Mor Philoxenos Yuhanon (born John Jacob Elappanal; 5 December 1941 – 30 December 2015) was a

Syriac Orthodox , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascu ...

bishop. He was the Bishop Emeritus of

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

Diocese.

Early years

John Jacob was born to the ''Elappanal'' Family of Pampady on 5 December 1941. In 1964, at the age of 23, he was ordained ''deacon'' by Mor Philaxinos Poulose (then Catholicose Mor Baselios Paulose II) during his rebellious Antiochian Movement, and ''Kassisho'' in 1969 by Mor Baselios Augen I.

Education

Jacob had his primary and high school education at Pampady. Later, he joined Baselios College ( Kottayam) where he received a BA in economics. After that he obtained an MA in economics from

Sri Venkateswara University Sri Venkateswara University (commonly referred as S. V. University or SVU) is a public state university located in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. The university is named after Lord Venkateswara, whose shrine is located in the city. The univ ...

(

Thirupathi Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is refe ...

). His basic theological training was at the Orthodox Theological Seminary in Kottayam. ''Mor Athanasius Yeshue Samuel'', Archbishop of Canada, sponsored Jacob for his higher studies in the United States. Jacob joined the

New York Theological Seminary The New York Theological Seminary (NYTS) is a private non-denominational Christian seminary in New York City. It was founded in 1900 as the Bible Teacher's College. In 2019, Rev. LaKeesha Walrond was appointed as the first woman and the first Af ...

and obtained his STM degree. Subsequently, he took his

Th.D. Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equiva ...

degree from ''Logos Graduate School of Theology'' in New York City and DD degree from ''Orlando International Seminary'' in Florida. Mor Philoxenos is the only bishop in

Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (JSCC), or the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India also known as Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, the Jacobite Syrian Church, and the Syriac Orthodox Church in India, ...

with two doctorates. He also completed a ''Clinical Pastoral Education'' in New York. After becoming a bishop, Mor Philoxenos continued studying and joined ''

Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha is an organisation whose main goal is to improve Hindi language, Hindi literacy among the non-Hindi speaking people of South India. The headquarters are located at Thanikachalam Road, T. Nagar, Chennai. The ...

'', a deemed university and center of excellence under Govt. of India, and secured Hindi Bhooshan and Hindi Praveen.

As priest

When Jacob was studying in the USA, he served as the vicar in many Jacobite churches in Staten Island, Manhattan, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Augusta. He also performed volunteer work for the Holy Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church.

As metropolitan

After 17 January 1985, when the Metropolitan of

Diocese, Samuel Mor Philaxinos, died, the Holy Episcopal Synod selected Jacob as the new metropolitan to the diocese. On 12 September 1985 Mor Baselios Paulose II consecrated Jacob as the new metropolitan of Malabar, with the name Mor Philoxenos, at St Peter's & St Paul's Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Cathedral in

Meenangadi Meenangadi is an old town situated on the highway NH 766 between Kalpetta and Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad District, in Kerala, India. This place is one among the Provinces where the existence of Dolmens provide an historical evidence of earlier ci ...

(one of the biggest churches in Malankara). The history of the Malabar Diocese is closely related to Yuhanon Mor Philexinos. When Yuhanon Mor Philoxenos took charge of Malabar, the Diocese area was in a high state of deterioration. He therefore co-ordinated the works in the diocese and constructed many new churches throughout the diocese. A lot of them are built in Nilgiri District of Tamil Nadu, Kozhikode and Malappuram Districts of Kerala. Mor Philoxenos Yuhanon started institutions including: *Mor Alias Snehabhavan *Mor Philoxenos Memorial Press *Mor Gregorios Teachers Training College *St. Peter's & St. Paul's EHS School *Aramana Chapel *Mor Basil Day Care *Mor Philoxenos Foundation *The present Bishop's Palace PampadyChurch

References

External links