A. B. Masilamani

On 30 November 2021, Ministry of Communications (India), Department of Posts released a Philatelic cover through Office of Postmaster General Visakhapatnam region. This was released by Dr. M. Venkateswarlu, Postmaster General and N. Somasekhara Rao, Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Visakhapatnam Division in the presence of Bishop M. A. Daniel, MCI and Dr. A. B. Joseph Kishore.

In 2014, Aradhana TV, a Telugu Christian devotional TV channel, aired a one-hour special documentary on the life of Dr Masilamani as a tribute for his birth centenary celebrations.

In 2000, Roger E. Hedlund, the Missiologist wrote that, along with the Bible, the Christian Hymnal in Telugu also formed the main bulwark of Christian spiritual life for the Telugu folk and of equal use to both the non-literates and the literates as well. Nearly a decade and half after the articles by P. Solomon Raj and Roger E. Hedlund on the importance of the Christian Hymnal in Telugu, G. Babu Rao, the Old Testament Scholar recollects the homiletical significance of the preaching and singing of Masilamani in the context of his birth centenary celebrations held in 2014,

In 1981, Masilamani addressed an inter-faith seminar conducted by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Educational Trust in Hyderabad and shared dais with a Hindu priest and a Mullah.

Masilamani was also a Visiting Professor for Acadia Divinity College, Canada where he delivered the Hayward lectures in 1976.

During 1974–1975, Masilamani was a part-time Lecturer in Evangelism in the Theology Department of his alma mater during the Principalship of Saral Kumar Chatterjee.

In 1974, the McMaster University, Canada awarded him with a Doctor of Divinity degree.

Orville E. Daniel, a Canadian Baptist missionary, as early as 1973 wrote that Rev. Masilamani's distinguished service with the Bible Society of India was followed by a widespread evangelistic ministry, a fact reiterated by the Old Testament Scholar G. Babu Rao who points out that during Masilamani's tenure at the Bible Society of India Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary, he had set a trend and his work was regarded with great respect among the Protestant Churches in undivided Andhra Pradesh.

In 1970 Masilamani founded New Life Associates, a Protestant religious and social service organisation. As a Pastor of the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars, Masilamani also continued to minister for the Canadian Baptist Ministries.

After a six-year tenure, Masilamani retired as auxiliary secretary of Bible Society of India Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary in 1969 making the Bible Society of India Trust Association to huddle and appoint B. G. Prasada Rao of the Church of South India.

Masilamani was a member of the Kretzmann Commission constituted by the Board of Governors of the Andhra Christian Theological College. The Commission report that was tabled in 1969 had major implications for the theological curricula in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Masilamani, as member of the Kretzmann Commission had visited the St. John's Regional Seminary (Theologiate), Ramanthapur as well as the Mennonite Brethren Centenary Bible College, Shamshabad.

In the postcolonialism scenario the Protestant Churches in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana wanted to form a unified Protestant Seminary for the Anglicans, Baptists, Congregationalists, Lutherans, Methodists, Wesleyans and the Pentecostals, Masilamani and his companion Waldo Penner favoured a such unified seminary along with C. S. Sundaresan of the Andhra Union Theological Seminary in Dornakal, Louis F. Knoll of the Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological Seminary in Ramayapatnam and W. D. Coleman of the Lutheran Theological College, Rajahmundry. Masilamani was known for his integrity and able administration and steered clear of controversies. This remarkable feature of Masilamani inspired and guided many Theologians in their administration, especially the Spiritual Formators at the Protestant Seminary in Secunderabad. The sustained efforts of the vision of Masilamani and others resulted in the formation of the Andhra Christian Theological College in 1964 at Rajahmundry which eventually relocated to Secunderabad in 1973.

In 1963, when E. Prakasam retired as auxiliary secretary of the Bible Society of India Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary, Masilamani was appointed for the key position of auxiliary secretary and served in an ecumenical setting during the period 1963 to 1969. This period was eventful as the Bible Society of India headquartered in Bangalore was led by the rural Pastor A. E. Inbanathan who had an understanding of the Church in India and more so with fellow clergy.

Masilamani was also a scholar theologian. In 1960 when the ecumenical Indian Christian Theological Conference was held in Madras, he participated in its proceedings where the notable Theologian Joshua Russell Chandran also happened to take part. Masilamani presented a paper on the theme Christian View of Man in Society which was later published in the Indian Journal of Theology under the title The Modern Conception of Man in the light of the Christian Faith. The same year, Masilamani also attended a conference called for by the National Council of Churches in India, Nagpur and the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, Bangalore in the presence of Paul David Devanandan with the theme, Christian participation in nation-building: the summing up of a corporate study on rapid social change.

In ecclesiastical administration, Masilamani was elected President of Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars in 1959 succeeding Rev. J. I. Richardson. In the continuing year, Masilamani was replaced by Rev. A. D. Matheson.

After Masilamani's tenure as principal of the Major Seminary in Kakinada that ended in 1959, he took up a role as promotional secretary of the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars. The same year, on invitation from the National Council of Churches in India to loan the services of Masilamani, the Seminary Council of the Baptist Theological Seminary granted a leave-on-lien enabling him to take up the role of literature secretary with the Secunderabad unit of the National Council of Churches in India, where Masilamani was able to make use of his literary talents and minister in an ecumenical setting with the churches of the Orthodox and Protestant backgrounds.

After completing his graduate studies in theology from the historical Serampore College, Masilamani was ordained as a Pastor of the Protestant Baptist Society, the Canadian Baptist Mission/Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars. Masilamani held several posts in the Protestant Church in Andhra Pradesh. He was Professor and Principal of Baptist Theological Seminary, Kakinada (1955–1958). Masilamani inspired many during his stint as Principal of the Baptist Theological Seminary, Kakinada. One of his students, K. David went on to master the New Testament at Serampore College, West Bengal and also pursued doctoral studies at the Edinburgh University, Scotland. Masilamani also played the part of a vocation promoter and guided S. E. Krupa Rao to don the mantle of Priest. In his later years', S. E. Krupa Rao became a notable contributor in matters of ecclesiastical, medical and technical contribution of the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars as well as to the ecumenical movement through the Bible Society of India and the Andhra Pradesh Christian Council.

For long, Masilamani was assigned priestly duties at the Churches of the Canadian Baptist Mission whose area of operation included six northern coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. As Masilamani had an academic leaning, the Council of the Baptist Theological Seminary at Kakinada sent him for postgraduate studies to the Emmanuel College, a constituent college of University of Toronto from where Masilamani took an Th.M. (Master of Theology) postgraduate degree in 1953 after submitting his dissertation entitled Hindu Anticipations of the Christian Gospel. Masilamani was a contemporary of the Old Testament Scholar Wolfgang Roth who also happened to study at the Emmanuel College around the same time in 1952. In later years, Wolfgang Roth taught at the Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur from 1959 onwards, whereas Masilamani taught at the Baptist Theological Seminary, Kakinada.

Masilamani was also the President of the Asia Baptist Youth Fellowship. He was the editor of popular Telugu Christian magazines like Ravi 1947–1960, Gruha Joythi 1961–1965 and Kapari 1970–1990 with articles contributed by notable Pastors and Bishops. In fact, M. Edwin Rao who compiled a centennial edition of the history of the Diocese of Dornakal writes that Bishop G. S. Luke used to contribute articles to the magazine Kapari edited by Masilamani.

Masilamani continued his theological studies and was incidentally sent to the University itself in 1941, during the Principalship of G. H. C. Angus where he took a B.D (Bachelor of Divinity) majoring in Biblical Interpretation, Greek, Christian Theology and other allied subjects from the only constituent college of the University, the Serampore College in 1945. During his stay at the old Danish town in Serampore, Masilamani also happened to alternately pursue a postgraduate degree from the arts section of the Serampore College affiliated to the University of Calcutta where he took an M.A (Master of Arts).

Masilamani belonged to the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars and had ministered as a pastor since 1934 and was a spiritual formator from 1955 through 1958 at the Baptist Theological Seminary, a major seminary in Kakinada. Masilamani got popular acclaim, especially as an original hymn writer, in Telugu and nine of his compositions can be found in the Christian Hymnal in Telugu used in the Protestant churches in the Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, which P. Solomon Raj, the Lutheran pastor notes that it has been of high literary standard consisting of hymns in Telugu set in music patterns of Carnatic music and Hindustani classical music.

Acharya A. B. Masilamani or Abel Boanerges Masilamani (1914–1990) was a Golden Jubilee Baptist pastor and evangelist on whom parallels had been drawn comparing his ecclesiastical ministry with that of Saint Paul. The Mar Thoma Syrian Church, one of the Saint Thomas Christian Churches founded by Thomas the Apostle in the first century which holds the annual Maramon Conventions used to have Masilamani preach at its conventions since the 1970s. During one such Maramon Convention held in 1983 at Maramon, Masilamani was one of the main speaker who spoke on Christology in the presence of the two patriarchs of the Mar Thoma Church, Alexander Mar Thoma and Thomas Mar Athanius.

Masilamani was born to A. B Greshom Paul and A. B Saramma on 30 November 1914 in the princely state of Pitapuram, Andhra Pradesh, India. Masilamani means 'A Spotless Gem'. Unlike the Catholic priestly traditions, marriage is optional in the Protestant priestly traditions and Masilamani heeded the advise of his parents and married Vimala Masilamani in 1945. They have four children – Sujatha Prasad, Arathi Walter, Gordon Sunath and Joseph Kishore. His son, Rev. Dr. A.B Joseph Kishore is the senior pastor of New Life Community Church and Trinity Cathedral, Hyderabad, India.