Mor Clemis Abraham, The Chief Metropolitan of the East (born as Abraham, 1918–2002) was an Indian

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

, the Malankara Metropolitan (1957–58) and the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Knanaya The K'nānāya , (from Syriac: ''K'nā'nāya'' (Canaanite)) also known as the Southists or Tekkumbhagar, are an endogamous ethnic group found among the Saint Thomas Christian community of Kerala, India. They are differentiated from another part ...

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

Archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

of Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church.

Succession

Education

Mor Clemis Abraham did his primary education at the Vaikom Town Government Lower Primary School. His secondary education was in MS Higher Secondary School, Ranni in 1934. and later joined St. Mary's High School in Aluva. He passed his pre-degree from

CMS College Kottayam The CMS College (Church Missionary Society College), established in 1817, is one of the earliest Western-style colleges in India. The college is considered to be the oldest institution of higher education in India along with the Presidency Colle ...

and joined St. Xavier's College, Palayamkottai for

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

. He did his master's degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from

Annamalai University The Annamalai University (AU) is a public state university in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The sprawling campus offers courses of higher education in arts, science, engineering, management, humanities, agriculture, and physical education. ...

, studied Syriac and theology studies at the Theological Seminary in

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

. In 1960 he obtained a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

from

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

Ecumenical relations

He had an audience with the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

of Rome at

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

on July 29, 1960, and on May 14, 1980, Mor Clemis visited the pope again at Vatican with Patriarch Mor Ya`qub III.

Honors

* 1982, Patriarch Mor

Ignatius Zakka I Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas (; ; ', born Sanharib Iwas, 21 April 1931 – 21 March 2014) was the 122nd reigning Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and, as such, Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church. Also know ...

conferred the title Kooberneethi Hakheemo (wise captain). * 1989, the title Great Metropolitan of the East by Patriarch Mor

. * 1992, Established a school named after himself: Clemis School and Junior College, Chingavanam, Kottayam, Kerala.

Death and Funeral

Clemis Abraham passed away at Lissie Hospital in

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the central business district of the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. It is the namesake of Ernakulam district. The eastern part of Kochi city is mainly known as Ernakulam, while the western part of it after the Venduruthy Bridge ...

on September 29, 2002. At the time of his death, Mor Clemis was the senior most Metropolitan of the

Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...

all over the world and the longest serving bishop in the history of the Malankara Church. His mortal remains were interred at St. John's Dayara Church, Chingavanam on October 1, 2002 after funeral rites were led by

Baselios Thomas I Mor Baselios Thomas I ( Syr: ܡܳܪܝ̱ ܒܰܣܺܝܠܺܝܳܘܣ ܬܐܳܘܡܰܐ ܩܰܕ݂ܡܳܝܳܐ; Mal: മോർ ബസേലിയോസ് തോമസ് പ്രഥമൻ; Born Cheruvillil Mathai Thomas 22 July 1929 – 31 October 2024) w ...

, Mor Yulius Yeshu` Çiçek of Europe, and other Metropolitans of Malankara.

External links

Qooberneeyto Hakeemo Mor Clemis Abraham, A Tribute from St. Mary's Knanaya Church, 2017
h1>

References