About

S. Wesley Ariarajah was born on the 2nd December 1941 in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, as the fourth of the five children of David and Grace Seevaratnam. He did all his early education up to the university entrance level at the Jaffna Central College, the leading educational institution of the Methodist Church in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. During this period, he was deeply influenced by the world-renowned ecumenist and preacher, Dr. D. T. Niles, who was his pastor and the principal of Jaffna Central College for a number of years.

 
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Having decided to join the ministry of the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka, he moved to India for his undergraduate education, completing the B. Sc degree in science (Zoology) at the Madras Christian College, Chennai (1959-63), and the B.D. degree in Theology at the United Theological College, Bangalore (1963-66). Returning to Sri Lanka, he served as the minister of the Methodist Church and lecturer on World Religions at the Theological College of Lanka for 12 years. During this time, he was also deeply involved in the work of the Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue, led by Dr. Lynn A. de Silva, promoting interfaith relations and dialogue between Christians and Buddhists.

He did his post-graduate studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey (Th. M), King’s College, London (M. Phil.), and secured his PhD from the University of London, specializing in Hindu-Christian relations in the Ecumenical Movement. He married Christine Shyamala in December 1974 and they have three daughters- Sudharshini, Niroshini, and Anushini.

In 1981 he was invited to become at first the Program Secretary for Hindu/Buddhist relations and then the Director of the Interfaith Dialogue program of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva for a total of twelve years. At the end of this tenure, he was appointed the Deputy General Secretary of the WCC, a position he held for four years.

In 1997 he was invited to become the Senior Professor of Ecumenical Theology at the Drew University School of Theology, Madison, N.J. After teaching at Drew for 17 years he retired in 2014 as Professor Emeritus of Ecumenical Theology and now lives in Geneva, Switzerland. The families of his three daughters and his five grandsons also live in Geneva.