Joshua Russell Chandran

Joshua Russell Chandran (6 May 1918 – 27 September 2000) was an Indian Christian theologian, who served as President of Senate of Serampore College, Bengal (1970–1), and as President of the United Theological College, Bangalore (1954–83), and was for some years a vice-chairman of the World Council of Churches (1966–68).

Early life and education Joshua Russell Chandran was born in Nagercoil, South India, on 6 May 1918 into a family who were communicant members of the South India United Church. at the University of Madras, Chennai (1933–1938). for Britain, to study at the University of Oxford, Mansfield College, Oxford for pursuing a B.Litt. His B.Litt. thesis was titled A Comparison of the pagan apologetic of Celsus against Christianity as contained in Origen's Contra Celsum and the neo-Hindu attitude to Christianity as represented in the works of Vivekananda and an estimate of the value of Origen's reply for Christian apologetics with reference to neo-Hinduism.

He then studied at Union Theological Seminary, New York, during the academic year 1949–1950 earning an S.T.M.

In the academic year 1964–65, Chandran was Henry Winters Luce Visiting Professor of World Christianity at the Union Theological Seminary in the city of New York.

He was the first President of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT) for the first five-year term (1975–1981).

Church leadership Chandran served as Vice Moderator of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches from 1966 to 1968. His contribution to ecumenism was far-reaching. the Senate of Serampore College (University) in West Bengal conferred upon Russell Chandran an honorary doctorate in 1962.

In 1978 Samuel Amirtham and others also came out with a festschrift in honour of Chandran, titled A Vision for Man: Essays on Faith, Theology, and Society in Honour of Joshua Russell Chandran.

Retirement and death Although Russell Chandran retired in 1984, he began living in Bengaluru. He went to Suva, Fiji, to the Pacific Theological College for some time before returning to Bengaluru.

On 27 September 2000, Joshua Russell Chandran died in Bangalore.