Mar Alvares Julius 1, Syrian
Arch Bishop of India And Ceylon.
This attempt is to bring to light
certain events and circumstances led to what we ought to know about Malankara
Orthodox Church Goan Archbishop H.G.Mar Alvares Julius 1. Some of these I had
brought to the notice of Late H.H. Baselius Marthoma Mathews 1st. I also posted
in the ICON a message, besides publishing it in the “News and Views” a
quarterly (Vol. 1. Book 7, Oct- December 2005) published by MGOCSM India,
Kottayam and its copy on the MGOCSM website www.mgocsmindia.com.
It is true that some research initiated
by late H.G. Philipos Mar Theophilus and H.H.Baselius Marthoma Mathews 1st
prompted Rev.Fr.Dr.K.M. George and Rev. Fr.T.E.Issac, the then parish priest at
Goa, to fish out the location of the burial and interned mortal remains of
H.G.Alvares. That became necessary because His Grace had left his community and
his palace in Brahmawar and went back to Goa, for reasons unknown to us at
present. True, we can surmise and attribute reasons now for that. In any case,
it is a fact that Malankara Orthodox Church lost contact of this great thinker,
saint, believer in Orthodox Church and patriot
Some of us are prone to censure
ourselves for the neglect we showed to His grace in his waning years 1913-‘23.
Was this due to our fault or due to a willful option of His Grace? This
requires further probing. I am inclined to surmise that the latter caused the
neglect, because of a structural and organizational kink in our Church at that
time.
Rev.Fr.Alvares’personality.
To understand his change of mind we
have to probe his life and beliefs. His social work as a priest during
1867-‘87, his saintly life, philanthropy, his patriotism and yearning for
freedom from the foreign Portuguese yoke, his journalistic acumen and his
aristocratic birth had won a good number of followers for him in Goa and South
Canara. Because of political constraints and excommunication by the Goan
Catholic Church Hierarchy he had to go out of Goa and to concentrate his
activities among his followers in Brahmawar.
.The Malankara Syrian Orthodox church captivated him, not only because
it is continuation of the Original Orthodox Church, but also, had fought for
its freedom and had extricated itself out of the Portuguese Yoke. So he came to
Travancore in 1887, met our prelates and renounced the faith in Catholic Church
to rejoin the Malankara Orthodox Church. Two years later in 1889 he was
ordained as our Out-side Kerala Arch Bishop of India and Ceylon. Malankara
Metropolitan Pulikottil Mar Joseph Dionysius 11nd and St. Parumala Mar
Gregorios led this consecration ceremony. All other bishops of our Church
participated in the ceremony.
The backdrop of Brahmawar Mission
His Grace Mar Alvares had over 5000 members
as followers in Brahmawar. He wanted them to learn the liturgy and catechism of
the Malankara Orthodox church and requested the Malankara Metropolitan,
Pulikottil Thirumeni to send a missionary to Brahmawar. Pulikottil
Thirumeni selected a very dynamic
evangelist (1) and orator Rev.Dn.K.J.Alexander, Kanianthra for the work.
Because of his marriage to a very young girl of 11 years he was yearning for an
out-of-home work. Rev.Dn.K.J.Alexander eagerly accepted the work. His first lap
of the journey to Brahmawar by all modes of travel including bullock cart was
reported in the Malayala Manorama in 1905. (I do not have with me at present
the exact date of the report.)
Brahmawar mission started
QUOTE: Prof. Joseph K. Alexander &
Achamma Ammini Joseph. “Kanianthra Family History”- 2000. Page 137, for a brief
note on this missionary and his work in Brahmawar.
“He (Rev.Dn.K.J.Alexander)
passed the matriculation examination from S.B.College, Changanacherry. Then
according to the wishes of the community and family, he was ordained as a
Deacon by His Holiness St.Gregorios of Parumala (Parumala Thirumeni). Then he
joined old seminary at Kottayam and started learning Syriac and Theology.
Deacon Alexander started publishing a magazine on behalf of the Church called
‘Suviseshakan’. To increase its circulation and for evangelical work (parish
mission), he used to go to almost all the Parishes in our Church in
Travancore (specially around kottayam) and deliver sermons.
In 1902, at the age of 20, Deacon
Alexander married Achiamma, daughter of Shri Chandy Kunju, Marett. It is
interesting to note the marriage customs of those days. The bride was only 11
years old. The girl child bride adorned with gold ornaments from head to foot
was taken in a palanquin to the church. The bridegroom came riding a horse.
They were married at the Orthodox Church, Kallupara.
It was at this time
that Fr: Julius of the Mangalore Catholic Church joined our Church with his
followers. The Orthodox Church ordained him as Bishop Alvares Mar Julius 1st in
1889 and made him the Bishop of Karnataka (Syrian Arch Bishop of India and Ceylon). When Bishop
Alvares wanted to start a mission centre in south Karnataka, he appealed to our
Bishops to select a suitable person for the job. Pulicottil Mar Dionysius II
chose Deacon Alexander for this job. Thus Deacon Alexander went to Karnataka in
1905 (?), and started the Orthodox Mission Centre at Brahmawar. His peripatetic
missionary work slowly and steadily spread to many places in Karnataka, Andhra
and Maharashtra. He started to study the languages of these places, so that he
could directly converse with the congregation. Bibles in Kannada, Marathi,
Telugu and Hindi were there in Achen’s collection of books.
Deacon
Alexander started a primary school at Brahmawar by accepting donations and
conducting a lottery.(2)
Priests
later continued his work at Brahmawar: - Thumpamon Koshy Achen, Kuriakose
Achen, Geevarghese Achen, and Vettiyil Annamma and others. Now Rev. Fr. Lazer
of Pathanapuram Dayara is in charge of the Institutions at Brahmawar.
While at Brahmawar one
Fr. Noronha, a Mangalorian was his senior friend and a co-worker in the mission
field. Many years later Fr. Alexander revisited Brahmawar (3) and God
willed it so, because that was the date on which his friend Fr. Noronha died.” (4)
The
Anglican Bishop of Bombay gave Deacon Alexander a scholarship to study theology
at the Bishop’s college, Calcutta. ……………………………………………………………………………………. St. John’s
Church, Mepral was re-opened after its closure a second time in June 1909. The
court decided the church case in favour of Kanianthra Vathapallil Achen. But he
was too old. So the Parishners recalled Deacon Alexander from Calcutta to carry
on the parish work at Mepral. Thus he had to return from Calcutta in 1911
without completing his studies. He came to Mangalore and Archbishop Alvares Mar
Julius ordained him as priest in 1911.”
Quote from “News and Views” cited
above. The ordination Kalpana of the Archbishop, will be an eye-opener to the
readers.
Archbishop Mar Alvares ordains
Priests for Malankara Church
“BISHOP H.G. ALVARES MAR JULIUS
ORDAINS PRIESTS FOR MALANKARA ORTHODOX CHURCH
We have good information about H.G.Alvares Mar
Julius, a Metropolitan of the Malankara Church and Bishop of India and Ceylon
Diocese. But many of our Church leaders are unaware of the fact that His Grace had ordained two priests and a deacon from
Travancore-Cochin area for the Malankara Church. They were Rev. Fr. Kanianthra Joseph
Alexander, Rev. Fr. Lukose of Kannamcote and Rev Dn. David of Kunnamkulam (page
32 of XRAY, written in the 1930 s (author M. M. Varky, Trivandrum.) This
Kanianthra priest later became a cor-episcopa and was the Vicar General (from
1949 till his death in 1955) of the Niranam Diocese of late H.G.Thoma Mar
Dionysius of the Malankara Orthodox Church, The Diploma issued at his
ordination by
H.G. Bishop Alvares is given below.
(SEAL OF THE METROPOLITAN)
In
the name of the Essential, Self Existing, Eternal and All-Powerful God. Amen.
Mar Alvares Julius
The Syrian Metropolitan of
India and Ceylon.
Divine Blessings to all who
come to know this Diploma.
By this We certify that, on Sunday the 15th
October 1911, corresponding to 29th Kanni 1087, with the permission of
Mar Dionysius, the Syrian Metropolitan of Malabar, after all necessary
preparations We did perform, with great solemnity the holy sacrifice of
Koorbana in which after invoking the Holy Ghost and the intercession of Virgin
Mary, of all angels and Saints, We conferred the holy order of Priesthood on
the deacon, Kanianthra Joseph Alexander of Mepral, Travancore, in the Saint
Mary’s Church of Milagris at Brahmavar in South Canara.
In this solemnity about five thousand of our
Christians took part.
Given
on 15th of October 1911 at our Archiepiscopal residence at Brahmavar, South
Canara.
S/d
MAR ALVARES JULIUS I
Syrian Arch Bishop of India
and Ceylon”
Brahmawar Mission
continues
The background for the starting of the mission was
given in detail only to highlight the main role of the Malankara Syrian
Orthodox Church. The Church continued its mission work for the Brahmavar Church and the School we started. Lay workers like Vettiyil
Ms. Annamma of Vakathanam worked among the women in Brahmawar till 1930, till
her parents called her back for a late marriage. She has two children in that
marriage. I got a narration directly from her of her work and the names of
priests that worked in that mission field. It is true that there were lapses in
our work, after the 1930 s, till the ecclesiasts from Pathanapuram Dayara took
over the mission in 1966.This happened with the appointment of H.G. Thomas Mar
Themothios as the Metropolitan for Malabar Diocese. But let us note the
following facts.
- In 1911
when he ordained Rev.Fr.K.J.Alexander, the Arch Bishop Mar Alvares was
staying in the Arch Bishops Palace in Brahmawar.
- In 1913
he left Brahmawar and went back to Goa.
- Even
though H.G.Mar Alvares had left Brahmawar, Malankara Church continued the
mission work in that field. This is evident from the work of Rev. Koshy
Achen, Ms.Annamma and others in the
1930 s
- In the
1930 s girls from Brahmawar who studied in the primary school were brought
for high school education to Thiruvalla Balikamadam Girls English High
School. This practice was continued till the school at Brahmawar was
upgraded to a high school. During the short Onam vacation these children
were accomodated as honoured guests in Christian houses at Thiruvalla. I
remember 3 girls each staying in my house at Mepral in 1937- 1940 period.
Thus while our Church continued our
mission work, the Arch Bishop lost / relinquished his honorifics, insignia and
robes and left for Goa. Why?
The structural kink in the Church
Now let us analyze the new kink in the structure
and organisation of Malankara Church that I mentioned in the 3 rd Para above.
By 1912-1913, H.G.Mar Alvares lost his confidence in Malankara Church in
preserving its freedom.
1.His grace joined our Church in 1887 for its
orthodoxy, independence, history of freedom struggle that culminated in Coonan
Kurisu sathyam and its pious personalities and because he was excommunicated,
by the Catholic Church in Goa.
2.The Royal Court Judgment of Mithunam 30th
1889 came soon after his consecration as Arch Bishop on 29-7-1889. It was true
that our Church had an affair from 1875 (Synod of Mulanthuruthi 1876) with the
Antiochan Church and its Patriarch. But with this judgment we were conceding
more powers to the patriarch.
3.
Patriarch Mar Abdulla came in 1909 to Malankara and in 1911 created high
handedly a rival Malankara Metropolitan trustee in the place of Vattaseril Mar
Dionysius. The result was a civil case. So H.G.Alvares lost confidence in the
ability of the Orthodox Church to preserve its independence.
4.His Grace might also have thought that
Malankara Church may not now be able to support his poor followers in Brahmawar
in the way and size he expected.
H.G.Alvares left his people and went to Goa.
The Malankara Orthodox Church lost contact of him. I would rather present it
this way. He eased himself out of our contact.
The Goan authorities arrested him and divested
him of all insignia and robes. But his faith in our Church and its orthodoxy
made him to continue to wear the black robe of the Rembans of our Church. To
his last days his concern was for the poor Goans. He was begging on the streets for food for them.
If our Church were to come to know of these
developments, perhaps we could have persuaded him to come to Niranam for a
retired life, though that was unthinkable in those days. Yet it is true that
Malankara Orthodox church failed in its duty to actively support the Brahmawar
mission after 1913 till
Note: -1. P.P.Varkey- Parethanaya Kanianthra
Achen- Church Weekly. 1956 April 8
2.I have
seen the account books and receipt book-bits of this lottery in his antique box
from Brahmawar days. It is this School that has now bloomed into a College
owned and managed by our Church. After organizing the community under the able
guidance of the Archbishop, they started the Malankara Syrian Worship and
Qurbana. Thus Priests from Travancore continued Rev.Dn.Alexander’s work.
3.Return to Note 1
4.Another Rev.Fr.Norohna went and established an out-post of this
mission in Thiruchirapally.When this writer was a student there in St Josephs
college (1944-48) he visited this small community and their Church..Mr.Ponniah
owner of the Ponniah School was a rich member of this community. Pathanapuram
Dayara purchased this Ponniah School from him.
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