The Rt. Rev. William Paul Vachalan was consecrated and installed in the South Kerala Diocese on 2-7-1967. He passed away on 5-11-1972 while in service. The London Missionary Society (L.M.S) now the Council for World Mission, commenced its work in South Travancore in 1806. Vedamanickam Maharasan Desikar was the first Christian who invited William Tobias Ringeltauble the first Missionary to come to Travancore. He crossed into Aruvamozhi on April 25th, 1806. The South India United Church (S.I.U.C) was formed on 25th July 1907 with nine member church denominations of which the South Travancore L.M.S. The church was one. The South Travancore Church Council was constituted in 1921 with the Tamil and Malayalam churches put together.
The Church of South India (C.S.I) was inaugurated on 27-09-1947 and the member churches adopted episcopacy as part of the church order. The Rt. Rev. A. H. Legg was consecrated on 27-09-1947 and installed as the first Bishop of the South Travancore Diocese on 13-10-1947. The South Travancore Diocese was bifurcated into the Kanyakumari Diocese and the South Kerala Diocese in 1959 and the Rt. Rev. A. H. Legg continued to be the first Bishop of the South Kerala Diocese till he returned to England in 1965. The Rt. Rev. Isaiah Jesudason, was consecrated and installed in the South Kerala Diocese on 5th August 9973. He was Deputy Moderator of the Church of South India from 1980-81 and Moderator from 1982-1987. He served as a Central Committee member of the W. C. C Hon. Doctorate of Divinity was conferred upon him in 1988. He retired from active service on 14th February 1990 on completion of 65 years of age.
The (late) Rt. Rev. Dr Samuel Amirtham was consecrated and installed as Bishop of the Diocese on 20-05-1990. He was director of the Programme on Theological Education and Director of the Ecumenical Institute, Bossey of the WCC 1980-1990. Serampore University conferred on him an honorary doctorate in 1987. He retired from active service on 19the August 1997. Rt. Rev. Dr J. W. Gladstone, was consecrated and installed as Bishop on 16-9-1997. He was the principal of KUT seminary, Trivandrum and the president of the Senate of Serampore, Culcutta. He is selected as the Moderator of the C.S.I. Synod in 2008. He retired from active service on 25th December 2010 on completion of 65 years of age. The Most. Rev. A.Dharmaraj Rasalam served as the Bishop of the Diocese till 2023.
The C.S.I Institute of Legal Studies, Cheruvarakonam, Parassala is one of the pioneering initiatives of the Most Rev.A. DharmarajRasalam who was consecrated and installed as Bishop of South Kerala Diocese (SIUC) on 23.07.2011 and elected as the Moderator of the Church of South India during January, 2020. This Law College modelled on the lines of the National Law Schools is a Centre of Excellence in the various spheres of legal studies and research. It focuses in making the study of Law accessible to the ordinary students and beneficial to the larger humanity. This college was established in the year 2013 and it is owned and managed by the South Kerala Diocese of the Church of South India, which has got two century old legacy in the education sector in South India.
The logo of the CSI Institute of legal studies comprises of a cross superimposed on a stylized lotus flower along with that there is scales of justice and advocates logo with olive leaves on both sides on a white background with a motto “The truth shall set you free”.
The imposing central position of the Cross denotes the foundation of the Church and its faith, while its four arms of the same length promulgate equality. The Lotus flower, called ‘Pankaj’ meaning “mud-born” in Sanskrit, has been of great spiritual and symbolic significance in India, since ancient times. Its placement in the Logo, proclaims the indigenous nature of the Church of South India and its dependence on the grace of God, just as a Lotus that blooms at sunrise and closes at sunset, depends on the Sun. The stylized rendering, makes the Lotus petals simultaneously depict the fiery split tongues of the Holy Spirit.
The scales of justice represents fairness in justice in this correspond to the use in a metaphor “held in the balance”
The advocate logo represents the creating of young socially responsible lawyers for the nation.
The white background represents peace and integrity.
The motto embossed in the logo, which is an excerpt found in the bible “the truth shall set you free” as said in John 8:32 which means that knowing the truth will set one at liberty.
“Law has always been central to the moral, ethical, and value systems of the people of God. Instruction in law was part of the upbringing of every generation. The face of legal education as well as the law schools have changed to a great extent. The New millennium has put forward the challenge of producing well-equipped lawyers who can make their services available to the different spheres in which the use of lawyering services was hitherto unknown. In the recent past, quite a few law teaching institutions have come up in India to pursue the policy of producing new-generation lawyers to satisfy the requirements of the industry. To achieve this aim South Kerala Diocese (SKD) of the Church of South India (CSI) launched Law College under the name CSI INSTITUTE OF LEGAL STUDIES near Cheruvarakonam, Parassala in the year 2013. The goal of the CSI INSTITUTE OF LEGAL STUDIES is to create an ambiance that would facilitate the formation of ethically sound legal luminaries. The experienced and energetic faculty of the college is working tirelessly to achieve the highest pedagogic standards. Currently, the College provides one PG Course and four UG Courses.
I do not doubt in my mind that the College will deliver the necessary academic commitments to emerge as a premier institution of learning in law and jurisprudence in the days to come. I assure you that the College shall fulfill the needs of those students who aspire to become good lawyers and eminent personalities in the field of law.”
The CSI ILS aims to impart quality legal education, develop conceptual and practical skills of its students, advance legal scholarship, and foster justice.
The vision of CSI ILS is to serve the country by facilitating skill based legal education and to transform its students into persons of academic excellence, practical experience, attractive personality and spiritual values
The core values that are guarded by the management, faculty, and students of the college are: