Theodore Royapan Doraisamy, or TRD as he was fondly known, was born in 1912 in Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, India to Rev Michael R. Doraisamy and his wife Boosie Perinbam Baruch. Rev Doraisamy was one of the pioneer ministers of the Tamil Methodist Church in Singapore. From adolescence, TRD’s mother impressed upon him that he would be dedicated to the ministry. In 1927, when he was 15, the young Theodore committed himself to God while listening to the preaching of the evangelist Dr Stanley Jones. 

From 1920 to 1926, he studied at Serangoon English School, a branch of the Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) in Singapore. After completing his secondary education, he started to teach at Seremban Anglo-Chinese School in 1929 before undergoing teacher training at Raffles College in Singapore. After graduating with a Diploma in Arts Certificate of Education in 1933, he taught at ACS Singapore for the next 18 years. 

Besides being a full-time educationist in the civil service, he also supported himself as a part-time pastor. He managed to earn an MA in Theology from Boston University School of Theology while serving as pastor of several Methodist churches in Singapore – Pasir Panjang Tamil, Wesley and Tamil Methodist Church on Short Street. His thesis was titled “A Philosophy for the Mission of the Church in Malaysia”. He later obtained a doctorate from Serampore College in India.

On July 12, 1941, he married Annabella Christie, the daughter of J.D. Christie of Seremban.^[1] Annabella had completed her studies in 1940 at ACS Seremban. She managed to escape the Japanese occupation of Singapore and spent the war years in Nagercoil while TRD continued to serve in Singapore, preaching and teaching despite facing some persecution and harassment by the Japanese military.

After World War II, in August 1946, Doraisamy was elected as the secretary for the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF) and young people's work. He was instrumental in developing and growing the MYF. His performance in the MYF led to his also being conferred the position of secretary of Christian Education for the Methodist Church in 1949. In that capacity, he took charge of the supervision of Sunday schools, the MYF, various churches, and schools. 

In 1960, in recognition of his skills as an administrator and church leader, Theodore Doraisamy was elected District Superintendent of the Methodist Church for Malaysia and Singapore. Under his guidance and charismatic leadership, the Methodist Church in the region achieved full autonomy following meticulous discussions with the Methodist General Conference in the United States and the autonomous Methodist Church in Malaysia and Singapore was constituted on August 8, 1968.^[2] Before this, the Methodist churches in Malaysia and Singapore were part of the larger Methodist overseas mission which were subject to parent bodies in the US. 

In addition to a long and illustrious career as a pastor, Doraisamy was also an outstanding civil servant. For four years from 1967, he served as Chief Examinations Officer and Head of Department and also as principal of the Teachers’ Training College where he laid down an ethical code for teachers. He stuck by three principles which were the cornerstone of his professional life – Professionalism, Patriotism and Perfection.^[3] These characteristics earned him the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 1968 in recognition of his invaluable services in education. He retired from the civil service in 1972, during which he was also Chief Inspector of Schools.

In December 1973, Doraisamy was elected Bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia and Singapore in a closely-run election during a special three-day special session of the General Conference at Trinity Theological College, Singapore. Bishop Doraisamy was consecrated at Wesley Methodist Church, Singapore, by Rev Bishop Yap Kim Hao. As bishop, he visited all the churches, including new ones, in both Singapore and Malaysia. He was also charged with constituting the Methodist churches of Malaysia and Singapore into the East Asia Christian Conference (EACC). It was also under his leadership that the bishops of both churches were elected as presidents of the conference.^[4] Bishop Doraisamy stepped down in 1976. At the same time, he also had the honour of being the first president of the Tamil Annual Conference, a position he held from January 1974 to December 1976. 

After stepping down, he was conferred the title of Bishop Emeritus. Even in this new position, he served and discharged his episcopal duties with distinction and rare tact. Particularly commendable was his intellectual vision for the Methodist Church in Singapore and Malaysia as both churches underwent massive restructuring into two separate entities after Singapore left the federation of Malaysia. 

Bishop Doraisamy was also a prolific writer, theologian, and church historian who contributed much to the scholarship of the Methodist church in the region. He was an editor for many magazines, book series, and official publications.^[5] Notable examples include the March Series, which he edited during his time as Christian Education Secretary, and the scholarly work One Hundred and Fifty-Years of Education in Singapore, which he edited while he was principal of the Singapore Teachers’ Training College. His book, The March of Methodism in Singapore and Malaysia: 1885-1980, was heralded as a monumental achievement in the documentation of church history by J.C. Kao and C.N. Fang, the Bishops of the Methodist Churches of Singapore and Malaysia respectively. 

Bishop Emeritus Rev Dr Theodore R. Doraisamy passed away in June 1992 at the National University Hospital in Singapore from a heart attack. He was survived by his wife, three daughters (Preima, Padhma and Heima, who are all in the medical field) and his son, Rabi Doraisamy, a lawyer.