{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}} {{Infobox clergy | honorific_prefix = The Reverend Doctor | name =Chetti Devasahayam, CBCNC | honorific_suffix = D. D. ''Honoris Causa'' (Northern) | image = | bgcolour = | imagesize = | caption = | pseudonym = | birthname = | birth_date = {{birth date|1913|10|6|df=y}}<ref name="Souvenir">C. L. Johnson (Edited), ''Canadian Baptist Mission 125-year's Jubilee Celebrations of Baptist Churches in Northern Circars'', Baptist Theological Seminary, Kakinada, 1999, pp.258–258 [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/433990749]</ref> | birth_place = Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, India | death_date = {{death date and age|1993|2|28|1913|10|16|df=y}}<ref name="Souvenir"/> | death_place = Kolkata, West Bengal, India | occupation = Chaplain & Administrator | ordained = 1943<ref name="Souvenir"/> | education = *B. Sc. (Andhra), *B. D. (Serampore), *Th. M. (Northern), | writings = 1974, ''The Role of Baptists in the Religious Future of India ''<ref>C. Devasahayam, ''The Role of Baptists in the Religious Future of India'', ''Baptist History and Heritage'', Volumes 10–11, Historical Commission of the SBC, 1975. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dw4tYryEO1MC&q=The+Role+of+Baptists+in+the+Religious+Future+of+India+devasahayam]</ref> | alma_mater = *CBM-McLaurin High School, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, *Pithapuram Rajah College, Kakinada, A. P., *Serampore College, Serampore, West Bengal, *Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Lisle, Illinois (United States) | church =Canadian Baptist Mission/Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars<ref>''Foundations'', Volume 11, American Baptist Historical Society, 1968, p.325. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZWnkAAAAMAAJ&q=chetti+devasahayam+serampore]</ref> | offices_held = *Visakha Field Supervisor, Krishna Field Minister, Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars {{small|(1939–1960)}} *Military Chaplain, Royal Indian Navy {{small|(1942–1947)<ref name="Betty">[http://bettykaiser.blogspot.in/2008/04/inspirational-life-of-padma-chetti.html Betty Kaiser, ''Inspirational life of Padma Chetti'']</ref>}} *Registrar, Senate of Serampore College (University) {{small|(1960–1975)}} *Pastor, Lower Circular Road Baptist Chapel, Kolkata {{small|(1968–1993<ref name="Betty"/>)}} | parents =The Rev. Chetti Bhanumurthy, CBCNC | title = The Reverend Doctor | footnotes = }}
'''Chetti Devasahayam''' (6 October 1913 – 28 February 1993) was the Registrar of the nation's first University,<ref>Murli Manohar Joshi, ''Higher Education in India Vision and Action, A paper presented at the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education in the Twenty First Century, Paris'', 5–9 October 1998. Internet, accessed 22 August 2008. {{cite web |url=http://education.nic.in/unhighedu.asp |title=Department of Secondary&Higher Education |accessdate=2015-11-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223010953/http://education.nic.in/unhighedu.asp |archivedate=23 February 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref> the Senate of Serampore College (University) who was in office from 1960 through 1975.<ref name="Senate">[http://senateofseramporecollege.edu.in/registrars-senate.html Senate of Serampore College (University), ''Registrars of the Senate''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919053347/http://www.senateofseramporecollege.edu.in/registrars-senate.html |date=19 September 2015 }}</ref> It was during Devasahayam's tenure at the University that ecumenism gave way to merger of seminaries and the formation of special purpose entities throughout India. It was Devasahayam who gave the inaugural address when the Andhra Christian Theological College was formed in 1964 in Rajahmundry.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=gXvkAAAAMAAJ&q=baptist+theological+seminary+kakinada+serampore ''The Lutheran'', Volume 2, Lutheran Church in America, 1964, p.30]</ref>
==Studies== After scholastic studies at the CBM-McLaurin High School in Kakinada, Devasahayam enrolled for graduate studies from 1931–1933<ref name="Souvenir"/> at the Pithapuram Rajah College in Kakinada from where he obtained a degree in Sciences leading to the award of Bachelor of Science (BSc) by the Andhra University. For ministerial formation, Devasahayam studied from 1936<ref name="Directory">S. J. Samartha, M. P. John (Compiled), ''Directory of students 1910-1967'', Serampore College (Theology Department), Serampore, 1967, p.10.</ref>–1939<ref name="Souvenir"/> at Serampore College, Serampore as a candidate of the Canadian Baptist Mission/Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars at the Serampore College, Serampore.
In Fall 1955,<ref name="Souvenir"/> Devasahayam was sent by his Church Society for upgrading his academics at the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Lombard, Illinois where he enrolled for a postgraduate course in Master of Theology (Th.M.) completing it by May 1956.
==Christian work== <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Serampore Convocation.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Devasahayam ''(seated eighth from right with white scroll in hand)'' as Registrar at a convocation of the Senate of Serampore College (University) held at Serampore.]] -->
After Devasahayam's ministerial studies at Serampore College, he was assigned pastoral roles in rural areas where there were hardly any Christians and much like the Baptist heritage, he was left to himself to build up congregations.<ref name="Souvenir"/> From 1939 to 1942, he was Visakha Field Supervisor of the Canadian Baptist Mission.
At the height of the World War II, Devasahayam was asked to serve in the Royal Indian Navy as a Military Chaplain.<ref name="Betty"/> Devasahayam was Military Chaplain from 1942 through 1947 and returned to Church ministry.<ref name="Souvenir"/>
He returned to the Church Society in 1947 and subsequently ministered in parishes of Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars from 1947<ref>{{cite book|first1=Kenneth|last1=Knight|first2=Shirley|last2=Knight|title=The Seed Holds the Tree: A Story of India and the Kingdom of God|year=2009|pages=125–126|publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=9780986476600|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W5MtAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA344}}</ref> as Krishna Field Minister stationed at Avanigadda.<ref>C. Devasahayam's book review on T. C. Witney, ''Amos'' in ''Indian Journal of Theology'' 6.4 (Oct – Dec. 1957), 147–155. [http://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/ijt/06-4_147.pdf]</ref> During an overseas missionary visit to Canada in 1951, Devasahayam addressed a missionary meeting in Canada where many came from Okanagan, Kaleden, Peachland, Kelowna, and Vernon.<ref>{{cite book|title=Year Book of the Baptist Union of Western Canada 1951–1952|publisher=Baptist Union of Western Canada|year=1951|pages=13, 113 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=umXkAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>
== University and Chapel == In 1960,<ref>{{cite book|title=Baptist Yearbook|publisher=Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec|year=1959|page=165|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gXvkAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> Devasahayam was appointed Registrar<ref name="Serampore">{{cite book|author=Serampore College|title=The story of Serampore and its college|publisher=Council of Serampore College|orig-year=1961|edition=4th|year=2005|pages=129–137|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e_QEAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> of the nation's first University. As Registrar, Devasahayam was also a member of the Council of Senate of Serampore College.<ref name="Serampore"/>
While performing his duties at the university, Devasahayam was an honorary pastor at Lower Circular Road Baptist Chapel in Kolkata, the chapel founded by William Carey. Devasahayam used to pastor the church from 1968 onwards and became a full-time<ref name="Souvenir"/> Pastor of the Chapel in 1975,<ref name="Betty"/> but it was not until 1978 that he resigned from the university.<ref name="Serampore"/>
Devasahayam was visiting professor at his alma mater, the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary<ref name="Cluster">[https://archive.org/stream/announcements1974chic/announcements1974chic_djvu.txt ''The Chicago Cluster of Theological Schools'', 1974–1975]</ref> during 1974–1975. {{S-start}} {{S-aca}} {{Succession box | before=William Stewart<br />1954–1959<ref name="Senate"/>| title=Registrar,<br />Senate of Serampore College|after=J. T. Krogh<br />1975–1978<ref name="Senate"/> | years=1960–1975<ref name="Senate"/>}} {{s-end}}
==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Devasahayam, Chetti}} Category:20th-century Indian Christian clergy Category:Christian clergy from Andhra Pradesh Category:Indian Christian theologians Category:Indian Baptist missionaries Category:Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni Category:Academic staff of the Senate of Serampore College (University) Category:World War II chaplains Category:Royal Indian Navy officers Category:20th-century Baptist ministers Category:Indian Christians Category:1913 births Category:1993 deaths