Mar Gregory Karotemprel and Prasant Payyappilly Palakkappilly

Arakuzha is a small village situated 6 km from Muvattupuzha in Kerala, India. The SH 41 connects Arakuzha with Muvattupuzha and Koothattukulam. The Moozhi Bridge connects Arakuzha to the Pineapple City of India, Vazhakulam, which is also 6 km from Arakuzha. It is located on SH 41, towards Koothattukulam, the alternate route for

Main Central Road Kerala's State Highway 1 or KL SH 1, also known as Main Central Road or MC Road, is the arterial state highway starting from Kesavadasapuram in Thiruvananthapuram and ends at Angamaly, a suburb of Greater Cochin in Ernakulam district, in the s ...

. St. Mary's High School and St. Joseph's Girls' School are the oldest high schools in Arakuzha. Arakuzha is also home to two Christian pilgrim centres-St. Mary's Forane Church and Malekurish Church. The chief festival is on the first Sunday after

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

History

The village has a large population of Syrian Catholic Christians. Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church has an important role in the life of the people.

Saint Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...

of Arakuzha have more than 1,500 years of

recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world h ...

. This region comprising Kothamangalam, Vazhakulam, Arakuzha, Mylakompu, Nagapuzha, Muthalakodam of erstwhile Travancore kingdom has some very old Syrian churches. Arakuzha, being an ancient Syrian Christian centre has given asylum to many migrant Syrian Christians during the Tipu's persecution of Nasranis.

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

Mar Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly had served as the parish priest of Marth Mariam Church in Arakuzha (1920–22). During his tenure in Arakuzha he started St. Mary's School there. He also purchased of land in M.C.Road for constructing St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Meenkunnam.Payyappilly Palakkappilly Varghese Kathanar
Several families migrated to different parts of Kerala, mainly to Malabar and high range areas, in search of agriculture land.

References

{{Northern Travancore Villages in Ernakulam district

History

See also

References