Jacob Muricken is an Indian

Catholic prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, who is the former auxiliary bishop of the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Palai The Eparchy of Palai is a Syro-Malabar Catholic ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church with an area of 1166 km2 comprising the Meenachil taluk and a few villages of the neighbouring taluks in Kottayam, Ernakulam, and ...

. He was ordained as a priest by Joseph Pallikaparampil on 27 December 1993. He served as an assistant vicar, boarding house rector, professor, secretary of Corporate Educational Agency, vicar at Chakkampuzha and Neeloor parishes. He was declared auxiliary bishop of

Palai Pallai ( ta, பளை, si, පල්ලෙයි), also spelt Palai, is a small town in the Kilinochchi District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is located near the coast on the northern peninsula, approximately south-east of Jaffna. ...

on 24 August 2012 while serving as the diocesan pastoral coordinator. His episcopal ordination was on 1 October 2012 by

Joseph Perumthottam Mar Joseph Perumthottam (born 5 July 1948) is a prelate of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Since 2007 he as served as the Archbishop of Changanassery. Education He was educated in St. Joseph's High School in Punnathura and St. Berchmans ...

at St. Thomas Cathedral, Palai. In August 2022, Muricken said that "God inspires me to go into solitude" and resigned from his post as auxiliary bishop to continue his life as a hermit, moving to the hermitage following approval from the Syro-Malabar synod.

Early life and career

Jacob Muricken was born at

Muttuchira Muttuchira is a village in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. Demographics As of the 2001 India census, Muttuchira had a population of 14,303 with 7,022 males and 7,281 females. It is a quiet farming village with rubber plantat ...

village in

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 ...

. After his collegiate studies at Deva Matha College,

Kuravilangad Kuravilangad is an Indian town located in the northern part of the Kottayam district in Kerala. It is situated in the Meenachil taluk, about 22 km north of the district capital Kottayam and 17 km west of the municipal town Pala. Ku ...

from where he took a master's degree in economics, he joined Good Shepherd Minor Seminary, Palai. He did his ecclesiastical studies from St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary,

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 ...

. He was ordained priest by then Bishop Mar Joseph Pallikaparampil on 27 December 1993 at his home parish

. After a short period of service as assistant vicar at St. Mary's Forane Church

, he was appointed rector of Savio Home Boarding House, attached to St. Joseph's EMHS, Neeloor. Later he served the diocese in various capacities as professor at the diocesan minor seminary, secretary of Corporate Educational Agency, vicar at Chakkampuzha and Neeloor parishes.

Pastoral ministry

He was declared auxiliary bishop of

Diocese of Palai The Eparchy of Palai is a Syro-Malabar Catholic ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church with an area of 1166 km2 comprising the Meenachil taluk and a few villages of the neighbouring taluks in Kottayam, Ernakulam, and ...

on 24 August 2012 while serving as the pastoral coordinator of the diocese. His episcopal ordination was on 1 October 2012 by

at St. Thomas Cathedral, Palai. On 19 September 2013, he along with the other newly appointed bishops from around the world, was received in audience by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

at the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

. As the general convenor, he was instrumental in the successful conduct of the 31st Plenary Assembly of Catholic Bishop's Conference of India (CBCI) which was hosted by the eparchy from 5 to 12 February 2014. At present he is serving as the chairman of KCBC Commission for SC/ST/BC. He attended ''ad limina'' visit from 2 to 10 October 2019, along with Kallarangatt. He is also the manager of St. Thomas College, Palai,

Alphonsa College, Palai Alphonsa College, Pala, is a women's degree college located in Pala, Kottayam district, 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 ...

and St. Thomas Teacher Training College, Palai.

Living as a hermit

In August 2022, The Synod of Syro-Malabar Bishops approved Muricken's request to relieve himself from his post as auxiliary bishop of Palai to live his life as a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

and still remain his title as a Bishop.

Services

Muricken donated his kidney to a youth who had a kidney malfunction. In 2020, he launched an online campaign – Justice for M3 (Maira, Minor, Minority) –— to "collectively take a stand against, and strongly condemn, the contemporary scenario of interminable discrimination against minorities, women, and specifically children around the globe." His campaign was focused on severe injustice towards women in Pakistan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muricken, Jacob Syro-Malabar bishops People from Pala, Kerala Christian clergy from Kottayam Year of birth missing (living people) Living people