G. D. Melanchthon

G. D. Melanchthon (1934–1994) was a Silver Jubilee Priest hailing from Protestant Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society who taught Religions, at United Theological College, Bangalore from 1968 till the latter half of eighties until his career was brought to an abrupt end in 1988 on being stricken with paralysis. Melanchthon used to be quite active among the academic community along with Chrysostom Arangaden, Arvind P. Nirmal and others in not only delivering scholarly talks, but also in contributing research articles and reviewing new titles.

Melanchthon was born in Ramachandrapuram, East Godavari (Andhra Pradesh) into a Christian family and was raised in accordance with Lutheran traditions. The history of Christianity in Ramachandrapuram is attributed to the French Jesuits and the Canadian Baptists, dating to the latter half of the nineteenth century. In 1892 the Canadian Baptist Ministries began their ministry through an integral mission comprising spiritual, educational and healing components with a church (1892), an all-girls Raja Cockshutt School (1898), and J. D. Kellock Home for Lepers (1903). Not only did the emerging Christian missions through Canadian Baptist Ministries mould Melanchthon's growth in Christianity, but as an adolescent, he also came under the influence of the popular evangelist, A. B. Masilamani, CBCNC, who was ministering as a priest between 1944 and 1947 in Ramachandrapuram. Masilamani's ability to make use of Homiletics made a definitive impact on the faith journey of early Telugu Christians, a fact recollected by the Old Testament scholar, G. Babu Rao, CBCNC.