Mar Dionysius III, Mar Thoma XI, also known as Punnathra Mar Dionysius and born Kurien (1785 – 19 May 1825) was 11th

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 ...

and Successor to the Holy Apostolic Throne of St.Thomas from 1817 until his death. Dionysius had a long career 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 ...

prior to his consecration as Metropolitan. It was his suggestion during the time of

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 ...

to establish the Syrian seminary 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 ...

, Kerala's first educational institution. He also welcomed some of the first missionary teachers who arrived from England to teach in the seminary. In 1816, following the demise of

Mar Dionysius II Mar Dionysius II, born Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop (15 January 1742 – 24 November 1816) was 10th Malankara Metropolitan for nine months until his death on 24 November 1816. He dethroned Mar Thoma IX and succeeded him by the favour of Col.J ...

, who had not appointed a successor, Kurien was elected to succeed him as the Malankara Metropolitan by the general assembly of the Church (Malankara Palliyogam) and was ordained as bishop by Geevarghese Mar Philexenos II 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 ...

Early days

Kurien, who later became Mar Dionysious, was born in 1785 in the well known Punnathara family,

. Soon after his ordination he was appointed as a priest in his home parish Kallumkathra. As a representative of his parish he attended a number of meetings connected with the establishment of the Syrian Seminary.

Primate of the Church

Consecration

Following the sudden demise of Pulikkottil Joseph Mar Dionysious I, on 24 November 1816, the British resident called a meeting of the Diwan (prime minister) 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 ...

and elders of the church at Ernakulam. This meeting decided to appoint Geevarghese Mar Philexenos (Kidangan) (1811–29) of the

, who consecrated Pulikottil Joseph Mar Dionysius in 1816, to be the Acting Malankara Metropolitan. This was accepted and Maharajahas of both

and Cochin issued royal proclamations to confirm this. Geevarghese Mar Philexenos II did not want to take over the Malankara church. He convened a general assembly of the representatives of the parishes and they selected Punnathara Kurien Kathanar as the next Metropolitan. Kurien Kathanar handed over the responsibilities of Kallumkathra parish to Kaithayil Geevarghese Malpan. Punnathra Kurien Ramban was ordained by Mar Philexenos (Kidangan) of the

on 19 October 1817.

Mavelikkara assembly

Punnathra Mar Dionysius was pressurised by Angilican missionaries who wanted to reform the Malankara Church. A meeting was held on 3 December 1818 at

Mavelikkara Mavelikkara () is a municipality in the Onattukara Region of Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 ...

to study the changes that can be implemented with the missionaries present. To suggest improvements to be made in the church, a six-member committee was appointed. 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 ...

, Konattu Varghese Malpan, and Kaithayil Geevarghese Malpan were among them.

English missionaries

Anglican missionaries began to arrive 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 ...

. Rev. Thomas Norton arrived in

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 ...

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 the Syrian Seminary in

. 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 ...

. During the time of Punnathara Mar Dionysious Rev. Joseph Fenn arrived in 1818 October and was made the principal. Rev. Henry Baker arrived in 1819 April went round the parishes establishing schools near the churches. The Anglican missionaries maintained cordial relations with the Malankara Church during the reign of Mar Dionysius III, assisting in the theological education at the Seminary without interfering in the faith and administration of the Church.

The letter to the C.M.S.

An apologetic version of the Coonan Cross Oath in the letter of Dionysious Punnathara to the head of the Anglican

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 ...

from a translation of it out of the Syriac original: Here, the oath is presented as an opposition to the Pope himself.

Relation with Travancore

During the time of Punnathara Mar Dionysious the relation with

and

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 ...

was very cordial. The Ruler of

Maharani

Gowri Parvati Bayi Maharani Uthrittathi Thirunal Gowri Parvathi Bayi (1802–1853) was the Regent of the Indian state of Travancore in 1815–1829. She succeeded her sister Maharani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, till her regency was relinquished in favour of her nephew, M ...

, gave a number of privileges to 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 ...

. For the first time in

in 1818, Maha Rani appointed a number Christians as Judges.

Last days

By 1825 there was an outbreak of Cholera in

. A number of people lost their lives. Due to this disease, Punnathara Mar Dionysious died on 17 May 1825 and was interred at

Cheriapally (St. Mary's Orthodox Church). The memorial feast of Mar Dionysius III is observed on 19 May.