[2] He was the author of many doctrinal books and papers including The Council of Chalcedon Re-Examined: Historical Theological Survey.

[3][4] Samuel was born 6 April 1912, at Edayil House – Cheekanal in the village of Omallur, in the British Raj Province of Travancore, now Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India.

The place where the Patriarch had died soon grew in stature as St. Ignatius Church, a center of religious activities, including the teaching of Syriac and Antiochene Syrian ecclesiastical doctrine.

In 1944, Samuel joined the Union Christian College as a priest and followed a programme of study and research for another sixteen years.

[6] With a background in secular education, Samuel researched the History of Christian thought, which he chose for his specialization; the classical doctrine of the Person of Christ worked out in the fifth century, which led to the first division in the Church that continues today.

Samuel's knowledge of philosophy, Syriac and Greek made it possible for him to work with ancient texts and documents to carry out his Alexandrine-Antiochene Christologies.

Samuel's purpose was, firstly, to find out why the division arose, and secondly, to clarify for all concerned why the Churches exist in a divided state.

Samuel had a special concern for the Churches of the East, particularly those of the Oriental Orthodox family, which have continued in the history without formally acknowledging the Council of Chalcedon.

The doctoral thesis, "The Council of Chalcedon Re-examined: A Historical and Theological Survey" was published worldwide along with several papers.

Besides Indian Philosophy, Sankaracharya's Advaita, Ramanujacharya's Visishtadvaita and Madvacharya's Dvaita Vedanta, he gained first-hand knowledge of the Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda and working of the Ramakrishna Mission as well as of several others in contemporary Indian movements like Mahatma Gandhi's gramaswaraj and Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan movement.

[7] Samuel was familiar with fifteen languages including his mother tongue, Malayalam and a scholar in Sanskrit, Syriac, Hebrew, Greek, Ge'ez and Arabic which he could teach in seminaries and universities.

[8][9] In addition to the above, Samuel served as a professor, guide, and examiner in almost all the seminaries and theological colleges in India, and many abroad.

His active participation in the meetings of Faith and Order Commission was influential and expressed the importance of church unity.

He was involved in the participants' arriving at the conclusion that the difference in Christological Doctrine between the two families of Churches was only verbal and not substantial.

The first three of the consultations discussed the doctrine of the Person of Jesus Christ, on which there was agreement among participants that the difference between two Church traditions was not substantial.

The conference brought together the five Oriental Orthodox Churches, Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Ethiopian and Indian, which were isolated after the fifth century.

He was a member of the local committee and General Coordinator, responsible for the preparatory work of the Addis Ababa Conference of the Heads of Oriental Orthodox Churches, held in January 1965.

[16][17] Samuel entered into a programme initiated by Methodios Fouyas, the Metropolitan of the Greek Orthodox Church of Aksum, founding the Association of Ethio-Hellenic Studies.

[clarification needed] He was the vice-president and was on the editorial board of the publications 'Abba Salama' and the 'Ecliastca Fharan', in English, Greek, Amharic and Ge'ez languages.

As an Indian Christian V.C Samuel advocated the need of fostering wider ecumenism with other faiths in general and Hinduism in particular.

In 1968, the Catholicose Baselius Ougen I, the Head of the Malankara Orthodox Church appointed Samuel as the Christian Embassador to Ethiopia[clarification needed] and other African Countries.

[24] After serving as a priest for approximately sixteen years, Dr. V. C. Samuel made the decision to marry at the age of forty-one.

His argument revolved around two key points: Firstly, he underscored that already a majority of priests within the Orthodox Churches were fulfilling their roles while being married.

Secondly, Dr. V. C. Samuel pointed out that historical records indicated the Church of Malabar had previously permitted priests to marry, and even remarry in cases of widowhood, subsequent to their ordination.

Furthermore, there were instances where notable figures such as Patriarch Peter III and various Bishops, both Syrian and Indian, had approved individual cases of priests entering matrimony and even remarrying.

Samuel Ecumenical Study Forum, Konni, 2001 Maanavikathayum Ecumenisavum Samkalina Velluvili; Prof. Ninan Koshy, Rev.