Mar Joseph Perumthottam () (born 5 July 1948) is an Indian prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Since 2007 he has been the Metropolitan Archbishop of the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanacherry The Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanacherry (; is a Catholic East-Syriac Rite archeparchy with an area of 24,595 km2 comprising the districts of Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala ...

, India.

Education

He was educated in St. Joseph's High School in Punnathura and St. Berchmans College in

Changanassery Changanassery, () formerly Changanacherry, is a municipality in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district headquarters in Kottayam and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 ...

. He completed his seminary studies at St. Thomas Petit Seminary,

, and St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Vadavathoor,

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 ...

. On 18 December 1974 he was ordained priest by Archbishop Mar

Joseph Powathil Mar Joseph Powathil () (14 August 1930 – 18 March 2023) was an Indian prelate of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. He was the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Changanassery, serving from 1985 until 2007. He was also the first bi ...

, then auxiliary

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Changanacherry Changanassery, () formerly Changanacherry, is a municipality in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district headquarters in Kottayam and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 I ...

. After his ministry as assistant parish priest for a few years he was appointed in 1979 as Director of Sandesanilayam, the Catechetical Centre of the Archdiocese and Chaplain of Catholic Workers' Movement of the Archdiocese. In the Catechetical field, he introduced many training programmes, including Catechetical Leaders' Training (CLT), which is being continued to this day by Sandesanilayam. In 1983 he was sent for higher studies, at

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 ...

, Rome, where he took a doctorate in Church History. Back from Rome, in 1989 he was appointed professor of St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary Vadavathoor and Missionary Orientation Centre, Manganam,

and vicar of St. Sebastian's Church, Kodinattumkunnu. During this period he was instrumental in starting Marthoma Vidyanikethan at Changanacherry, the higher institute of religious sciences for the laity. This institute is affiliated to Paurastya Vidyapitam, Vadavthoor, conferring a P.G. degree recognized by the Congregation for Catholic Education, Rome, and Perumthottam has been at its helm for the last decade. Simultaneously he has been vicar of Mar Sleeba Church, Ponga. He was nominated auxiliary bishop on 24 April 2002 and was consecrated by Archbishop Mar

at St. Mary's Metropolitan Church,

, on 20 May 2002, the 116th anniversary of the Archdiocese. Perumthottam was appointed

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 ...

on 22 January 2007, and assumed charge on 19 March 2007. Perumthottam will retire in August 2024 and Thomas Tharayil will be his successor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perumthottam, Joseph 1948 births Living people 21st-century Eastern Catholic archbishops Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Archbishops of Changanassery People from Kottayam district