading
- 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.