Aboon Samuel Mor Irenios Kattukallil (born 13 May 1952) is an Indian

Syro-Malankara Catholic 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 Cano ...

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, and

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 ...

. He is currently

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 ...

of the

Eparchy Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on th ...

Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality situated in the Central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 37 ...

of 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 ...

. He succeeded Yoohanon Chrysostom Kalloor on 7 June 2019 and became the second bishop of the eparchy, which was erected in 2010.

Family and education

Kattukallil was born 13 May 1952 in

Kadammanitta Kadammanitta is a village in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, India which is famous for Padayani. See also * Padayani * Vazhamuttom * Thazhoor Bhagavathy Kshetram Thazhoor Bhagavathy Kshetram, ( ml, താഴൂര് ഭഗവതി ക� ...

Pathanamthitta District Pathanamthitta District (), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. The district headquarters is in the town of Pathanamthitta. There are four municipalities in Pathanamthitta: Adoor, Pandalam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruval ...

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 ...

of his parents K. C. Thomas and Annamma Kattukallil. He received secondary education at Government High School, Kadamanitta, did a pre-degree course at

Mar Ivanios College Mar Ivanios College is an autonomous educational institution situated in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. The college was ranked as 29th best college in the country by Ministry of Education's National Institutional Ranking Framework in 2019 ...

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 ...

, minor seminary at St. Aloysius, Trivandrum, and philosophy and theology at St. Joseph's Pontifical Seminary, Aluva (Alwaye). He also holds BA, MA, and PhD degrees in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

language and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

from the

University of Kerala University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chit ...

. The doctorate was awarded in 1995 for a dissertation on

Malayalam poetry Malayalam poetry is poetry written, spoken, or composed in Modern, as well as Old and Classical, Malayalam. History The history of Malayalam poetry dates back to the 12th century; the earliest poetic work in a near-Malayalam language, or what mi ...

. Kattukallil also studied at the

Tantur Ecumenical Institute Tantur Ecumenical Institute is an international ecumenical institute for advanced theological research in Jerusalem. Goals and objectives "No one climbs up to Tantur except to follow a vocation, the same vocation that led on the pioneers of ecum ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Ministry and academic service

Kattukallil was ordained to the priesthood 22 December 1978 for the archeparchy of

by its Archbishop Benedict Varghese Gregorios Thangalathil and served in a number of parishes. He was editor-in-chief of ''Christhava Kahalam'', the official journal of the Trivandrum archeparchy, and the archeparchy's

syncellus ''Synkellos'' ( el, σύγκελλος), latinized as ''syncellus'', is an ecclesiastical office in the Eastern Rite churches. In the Byzantine Empire, the ''synkellos'' of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was a position of major import ...

(episcopal vicar) (2007–10). He was Vice Rector of St. Aloysius Minor Seminary (1978-1985);

Lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

Bursar A bursar (derived from "bursa", Latin for '' purse'') is a professional administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usually hold office only at the level of higher education (f ...

(1985 to 1995), eventually Principal of Mar Ivanios College; and Principal of St John's College, Anchal (2000-2006). He has served on many academic boards including the Board of Studies of the University of Kerala, the Academic Council of

Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit The Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) is a Sanskrit university in India established in 1993 in Kalady, Kerala. It provides education in Sanskrit, other Indian and Foreign languages, Social science and fine arts. It is accredited ...

Kalady Kalady or Kaladi is a town located between Angamaly and Perumbavoor, east of the Periyar river, near to Malayattoor in Ernakulam district of Kerala, India, not far from Cochin International Airport. It is notable as the birthplace of 9th centu ...

, and the

National Literacy Mission National Education Mission (Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan) was launched in 2018. It was allocated a budget of in 2019 Interim Union Budget of India. Samagra Shiksha is an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school ...

. Kattukallil has published extensively. His works include ''Karutha Chiriyude Kavi'', on the poetry of

Ayyappa Paniker Dr. K. Ayyappa Paniker, sometimes spelt "Ayyappa Panicker" (12 September 1930 – 23 August 2006), was a Malayalam poet, literary critic, and an academic and a scholar in modern and post-modern literary theories as well as ancient Indian aesthe ...

, and ''Prakashathinte Utsavam'', reflections on life broadcast on

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

in Trivandrum. He edited ''Dhanya Jeevitham'' and ''Visvasavum Vikasanavum'', two anthologies on the life and vision of the archbishop who ordained him, Benedict Mar Gregorios. He is a regular broadcaster and contributor to print media.

Episcopacy

On 25 January 2010 Kattukallil was appointed auxiliary bishop of Trivandrum and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Tamalluma. He was ordained bishop 13 March 2010 by Major Archbishop, Moran Mor

Baselios Cleemis Baselios Cleemis (born 15 June 1959) is the current major archbishop-catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. He was named to the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church by Pope Benedict XVI on 24 November 2012. At the moment of hi ...

Catholicos. On 10 April 2018 Kattukallil was appointed

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

of Pathanamthitta and succeeded when Kalloor resigned on 7 June 2019.

Controversies

Mar Irenios and his five priests were arrested on 6 February 2022 on charges of alleged illegal sand mining, but Church officials said they are being implicated in the case. Bishop Samuel Mar Irenios and five priests including a vicar general of Pathanamthitta Diocese in southern Kerala state were arrested by neighboring Tamil Nadu state's crime branch officials accusing them of illegally mining river sand. The case pertains to large-scale mining of river sand from a plot of land adjacent to a check dam on Thamirabarani river near Pottal in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district. The 300-acre plot is owned by the Pathanamthitta diocese and was leased out to Manuel George for farming.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kattukallil, Samuel Irenios Indian bishops Syro-Malankara bishops 1952 births Living people People from Pathanamthitta district