There is no life without relationships. In a multi-religious context, for a life of mutual enrichment, a genuine and friendly inter-religious relationship is vital. Such relationship alone defines authentic and matured religious life. This relationship is explored in opportunities to know and understand one another. It finds expression in inter-religious prayer and spirituality with agreed form and right intent. In the cases of inter-religious marriage, it is proved that human love has the capacity to transcend structures and identities. The context of inter-religious funeral, both formal and informal, provides a space for sharing visions of ultimate goal and their impact on the present life. The final testing point is, how inter- religious friends engage in concrete actions for social transformation and world peace. In all these explorations, as argued in this book, the guiding principles are 'commitment and openness'.
Rev. Dr. Israel Selvanayagam, a presbyter of the Church of South India, hails from a remote village in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu. At the end of his theological education and ministerial training in Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary, Madurai, 1977, he had a 'second call' for the new ministry of inter-religious dialogue. Since then his ministry, pastoral and teaching, both in India and the United Kingdom, has an inter- religious focus. He has an impressive publication record both in English and Tamil. Christian World Imprints is pleased to have published his books, most remarkably, Kristu Bhakti and Krishna Bhakti (2017) and Religion and Religions (2018).
I first went to India in 1975, with my wife Angela, and two young daughters, to Madurai, in the heart of Tamil Nadu, 300 miles south of Madras, now Chennai. I went to join the teaching faculty of the Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary. An Indian colleague invited me to come, and said, come and teach something, but you will learn much more from being with us. This was the case, as my life, and that of my family, was transformed by my seven years at the seminary, within this major Hindu city. I learnt much from the context. This has been with me ever since. But, I learnt above all from fellow staff, and from students training there to be pastors in a multi faith context. Israel Selvanayagam was outstanding in both areas. I returned to U.K. and spent the rest of my ministry in theological teaching, but also in learning from the transformed context in Britain, increasingly multi- religious and multi-cultural, and helping my students to engage with this reality, and indeed to be excited by the possibilities in front of them.
It was in February 1977 that I was persuaded by my mentors, particularly Dr. Samuel Amirtham, to take up the new 'ministry' of interreligious dialogue. This was while preparing to go back to my diocese (Kanyakumari) after completing four years of my theological education and ministerial training at Tamilnadu Theological Seminary, Madurai. The initial feeling was bitter to switch over from the respected pastoral ministry to somewhat suspect dialogue ministry. It was an uncharted journey outside the camp without clear expectations and goals. Now it is history. Starting with visiting devotees in their worship places and organising the monthly Religious Friends Circle, my ministry expanded to different directions. For all the subsequent years in my both pastoral and teaching ministry, with additional responsibilities in Jail Ministry, Theological Education for Christian Commitment and Action and in editing theological text-books based in TTS, an interreligious focus has been consistent. I have not found any compelling reason to give up the Christian ministry for which I had been called in 1969.
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