Antony John Baptist
Antony John Baptist is an Indian Catholic priest, biblical scholar and theologian. He serves as the director of the National Biblical, Catechetical and Liturgical Centre in Bangalore. His academic and pastoral work is focused on contextual theology and the interpretation of biblical narratives, particularly from the perspective of marginalised communities such as Dalit women.
Education
Antony John Baptist holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Doctor Litterarum from the University of Madras, where he studied in the Department of Christian Studies. He also earned a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. Apart from his theological studies, he has earned a BA in History from University of Madras and an MA in History from Annamalai University.Career
Baptist served the Diocese of Vellore as a member of the College of Consultors, a member of the Priests’ Senate, Secretary to the Diocesan Bible Commission, and Secretary to the Diocesan Vocation Commission. He held academic and formation roles as Vice-Rector of Sacred Heart College, Poonamallee, and later as Rector of St Francis Xavier Inter-diocesan Seminary, Veppoor.Baptist also served as Secretary to the Commission for the Bible of the Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council. Since May 2017, he has been the Executive Secretary of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, Bible Commission. In January 2021, Baptist was appointed as the Director of the National Biblical Catechetical and Liturgical Centre in Bangalore, under the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India.
Baptist is a member of the Editorial Board of Concilium journal. He also serves on the Translations Committee of the Bible Society of India, and as the Coordinator for the South Asian Sub-region of the Catholic Biblical Federation.
In addition to his leadership roles, he teaches as adjunct faculty at Vidya Deep College, DVK Pontifical Athenaeum, St. Peter's Pontifical Seminary and also at the Department of Christian Studies at the University of Madras, where he has served as a visiting professor.