Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute is an organ of the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (UELCI) and is governed by the Gurukul College Council (GCC), which consists of members from all the constituent churches of the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India, and three ecumenical churches - Church of South India (CSI), Church of North India (CNI) and the Marthoma Church.

     Having felt the need for new directions to make theological education in India more relevant, Gurukul was revived in 1985. Realising the distinctive role Gurukul could play in this regard, Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.), Master of Theology (M.Th.) and Doctoral of Theology (D.Th.) programmes were initiated respectively in 1985, 1989 and 1998, with an overall thrust to impart “A Bold Theological Vision” in theological education in India.

     It is significant to note that the word Gurukul is Indian. It is a Sanskrit word and it means, guru (teacher) kulam (family). That is, in the Vedic system of education, the students used to live with the teacher as a family to learn and seek knowledge from the Guru. This intimate relationship between the teacher and the student is a strong feature of Gurukul even today.