Mar Dionysius II, born Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop (15 January 1742 – 24 November 1816) was 10th

Malankara Metropolitan Malankara Metropolitan is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of the Malankara Syrian Church, previously by the Government of Travancore and Cochin in South India. This title was awarded by a proclamation from the King of Travancore and ...

for nine months until his death on 24 November 1816. He dethroned Mar Thoma IX and succeeded him by the favour of Col.John Munroe, then British Resident of Travancore. Despite the brevity of his reign he made lasting contributions to the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Mar Dionysius II is also known as Pulikkottil Mar Dionysius I as he was the first Metropolitan from the ancient Pulikkottil family of

Kunnamkulam Kunnamkulam is a municipal town situated in the Thrissur District of Kerala in India, spread over an area of 34.18 km2. It is an old commercial town, with an ancient history, famous for its printing and book binding industry. In the past, ...

. He was able to keep up the traditions, improve the knowledge of the people and decree that the assets of the Metropolitan would be assets of the Church. During his lifetime, he renovated and managed

St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Arthat Arthat St Mary's Orthodox Cathedral (Arthat Valiyapally) also called ''Kunnamkulam-Chattukulangara Church'' is an ancient church located in Arthat village of Thalapilly Taluk, one mile south of Kunnamkulam town, Thrissur, Kerala, India. This ...

, one of the oldest churches in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, masterminded in opening of the first formal educational institution in

, namely the Orthodox Theological Seminary (Old Seminary) His nephew Tharu Kurien's son Joseph was later ordained as Metropolitan by the Patriarch of Antioch and became Malankara Metropolitan. He was also given the same episcopal title Joseph Mar Dionysious (Mar Dionysius V) (1833–1909) and was known as Pulikkottil Mar Dionysious II.

Early days

Joseph Ittoop was born on 15 January 1742 in Pulikkottil an ancient family which moved from Arthat to

. He was ordained as a priest by

Mar Thoma VI Mar Dionysius I (Mar Thoma VI) (died 8 April 1808), was the 6th Metropolitan of the Malankara Syrian Church from 1765 until his death. A member of the Pakalomattom family (Thazhmon, Ayroor) he appealed to outside authorities to assert his posit ...

and was known as Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop Kathanar. He was the vicar of his parish, Chattukulangara Arthat church. Mysore ruler

Tippu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He i ...

invaded

Guruvayur Guruvayur () is a municipal temple town in Thrissur District, of Kerala State in India. It is a suburban town of Thrissur city, located from Thrissur towards the north-west. It houses the Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple. It is located at ...

and adjacent areas, in AD 1789. The people of

defended the attack with all their effort. The soldiers of Tippu Sultan set fire on Arthat church and murdered a number of people. One of them was killed inside the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

. Witnessing all these atrocities Pulikkottil Joseph Kathanar had no other option but to hide inside the church. A large number of refugees left Arthat and settled in

under the leadership of Joseph Kathanar. After Tippu Sultan left, Joseph Kathanar returned to the parish and renovated the church, removing that area of the

where the man was killed.

Consecrations

As Ramban

As per the decision of the meeting of the representatives from parishes at Kandanad, on 14 September 1809, Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop Kathanar was ordained as a Ramban.

Malankara Metropolitan

It was with the support of Col. Munroe, the resident of

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

, Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop Ramban was ordained as bishop PulikKottil Joseph Mar Dionysius by the bishop of Thozhiyur Church, Geevarghese Mar Philexenos (Kidangan) (1811–29) on 22 March 1815. After the death of Mar Thoma VIII, who ordained his uncle Iype Kathanar as Mar Thoma IX in the traditional manner of succession, was forced to abdicate his position and hand over charge to Joseph Mar Dionysius as he was made the supreme head of the Malankara Church by a Royal proclamation issued by the ruler of

and later by the ruler of

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

. These were under the influence of Col. John Munroe. The proclamation required every Syrian Christian of Travancore-Cochin to obey the Malankara Metropolitan. He then took possessions of all insignia from Mar Thoma IX from kottayam. With tears in his eyes Mar Thoma IX left the seminary premises at kottayam and retired to home parish Kadamattom palli, spending rest of the life in prayer and fasting, as a monk. He was given the episcopal title Dionysius (a Graeco-Roman name), the second bishop in the Malankara Church to get this title.

Orthodox Theological seminary

Pulikottil Joseph Ittoop Ramban travelled to Kottayam and founded the

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

. The government of

provided tax free land and the foundation stone was laid in February 1813. The work went on very fast and classes began in March 1815. Qualified teachers to teach various subjects were also appointed. They were

Maramon Maramon is a small town on the Pampa River, in Thiruvalla Sub-District & Taluk opposite to Kozhencherry in the state of Kerala, India. It is 16 km from the Thiruvalla Town headquarters, the town of Thiruvalla. Maramon Convention M ...

Palakunnathu

Abraham Malpan Palakunnathu Abraham Malpan (പാലകുന്നത്ത് അബ്രഹാം മൽപ്പാൻ), (30 May 1796 – 9 September 1845) was an Indian cleric and theologian known for the Reformation movement within the Malankara ...

(Syriac), Konattu Varghese Malpan (Syriac),

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second l ...

Kunjan Assan (Sanskrit), Poet Laureate Chekottu Kuruvilla Assan (Malayalam) and from

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

Mose Esarphathi (Hebrew & Greek) were the first teachers of this first education institution in

. By AD 2000

became the most literate state in India.

English Missionaries

Rev. Dr.

Claudius Buchanan Claudius Buchanan FRSE (12 March 1766 – 9 February 1815) was a Scottish theologian, an ordained minister of the Church of England, and an evangelical missionary for the Church Missionary Society. He served as Vice Provost of the College of C ...

(1766–1815) who visited

in 1806, and met Mar Thoma VI. After his return to England, missionaries who were members of the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

(CMS) began to arrive in

. Rev. Thomas Norton arrived in Kochi on 8 May 1816 and began to open schools in and around Alappuzha. Rev. Benjamin Baily arrived in October 1816 and established a printing press at

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south- ...

. He also began to translate the Bible into

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

Last days

At the age of 74, and only nine months as Metropolitan, Pulikottil Joseph Mar Dionysius died on 24 November 1816. He was entombed at

Orthodox Pazhaya Seminary (Old Seminary). As Dionysius had not named a successor, the fate of the Malankara Church was threatened. However, Geevarghese Mar Philexenos (Kidangan) (1811–29) of the

Malabar Independent Syrian Church The Malabar Independent Syrian Church (MISC) also known as the Thozhiyur Church, is a Christian church centred in Kerala, India. It is one of the churches of the Saint Thomas Christian community, which traces its origins to the evangelical acti ...

stepped in to take over the duties of the Malankara Metropolitan and served as the Acting Malankara Metropolitan until ordaining a successor to Mar Dionysius II. Mar Philexenos ordained

Mar Dionysius III Mar Dionysius III, also known as Punnathra Mar Dionysius and born Kurien (1785 – 19 May 1825) was 11th Malankara Metropolitan and Successor to the Holy Apostolic Throne of St.Thomas from 1817 until his death. Dionysius had a long career ...

in 1817. The memorial feast of Mar Dionysius II is celebrated on 24 November. In recognition of his contributions to the Church, the Episcopal Synod of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church conferred the honorary designation ''"Sabha-Jyothis"'' (Malayalam: സഭാ ജ്യോതിസ്, meaning 'light of the Church').

References

* *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malankara Metropolitan Oriental Orthodoxy in India People from Thrissur district Syriac Orthodox Church bishops 1742 births 1816 deaths Christian clergy from Kerala Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church bishops Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Christians