Saint Coorilos Paulose of Panampady (Coorilos of Malankara), also known as Kochuparambil Thirumeni, or Panampady Thirumeni, was Malankara Metropolitan of the

Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (JSCC), or the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India also known as Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, the Jacobite Syrian Church, and the Syriac Orthodox Church in India, ...

in India from 1911 to 1917.

Life

Coorilos was born December 4, 1850, in Kandanad,

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, India, to Varkey and Anna Paulose. He was ordained as a deacon by Koorilos Yuyakim, the Reesh Episcopo of Malankara, at the age of nine, and studied under Pallathattu Geevarghese Kassisso, Stephanos and Koonappillil Geevarghese Kassisso. He was ordained as a priest by

Mathews Athanasius Mathews Mar Athanasius (Mar Thoma XIII) (25 April 1818 – 16 July 1877) was the Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Church from 1852 until 1865. As a reformer, he spent most of his reign attempting to reform and heal rifts within the churc ...

Malankara Metropolitan Malankara Metropolitan is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of the Malankara Syrian Church, previously by the Government of Travancore and Cochin in South India. This title was awarded by a proclamation from the King of Travancore and ...

, and celebrated his first

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

at the Kandanad Church. He was re-ordained by

Dionysious V Pulikkottil Joseph Mar Dionysious II (Mar Dionysious V) (12 November 1833 – 11 July 1909) was the Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Church, was born into the family of Pulikkottil (Kunnamkulam). He was the 14th Malankara Metropoli ...

, Malankara Metropolitan, due to a church dispute, and he later served as a vicar at Mulanthuruthy Church. When Coorilos was still a priest, he began a monastic life at Vettikkal Shrine alongside Geevarghese Ramban, after

Ignatius Peter IV Moran Mor Ignatius Peter IV (1798 – 8 October 1894), also known as Ignatius Peter III, was the Patriarch of Antioch, and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1872 until his death in 1894. He is regarded by many as the architect of the m ...

—Patriarch of Antioch—ordained him as a monk (''ramban'') and declared Vettikal Shrine as a monastery at the request of

Geevarghese Gregorios of Parumala Saint Geevarghese Mor Gregorios, popularly known as Parumala Thirumeni (Bishop of Parumala), (15 June 1848 – 2 November 1902) was a Metropolitan of the Malankara Church. Parumala Thirumeni became the first person of Indian origin to be cano ...

, which made it the first monastery of the

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

in Malankara. Coorilos served as manager of the Old Seminary, and took a prominent role in constructing the St. George Church of Trivandrum and St. Thomas Chapel of Manarcad, as well as founding several schools. He also visited the Holy Land with Geevarghese Gregorios during his time as a monk. He was consecrated as a metropolitan on 31 May 1908 by

Ignatius Abded Aloho II Moran Mar Ignatius Abded Aloho II Sattuf also Ignatius Abdullah ll Stephan (June 7, 1833 –November 26, 1915) was the Patriarch of Antioch, and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1906 until his death in 1915. Biography Abded was born ...

—Patriarch of Antioch—together with

Geevarghese Dionysius of Vattasseril Geevarghese Mar Dionysius of Vattasseril popularly known as Vattasseril Thirumeni (31 October 1858 – 23 February 1934) was a bishop of the Malankara Church, 15th Malankara Metropolitan, and a founder of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Chu ...

, at the

Monastery of Saint Mark, Jerusalem The Syriac Orthodox Monastery of Saint Mark ( syr, ܕܰܝܪܳܐ ܕܡܳܪܝ̱ ܡܰܪܩܽܘܣ ܕܣܽܘܪ̈ܳܝܝܶܐ, romanized: Dayrā dMār Marqus dSūrāyē) is a Syriac Orthodox monastery and church in the Old City of Jerusalem. According to a 6t ...

, according to the decisions of the regional synod of Malankara. In 1909, Geevarghese Dionysius became Malankara Metropolitan of the Jacobite Syrian Church. However, in 1911 the church split following disputes, and Patriarch Abded excommunicated Geevarghese Dionysius, who became Malankara Metropolitan of the newly-formed Orthodox Syrian Church. Coorilos was elected as Malankara Metropolitan on 30 August 1911 by the Syrian Christian Association at a meeting held at

Aluva Aluva (; also known by its former name Alwaye) is a town in the Ernakulam District in Kerala, India. It is a part of the Kochi metropolitan area and is situated around from the city center on the banks of Periyar River. A major transpor ...

under the leadership of

, Patriarch of Antioch. Coorilos died on 14 December 1917.

Sainthood

Ignatius Zakka I Ignatius Zakka I Iwas ( syr, ܐܝܓܢܐܛܝܘܣ ܙܟܝ ܩܕܡܝܐ ܥܝܘܐܨ; ar, إغناطيوس زكا الأول عيواص; ', born Sanharib Iwas, 21 April 1931 – 21 March 2014) was the 122nd reigning Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Anti ...

, Patriarch of Antioch, declared him a saint on 24 October 2008 for being a holy father who had preserved the faith in the crisis of the

in India, and gave permission to remember the name of Coorilos Paulose in the Fifth Diptych.

References

{{s-end 1850 births 1917 deaths Christian clergy from Kerala Oriental Orthodoxy in India