Moran Mor Cyril Baselios Catholicos or, when referencing his title of

Major Archbishop In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch of an autonomous (''sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarchal title". Major arch ...

, Cyril Baselios Malancharuvil OIC (born ''James Malancharuvil'', 1935 – 2007) was the first major archbishop of the

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, also known as the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the worldwide Catholic Church possessing self-governance under the Code of Ca ...

. He was elevated by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in 1995.

Early life

He was born in

Pandalam Pandalam is a municipal town in Pathanamthitta district Kerala, India. Pandalam is considered a holy town due to its connection with Lord Ayyappa and Sabarimala. Rightly recognised to be the ''educational and cultural capital of Central Travan ...

, Kerala on 16 August 1935. His birth name was James Malancharuvil. In 1951 he entered in the

Order of the Imitation of Christ Bethany Ashram , Perunadu , Ranni is the first Ashram of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church . It was established by P.T.Geevarghese, later Archbishop Ivanios and Alexios, later Alexios Thevodosios. The Ashram follows the religious order cal ...

(O.I.C.) and took the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should ...

of Cyril. He studied in Rome and was ordained

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on 4 October 1960.

Education

He received a

doctorate in canon law Doctor of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Doctor, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD ...

from the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in Rome in 1965, after taking a master's degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

from St. John's University in New York City. He taught at St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...

and St. Joseph's Pontifical Institute, Mangalapuzha, Aluva.

Career

He was named as Eparch (Bishop) of the suffragan Diocese of Bathery on 28 October 1978, and consecrated on 28 December 1978 by

Benedict Gregorios Benedict Mor Gregorios (1 February 1916 – 10 October 1994) was the second metropolitan archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. Life Gregorios or "Thangalathil Thirumeni" was born and raised in the Malankara Orthodox Church in Kalloo ...

with the name Cyril Baselios. He was made

Metropolitan Archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

and head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church on 6 November 1995. He received the archiepiscopal

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...

from

on 9 January 1996 in

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

Major Archbishop

The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church raised to the status of a Major Archiepiscopal Church ''sui iuris'' on 10 February 2005 according to the norms of

CCEO The ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' (CCEC; la, Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, abbreviated CCEO) is the title of the 1990 codification of the common portions of the canon law for the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in the Catholic ...

. He was the first Syro-Malakara to bear the title of Major Archbishop and his official title according to the West Syriac Tradition was Moran Mor Cyril Baselios Catholicos, which was earlier granted to the Syro-Malabar metropolitanate of Ernakulam–Angamaly and the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitanate of Kyiv–Halyč and shortly after to the Romanian Catholic Metropolitanate of Făgăraş şi Alba Iulia. His motto is 'trust in love'. He had good ecumenical relations with the

Indian Orthodox Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. The church serves ...

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 ...

Mar Thoma Church The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian ChurchS. N. Sadasivan. A Social History of India'. APH Publishing; 2000. . p. 442. and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar ...

and other St. Thomas churches. Baselios died of a heart attack on 18 January 2007, in Trivandrum.

References

External links

Syro-Malankara Catholic ChurchSyro-Malankara Catholic Church – alternative site built by Malankarites
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cyril Baselios 1935 births 2007 deaths Burials at the Cathedral of Saint Mary, Pattom Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops 21st-century Eastern Catholic bishops Syro-Malankara bishops People from Pandalam