Moran Mor Baselios Geevarghese II of the

Malankara Church The Malankara Church, also known as Malankara Syrian Church, was the unified body of '' Puthankur'' Saint Thomas Christians who claim origins from the missions of Thomas the Apostle. This community, under the leadership of Thoma I, oppos ...

(16 June 1874 – 3 January 1964). Third

Catholicos of the East Catholicos of the East may refer to: * Patriarch of the Church of the East * Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan * Catholicos of India * Maphrian See also * List of patriarchs of the Church of the East {{OrientalOrthodoxy-st ...

in Malankara and 16th

Malankara Metropolitan The Malankara Metropolitan, or the Metropolitan of Malabar, is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of the Malankara Syrian Church. It evolved from the sixteenth-century East Syriac metropolitans of India who were also styled as the Metro ...

, was born to Ulahannan and Naithi of the Kallaserri family in Kurichi,

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

on 16 June 1874. On 24 April 1892, Kadavil Paulose Mar Athanasios ordained him as

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

and on 24 November and 27 November 1898 he was ordained as priest and Ramban respectively by Parumala Mar Gregorios. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church website
/ref> He resided in Kundara church and took charge of the southern

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

s of the

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an Autocephaly, autocephalous Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in #Catholicate ...

. He also served as Manager and Malpan of the Old Seminary. His published books included "Sahaden marude Charithram". "Rahasya Prarthanakal". "Parudeesa", and "Mar Yuhanon Mamdana". On 8 September 1912

Ignatius Abded Mshiho II Ignatius Abded Mshiho II (17 January 1854 – 30 August 1915) was the Patriarch of Antioch, and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1895 until his deposition in 1903. Early life Abded Mshiho was born in the village of Qal’at Mara, east ...

consecrated him as

Metropolitan 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 ...

Geevarghese Mar Gregorios at Parumala Seminary. He was appointed as the

of Thumpamon, Kollam and Niranam dioceses. On 15 February 1929, the Episcopal Synod of Malankara headed by Malankara Metropolitan Vattaserril Geevarghese Mar Dionysius installed him as the

Catholicos A catholicos (plural: catholicoi) is the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and, in some cases, it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient Greek ( ...

of the East, succeeding Catholicos Baselius Geevarghese I, who had died in the previous year. When the Association met on 26 December 1934 at M.D. Seminary,

, he was chosen as

. It was a period when issues within the

were becoming very complicated. Through prayer and fasting he received the strength from God to lead his people for many years, inspiring his people to work for their Church and for the glory of God. Following the peace pact of 1958, he had the good fortune to guide the destiny of the unified

Malankara Orthodox Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. It serves India's ...

.St George's Orthodox Syrian Church website
Apart from consecrating twelve Metropolitans, and

ordaining Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vari ...

more than a thousand priests and deacons, he founded and consecrated many churches. As the Catholicos of the East, he officiated in the consecration of Holy Mooron (anointing oil) at the Old Seminary on 22 April 1932 and on 20 April 1951. On 2 November 1947 he declared Parumala Mar Gregorios and Catholicos Eldho Mor Baselios as

saints In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...

. From his time onwards the offices of

and

were united in one and the same person. Baselius Geevarghese II died on 3 January 1964 at Develokam Aramana and was laid to rest beside the Devalokam Aramana Chapel. Every year the Church observes his feast on 3 January.

Succession

References

External links

*
20th century leaders of the Indian Orthodox Church Website of the Indian Orthodox Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geevarghese 02 Catholicoi of the East and Malankara Metropolitans Indian Christian religious leaders Indian Oriental Orthodox Christians Christian clergy from Kottayam 1874 births 1964 deaths