Giwargis of Christ ( syr, ܓܝܼܘܲܪܓܝܼܣ ܕܡܫܝܚܐ) (died ), also spelled Geevarghese of Christ and George of Christ, was an

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

(''Arkkadyakon'') and hence the leader of the

Saint Thomas Christian The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala (Malabar region), ...

community of India. He was a biblical expert and a master of

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

language and literature. He was considered a holy person but extremely efficient in administration. He was contemporary to Archbishop Mar Abraham of

Angamaly Angamaly (''Aṅkamāli''), , Malayalam : അങ്കമാലി Situated about north of the city centre, the town lies at the intersection of Main Central Road (MC Road) and National Highway 544. MC Road, which starts from Thiruvananthapu ...

. He is credited with the new construction of Marth Maryam Church Angamaly The

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

during the first part of the reign of Mar Abraham was Givargis of Christ, who was on friendly terms with the Latin missionaries and was to be appointed the successor of Mar Abraham as

metropolitan 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Thus he should have become, according to the plans of Mar Abraham, supported by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, the first indigenous Chaldaean Metropolitan of the

St Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...

. However, the last letter of Mar Abraham, where his requisition letter to the Pope to confirm Givargis' ordination as bishop of

Palur Palur is a small village in Chengalpattu district in India. Suburban trains running between Chennai Beach - Chengalpattu - Tirumalpur section and Chengalpattu - Arakkonam Arakkonam () is a railway town and suburb of Chennai within Chennai ...

and as his successor is dated 13 January 1584. While from another letter of the same Mar Abraham, we are informed that the consecration of Givargis failed because of the latter’s death.Language of religion, language of the people: medieval Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ernst Bremer, Susanne Röhl Page 401 Great mural paintings in the Angamaly Cheriyapally church are; "Hell" , "Last Judgement", also of mural paintings of the Bishops and the Archdeacon. Givargis of Christ died in

. He was buried in the St Mary's Church in Angamaly. His brother Yohannan was Archdeacon (1585–93) and another brother Jacob became Archdeacon in 1596.

References

* ''The Indian Church History Classics'', Vol. I, ''The Nazranies'' (1998) and the ''Thomas Encyclopaedia'' Vol. II (1973). {{DEFAULTSORT:George of Christ 1585 deaths 16th-century Christian clergy Archdeacons Church of the East in India Saint Thomas Christians Syriac Christians Year of birth unknown

See also

References