S. W. Schmitthenner

Samuel William Schmitthenner (February 23, 1928 – May 17, 2015) was a Lutheran who served as the President of the Protestant Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society in Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India from 1969-1981.

Samuel William Schmitthenner, AELC
The Reverend
Church	Lutheran
Diocese	Synods of East Godavari, West Godavari, East Guntur, West Guntur, Central Guntur
See	Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC)
In office	1969–1981
Predecessor	K. Devasahayam
Successor	K. Nathaniel
Orders
Ordination	May 23, 1951[1] by Central Pennsylvania Synod, United Lutheran Church in America[1]
Personal details
Born	February 23, 1928[2] Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India
Died	May 17, 2015[2] Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States
Previous post	Pastor, Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society

S. W. Schmitthenner initially served as a missionary to India from 1952 onwards.[3]

Studies

S. W. Schmitthenner studied at the Kodaikanal International School in Tamil Nadu and in 1944[1] moved on to Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where he earned a graduate degree in 1948.[1] He continued his studies and earned a Master of Divinity (M. Div.) degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg in 1951.[1]

While serving as a Pastor of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society in Andhra Pradesh, India from 1952[1] onwards, Schmitthenner returned twice to America to upgrade his academics. In 1958-1959[1] he attended the Kennedy School of Missions at Hartford, Connecticut and again in 1966[1] he joined the University of Pennsylvania for studying Indian Sociology.

Contribution

Religious titles
Preceded by K. Devasahayam[4] 1965–1969	President Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church 1969–1981[4]	Succeeded by K. Nathaniel 1981–1989[4]
Honorary titles
Preceded by M. Elia Peter, MCI, 1975-1977	Chairperson, Board of Governors, Andhra Christian Theological College, Hyderabad 1977-1979	Succeeded by B. Victor Emmanuel, STBC, 1980-1982

References

1. Report of the Secretary, Lower Susquehanna Synod, 2015, p.22. [www.lss-elca.org/Redesign/wp.../Complete-Report-of-the-Secretary.pdf]
2. Gettysburg Times, Samuel William Schmitthenner, May 22, 2015
3. Amanda Caligiuri, Hidden in Plain Sight: Plaque in the Chapel, Gettysburg, 2006, p.5.
4. Kolluri Luther Richardson, Towards Self-Reliance : A historical survey of the programmes and efforts of Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church from 1927 to 1969, Published by Christopher and Kanakaiah, Vijayawada, 2003, p.78.

Further reading

• Kolluri Luther Richardson (2003). "Towards Self-Reliance : A historical survey of the programmes and efforts of Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church from 1927–1969, Published by Christopher and Kanakaiah, Vijayawada". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Michael Bergunder (1999). Die südindische Pfingstbewegung im 20. Jahrhundert: eine historische und systematische Untersuchung. 113. of Studien zur interkulturellen Geschichte des Christentums. ISBN 978-3-631-33771-4.
• R. Joseph and B. Suneel Bhanu (1993). "Bibliography of Original Christian Writings in India in Telugu". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Martin Senftleben (1992). "Influences of Hinduism on Christianity in Andhra Pradesh. Unpublished PhD thesis, Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupati" (PDF). I. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• _______________ (1992). "Influences of Hinduism on Christianity in Andhra Pradesh. Unpublished PhD thesis, Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupati" (PDF). II. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
• M. Victor Paul (1990). "Parish Renewal in Reflections on Theology Today – Papers presented by the ACTC faculty during the academic year 1988–1989 on Theology and Mission and Ministry of the Church". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• B. C. Paul (1984). "The Emergence of a Church in South India: A Study of the Growth and Development of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church: 1905–1927. Unpublished Th. D. thesis submitted to the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago". Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)