Rev. Fr. Samuel Rayan (1920- ) is an Indian Jesuit theologian who has contributed significantly to the Indian Church. Being a radical humanist, Rayan is convinced that the human person in community is the object of God's special love. Through his theological writings, Rayan pleads for care of the earth, concern for life and commitment to people. In the last week of December 2014 a National Seminar was held in Christ Hall, Calicut, in order to study Rayan's Theological writings and to assess his contribution to Indian Christian theology. Most of the twenty-two papers collected in this book were presented at the Seminar and they reflect on the significance of the Indian Church and its role in the lives of the ordinary people. These have been suitably presented under 4 parts, namely: Theological Themes, The Church and its Mission, Approach to the Bible, and Theologizing in India. It is our fond hope that the book will inspire the readers to study Samuel Rayan's writings and discover his vision of a new Church and a new Society.

Contents

Introduction

Part 1
Theological Themes

1. Meaning of Jesus Christ in the Indian Context : The Christological Vision of Samuel Rayan / Jacob Parappally

2. The Divine in the Writings of Samuel Rayan / P. R. John

3. The Spirit of Life : Rayan's Thoughts on the Holy Spirit / Mohan Doss

4. The Eucharist as Source and Summit of Abundant Life : Reflections on Samuel Rayan's Eucharistic Theology / Francis Gonsalves

5. Mother Earth : A Spiritual Matter / Shalini Mulackal

6. Caring to Protest : The Prophetic Voice of a Feminist Theologian / Kochurani Abraham

Part 2
The Church and its Mission

7. The Beauty of the Church : An Investigation of Samuel Rayan's Ecclesiology / Kurien Kunnumpuram

8. Mission of the Church according to Samuel Rayan / Joseph Lobo

9. Rayan's Vision of a New Society / J. Charles Davis

10. "Peace and Peace-Making - A Christian Imperative" : Samuel Rayan's Contributions / George Pattery

11. The Social and Liberative Consequences of Samuel Rayan's Theology / Nicholas Tharsiuse

12. The Missing Child : The Contemporary Relevance of Samuel Rayan's reflections on Children / Kuruvilla Pandikattu

13. Transformative Spirituality : Response-Ability to Reality Search for a Relevant Spirituality in the Writings of Samuel Rayan / Stephen Chundamthadam

Part 3
Approach to the Bible

14. "Stand Upright and Hold your Heads High, Because your Liberation is Near" (Luke 21:28) Samuel Rayan's Approach to Scripture / Jacob Prasad

15. Face-To-Face with Jesus : Samuel Rayan's use of the New Testament / M. Paul Raj

16. Yes Indeed He is with us : An Appraisal of Samuel Rayan's Biblical Exegesis and Hermeneutics / Henry Pattarumadathil

Part 4
Theologizing in India

17. Exploring the Realm of Implicit Theologies : Reflections on Samuel Rayan's Method of Theologizing / P. T. Mathew

18. The Art and Science of Theology / Keith D'Souza

19. The Impact of Indian thought on Samuel Rayan's Theology / Sebastian Painadath

20. Historical Existence as Praxis : Samuel Rayan's Understanding of History / Isaac Padinjarekuttu

21. Prime Path-Finder of Dalits / A. Kulandaisamy

22. Colonization, Erasure and Theologizing in India / Victor Ferrao

Paper Contributors

Rev. Kurien Kunnumpuram, SJ (born July 8, 1931) is a Roman Catholic, Indian Jesuit priest and well-known Christian theologian. Member of the academic staff of the Faculty of Theology at Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune (India) (Emeritus), he contributed in the field of ecclesiology, particularly with regard to Vatican II. He was the founder-publisher-editor of Jnanadeepa: Pune Journal of Religious Studies, from 1998 to 2010. He was also the founding editor of JDV's Encyclopedia of Indian Christian Theology, till 2009. He is the author of more than twelve books.