# Baptist Theological Seminary

Baptist Theological Seminary is a Baptist seminary located in Jagannaickpur, Church Square, Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is affiliated with the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars.

## History

The Seminary was founded in Samalkot in 1882 by the Canadian Baptist Mission, under the stewardship of the John McLaurin. In 1912, the Seminary was shifted from Samalkot to Kakinada. However, in 1920, the Seminary closed and was merged with the Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological Seminary and a joint faculty comprising the American Baptists and the Canadian Baptists began taking classes. In 1928, the Seminary was reopened in Kakinada and the faculty were recalled from Ramayapatnam.
In the beginning, in 1949, the seminary was affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University). However, with the formation of the Andhra Christian Theological College (ACTC) in 1964, the seminary began sending its students for Bachelor of Theology and Bachelor of Divinity to ACTC. After the formation of ACTC, an ecumenical seminary in Rajahmundry in 1964, the BTS got itself amalgamated into it in 1964 for Senate approved courses. The BTS began offering self-managed and operated Graduate of Theology courses under the seal of the Seminary Council since then.
In 1964 the Seminary moved to Rajahmundry in the campus of the Lutheran Theological Seminary. With the formation of the ecumenical seminary – Andhra Christian Theological College in 1964, the B.Th. and B.D. classes were moved in 1964 to it while the Seminary retained the stand-alone diploma courses.
The BTS was upgraded from S. Th to B. Th in August 2015.

## Members of faculty
### Present (resident and visiting)

* The Rev. N. Leela Grace, CBCNC, Faculty member,
* The Rev. B. Devasahayam, CBCNC, Faculty member,
* The Rev. B. Theophilus, CBCNC, Faculty member,
* The Rev. Vara Joseph Deepak Raj Kumar, CBCNC, Faculty member,
* The Rev. K. Ranjit Kumar, CBCNC, Faculty member and Principal,
* The Rev. P. V. Raja Babu, CBCNC, Faculty member

### Past
#### Resident

* Prof. M. Theophilus, CBCNC,
* The Rev. B. Arjuna Rao, CBCNC,
* The Rev. T. Theophilus, CBCNC,
* The Rev. G. Noah Raju, CBCNC,
* The Rev. G. S. Albert Ezekiel, CBCNC,
* The Rev. K. P. Israel, CBCNC,
* The Rev. I. Samuel, CBCNC,
* The Rev. C. L. Timpany, CBM
* The Rev. J. I. Richardson, CBM

#### Visiting

* The Rev. K. David, CBCNC,
* The Rev. G. Babu Rao, CBCNC,
* The Rev. D. J. Jeremiah, CBCNC,
* The Rev. K. D. G. Prakasa Rao, CBCNC,
* The Rev. Paul Carter, CBM

## Succession of seminary principals

| Sl. No | Name | Tenure | Domicile | Earned academic credentials |
| 1. | The Rev. John McLaurin, CBM | 1882-1887 | Canada | B.A. (Canadian Literary Institute) |
| 2. | The Rev. H. E. Stillwell, CBM | 1888-1898 | Canada | B. A. |
| 3. | The Rev. John Craig, CBM | 1899-1905 | Canada | B. A. (Toronto) |
| 4. | The Rev. H. B. Cross, CBM | 1912-1920 | Canada | B. A. |
| 5. | The Rev. J. B. McLaurin, CBM | 1926-1939 | Canada | B.A., B.Th. M. A. |
| 6. | The Rev. Gordon P. Barss, CBM | 1939-1945 | Canada | B. A. (Acadia), B.D. (Rochester) |
| 7. | The Rev. Archibald Gordon, CBM | 1945-1952 | Canada | B. A. (Brandon), B. Th., (Brandon), B. D. (Toronto) |
| 8. | The Rev. C. Bhanumurthy, CBCNC | 1952-1955 | India | L.Th. (Serampore) |
| 9. | The Rev. A. B. Masilamani, CBCNC | 1955-1958 | India | L. Th. (Serampore), B. D. (Serampore), M.A. (Calcutta), Th.M. (Toronto), PhD (Osmania) |
| 10. | The Rev. Waldo Penner, CBM | 1958-1964 | Canada | B. A. (McMaster), B. D. (Berkeley), M. Th. (Berkeley) |
| 11. | The Rev. Victor Hahn, CBM | 1964-1966 | Canada | B. A. (McMaster), B. D. (McMaster), S.T.M. (ANTS) |
| 12. | The Rev. Paul Antrobus, CBM | 1966-1968 | Canada | B. A. (Brandon), B. D. (McMaster), PhD (Waterloo) |
| 13. | The Rev. T. Gnananandam, CBCNC | 1968-1969 | India | B. D. (Serampore), M. A. (Calcutta) |
| 14. | The Rev. Gordon D. Barss, CBM | 1975-1977 | Canada | B. A. (Acadia), B. D. (ANTS) |
| 15. | The Rev. S. E. Krupa Rao, CBCNC | 1977-1979 | India | L. Th. (Serampore), B. D. (Serampore), S.T.M. (UTS) |
| 16. | The Rev. Gordon D. Barss, CBM | 1979-1980 | Canada | B. A. (Acadia), B. D. (ANTS) |
| 17. | The Rev. S. E. Krupa Rao, CBCNC | 1980-1993 | India | L. Th. (Serampore), B. D. (Serampore), S.T.M. (UTS) |
| 18. | The Rev. C. L. Johnson, CBCNC | 1993-2014 | India | BSc (Andhra), B. D. (Serampore) |
| 19. | The Rev. P. V. Raja Babu, CBCNC | 2014-2018 | India | B. A. (Andhra), B.D. (Serampore) |
| 20. | The Rev. K. Ranjit Kumar, CBCNC | 2018– | India | B. Com. (Andhra), B. D. (Serampore), M. Th (Serampore) |