William Powlas Peery

William Powlas Peery (May 21, 1922 – January 20, 2000) was a Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America/Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church who taught theology at ecumenical institutions, the Andhra Christian Theological College[1] at its erstwhile location in Rajahmundry and also at the United Theological College, Bangalore[6] both of which are affiliated to the nation's first University, the Senate of Serampore College (University), Serampore.

William Powlas Peery
Born	May 21, 1922[1] Hickory, North Carolina,[1] USA
Died	January 20, 2000[1] Alamance County,[1] North Carolina, USA
Parent(s)	John Carnahan Peery and Pearle Miller (Powlas) Peery[2]
Church	Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, North America
Ordained	September 30, 1945[1] by the South Carolina Synod[1] of the ELCA
Writings	The church and its ministry as seen by Lutherans and the Church of South India, Vanderbilt University, 1959.[3] A Christian understanding of south Indian Vaishnavism, Duke University, 1972.[4] A Lutheran Understanding of Worship and Liturgy: basic principles and present concerns,[5] Gurukul, Madras, 1983, The place of Mary in the Lutheran Church, Gurukul, Madras, 1983.[5]
Congregations served	Tumrukota[1] Parish of West Guntur Synod, Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (1946-1951)[1]
Offices held	Executive Director, Inter-Church Service Agency,[1] Egmore, Madras (1969-1970)
Title	The Reverend Doctor

Peery was in India from 1945[7] through 1987[8] laying the foundation for ecumenical ventures, especially his role at the Andhra Christian Theological College in overseeing the merger of the Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological Seminary in 1967 as well as involving himself in the negotiations on Lutheran dialogue with the Church of South India.[9] Peery was a member[10] of the Church of South India-Lutheran Inter-Church Commission. During the third meeting of the Commission called for by the Chairmen, Rajah B. Manikam and Hospet Sumitra that was convened by the Secretary Joshua Russell Chandran on 8 and 9 January 1963[10] at the United Theological College, Bangalore, Peery presented a comparative analysis of the constitutions of the Lutheran and the Church of South India Societies. After the conclusion of the third Inter-Church Commission, Peery was made Convenor[10] of a Committee to come up with two drafts relating to the importance of episcopy, one on episcopal basis and the other partly-episcopal and partly non-episcopal.

Peery also took part in Lutheran-Orthodox negotiations[5] where he came up with two papers on Lutheran perspectives entitled, A Lutheran Understanding of Worship and Liturgy: basic principles and present concerns[5] and The place of Mary in the Lutheran Church.[5]

Studies

Graduate studies

Peery studied arts at the Newberry College,[11] Newberry, South Carolina taking a graduate degree in arts leading to Bachelor of Arts[11] (B. A.) in 1943.[11] During his college days at Newberry, Peery seemed to be involved in organising Luther League[12]

After discerning his avocation towards priesthood, he studied spirituality at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary[11] in Columbia, South Carolina which in 1945[11] awarded him a graduate degree in divinity, Bachelor of Divinity (B. D.).[11]

Post-graduate studies

In 1957, Peery took study leave and studied for the postgraduate degree of Master of Arts (M. A.) specialising in Religions at the Vanderbilt University, Nashville where he submitted a thesis entitled The church and its ministry as seen by Lutherans and the Church of South India[13] under the supervision of Professor J. Robert Nelson.

Doctoral studies

After Peery's stint as an Administrator at the ecumenical Inter-Church Service Agency, he enrolled as a doctoral candidate at the Duke University,[1] Durham, North Carolina and submitted a dissertation entitled A Christian understanding of south Indian Vaishnavism[14] enabling the University to award a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1972.[15]

Ecclesiastical career

Pastoral and Teaching

From 1945[16] onwards, Peery was a Missionary[17] and Member of the Council of India Mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In 1946[1] he was assigned the role of a Pastor to Tumrukota[1] in Rentachintala Mandal of Guntur District where he served up to 1951. Peery was also involved in differently-abled development at Rentachintala where the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society established a school for the visually-impaired[18] Peery was a member of the Committee for the Welfare of the Visually and the Hearing-Impaired under the auspices of the National Council of Churches in India (formerly the Christian Council of India and Pakistan).

Peery moved to Rajahmundry in East Godavari District and taught from 1952[1] through 1964 at the Lutheran Theological College, Rajahmundry until its merger into the newly formed ecumenical Andhra Christian Theological College which comprised the following ecclesiastical seminaries:

• The Lutheran Theological College, Rajahmundry,
• The Baptist Theological Seminary, Kakinada, and
• The Andhra Union Theological College, Dornakal.

Peery was then reassigned to teach at the new College from 1964 onwards at the Andhra Christian Theological College[1] (ACTC). It was Peery who oversaw the inclusion of the Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological Seminary into the ACTC in 1967 when an Act of Integration[19] was performed in the presence of the President of the Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological Seminary, Louis F. Knoll.[19]

In 1971,[1] Peery took up a Professorship at the United Theological College, Bangalore where he taught Religions along with then Professor G. D. Melanchthon. In 1985, Peery along with his other colleagues, Joshua Russell Chandran, J. G. F. Collison, R. Richer and Christopher Doraisingh presented a paper entitled The Concept of Baptism in the Judeo-Christian Tradition.[20] After teaching Religions for nearly two decades at the United Theological College, Bangalore, Peery retired on account of superannuation in 1987.[1]

Administrative

In 1969,[1] Peery moved to Madras where he donned the mantle of an Administrator by taking up an administrative role at the ecumenical Inter Church Service Agency[1] in Egmore, Madras where he served for a year before taking up doctoral studies at the Duke University.

Peery was a member of Council of India Mission[21] of the United Lutheran Church in America and held the position as office bearer as Vice-President from 1953-1955[21] and as President from 1959-1963,[21] 1966-1969,[21] and from 1973-1975.[21]

Recognition and honours

In 1966,[22] the Lenoir–Rhyne University, Hickory, North Carolina conferred an honorary doctorate degree on Peery along with William Richard Fritz, Lestor C. Gifford, Franklin Clark Fry and Lewis Arthur Larson.

Religious titles
Preceded by -	Missionary Evangelist Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church 1945[23]-1987	Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by -	Lecturer Andhra Christian Theological College, Rajahmundry 1966-1969	Succeeded by
Other offices
Preceded by -	Executive Director Inter Church Service Agency, Madras 1969-1970	Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by G. D. Melanchthon	Professor United Theological College, Bangalore 1971-1987[6]	Succeeded by

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". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

References

1. Historical Sketches, North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
2. The Lutheran, Volume 22, Issue 13, Board of Publication of the United Lutheran Church in America, 1939, p.31.
3. The church and its ministry as seen by Lutherans and the Church of South India, Vanderbilt University, 1959, OCLC, World Cat.
4. A Christian understanding of south Indian Vaishnavism, Duke University, 1972, OCLC, World Cat.
5. K. M. George, Herbert E. Hoefer (Edited), A Dialogue Begins: Papers, Minutes and Agreed Statements from the Lutheran-Orthodox Dialogue in India 1978-1982, Gurukul/Sophia, Madras/Kottayam, 1983, pp.44-55, 162-180.
6. K. M. Hiwale (Compiled), Directory of the United Theological College 1910-1997, Bangalore, 1997. p.5
7. A History of the Lutheran Church in South Carolina, South Carolina Synod of the Lutheran Church in America, 1971, p.396.
8. Life Sketches of Lutheran Clergy, North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Antecedents, 1773-1999, North Carolina Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 2001, p.363.
9. Rajaiah David Paul, J. Kumaresan, Church of South India-Lutheran Conversations: A Historical Sketch, Christian Literature Society, Madras, 1970, p.40.
10. CSI-Lutheran Inter Church Commission
11. Register of Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University, 1953, pp.476 and 528.
12. Luther League Review: 1944-1945, Volumes 56-57, Luther League of America, 1944.
13. Abstracts of Theses, Vanderbilt University, 1959, p.99
14. Tamil̲nāṭan̲, South Indian Studies: Abstracts of American Doctoral Dissertations Relating to South India, Institute of Kongu Studies, 1981, p.60.
15. American Doctoral Dissertations, University Microfilms, 1972, pp. 74 and 433.
16. Minutes of the Convention of the United Lutheran Church in America, Volumes 15-16, Board of Publication of the United Lutheran Church in America, 1946, p.358.
17. A History of the Lutheran Church in South Carolina, 1971-1987, South Carolina Synod of the Lutheran Church in America, 1988, pp.34, 154, 222 and 302.
18. Proceedings of the Eleventh Meeting of the Christian Council in India and Pakistan held at Nagpur, October 20–25, 1950, p.18.
19. Foundations, Volume 11, American Baptist Historical Society, 1968. p. 321.
20. Joshua Russell Chandran, J. G. F. Collison, R. Richer, W. P. Peery and Christopher Doraisingh, The Concept of Baptism in the Judeo-Christian Tradition in R. Godwin Singh (Edited), A Call to be Discipleship, Baptism and Conversion, ISPCK, New Delhi, 1985, pp.16-63. Cited in Michael Bergunder, The South Indian Pentecostal Movement in the Twentieth Century, William B. Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2008, p.326.
21. Archive Grid, Council of the India Mission, Minutes 1913-1962 [microform]. United Lutheran Church in America. Board of Foreign Missions.
22. Profile, Lenoir Rhyne Magazine, Volume 23, Number 5, April 1973, p.19.
23. Life Sketches of Lutheran Ministers: North Carolina and Tennessee Synods, 1773-1965, North Carolina Synod of the Lutheran Church in America, 1966.