Dimapur, December 17 (MExN): The Oriental Theological Seminary celebrated its thirtieth anniversary under the theme ‘Invigorating Heritage’ on December 15.
Keeping in view of the ongoing pandemic, the number of invitees were limited to families of the founding members, board of governors, life patrons, pioneer teachers and staffs, land donors, representative secretaries from NBCC headquarters and sister school Shalom Seminary, a press release informed on Friday.
The OTS community celebrated the contributions of the visionary leaders in whose commitment for God’s mission brought into existence the long-felt need for a graduate level theological institution in the state. Likewise, the fundament of the celebration under the theme ‘Invigorating Heritage’ registers the community’s deepest sense of gratitude to the founding leaders and acknowledges the vicarious power of the inherited legacies, the release stated.
The two-hour ceremony was blessed by melodious singings from students and introspective papers read by the founding principal and emeritus professor Rev Dr Wati Aier and Rev Dr Zelhou Keyho, the first academic dean and the current General Secretary of the Nagaland Baptist Church Council. Alongside, Rev Dr VK Nuh, then President of NBCC when OTS was founded, highlighted on how the pioneering leaderships were brought together and how Bade villagers generously donated the prime land on which the institution sits today. Further, Rev Nuh challenged the OTS community to be mindful of the importance of imagining and crafting contextually relevant theologies. This idea of relevancy that must be indispensably rooted in the living realities of our people, the context in which we learn and serve, was further poignantly emphasized by Pheluopfelie Kesieze, the Chair of the Board of Governors, in his exhortation on the imagination of the future of the institution.
Highlights of the evening were the various recognitions accorded to the pioneer leaders, teachers and staffs including the Oriental Theological Seminary Foundation Honor accorded to Rev Dr VK Nuh by instituting a faculty Chair in his name and the Commission Honor to Rev Dr Pongsing Konyak, among several others.
