The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church is in high spirits as the new Catholicos Baselios Joseph I is installed on Sunday in place of the late Catholicos Baselios Thomas I, who tenaciously sustained the Malankara Church faction’s submission to the Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Antioch.
The new Catholicos takes charge at a time when the relationship between the two Malankara Churches appears to be calmer and the State government appears ever more determined to find permanent peace among the Malankara Church factions. The solemn installation ceremonies are scheduled to start at the Puthenkurisu Patriarchal Centre, near here, at 3.30 p.m.
The dispute between the two factions in the Malankara Church is more than a century old and has refused to go away despite the best of efforts. The two factions are virtually independent entities with the Jacobite group, numbering around two million, well entrenched in its communion with the Patriarch of Antioch.
A communication from the Jacobite Church during the installation of the Catholicos expressed the sentiment that a new shepherd is here to lead the Church from the darkness of crises to the miraculous light of God.
Belonging to the fourth generation of the family of the Jacobite Church saint Chathuruthil Geevarhese Mar Gregrios (Parumala Thirumeni), the Catholicos was born in November 1960 in Perumplly as the fourth child of Srampikkal Pallathattayil Varghese and Saramma.
He hails from the Mulamthuruthy Marthoman Cathedral parish and was anointed deacon at 13. He completed his basic studies at Perumpilly, graduated in Economics from Maharaja’s College in Ernakulam and went on to pursue his theological studies at St. Patrick’s University, Dublin, and obtained an MPhil from Dublin University and a Diploma in Clinical and Pastoral Counselling.
He was ordained a priest at 23 and was appointed to parish duties at the St. Mary’s Church, Bengaluru, for five years. At 33, he succeeded the late Thomas Mor Osthathios, Metropolitan of the Kochi diocese, and was consecrated as Metropolitan of the diocese in January 1994. He was later designated Malankara Metropolitan of the Jacobite Church. He is known for his pastoral care and special care for the poor and the differently abled children.
This is a time when the need for unity in spirit and truth among Christian Churches in the country is needed more than ever and the Jacobite Church stands firm in its belief that the Jacobite and the Orthodox factions must continue to co-exist as two sister churches in peace and harmony, said senior metropolitan and Jacobite media cell chairman Kuriakose Theophilus here on Saturday (March 29).
He said that the energy of the Churches cannot be dissipated in rivalry because the pressing needs of the times include the challenges posed by increasing influence of social media. Evils like drug-use among the youth have spread alarmingly and there is a need to keep the young people in the fold. Kerala churches also face the twin challenges of more young people migrating abroad for education and jobs and meeting their pastoral needs in new locations, he said.
The Christian community in India has a tradition of more than 2,000 years. The community, while keeping its faith, has become one with the larger Indian society and culture, working in unity for peace and welfare of the poor. The Jacobite Church will contribute its share to this great effort, he added.
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church sounded a note of dissent when it called the installation of the new Catholicos in Lebanon on March 25 by the Patriarch as unauthorised and accused the Patriarch of trying to sabotage India’s legal framework. The Orthodox faction also challenged the government’s sending official delegations to the consecration ceremonies.
Published – March 29, 2025 07:42 pm IST
