By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi, Jan. 2, 2019: Father George Pattery, head of the Jesuits in South Asia, has mourned the death of Father Samuel Rayan, a renowned liberation theologian.
“Samuel Rayan – Sam- as we affectionately called him, was perhaps the most creative and poetic theologian we have had in India. He had well intuited the Gospel meaning, going to the core of the passage, and was able to place that in simple appealing way,” Father Pattery told Matters India on January 2.
Father Rayan, a Jesuit, died at 12:30 pm on the same day at Nirmala Hospital, Kozhikode, Kerala.
Father Pattery says the “radicalism of the Gospels never left” Father Rayan. “His theology was truly biblical, rather than philosophical. His poetic style and biblical base saved him from ‘dogmatic scrutiny and controversies,’” he adds.
Father Rayan “loved speaking, writing and articulating the theology of the Holy Spirit. From the flowing waters to the smiling child, he felt and sang of the exuberance of the Spirit. In the same way he relished Tagore and his poetry. He loved to initiate Eucharist with a poem from Gitanjali,” Father Pattery recalled.
His contribution to All India Catholic University Federation will always be remembered by his students of seventies and eighties. “They loved the way he brought faith and justice debate into the young minds. His disarming smile betrayed his radical thinking and profound insights. Using Socratic dialogue method he would engage students in theological discussion,” Father Pattery explained.
“Sam must be relishing the eternal comforting presence of the Spirit of Jesus, singing songs from Gitanjali and spreading laughter to his many friends here among us,” he added.