By George Cheriyan

Thiruvalla: Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan, the supreme head of the Indian face of the Christian faith, died of old age ailments October 18 at Thiruvalla, Kerala. He was 89.

The death of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church head occurred around 2:38 am at a private hospital in Thiruvalla, some 120 km north of the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram. He was hospitalized a few days ago.

The funeral is scheduled to take place in the afternoon of October 19. The metropolitan’s mortal remains are kept for public viewing at Mar Thoma headquarters in Thiruvalla.

Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan was a great Christian leader and an ardent promoter of ecumenical unity and interreligious dialogue, says Swami Sachidananda Bharathi, founder and Acharya-guru of the Dharma Rajya Vedi and a close associate of the Mar Thomas Church leader.

“His death is an irredeemable loss not only for the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church but also for all Christian denominations in the world, especially in Kerala, the cradle of indigenous Christianity in India. The Mar Thoma Church represents an Indian face of the Christian faith,” the Swamy says in his condolence message.

The metropolitan enthroned October 2, 2007, as the 21st leader of Mar Thoma Church that traces its roots to Saint Thomas the Apostle. The Church, with its headquarters at Thiruvalla, has around 1.1 million members living in 1,246 parishes spread over 13 diocese. It has 11 bishops and 925 priests.

The metropolitan succeeded Philipose Mar Thoma. He was designated suffragan metropolitan in 1999. He was the chief coordinator of Maramon convention, one of the largest Christian conventions in Asia, held at Maramon in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district.

The metropolitan was born P T Joseph on June 27, 1931. He was ordained as a priest of the Mar Thoma Church on October 18, 1957. On February 8, 1975, he was ordained as bishop with title of Joseph Mar Irenaeus. He was designated as suffragan (associate) metropolitan on March 15, 1999.

The metropolitan’s yearlong ninetieth birthday celebrations were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 27. The prime minister commended the metropolitan for devoting his life for the betterment of society and the nation. “He has been particularly passionate about the removal of poverty and women empowerment,” Modi pointed out.

The Mar Thoma Church has worked to bring a positive difference among Indians. It has done so in areas such as healthcare and education. The Church played a role in India’s freedom struggle and was at the fore-front of working towards national integration. The Church had fought the Emergency imposed in 1975 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The Mar Thoma Church claims that it rooted in Indian values and it contribution to the country has been recognized at the national level.

The Virginia Seminary of America honored the metropolitan with a doctorate in recognition of his distinguished leadership in various fields. The second doctorate came from the Serampore University in 2007. A third doctorate was awarded by Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, a deemed university that was formerly known as Allahabad Agriculture University.

He was India’s voice in global ecumenical movements. He was the president of the National Council of Churches in India, senior president of Christian Conference of Asia, and the chairman of Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action, a non-religious Indian development organisation. He fought for the justice of the Dalit Christians.

He encouraged setting up many sociospiritual centers with megalithic monuments and introduced music and other attractive worship styles to target younger generation. The metropolitan advocated for protecting the environment. He had warned that atrocities to nature were suicidal and urged people to take remedial measures by adopting responsible green conservatism.

He campaigned for the protection of the Pampa River on whose bed his house is situated and the Maramon Convention is hosted.

The Mar Thoma Church has close links with the Protestant and Anglican Churches and has deep roots with the Indian Orthodox Church.

The Church has a democratic pattern of administration with a representative assembly (Prathinidhi Mandalam), an executive council (Sabha Council) and an Episcopal Synod.

The Church claims to be financially independent and maintains its indigenous nature. Its regular works as well as special projects are almost entirely financed by contributions from its members at home and abroad.

(George Cheriyan is a member of the Mar Thoma Church and was a member of the Mar Thoma Representative Assembly during 2017-2020.)