Joseph Mar Severus was a Syro-Malankara Catholic Bishop of

Tiruvalla Thiruvalla, alternately spelled Tiruvalla, is a town in Kerala and the Headquarters of the Taluk of the same name located in Pathanamthitta district in the State of Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of . It lies on the banks of ...

. His birth name was Joseph Valakuzhyil.

Biography

Joseph Severus was born on 7 April 1894 in the Malankara Syriac Orthodox family. After leaving school when he was 15, he was dedicated to the reading, then entered the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

. In 1912 he passed his exams and went to college in

Tiruchchirappalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

, but soon left and went to Serampore University, where he was hired by

Geevarghese Mar Ivanios Geevarghese Ivanios (born 21 September 1882 as Geevarghese Panickeruveetil - died 15 July 1953) was the first metropolitan archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and Major Archdiocese of Trivandrum. He was the founder of Bethany Ashra ...

. In 1916 he graduated with a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...

. After finishing his education was director of the primary school and missionary in Brahmavare. On 8 January 1929 he was ordained to the priesthood and in 1932 led the 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 ...

. On 25 May 1933 Severus was ordained a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and led the Niranam diocese. Although he had a close friendship with Metropolitan Ivanios, he was not a supporter of the reunification of the Churches and was very disappointed when in 1930 Mar Ivanios became a Catholic and formed 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 ...

. In order to better counter the spread of

Uniatism The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of t ...

, Mar Severus took up deep study of the history of the Church, which he believed would help to find arguments against the truth of

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. However, the study of church history has led to the opposite result and on 29 November 1937 Joseph Mar Severus professed the Catholic faith and was received by March Ivanios. On 20 November 1938 he became Auxiliary Bishop of the Archeparchy of Tiruvalla, which later led after the retirement of

Jacob Mar Theophilos Jacob Mar Theophilos (21 February 1891 in Olassa, Kottayam, Kerala – 27 June 1956 in Tiruvalla, Kerala) was the co-builder of the Reunion Movement and the first bishop of Eparchy of Tiruvalla of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. Early ...

. Joseph Mar Severus died on 18 January 1955.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Oriental Orthodoxy Syro-Malankara bishops 1894 births 1955 deaths