Sebastian Adayantharath (born 5 April 1957) is a
Syro-Malabar Catholic bishop. He is the current
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 c ...
of Mandya and also a former
auxiliary bishop of the
Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly.
Biography
Early life
Mar Sebastian Adayantharath was born on 5 April 1957 of Ouseph Chacko and Thresiamma at Vaikom, Kerala. He had his school education at St Joseph's LP School and St Theresa's High School, Vaikom from 1963 to 1973. He joined the Sacred Heart Minor Seminary of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly on 1 July 1973. Three years later he was sent to the Papal Seminary, Pune where he did his seminary studies from 1976 to 1983 and was ordained priest on 18 December 1983 by Bishop
Mar Sebastian Mankuzhikary at St Joseph's Pontifical Seminary,
Alwaye
Aluva (; also known by its former name Alwaye) is a town in the Ernakulam District in Kerala, India. It is a part of the Kochi metropolitan area and is situated around from the city center on the banks of Periyar River. A major transpor ...
.
Career
After his ordination, Fr. Adayantharath took a master's degree in Theology from Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth,
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
. During his priestly ministry in the archdiocese he served as parish priest and secretary to the late Cardinal
Mar Antony Padiyara
Mar Antony Padiyara (11 February 1921 – 23 March 2000) was a Syro Malabar Major Archbishop and cardinal. He was the First Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. He was Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly from 1985 to 199 ...
. He serves on the Board of Trustees of 'Save A Family Plan' organization in Canada.
His appointment as Bishop Auxiliary of
Ernakulam-Angamaly 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 ...
of Macriana Maior (in ancient
Byzantium, Turkey) was announced on 4 February 2002 and he was consecrated Bishop on 20 April 2002 by
Major Archbishop Cardinal Mar Varkey Vithayathil at
St Mary's Cathedral Basilica, Ernakulam. In the wake of an investigation surrounding a controversial land deal which allegedly resulted in the Archdiocese losing $10 million,
was appointed the apostolic administrator of Ernakulam-Angamaly in June 2018.
After his term ended,
Cdl. Alencherry resumed office on 27 June 2019 and Bishop Adayanthrath and co-Auxiliary Bishop
Jose Puthenveetil were moved out of the archdiocese.
Unlike
Cdl. Alencherry, Bishop Adayantharath did not face criminal charges and was later appointed as the Bishop of Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Mandya by the Holy Synod of
Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
on 30 August 2019.
See also
*
Catholic Church in India
References
External links
Archdiocese of Ernakulam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adayantharath, Mar Sebastian
1957 births
Malayali people
Christian clergy from Kottayam
Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly
Syro-Malabar bishops
Living people
Syro-Malabar Catholics
People from Vaikom