Two seminarians drown in Kerala

Posted by webmaster in Syro Malankara Catholic ChurchApr 18th, 2010 | No Comments

Two seminarians of the Syro-Malankara Church have drowned in Kerala, southern India.

S. Jayachandran, a fire and rescue services official, told that the accident occurred on April 18 when three seminarians tried to learn swimming in a pool constructed for harvesting rainwater.

He said two of them, Joseph Shijin and Varghese Dominic, drowned while the third seminarian swam to safety.

They were students of St. Mary’s Malankara Major Seminary in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital.

Seminary rector Father John Kochuthundiyil told the mishap has shocked his Oriental Church.

The funeral is scheduled for April 19 evening.

Major Archbishop to lead the consecration at St. Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church, Niranam

Posted by webmaster in Trivandrum Major ArchdioceseApr 17th, 2010 | No Comments

The consecration of the reconstructed St. Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church at Niranam will be held on Saturday and Sunday.

Major Archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram Cleemis Mar Baselios will lead the consecration service. Metropolitan Archbishop of Thiruvalla Thomas Mar Koorilos will be the co-celebrant.

The Major Archbishop and other dignitaries will be accorded a reception on their arrival at the Kadapra junction at 2 p.m. The first phase of the consecration ceremony will begin at 2.45 p.m.

A public meeting will also be held in connection with the consecration ceremony on the church premises at 4.30 p.m. Minister for Public Works P.J. Joseph will inaugurate the meeting and the Major Archbishop will preside over the function. Archbishop Thomas Mar Koorilos will welcome the gathering. P.K. Narayana Panicker, Nair Service Society general secretary, will release a souvenir.

Puttur Syro-Malankara Catholic diocese comes into being

Posted by webmaster in Puttur Diocese, Syro Malankara Catholic ChurchApr 15th, 2010 | No Comments

The first diocese of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in the State was opened at Noojibalthila, near Puttur in Dakshina Kannada, on Thursday.

Geevarghese Mar Divannasios took charge as the first Bishop at a religious ceremony.

He was earlier the Bishop of Sulthan Bathery Diocese in Wayanad, Kerala.

Major Archbishop of the Malankara Catholic Church Moran Mor Baselios Cleeemis Catholicos; Archbishop of Bangalore Bernard Moras; Bishop of Belthangady Lawrence Mukkuzhy; Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP; and B. Ramanatha Rai, MLA, were among those present. Bishops from other parts of the State and outside, who attended the ceremony, felicitated the new Bishop. The Puttur Diocese has 22 churches under it spread across Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kodagu, Hassan, Chikmagalur, Mandya, Mysore, Shimoga and Chamarajanagar districts.

Malankara diocese of Puttur opens in Karnataka this week

Posted by webmaster in Puttur Diocese, Syro Malankara Catholic ChurchApr 12th, 2010 | No Comments

The diocese of Puttur, the first Syro-Malankara administrative unit in Karnataka, would be opened this Wednesday with the installation of its first bishop, officials said.
Convenor of the organization committee, Father George Kalayil told media  to media persons  on Saturday that Puttur is the first Malankara diocese  in Karnataka and that Bishop Geevarghese Mar Divannasios of Sultan Battery will take charge as bishop of Puttur.
The installation of the new bishop will take place at 11 am on April 15, and will be followed by a public meeting, which will be inaugurated by District-in-Charge Minister Krishna J Palemar. Archbishop Bernard Moras of Latin rite, Bishop  Lawrence Mukkuyi of Belthangady Syro-Malabar diocese and several other socio-political leaders.
The new diocese covers nine civil districts including Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Hassan, Chikmagalur, Kodagu, Mandya, Mysore, Shimoga and Chamarajanagar. The bishop house will be located at Parladka in Puttur taluk and will have 22 churches in these 9 districts under its jurisdiction.
As many as 800 families come under these 22 churches, most of whom were migrants from Kerala, generations ago. The Malankara Catholic Church has 8 diocese in all, 6 in Kerala and 1 each in Tamilnadu and Karnataka. Publicity Convenor Fr Samuel Puthuppady, Fr Cyprian and others were present at the press meet.

Rev. Dr. John Kochuthundil is appointed the Rector of the Malankara Major Seminary

Posted by webmaster in Syro Malankara Catholic Church, Trivandrum Major ArchdioceseApr 1st, 2010 | No Comments

Trivandrum: Major Archbishop Moran Mor Baselios Clemis Catholicos appointed Rev Dr. John Kochuthundil of the Major Archieparchy of Trivandrum, the new rector of St. Mary’s Malankara Seminary, Trivandrum. At present he serves as the Chancellor of the Major Archieparchy and the Vice-chancellor of the Major Archiepiscopal Curia and also the Rector of St.Mary’s Baselica, Palayam.
Fr. John joined the St. Aloysius Minor Seminary, Pattom and completed his priestly training in the Pontifical Seminary, Alwye. He was ordained a priest on 22 December 1985. He started his priestly career as Secretary to Archbishop Benedict Mar Gregorios till 1992. He had secured a Master’s Degree in Malayalam Literature from University of Kerala and Doctorate in Oriental Canon Law from Oriental Institute, Rome. He had served as judge in the Archdiocesean Court of New York, USA for 2 years. Then he was appointed as the Rector of St Aloysius Minor Seminary, Pattom. He served in the post till 2006. He also served as the vicar of several parishes in and around Trivandrum. He has authored several articles and books on Canon Law. He is the general Co-ordinator of the Drafting Committee for Particular Law of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. Being a lyricist, he wrote many famous Christian devotional songs in which, “Snehaswaroopa thavadharshanam” and “Nayaka jeeva dhayaka” are very popular.
The new appointment is done when the present Rector Rt. Rev. Thomas Thannikkakuzhy completed his tenure.