Mar Joseph Powathil () (14 August 1930 – 18 March 2023) 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 ...

of the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church The Syro-Malabar Church, also known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. It is a '' sui iuris'' (autonomous) particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Cathol ...

. He was the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Changanassery, serving from 1985 until 2007. He was also the first bishop of

Kanjirappally Kanjirappally is a taluk and a town in Kottayam district situated about away from the district capital, in the state of Kerala, in southwestern India. Etymology Climate Kanjirappally has the highest number of rainy days in Kerala. It receiv ...

, having served from 1977 to 1985. He served as the President of the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of India The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) is the permanent association of the Catholic Church, Catholic Bishop (Catholic Church), bishops of India. It was established in September 1944, in Chennai. The CBCI Secretariat was located in Ban ...

(CBCI) from 1994 to 1998. Powathil was one of the youngest bishops in India, having been ordained bishop at the age of 41 and

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

was his principal

consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...

. A scholar in theology, Powathil is known for his stance in matters related to the Syro-Malabar Church's liturgy and restoration of eastern traditions. His stance on the fee structure of self-financing colleges had once become a challenge for the

Kerala state Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

government.

Early life

Powathil was born in the hamlet of Kurumbanadom, near Chanaganacherry,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. He was known as ''Pappachan'' in his childhood, and was officially known as P. J. Joseph. He went to school at Holy Family LP School and St. Peter's UP School, and then at St. Berchmans’ High School in Changanacherry. He attended St. Berchmans' College, Changanacherry for a B.A. Economics and Loyola College, Chennai from which he received an M.A. in economics.

Priestly ministry

Powathil did his seminary studies in St. Thomas Seminary Changanacherry and Papal Seminary, Pune. He was ordained priest on 3 October 1962. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Changanacherry (

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Caesarea Philippi Banias (; ; Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: , etc.; ), also spelled Banyas, is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek god Pan (mythology), Pan. It had been inhabited for 2,000 ...

) on 29 January 1972, despite having little Episcopal experience, and was consecrated by

on 13 February 1972. On 26 February 1977, a new diocese was created under the name

, splitting the Changanacherry archdiocese. Bishop Powathil was transferred there as the first bishop. He served the new diocese for nine years. He rose to become archbishop and returned to Changanacherry on 16 November 1985, succeeding

Antony Padiyara Antony Padiyara (11 February 1921 – 23 March 2000) was a Syro-Malabar Catholic cardinal and the first Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly. Before serving as Major Archbishop from 1985 to 1996, he previously served as Bishop of Ootacamund ...

Offices held

He served as President of Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) (1994–1998), Chairman of Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (1993–1996), and Chairman of Education Commission of the CBCI. He has been a member of the Post Asian Synodal Council in Rome, Italy since 1998, Chairman of KCBC Commission for Education (since 1986), Founder and Chairman of Inter Church Council for Education, Chairman of Inter Religious Fellowship, member of the Pro Oriente Foundation in Vienna, Austria (since 1993) and member of the Scientific Commission of International Publication ‘Oasis’ in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, Italy.

Service

He founded the Peerumedu Development Society (P.D.S.) and the Malanadu Development Society (M. D. S.) in 1977 while he was the bishop of Kanjirappaly. The Kuttanadu Vikasana Samithy (KVS) is another project of his. As the Patron of the Changanacherry Social Service Society (CHASS), he oversaw numerous developmental schemes. Many Scholarship schemes are established for the Dalit Christians in the Archdiocese and the poor and eligible students of the professional courses. In 1990, Powathil founded the I. C. Chacko award for cultural and literary excellence and it was awarded to Prof. P. C. Devasia, the author of Kristu Bhagavathom in Sanskrit language. The Centre for Indian Christian Archaeological Research (CICAR) is another initiative. In order to promote reading, Powathil established the Department of Book Apostolate, which organizes the Changanacherry Pusthaka Mela every year in October. He established the Diocesan Youth Movement called ‘Yuvadeepti’ in 1972. It eventually turned into the Kerala Catholic Youth Movement (KCYM). He was the first chairman of the KCBC Youth Commission. He started Apostolate for the senior citizens, apostolate for the emigrants and apostolate for the tourists in the Archdiocese. He led CANA, the Indian Section of the Pope John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, at Thuruthy with headquarters in Rome.

References

External links

Articles by Archbishop Joseph PowathilSyro-Malabar Dioceses -- All 26 dioceses of the Syro-Malabar Church with photographsArchdiocese of Changanassery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powathil, Joseph 1930 births 2023 deaths Christian clergy from Kottayam Syro-Malabar Catholics Archbishops of Changanassery 20th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops 21st-century Eastern Catholic archbishops