Experts laud theologian Rayan's contributions

The four-day national seminar, organized to honor the well-known theologian of Kerala province, concluded Dec. 31 in Calicut.

Calicut:  Some leading Indian theologians gathered last week in Kerala studying and lauding the theological contributions of 94-year Jesuit theologian Father Samuel Rayan.

The four-day national seminar, organized to honor the well-known theologian of Kerala province, concluded Dec. 31 in Calicut.

Jesuit provincial of Kerala Father M.K. George lauded his confrere as an original thinker and a creative poet.

Father George Pattry, Jesuit Provincial of South Asia, felicitated him with a shawl and remembered the simple life style and profound thinking of the aged theologian. He said that Rayan’s writings were truly prophetic and creative.

Rayan’s two main concerns have been the interpretation of the Christian faith in the multi-religious context of India and the development of a theology of creation of a just and more humane society in our land, a press release said.

Rayan lectured across the world invited by international associations and universities and is known for his catholic and creative thinking, it said. The manifold problems of human existence from the subject-matter of his theological reflections. And there is hardly any area of theology in which he has not made valuable contributions.

"As a theologian, Rayan has always something new to say. His writings offer always something new and perceptive. He offers us many original insights into Scriptures, gained by his creative approach to it," the release said.

The seminar had 19 papers developed the various themes on which Fr Rayan had written. Some 50 scholars attended it from across India. The two Jesuit Theology centers, Vidyajyoti in Delhi and Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune were well represented.

Jesuit Father Kurien Kunnumpuram organized the seminar. Rayan’s personal presence in the seminar, including his poem recital, added grace to the occasion.

Kunnumpuram has collected the writings of Rayan, spread over the last 40 years, into six edited volumes, published in the last two years. “Rayan is a multi-faceted personality. For some he is a kind, cheerful and charming person. For others he is a great lover of people. Some regard him as a creative thinker and versatile writer. Others seem him as an artist who paints with words. I would like to look upon him as an outstanding theologian who has made a significant contribution o Indian Christian theology," Kunnumpuram said.

Father Rayan was born on July 23, 1920 at Kumbalam in Kollam district of Kerala. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1939 and was ordained a priest in 1955.

After his doctoral studies at the Gregorian University, Rome, he returned to India and became the AICUF chaplain in Kerala for ten years.

He has been teaching theology at Vidyajoti, Delhi from 1971 onwards. In 2009 he returned to Kerala and has been living at Sameeksha, Kalady.

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