K. V. Mathew

K. V. Mathew is a Biblical Scholar and a memberFr. Max Gonsalves (Ed.), Society for Biblical Studies in India Directory 1998. Entry 131, page 30. of the scholarly Society for Biblical Studies in India, a Learned society, incorporating Biblical Scholars of the Protestant, Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Charismatic traditions.
The Biblical languages, Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek were knownKatharine Smith Diehl, Early Indian imprints, Published by Scarecrow Press, 1964. to Prof. Mathew.
It was Sigmund Mowinckel who was a significant Psalms Scholar. Prof. Mathew also researched on Psalms at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Subhasito Snehomoyo Patro of Jeypore who researched at the University of Kiel, Germany in 1976 cited both Sigmund Mowinckel and Mathew on the issue of Royal PsalmsSubhasito Snehomoyo Patro, Royal psalms in modern scholarship, an unpublished dissertation submitted to the University of Kiel, Germany, 1976. categorized by Hermann Gunkel. 
The One-Volume Bible Commentary in Malayalam was a pioneering work whose Editor was Prof. K. V. Mathew who worked together with E. C. John who was its Chief EditorP. Jegadish Gandhi, K. C. John, Upon the winds of wider ecumenism: essays and tributes in honour of Rev. Dr. M. J. Joseph, Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, New Delhi, 2006. p.349. ..
==Scholarly Contributions==
Ronald E. Manahan, the President of Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana in his doctoral dissertation entitled A Re-examination of the Cultural Mandate: An analysis and Evaluation of the Dominion MaterialsRonald E. Manahan, A Re-examination of the Cultural Mandate: An analysis and Evaluation of the Dominion Materials, An unpublished thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Theology in Grace Theological Seminary, May 1982, Winona Lake, Indiana. cites K. V. Mathew:
L. Jayachitra, a New Testament ScholarL. Jayachitra, A Postcolonial Feminist Biblical Interpretation : Mary Magdalene and Canonization, Bangalore Theological Forum, Volume 38, 2006. in an article discussed the gender identity of God where she quoted K. V. Mathew:
Joseph Oomen, a Priest of the Mar Thoma ChurchJoseph Oomen, The Concept of Trinity and Its Implication for Christian Communication in Indian Context. Religion Online. Internet, accessed September 21, 2009. quotes K. V. Mathew on the topic concerning God. 
Taking the above cue from Dr. Mathew, Oomen builds up his article thus:
In the expression ‘Eheh’6 the ‘ousia’ of God is denoted not by a static being but a dynamic creative becoming. The Hebrew word Elohim is plural. So the single Godhead comprises the majesty of divine plurality. The nature of God as it is shown in the book of Genesis implies that God is a family (Genesis 5:2-3); God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4, Exodus 20:3).
== History ==
===Schooling & Collegiate Studies===
Kuzhuvelil Varkey Mathew was born on 2 November 1931 in Keezhuvaipur in Kerala to Smt. Rachel and Sri K. T. Varkey. Mathew studied at the local CMS High School in Mallapally in Pathanamthitta District and later underwent pre-university studies at the CMS College in Kottayam. 
===Divinity===
After Mathew evinced interest in pursuing studies in divinity, the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church then headed by Juhanon Mar Thoma (Mar Thoma XVIII) sent him to Serampore College, Serampore where he pursued graduate studies in theology during the academic years 1951- 1955 during the Principalship of Rev. C. E. Abraham who incidentally was its first Indian PrincipalS. Muthaiah, Neurology and the spiritual, The Hindu, Monday, March 15, 2004. .
The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church ordained Mathew as a Pastor in 1955 and was made Vicar in Mylom. After briefly donning the pastoral role, Mathew was sent again to Serampore College during the academic year 1956-1957 and then to the United Theological College, Bengaluru in the ensuing academic year to pursue post-graduate studies in Biblical Studies leading to M. Th. in Old Testament thereby becoming the first Indian to pursue a post-graduate course in Old Testament under the Senate of Serampore College (University), a State UniversityUnder Section 2 (f) of the UGC Act, 1956, University means a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act, and includes any such institution as may, in consultation with the University concerned, be recoginsed by the Commission in accordance with the regulations made in this behalf under this Act. The UGC took the opinion that the Senate fell under the purview of Section 2 (f) of the said Act since The Serampore College Act, 1918 was passed by the Government of West Bengal. of the Government of West Bengal and recognised by the University Grants Commission under Section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. Mathew studied Old Testament under the distinguished Old Testament Professor Norman Henry Snaith G. W. Anderson, Norman Henry Snaith, 1898 - 1982 in Journal of Semitic Studies, 1983; Volume XXVIII: pp.355-356 then a Visiting ProfessorThe United Theological College, Directory 1910-1997, Bengaluru, 1997. p.7 and p.103. at the Seminary in Bengaluru and worked out a thesis using the Septuagint.
From 1958 to 1960 Mathew was made Vicar of the Mar Thoma Parish in CalcuttaP. Thankappan Nair, South Indians in Kolkata : History of Kannadigas, Konkanis, Malayalees, Tamilians, Telugus, South Indian dishes, and Tippoo Sultan's heirs in Calcutta, Published by Punthi Pustak, Kolkata, 2004..
===Teacher===
thumb|215px|left|New look Serampore College on May Day 2006. K. V. Mathew was an alma mater of Serampore College, the only constituent College of the Senate of Serampore College (University).
Prof. Mathew began teaching Old Testament in Serampore College, a constituent College of the Senate of Serampore College (University)V. C. Samuel (Edited), The Indian journal of theology, Volume 13, 1964. , Serampore beginning from the academic year 1960The Council of Serampore College, The Story of Serampore and its College, Fourth Edition 2005, Serampore. till 1971 when his parent Church, the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church recalled him to Kottayam for teaching in the Mar Thoma Theological Seminary. Paulose Mar Paulose, D. S. Satyaranjan, G. Babu Rao, S. Jeyapaul David and James Massey were few of the students of K. V. Mathew. One of his old students, G. Babu Rao returned to Serampore to teach Old Testament from 1974. Mathew's teaching colleagues included Y. D. Tiwari and others.
Starting from the academic year 1971-1972, Mathew began teaching Old Testament in the Mar Thoma Theological Seminary, Kottayam. In 1981, he was made Principal of the Mar Thoma Theological Seminary and continued in that position till 1986.
Prof. Mathew was also on the panel of Professors under the Federated Faculty for Research in Religion and Culture (FFRRC), Kerala and served as a guide to post-graduate and doctoral students. In 2000, K. V. Mathew was invited by the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar (Delhi Diocese) to serve as the PrincipalNational Council of Churches Review, Volume 120, Published by National Christian Council of India, 2000. p. 950.
 of Dharma Jyoti Vidyapeeth {affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University)}, Faridabad. Mathew held the reins of this institution in Faridabad till 2002.
===Leadership===
* Mar Thoma Sabha
After two decades of teaching in the Seminary in Kottayam, Mathew was made the Secretary of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in 1987 continuing till 1990 under Metropolitan Alexander Mar Thoma (Mar Thoma XIX).
* Society for Biblical Studies in India
The Society for Biblical Studies in India was constituted by Biblical Scholars to foster Biblical scholarship in relation to the Indian context. Prof. Mathew also served as an office-bearer of the SBSI. He was twice elected as its President in 1983 and 1994Cf. Wikipedia article on Society for Biblical Studies in India.
==Writings==
* Ancient Religions of the Fertile Crescent and the Sanatana DharmaK. V. Mathew, Religions of the Fertile Crescent and the Sanatana Dharma, Indian Journal of Theology, Volume 104, 1959.
* Trinity-Semantic ConsiderationsK. V. Mathew in K. M. Tharakan (Edited) Triune God: Love, Justice, Peace, Published by Youth Movement of Indian Orthodox Church, Mavelikkara, 1989. p. 72. Cited by Joseph Oomen in The Concept of Trinity and Its Implication for Christian Communication in Indian Context. 
* The Concept of God and Nature in the Psalms 
* The Hermeneutical Struggle in IndiaK. V. Mathew, The Hermeneutical Struggle in India, The NCCI Review, Volume 101, Nagpur, 1981.
* Indigenisation: An Old Testament PerspectiveK. V. Mathew, Indigenisation: An Old Testament Perspective in papers submitted to the XIIth Conference of the Society for Biblical Studies on the theme "Diakonia and Leadership Patterns", held at De Nobili College, Pune from 29 December 1982 to 1 January 1983. 
* The faith and practice of the Mar Thoma ChurchK. V. Mathew, The faith and practice of the Mar Thoma Church: (prepared for the Triple Jubilee Celebration of Reformation in the Malankara Church), Published by Mar Thoma Theological Seminary, 1985, Kottayam. 
* Walking humbly with God : A Biography of the Rev. C. E. AbrahamK. V. Mathew, Walking humbly with God : A Biography of the Rev. C. E. Abraham, Kottayam, 1986. Cited by Brian Stanley in The history of the Baptist Missionary Society, 1792-1992, T&T Clark, 1992.
* Ecological Perspectives in the Book of PsalmsK. V. Mathew in Bible Bhashyam, 1993, pp.159–68. Cited by David M. Howard, Jr. in Recent Trends in Psalms Study, 1999. 
* Crisis and Hope in Israel's ExileK. V. Mathew, Crisis and Hope in Israel's Exile, A paper presented at the XVIIth Conference of the SBSI held in Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, 1998. Cited in Indian Theological Studies, Volume 35, 1998. 
* Dr. M. M. Thomas - A Grateful MemoryK. V. Mathew, Dr. M. M. Thomas - A Grateful Memory, NCCI Review, Volume 117, Nagpur, 1997. 
* Last Supper - A Kingdom PerspectiveK. V. Mathew, Last Supper - A Kindgom Perspective, National Council of Churches review, Volume 118, Published by the NCCI, Nagpur, 1998. 
* Ecology and Faith in the Old TestamentP. Jegadish Gandhi, K. C. John, Upon the winds of wider ecumenism: essays and tributes in honour of Rev. Dr. M. J. Joseph, Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, New Delhi, 2006. .
==Higher Studies==
While teaching Old Testament in Serampore College, Prof. Mathew availed study leave and proceeded to the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in the academic year 1962-1963 and enrolled himself for pursuing doctoral studies in the field of Old Testament under Professors G. W. AndersonG. W. Anderson (Edited), Tradition and Interpretation - Essays by Members of the Society for Old Testament Study, Oxford, December 1979. , N. W. PorteousN. W. Porteous, Living Issues in Biblical Scholarship - Prophet and Priest in Israel, The Expository Times, Vol. 62, No. 1, 4-9 (1950). and R. E. ClementsEdward Ball (Edited), In search of true wisdom: Essays in Old Testament interpretation in honour of Ronald E. Clements (
Volume 300 of Journal for the study of the Old Testament), Published by Continuum International Publishing Group, 1999. , who were then teaching at the University of Edinburgh. Between the academic years 1964-1968, Prof. Mathew returned to Serampore College, Serampore to take up his teaching assignments. He left the College again in 1968-1969 to spend a year at the University of Hamburg, Germany under Klaus Koch. In the final phase of his doctoral research, he spent the final academic year (1969-1970) at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and submitted a thesis on the topic God and Nature in the Book of Psalms thereby becoming the first Indian to be awarded a doctorate by the Faculty of Theology of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
==Visiting Scholar==
After leaving the Seminary in Kottayam in 1994, Prof. Mathew spent three years as a Pastor taking care of the Parish in Ranni. In 1997, he was Visiting Professor at the Aizawl Theological College, Aizawl. In 1999 and 2008, he was a Visiting Professor at his alma mater in Serampore. From 2000 to 2002 he took up the Principalship of Dharma Jyoti Vidyapeeth in Faridabad.
Image:Gunkel.jpg|Hermann Gunkel - the Father of OT scholarship.
Image:Mowinckel.jpg|Sigmund Mowinckel - an inspiration for Prof. Mathew.
==See also==
* Y. D. Tiwari
* Klaus Koch
* S. J. Samartha
==References==
;Notes
;Further reading
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
Category:Living people
Category:Biblical scholars
Category:Indian priests
Category:People from Kerala
Category:Indian theologians
Category:Christianity in India
Category:Indian clergy
Category:Lecturers
Category:Bible translators
Category:Mar Thoma Church
Category:Indian religious leaders
Category:Saint Thomas Christians
Category:Malayali people
Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Category:Senate of Serampore College (University) Alumni
Category:Members of the Society for Biblical Studies in India