Dr. George Zachariah joined the United
Theological College, Bangalore as a teaching faculty in the department of
Theology and Ethics on 1st June, 2013. Born and raised in a Mar Thoma family in Kerala, he was nurtured in
Christian faith by his family and the Church. During his college days, he got
the opportunity to be part of the Student Christian Movement, which widened his
perspectives and deepened his commitment to God and God’s world. This new
awareness enabled him to dedicate his life to full time ministry witnessing
Christ in solidarity with the marginalized in their search for a new world.
After completing his
post-graduation in Commerce from the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam,
Dr. Zachariah joined AWAZ, a Christian social action group, and worked among the
landless people in the villages of Chattisgarh for three years, organizing them
through trade unions and peasant movements. It was a journey of vocational
discernment in communion with people at the margins, re-imagining the public
witness of the Church, informed by the politics and spirituality of radical
societal engagements. In 1990, he
accepted the call to serve the Student Christian Movement of India, Kerala
Region, and served SCM as program secretary for three years.
George Zachariah’s decision to do
formal theological studies brought him to the United Theological College,
Bangalore in 1993, and he completed his BD studies in 1997. After serving the
M.M. Thomas Center in Thiruvalla, Kerala as coordinator and the Theological Literature
Council as editor for a short period, he decided to continue his
advanced theological studies in the area of Christian Ethics in the United
States of America and joined the Union Theological Seminary, New York for STM. Zachariah earned his Ph.D. with distinction in the
field of Systematic Theology with special emphasis in Christian Ethics from the
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago,
IL, USA,
in 2006. His Dissertation was entitled “Towards a Subaltern Earth Ethics: Narmada Bachao Andolan as Text.”
On completion of his doctoral
studies, Dr. Zachariah returned to India and served the Gurukul Lutheran
Theological College and Research Institute, Chennai as faculty in the
department of theology and ethics for seven years. During that period he held
several responsibilities such as head of the department of theology and ethics,
staff-in-charge of the Martin Luther Library, and dean of Graduate Studies. He
also served as the editor of Gurukul
Journal of Theological Studies for a term of three years, and brought out
six issues of the journal on various themes. During this period Zachariah also actively participated in the programs of The Senate of Serampore College
(University). He was part of the BD Curriculum Revision process and served on
the editorial committee. Currently he is a member of the board of studies.
George Zachariah has got
sufficient opportunities to present papers at various national and
international consultations organized by ecumenical bodies such as the World
Council of Churches, Christian Conference of Asia, Council for World Mission,
and the Lutheran World Federation. The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
and the Chicago Center for Global Ministries invited him to give the 2010
Scherer Lecture. In 2012, he served as visiting scholar at the Goettingen
University, Germany in the Intercultural Theology Program. His recent
publications include Alternatives
Unincorporated: Earth Ethics from the Grassroots, (London: Equinox Press, 2011) and Gospel in a Groaning World: Climate Injustice and Public Witness (Nagpur/Tiruvalla:
NCCI/CSS, 2012). His current research
areas include Ethical Reflections on Climate Injustice, Human Sexuality, and
HIV and AIDS.
His wife Anshi Zachariah is a
theologically trained social worker. Since 2006, she has been working with a faith-based
NGO among people living with HIV and AIDS. They are blessed with two daughters;
Amritha Mariam (I PUC, Mount Carmel College) and Aruna Elizabeth (IVth
Standard, St. Johns High School).
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