The Mangalore Diocesan Chair in Christianity

The Origins of the Mangalore Diocesan Chair in Christianity

On June 26, 1984 Most Rev. Dr Basil Salvadore D’Souza, the Bishop of Mangalore wrote to Prof. Sheik -Ali, the Vice-Chancellor at that time, inquiring about the possibility of establishing a chair in Mangalore University. The Vice Chancellor welcomed the idea and gave concrete suggestions as to how to make an application to institute the Chair. The Bishop of Mangalore filed an application to the University on July 9, 1984. The then Vice-Chancellor Prof. Safeeulla was pleased to accept the draft Statute for the Institution of the Chair. Later, it received the assent of the Chancellor, H. E. the Governor, of Karnataka, on May 20, 1986. This was communicated to the Bishop of Mangalore by the University on June 2, 1986. Then, Mangalore University by an order dated July 3, l987, appointed Prof. Dr Peter Theodore D’Souza, as the first Professor and Head of the Chair.

The Vision and the Mission

The Mangalore Diocesan Chair in Christianity intends to study Christianity in a scientific manner on par with other branches of knowledge at the University level, using modern tools of research and analysis, in line with the best traditions of Universities in the world and with a special reference to the Indian scenario, taking into account its anthropological, sociological, cultural and spiritual heritage. The study approach will be inter-disciplinary and research-oriented in relation to Social Sciences such as Psychology, Philosophy, History, Literature, Sociology and other disciplines.

The mission is to establish Fellowship, Justice, Harmony and Peace through an in-depth study of the Bible, through a process of dialogue with world religions. The Chair intends to build a community of enlightened persons who believe in the universal brotherhood of man. It aims at working for the emancipation of less fortunate by delving deeper to the Indian traditions both by relating to the mainline and subaltern perspectives.

The Objectives

The following are some of the specific objectives of the Chair as mentioned in the Statute:

1. To study Christianity with comparative study of other religion.

2. To promote the study of language in which Christian literature is found.

3. To promote the study of Christianity in its various branches like, Metaphysics, Theology, Scriptures, Religion, Ethics, Liturgy, Spirituality and Art etc.

4. To conduct research in various branches of Christianity, so as to add to the existing knowledge about Christianity in particular and Indian Culture in general.

5. To publish findings of research pertaining to Christianity.

6. To hold courses, seminars, symposia etc., and to undertake such other academic activities as contributing to a deeper understanding of the different branches of Christianity.

7. To serve as a clearing House and an Exchange Centre as regards knowledge and information about Christianity.

8. To develop a department of its own equipped with up-to-date Christian publications, books, journals, manuscripts, micro-films, e-books etc., relevant to the study of Christianity.

9. To collect historical and literary source and reference materials for conducting research work on different aspects of Christianity, such history of Christian literature in different parts of India and the World, Christian literature in different ages.

10. To train the trainees in imparting value based education with a solid ethical base.

Proposals

1. Updating the Library for Inter-Religious Studies and Comparative Study of World Religions.
2. Promoting Research on Inter-Religious Relations and furthering Inter-Religious Dialogue.
3. Recording the History of the Chair in Christianity.
4. Promoting Research in Ecumenical Theology.
5. Enhancement of the Endowment Fund and Corpus Fund.