Mar Joseph Powathil
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Joseph Powathil (born 14 August 1929) is an Indian prelate of the
Syro-Malabar Catholic Church lat, Ecclesia Syrorum-Malabarensium mal, മലബാറിലെ സുറിയാനി സഭ , native_name_lang=, image = St. Thomas' Cross (Chennai, St. Thomas Mount).jpg , caption = The Mar Thoma Nasrani Sl ...
. He is the Archbishop Emeritus of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanassery.


Early life

Powathil was born in the hamlet of Kurumbanadom, near Chanaganacherry, British India. He was known as ''Pappachan'' in his childhood, and was officially known as P. J. Joseph. He went to school at Holy Family LP School and St. Peter's UP School, and then at St. Berchmans’ High School in Changanacherry. He attended St. Berchmans' College, Changanacherry for a B.A. Economics and Loyola College, Chennai from which he received an M.A. in economics.


Priestly ministry

Powathil did his seminary studies in St. Thomas Seminary Changanacherry and
Papal Seminary Pune The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
. He was ordained priest on 3 October 1962. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Changanacherry ( Titular Bishop of Caesarea Philippi) on 29 January 1972, despite having little Episcopal experience, and was consecrated by Pope Paul VI on 13 February 1972. On 26 February 1977, a new diocese was created under the name
Kanjirappally Kanjirappally is a taluk and a town in Kottayam district situated about away from the district capital, in the state of Kerala, India. Climate Kanjirappally has the highest number of rainy days in Kerala. It receives the highest amount of sum ...
, splitting the Changanacherry archdiocese. Bishop Powathil was transferred there as the first bishop. He served the new diocese for nine years. He rose to become archbishop and returned to Changanacherry on 16 November 1985, succeeding Mar Antony Padiyara. As the Archbishop of Changanacherry, Powathil pushed for the restoration of
East Syriac The East Syriac Rite or East Syrian Rite, also called the Edessan Rite, Assyrian Rite, Persian Rite, Chaldean Rite, Nestorian Rite, Babylonian Rite or Syro-Oriental Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Liturgy ...
traditions in the Syro-Malabar Church. He fought for the complete revival of the Divine Liturgy that was Latinised after the
Synod of Diamper The Synod of Diamper (Udayamperoor Synod) ( mal, ഉദയംപേരൂർ സൂനഹദോസ്, Udayampērūṟ Sūnahadōs), held at Udayamperoor (known as Diamper in non-vernacular sources) in June 1599, was a diocesan synod, or cou ...
1599, although it was partially revived after Vatican II. These efforts got him several critics even among his fellow bishops, alleging that what he espoused amounted to adoption of
Church of the East The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...
practices. On 22 January 2007, Powathil resigned in conformity with Canon 210 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. On the same day, it was announced that Auxiliary Bishop of Changanacherry, Mar Joseph Perumthottam, would succeed Powathil in the office as the Archbishop of Changanacherry.


Offices held

He served as President of Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) (1994–1998), Chairman of Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (1993–1996), and Chairman of Education Commission of the CBCI. He has been a member of the Post Asian Synodal Council in Rome, Italy since 1998, Chairman of KCBC Commission for Education (since 1986), Founder and Chairman of Inter Church Council for Education, Chairman of Inter Religious Fellowship, member of the Pro Oriente Foundation in Vienna, Austria (since 1993) and member of the Scientific Commission of International Publication ‘Oasis’ in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
, Italy.


Service

He founded the Peerumedu Development Society (P.D.S) and the Malanadu Development Society (M. D. S) in 1977 while he was the bishop of Kanjirappaly. The Kuttanadu Vikasana Samithy (KVS) is another project of his. As the Patron of the Changanacherry Social Service Society (CHASS), he oversaw numerous developmental schemes. Many Scholarship schemes are established for the Dalit Christians in the Archdiocese and the poor and eligible students of the professional courses. In 1990, Powathil founded the
I. C. Chacko Illiparambil Corah Chacko (1875–1966) was a geologist, philologist, writer and grammarian of Kerala, India. He was born in Pulinkunnu in Kuttanad in Alappuzha, Kerala. After graduation from Maharajas College in Ernakulam, he went to London, and ...
award for cultural and literary excellence and it was awarded to Prof.
P. C. Devasia P. is an abbreviation or acronym that may refer to: * Page (paper), where the abbreviation comes from Latin ''pagina'' * Paris Herbarium, at the ''Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'' * ''Pani'' (Polish), translating as Mrs. * The ''Pacific Rep ...
, the author of Kristu Bhagavathom in Sanskrit language. The Centre for Indian Christian Archaeological Research (CICAR) is another initiative. In order to promote reading, Powathil established the Department of Book Apostolate, which organizes the Changanacherry Pusthaka Mela every year in October. He established the Diocesan Youth Movement called ‘Yuvadeepti’ in 1972. It eventually turned into the Kerala Catholic Youth Movement (KCYM). He was the first chairman of the KCBC Youth Commission. He started Apostolate for the senior citizens, apostolate for the emigrants and apostolate for the tourists in the Archdiocese. He led CANA, the Indian Section of the Pope John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, at Thuruthy with headquarters in Rome.


References


External links


Articles by Archbishop Joseph PowathilSyro-Malabar Dioceses -- All 26 dioceses of the Syro-Malabar Church with photographsArchdiocese of Changanassery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powathil, Joseph 1930 births Living people Christian clergy from Kottayam Syro-Malabar Catholics Archbishops of Changanassery 20th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops 21st-century Eastern Catholic archbishops