Mathew Anikuzhikattil (23 September 1942 – 1 May 2020) was a

Syro-Malabar Catholic 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 ...

bishop who spearheaded anti Kasthurirangan and Gadgil commission protests. He served as bishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Idukki, India, from 2003 to 2018.Syo-Malabar Epachy of Idukki
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Life

Anikuzhikattil was born in Kadaplamattom in

Kottayam district Kottayam (), is one of 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettumanoor, and Vaikom. It is the only district in Kerala that neither borders the ...

, although he was raised in

Kunchithanny Kunchithanny is a village situated in the Idukki district in the Indian state of 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, b ...

in Idukki district. He was ordained as a priest on 15 March 1971 at his home parish of Holy Family church in Kunchithanny by Mathew Pothanamuzhi. On 15 January 2003

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

announced the creation of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Idukki with Anikuzhikattil as the first bishop. On 2 March 2003 Anikuzhikattil was consecrated a bishop and the eparchy was inaugurated by Cardinal

Varkey Vithayathil Varkey Vithayathil (29 May 19271 April 2011) was an Indian cardinal, served as Head and Father of Syro Malabar Church and Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly. He was also a religious priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. Ea ...

Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...

. As priest and bishop he also served as the chairman of the KCBC commission for family, laity and women, and was also the patron of the High Range Samrakshana Samithi (HRSS), a people's movement within the Catholic Church in India. He retired in 2018 after reaching the age of 75. On 1 May 2020 Anikuzhikattil died of age-related problems at the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Medical College Hospital,

Kolenchery Kolenchery is a town and the easternmost suburb of the city of Kochi in Kerala, 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 c ...

at 1:38 A.M.

Notes

1942 births 2020 deaths Syro-Malabar bishops People from Kottayam district People from Idukki district 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in India 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in India {{India-RC-bishop-stub