Mar Dionysius II, born Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop (15 January 1742 – 24 November 1816) was 10th

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 ...

for nine months until his death on 24 November 1816. He dethroned

Mar Thoma IX Mar Thoma IX was the ninth Metropolitan of the Malankara Church in Kerala, India for a brief period in 1816. That year, he was consecrated Metropolitan by Mar Thoma VIII, but soon after his ordination he was dethroned by Pulikkottil Joseph who w ...

and succeeded him by the favour of Col.John Munroe, then British Resident of Travancore. Despite the brevity of his reign he made lasting contributions to 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 ...

. Mar Dionysius II is also known as Pulikkottil Mar Dionysius I as he was the first Metropolitan from the ancient Pulikkottil family of

Kunnamkulam Kunnamkulam is a municipal town located in the Thrissur District of Kerala, India, with historical origins tracing back to the Paleolithic age. Renowned for its deep-rooted cultural heritage, vibrant printing industry, and religious diversity, ...

. He was able to keep up the traditions, improve the knowledge of the people and decree that the assets of the Metropolitan would be assets of the Church. During his lifetime, he renovated and managed St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Arthat, one of the oldest churches in

Kerala 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 ...

, masterminded in opening of the first formal educational institution in

, namely the Orthodox Theological Seminary (Old Seminary) His nephew Tharu Kurien's son Joseph was later ordained as Metropolitan by the Patriarch of Antioch and became Malankara Metropolitan. He was also given the same episcopal title Joseph Mar Dionysious (Mar Dionysius V) (1833–1909) and was known as Pulikkottil Mar Dionysious II.

Early days

Joseph Ittoop was born on 15 January 1742 in Pulikkottil an ancient family which moved from Arthat to

. He was ordained as a priest by Mar Thoma VI and was known as Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop Kathanar. He was the vicar of his parish, Chattukulangara Arthat church. Mysore ruler

Tippu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...

invaded

Guruvayur Guruvayur ) is a municipal temple town in Thrissur district, of Kerala State in India. It is a suburban town of Thrissur city, located from Thrissur towards the north-west. It houses the Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple. It is located at ...

and adjacent areas, in AD 1789. The people of

defended the attack with all their effort. The soldiers of Tippu Sultan set fire on Arthat church and murdered a number of people. One of them was killed inside the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

. Witnessing all these atrocities Pulikkottil Joseph Kathanar had no other option but to hide inside the church. A large number of refugees left Arthat and settled in

under the leadership of Joseph Kathanar. After Tippu Sultan left, Joseph Kathanar returned to the parish and renovated the church, removing that area of the

where the man was killed.

Consecrations

As Ramban

As per the decision of the meeting of the representatives from parishes at Kandanad, on 14 September 1809, Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop Kathanar was ordained as a Ramban.

Malankara Metropolitan

It was with the support of Col. Munroe, the resident of

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

, Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop Ramban was ordained as bishop PulikKottil Joseph Mar Dionysius by the bishop of Thozhiyur Church, Geevarghese Mar Philexenos (Kidangan) (1811–29) on 22 March 1815. After the death of Mar Thoma VIII, who ordained his uncle Iype Kathanar as

in the traditional manner of succession, was forced to abdicate his position and hand over charge to Joseph Mar Dionysius as he was made the supreme head of the Malankara Church by a Royal proclamation issued by the ruler of

and later by the ruler of

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

. These were under the influence of Col. John Munroe. The proclamation required every Syrian Christian of Travancore-Cochin to obey the Malankara Metropolitan. He then took possessions of all insignia from

from kottayam. With tears in his eyes

left the seminary premises at kottayam and retired to home parish Kadamattom palli, spending rest of the life in prayer and fasting, as a monk. He was given the episcopal title Dionysius (a Graeco-Roman name), the second bishop in 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 ...

to get this title.

Orthodox Theological seminary

Pulikottil Joseph Ittoop Ramban travelled to Kottayam and founded the

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

. The government of

provided tax free land and the foundation stone was laid in February 1813. The work went on very fast and classes began in March 1815. Qualified teachers to teach various subjects were also appointed. They were

Maramon Maramon is a small village on the Pampa River in Thiruvalla taluk & Thiruvalla Revenue Division of Pathanamthitta district in the state of Kerala, India. The nearest railway station is at chengannur (13 km) & Thiruvalla (16 km) Maram ...

Palakunnathu

Abraham Malpan Palakunnathu Abraham Malpan, (30 May 1796 – 9 September 1845) was an Indian cleric and theologian known for the Reformation movement within the Malankara Church during the 19th century. He was born in the ancient Syrian Christian Palakun ...

(Syriac), Konattu Varghese Malpan (Syriac),

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

Kunjan Assan (Sanskrit), Poet Laureate Chekottu Kuruvilla Assan (Malayalam) and from

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

Mose Esarphathi (Hebrew & Greek) were the first teachers of this first education institution in

English Missionaries

Rev. Dr.

Claudius Buchanan Claudius Buchanan FRSE (12 March 1765 – 9 February 1815) was a Scottish theologian, an ordained minister of the Church of England, and an evangelical missionary for the Church Missionary Society. He served as Vice Provost of the College of Ca ...

(1766–1815) who visited

in 1806, and met Mar Thoma VI. After his return to England, missionaries who were members of the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...

(CMS) began to arrive in

. Rev. Thomas Norton arrived in Kochi on 8 May 1816 and began to open schools in and around

Alappuzha Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...

. Rev. Benjamin Baily arrived in October 1816 and established a printing press at

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 ...

. He also began to translate the Bible into

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

Last days

At the age of 74, and only nine months as Metropolitan, Pulikottil Joseph Mar Dionysius died on 24 November 1816. He was entombed at

Orthodox Pazhaya Seminary The Orthodox Theological Seminary, also known as Old Seminary (Pazhaya Seminary) and M. D. Orthodox Seminary, is a seminary of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. It was founded in 1815 by priest-monk Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop Ramban (later Ma ...

(Old Seminary). As Dionysius had not named a successor, the fate of the Malankara Church was threatened. However, Geevarghese Mar Philexenos (Kidangan) (1811–29) of the

Malabar Independent Syrian Church The Malabar Independent Syrian Church (MISC), also known as the Thozhiyur Church, is a Christian church centred in Kerala, India. It is one of the churches of the Saint Thomas Christian community, which traces its origins to the evangelical ac ...

stepped in to take over the duties of the Malankara Metropolitan and served as the Acting Malankara Metropolitan until ordaining a successor to Mar Dionysius II. Mar Philexenos ordained

Mar Dionysius III Mar Dionysius III, Mar Thoma XI, also known as Punnathra Mar Dionysius and born Kurien (1785 – 19 May 1825) was 11th Malankara Metropolitan and Successor to the Holy Apostolic Throne of St.Thomas from 1817 until his death. Dionysius had ...

in 1817. The memorial feast of Mar Dionysius II is celebrated on 24 November. In recognition of his contributions to the Church, the Episcopal Synod of

conferred the honorary designation ''"Sabha-Jyothis"'' (Malayalam: സഭാ ജ്യോതിസ്, meaning 'light of the Church').

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malankara Metropolitan Oriental Orthodoxy in India Christian clergy from Thrissur district Syriac Orthodox Church bishops 1742 births 1816 deaths Christian clergy from Kerala Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church bishops Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Christians