Behold a saintly scholar: A tribute by Fr. Dr.

Mathew Vaidyan A Saint is one who is set apart exclusively for the glorification of God. The Gr eek word hagios used in the Bible to denote a Saint means "one who is set apart" . Saintly people transfigure the world with their presence, prayers, thought and deeds for the glorification of God. The adjective hagios can be rightly used to mention the late Great Church Father Dr.V.C.Samuel of blessed memory -a man of God and a versatile genius. Simplicity, accessibility and straightforwardness ma ke him a Saint. Samuel Achen was humble, simple, truthful, and highly spiritual. His personnel l ife is crystal clean as his teachings. His contributions in Theology, Philosophy , Christology, Liturgy, Patristry, Ecumenism and History are substantial. He sto od for religious and cultural harmony. He mastered a number of languages includi ng ancient classical to go deep in to his meticulous research works. His meditat ive scholastic concentration in the teaching of early Ecumenical Doctors of the Church and the ancient Church Councils contributed much to heal the wounds in th e history of the Church for the last one thousand five hundred years. His writin gs deal with the issues of contemporary significance to the Universal and Nation al situations. His revolutionary ideas and visions on Church and society now att ract many scholars around the world. Rev.Dr.V.C.Samuel was a spokesman of grass root level ecumenism rather than whit e-collar conference level ecumenism. He was one of the major architects of the L IMA DOCUMENT of the Faith and Order Commission of WCC on the BAPTISM, EUCHARIST, MINISTRY. He contributed much for the translation, simplification and indigenis ation of our liturgical texts. He translated many of the Promeons and Sedras e now. Holding forth his own tradition and conviction, he showed maximum respect towards other faiths and traditions. He gave the warning that there should not have any forced evangelisation tactics in the social development activities and humanitarian concerns of the Church. Neither he had any "hidden agenda", nor he supported any "hidden agenda". He never misused his personal connection with oth ers for self-motives. In this great scholar, we see a courageous search after truth. He had personal i ntegrity and sanctity in life. He openly criticized the failure of ecclesiastica l dignitaries shortfalls, who had double-words and opportunistic deeds. He was agai nst all kinds of vanity, pride, luxury and pretendedness. He explained the chara cteristic of the true Indianness of the Church through his writings. His life in spires us to search for a common tradition of humanity as a whole. He teaches th at Indian Christianity must be rooted in the Indian cultural social background. He was a source of encouragement for many people around the world. At the same t ime, he was a victim of professional jealousy and neglect. His academic excellen ce, scholastic skill, simple life style and unblemished character inspire genera tions.

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