Moran Mor Cyril Baselios Catholicos or, when referencing his title of

Major Archbishop In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch ("Father and Head") of an autonomous ('' sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarc ...

, Cyril Baselios Malancharuvil OIC (born ''James Malancharuvil'', 16 August 1935 –18 January 2007) was the first major archbishop of the

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, also known as the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church that employs the West Syriac Rite and is in full communion with the worldwide Catholic Church posse ...

. He was elevated by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in 1995.

Early life

He was born in

Pandalam Pandalam is a municipality in Pathanamthitta district Kerala, India. Pandalam is known for its connection with Ayyappan and Sabarimala. It recognised ''as the cultural capital of Travancore'', Pandalam hosts educational institutions rang ...

, Kerala on 16 August 1935. His birth name was James Malancharuvil. In 1951 he entered in the Order of the Imitation of Christ (O.I.C.) and took the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

of Cyril. He studied in Rome and was ordained

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

on 4 October 1960.

Education

He received a doctorate in canon law from the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in Rome in 1965, after taking a master's degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

from St. John's University in New York City. He taught at St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

and St. Joseph's Pontifical Institute, Mangalapuzha, Aluva.

Career

He was named as Eparch (Bishop) of the suffragan Diocese of Bathery on 28 October 1978, and consecrated on 28 December 1978 by Benedict Gregorios with the name Cyril Baselios. He was made

Metropolitan Archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

and head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church on 6 November 1995. He received the archiepiscopal

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : pallia) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolitan bish ...

from

on 9 January 1996 in

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

Major Archbishop

The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church raised to the status of a Major Archiepiscopal Church ''sui iuris'' on 10 February 2005 according to the norms of CCEO. He was the first Syro-Malakara to bear the title of Major Archbishop and his official title according to the West Syriac Tradition was Moran Mor Cyril Baselios Catholicos, which was earlier granted to the Syro-Malabar metropolitanate of Ernakulam–Angamaly and the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitanate of Kyiv–Halyč and shortly after to the Romanian Catholic Metropolitanate of Făgăraş şi Alba Iulia. His motto is 'trust in love'. He had good ecumenical relations with the Indian Orthodox Church,

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 ...

, Mar Thoma Church and other St. Thomas churches. Baselios died of a heart attack on 18 January 2007, in Trivandrum.

References

External links

Syro-Malankara Catholic ChurchSyro-Malankara Catholic Church – alternative site built by Malankarites
1935 births 2007 deaths Burials at the Cathedral of Saint Mary, Pattom Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops 21st-century Eastern Catholic bishops Syro-Malankara bishops People from Pandalam {{SyroMalankara-bishop-stub