Bishop
Brief info
Most. Rev. A Dharmaraj Rassalam is the present moderator of the Church of South India (CSI) which is probably the first visible unity of the church since Pentecost and the largest protestant denomination in India. He hails from Vizhinjam, which is an emerging port city in Kerala, near Trivandrum. He was born in 19/05/1956 to late Sri Albert who was a government servant and Smt. J Sumangala Bai. Having nurtured in faith by the parents and the mother parish, CSI Vizhinjam, he was able to dedicate himself for the ministry of God in a very young age. After schooling, he joined the University College, Thiruvananthapuram for the bachelor of Arts and came out with flying colours. Followed by this he joined the South Kerala Diocese and began ministry as a missionary in Etturnagaram, Andhra Pradesh, one of the early mission fields of the church. In the midst of various challenges, he extended valuable service there. He served the CSI church Bethanipuram as a BD probationer before joining the Leonard Theological College Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, for the Bachelor of Divinity. In 1987 he was ordained to the presbytery of the Church of South India by the then CSI Moderator, Most Rev. Dr. I Jesudason. He also did Master of Theology in the area of Homiletics at the United Theological College Bangalore. He served the CSI churches Aluvila, Peyad, Nellikakuzhi, LMS LMTC Parassala, Kazhuvoor, Chemboor, Venganur, AHLM CSI Paraniyam and Kulathur. He also served as the member of the CSI Synod. He extended invaluable services as the coordinator of the Christian Education Department of the South Kerala Diocese. It was during his tenure various reforms were introduced to the syllabus in order to make Christian education contextually relevant. On 23 July 2011 he was consecrated as the bishop of the South Kerala Diocese of the CSI and in January 2020, he was elected as the moderator of the Church of South India. Through his episcopal ministry, Bishop Rassalam has extended considerable help to the less privileged sections of the community and has made their social life more meaningful. The synod convened at Hubli, Karnataka in January 2023 elected him as the moderator for the second tenure. Retirement age of the presbyters was extended to seventy years during this incumbency. His able and visionary leadership to the Church of South India in the challenging times is commendable. He and his wife Mrs. Sherly Rassalam – who is a school teacher – are blessed with two children Dr. Sherin S Rassalm and Dr. Shinoy S. Rassalam. Both are medical doctors.