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Acharya A. B. Masilamani or Abel Boanerges Masilamani (1914–1990〔A. B. Masilamani, ''Nadipinchu Na Nava'', PDF version of song sheet at Evangelical Church of Kurhessen Waldeck, Germany. ()〕) was a Baptist pastor and evangelist ordained by the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars and Spiritual Formator from 1956 to 1959 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〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Andhra Christian hymnal )〕 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〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The New Wine-skins )〕 consisting of hymns in Telugu set in music patterns of Carnatic music and Hindustani classical music.〔 In 2000, Roger E. Hedlund,〔Roger E. Hedlund taught at the Serampore College and is the Editor of the missiological journal, ''Dharma Deepika''. ()〕 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.〔Roger E. Hedlund, Quest for Identity: India's Churches of Indigenous origin: The "Little" Tradition in Indian Christianity, New Delhi, 2000, p.261. ()〕 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,〔G. Babu Rao also taught at the Serampore College and worked on the revision of the Bible in Telugu along with Victor Premasagar. See H. S. Wilson, ''Introduction'' in The Church on the move: a quest to affirm the biblical faith ; essays in honour of Peddi Victor Premasagar, Bishop in Medak and Moderator of the C.S.I., presented on the occasion of his Shastiabdapoorthi celebrations, Christian Literature Society, Madras, 1988, p.vi. ()〕 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, While the use of Telugu in Christian Hymns was on an upward rise in the Protestant Churches, it was not so among their Catholic counterparts who had to stick to Latin. It was not until the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council that vernacular languages were used instead of Latin. Once the Vatican Council approved the use of vernacular languages in Church liturgy, most of the songs in the Christian Hymnal in Telugu including Masilamani's songs readily found their way into the Catholic Hymn Books〔(Fr. Remella Thomas (Compiled), ''Suswaralu'', Don Bosco Press, Guntur )〕 in undivided Andhra Pradesh. The Rev. Fr. D. S. Amalorpavadass who espoused the cause of Indian ethos and advocated for inclusion of vernacular languages at the Second Vatican Council rechristened himself as ''Swamy Amalorananda'' at a later stage of his ecclesiastical career. The growth of the Church in Telugu speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh began taking shape with the advent〔Martin Senftleben, ''Influences of Hinduism on Christianity in Andhra Pradesh'', Unpublished PhD thesis, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, 1992. p.8. ()〕 of Catholic and Protestant Missions. One such Protestant Mission was the Canadian Baptist Mission〔 which propagated the Gospel along the northern circars along the Bay of Bengal. Masilamani was the outcome of the Missions and believed in self-identity〔 of the Indian Church. Masilamani struck original ground in his lyrics and a forerunner in developing the Indian ethos way ahead of Rev. Fr. D. S. Amalorpavadass. At a later stage of his ecclesiastical life, Masilamani also rechristened himself as ''Acharya A. B. Masilamani'' in the spiritual traditions of India. ==Early Life and Family== Masilamani is a third generation Christian. Reverend Abel Bellary, the grand father of Masilamani was a Hindu from a priestly class.〔Arathi Walter, ''Priya Sishya: A Biography of A.B Masilamani'', Anupama Printers, Hyderabad, 2014〕 Both the Catholic and the Protestant missions spearheaded〔 the missionary activity. It was the Protestant Canadian Baptist Mission and American Baptist Mission (now Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches), through which Abel Bellary became a Christian taking the name 'Abel' as his Christian name retaining 'Bellary' as his surname.〔 Bellary was ordained and served as a Baptist Pastor.〔 Later, the family chose the surname 'Abel Boanerges' as the family name ('Abel' to recognise the first person to become a Christian and 'Boanerges' means sons of thunder). One of Bellary’s sons is A. B Greshmon Paul.〔 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 got married to 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.〔 Masilamani has 7 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. His grandson Rev. Seidel Abel Boanerges also known as Rev. A.B Seidel Sumanth, is a Baptist minister ordained by the Baptist Union of Great Britain, and till 2015 was the Associate Minister at Rosebery Park Baptist Church, Bournemouth, England. Seidel is currently the Director of Outreach at Capernwray Bible School, Capernwray Hall, England. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「A. B. Masilamani」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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