Biography of Rev. J.T. Arulanantham

The Reverend John Thiagarajah Arulanantham (13 May 1897 – 21 June 1964) was a Ceylonese Anglican priest, educator and principal of St. John's College, Jaffna. His ministry spanned more than three decades, during which he became widely respected for his leadership, scholarship, and commitment to Christian education.

Born on 13 May 1897, J.T. Arulanantham was the third of five children of Thomas Vaitilingam Arulanantham and Eliza Ponnammah (née Samuel), both of whom were teachers at the Church Missionary Society (CMS) school in Nallur. While his mother was born into the Christian faith, his father converted to Christianity as a student, adopting the surname Arulanantham, the Tamil translation of the name associated with the Portuguese Jesuit missionary and martyr St. John de Britto.

Raised in northern Ceylon, he received his early education in Nallur before attending St. John's College, Chundikuli, where the foundations of both his academic and spiritual life were established.

Arulanantham initially trained as a teacher in Colombo, specialising in Mathematics and Science. His interest in the religious life of the school led to his selection for the Anglican priesthood and further theological study in England.

Between 1931 and 1933 he studied Theology at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, while serving as a curate at St. Mary's Church, Islington. He was ordained at St. Paul's Cathedral in 1933 before continuing his studies at King's College London, where he graduated with an Honours degree in Psychology.

These years of academic and theological training shaped the preaching, pastoral care and educational philosophy that would characterise his ministry throughout the remainder of his life.

Returning to Ceylon, Arulanantham served briefly as Acting Principal of the Teacher Training College in Peradeniya before being appointed Vice Principal of St. John's College, Jaffna in 1936.

Following the untimely death of Rev. Henry Peto in 1939, he became Principal of St. John's College in 1940, a position he held until his retirement in 1957. He was the first native Ceylonese to lead the College and guided it through the difficult years of the Second World War and the early decades following Ceylon's independence.

After retiring from the College, he founded the Centre for the Study of Religion and Society at the Christa Seva Ashram in Maruthanamadam. While firmly rooted in the Anglican Low Church tradition, he was recognised for his ecumenical outlook, maintaining close relationships with Methodist, American Mission, Catholic and Hindu communities.

Rev. Arulanantham continued his pastoral ministry as Vicar of Christ Church, Galle Face, Colombo, and later as Priest-in-Charge of St. John's Church, Chundikuli. He died on 21 June 1964 while serving his final day as Vicar of St. John's Church, bringing to a close a life devoted to education, faith and reconciliation.