Benedict Mor Gregorios (1 February 1916 – 10 October 1994) was the second

metropolitan archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

Life

Gregorios or "Thangalathil Thirumeni" was born and raised in the Malankara Orthodox Church in Kalloopara, present day Pathanamthitta district. He was baptised by the name Varghese. As a teenage boy Varghese came closer to the ideal of

Bethany Ashram Bethany Ashram , Perunadu , Ranni is the first Ashram of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church . It was established by P.T.Geevarghese, later Archbishop Ivanios and Alexios, later Alexios Thevodosios. The Ashram follows the religious order cal ...

. He was attracted by the personality of Geevarghese Ivanios and later became a member of

and adopted the name Benedict. He studied philosophy and theology at Papal Seminary,

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

, Sri Lanka. He was ordained a religious priest of

by then Bishop of Kandy Bernad Reinjo in 1944. As a dynamic young priest he taught Syriac for some time in St. Aloysius Seminary, Trivandrum. He was sent for higher studies in economics to St. Joseph's College, Trichy (1946–1949). He became the first principal of

Mar Ivanios College Mar Ivanios College is an autonomous educational institution situated in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. The college was ranked as 29th best college in the country by Ministry of Education's National Institutional Ranking Framework in 2019 ...

. He was consecrated as bishop on January 29, 1953, by the hands of Archbishop Ivanios, and he received the name Benedict Mar Gregorios. After the death of Ivanios, Gregorios became the second metropolitan archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in 1955. Parish communities were formed in Syro-Malankara Catholic Church during this period. Gregorios paved the way to establish Mar Theophilos Training College, Trivandrum and Mar Gregorios College of Arts and Science, Chennai. After 41 years of episcopal ministry, Gregorios died on 10 October 1994. His body was entombed in

St. Mary's Cathedral, Pattom, Trivandrum St. Mary's Malankara Syrian Catholic Cathedral, Pattom, Trivandrum is the central place of worship of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Major Archbishop of Trivandrum. The tombs of the Servant of God Archbishop Geevarg ...

. St. John's College, Anchal, a first grade arts and science college in Kollam district was established by Gregorios. St. John's College Anchal became the nerve centre of the total development of a remote rural village into a fast developing township.

References

Sources

Thomas Inchaykkalodi, Archbishop Mar Ivanios, Vol. 1, Bethany Publications, Kottayam, 2006.

External links

"Syro-Malankara Catholic Church – homepage"Syro-Malankara Catholic Church – alternative site built by Malankarites
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregorios, Benedict 1916 births 1994 deaths Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Oriental Orthodoxy 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops Syro-Malankara bishops Burials at the Cathedral of Saint Mary, Pattom Christian clergy from Kerala