B. V. Subbamma also known as Bathineni Venkata Subbamma was an Indian theologian and scholar. Noted for founding Christian ashrams, she was widely recognized for her analysis of Christianity from a cultural perspective. She was one of the first women in India to attain theological training and was one of the inaugural women pastors ordained by the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1999 at AELC-St. Matthews West Parish, Guntur.
Biography
Venkata Subbamma Bathineni was born on 1 July 1925 in Bodipalem in the Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh, India to a family of traditional Hindus. After studying at a missionary school in Bodipalem, she went to the Government High School of Pedanadipadu. During her education, she resisted converting to Christianity because she believed that the Christian faith was only for outcastes. She believed that "Jesus was the lowest of all the gods". However, Rajagopal Ayyangar, her Brahmin high school teacher, encouraged her to read the bible instead of taking a stand against it. After reading the bible and reflecting on it, in 1942, despite the staunch opposition from her Hindu family, she converted to Christianity. Continuing her studies, Subbamma entered the Andhra-Christian College graduating with a BA in 1947. She also earned a Bachelor of Education from St. Joseph's College of Education in Guntur and began teaching school. After nearly a decade of teaching, she enrolled in a master's program through the New York State University and graduated with her M.A. in Education in 1958. She returned to India and served as principal for Charlotte Swenson Memorial Bible Training School for another decade before deciding to pursue theological training, but continued to serve as principal at the school with 27 years of service. She entered the Andhra Christian Theological College in Rajahmundry, an affiliate of the Senate of Serampore College earning a Bachelor of Divinity in 1968. That same year in June, she founded a Christian ashram at Rajahmundry with the goal of helping women attain an education and become nurses, social activists and leaders. In 1969, she returned to the United States, completing a master's degree at the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California in 1970 and then began studying for a PhD at the Hamma School of Theology at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. While she was in the U.S., she spoke at several Lutheran conferences. After obtaining her theological training, Subbamma wrote extensively on colonialism, culturalism, Christianity and women's opportunity. She was recognized as "one of the most influential women leaders in the Third World Christian church", for her mission work and ministry. She focused on introducing Christianity to Hindu women, believing that an indigenous approach brought understanding and integration of cultures. From 1977-1984, Subbamma served on the Executive Committee of the Lutheran World Federation in Geneva and was an honored guest as a pioneer in missions at the LWF's 50th anniversary convention held in Hong Kong in 1997. She served on the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg and was a member of the Senate of Serampore University, the first woman to hold a post on the university senate. In 1994, Serampore University granted her an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. Subbamma retired in 1985 but continued volunteering with the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India of Chennai. On 20 February 1999, she was finally ordained into the ministry, when the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church allowed 17 women ordination. Of the 32 men and 17 women who were ordained, Subbamma was the oldest and was acknowledged to have been one of the first women who earned theological training in India. She died on 12 January 2009 in Guntur.
