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.
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