Kanyakumari:
Bishop of Kanyakumari Diocese, G Devakadasham, has been elected as the Moderator of the Church of South India.
Devakadasham, present Church of South India Deputy Moderator, defeated V Devasahayam, Bishop of Chennai, securing 219 votes against125 by the latter at the Synod meeting here last night.
The moderator's term is for two years.
The 61-year-old Devakadasham joined the Church of South India fold on Sept 5, 1972 and was ordained as priest on Jan 11, 1981. He became the5th Bishop of the Kanyakumari Diocese in 2001 and was elected Deputy Moderator on Jan 14, 2009, a Church of South India release said.
Govada Dyvasirvadam, Bishop of Krishna Godavari Diocese, was elected the new Deputy Moderator. He defeated P.Surya Prakash, Bishop of Karimnagar Diocese.
M.M.Philip of Kerala was elected Church of South India Synod Secretary and Bennet (also Kerala) Treasurer.
The three-day meeting of the Synod, the highest administrative body of the Church of South India, began here under tight security on Friday.
S.Vasanthakumar, the Presiding Bishop and Moderator of the Church of South India, presided over the meeting after conducting special prayers at the St. Peters Church here.
Some 400 Bishops and priests from 22 Dioceses from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Sri Lanka besides special invitees from abroad took part in the Synod meeting which is conducted once in two years.