Madathilparampil Mammen Thomas (1916—1996) was an Indian Christian theologian, social thinker, and activist. He served as Governor of the

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 ...

n State,

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

(1990–1992), and as the Chairperson of the Central Committee of

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

(1968–1975).

Biography

Thomas was born on 15 May 1916 at Kozhenchery,

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. His father Madathilparampil Mammen was a reformation leader, printer and publisher based in

Kozhenchery Kozhencherry ( ml, കോഴഞ്ചേരി) is a census town in Pathanamthitta district of Central Travancore region (South Central Kerala) in Kerala state, India. census, the population was 433,357 people in 92,825 households. History Koz ...

, Kerala, and was involved in the Independence Movement in

during the Salt Satygraha. His mother was Ooriapadickal Mariamma, a school teacher. He was the eldest of nine children. Thomas was raised in a

Mar Thoma Syrian 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 ...

, in which his father was well known evangelist. In 1931, Thomas went to study Chemistry in a college in Trivandrum, Kerala, and had an evangelical spiritual experience. As a consequence, he became active in the Mar Thoma Youth Union and the Student Christian Movement, and became involved in evangelism among low-caste youth. Soon after obtaining his degree in 1935, he accepted the post of a teacher at Ashramam High School, Perumbavoor, run by the Mar Thoma Church, where the teachers used to pay part of their meager salary to the students from poor families. In 1937, instead of taking a lucrative job he went to

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

, the capital of

and started an orphanage there. Thomas was the first full-time organizing secretary of Yuvajana Sakhyam (the Youth wing of the

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 ...

) from 1945-47. He applied for ordination in the

, but that was rejected because of his membership in Communist party. At the same time he was rejected by the communist party because of his faith. Thomas became known for his ecumenical work, first being on staff with the

World Student Christian Federation The World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) is a federation of autonomous national Student Christian Movements (SCM) forming the youth and student arm of the global ecumenical movement. The Federation includes Orthodox, Protestant, Catholic, Pe ...

in Geneva (1947-1953), then serving as a moderator of the Central committee of the

(1968-1975). In 1990 he was appointed as Governor of

, a state with a large number of Christians, but later resigned in 1992. He was conferred with the honorary doctorate degree by the University of

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

in 1978. He was living at Manjadi,

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 ...

. He died on 3 December 1996 and was laid to rest at

Works

#''The acknowledged Christ of the Indian Renaissance'' (1969 SCM Press, London) #''Risking Christ for Christ's Sake'' #''Nagas towards 2000'' #''My Ecumenical Journey 1947-75'' (1990) #''Response to Tyranny''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, M. M. 1910 births 1996 deaths People from Thiruvalla Saint Thomas Christians Indian Christian theologians Governors of Nagaland Christian communists

Biography

Works

References

Further reading

External links