Baselios Cleemis (born 15 June 1959) is the current

major archbishop In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch of an autonomous (''sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarchal title". Major arch ...

catholicos Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient ...

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 was named to the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

on 24 November 2012. At the moment of his selection, he was the youngest member of the College of Cardinals. He is the first cardinal of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. On 31 January 2013, he was named a member of the

Congregation for the Oriental Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches ( la, Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus), is a dicaste ...

and the

Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, previously named Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, erected by Pope Paul VI on 19 May 1964 as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, and renamed by Pope ...

. He served as President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India from 2014 to 2018, and previously served as Chairman of the

Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council The Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council is a permanent association of the Catholic bishops in Kerala. Headquartered in Kochi, it is an association of three rites of the Catholic Church - the Roman / Latin, the Syro Malabar and the Syro Malankara. ...

Early life

Baselios Cleemis was born on 15 June 1959 as Isaac Thottumkal (alternatively spelled as Thottunkal) in Mukkoor, a small village close to Mallappally town in

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 ...

in the

State of Kerala State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

. His parents are Mathew and Annamma Thottumkal. The Thottumkal (Powathikunnel Thottumkal) family is a part of the

Pakalomattom family The Pakalomattam family is an ancient Marthoma Nasrani ( Syrian Christian) family in Kerala, India. According to the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, the family "solely supplied bishops and archdeacons to the Church n Indiati ...

, which is an ancient

Saint Thomas Christian The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala (Malabar region), ...

family in

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 ...

Education

He attended the Minor Seminary Formation in Tiruvalla from 1976 to 1979. He received a

B.Phil. Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's d ...

degree from St. Joseph's Pontifical Institute, Mangalapuzha, Aluva, where he attended from 1979 to 1982. He received a B.Th. degree from the

Papal Seminary Papal Seminary, Pune, India, is a Catholic educational institute whose primary function is training priests. Currently, it caters to the formation of about 180 Seminarians from most of the dioceses of India. It trains students from all three ri ...

, Pune where he attended from 1983 to 1986. Thottunkal was ordained a priest on 11 June 1986. He studied for the

Master of Theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a stand ...

in Dharmaram College, Bangalore where he attended from 1986 to 1989. Thottunkal took his Doctorate in

Ecumenical Theology Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

from

Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy O ...

, Rome in 1997.

Full Name and Titles

His Eminent Beatitude His Eminence (abbreviation H.Em. or H.E. or HE) is a style (manner of address), style of reference for high nobility, still in use in various religious contexts. Catholicism The style remains in use as the official style or standard form of a ...

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Moran Mor Mar, mar or MAR may refer to: Culture * Mar or Mor, an honorific in Syriac * Earl of Mar, an earldom in Scotland * MAA (singer) (born 1986), Japanese * Marathi language, by ISO 639-2 language code * March, as an abbreviation for the third mon ...

Baselios Cleemis Catholica Bava, Major Archbishop-Catholicos of Thiruvananthapuram. Baselios and

Maphrian The Maphrian ( syr, ܡܦܪܝܢܐ, maphryānā or ''maphryono''), originally known as the Grand Metropolitan of the East and also known as the Catholicos, was the second-highest rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, ...

are also a titles used in the

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of t ...

churches for bishops of high rank granted by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

to the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church on 6 November 1995.

Episcopal career

On his return from Rome he became the

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

(Proto Syncellus) of the Eparchy of Bathery. 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 ...

nominated Aboon Isaac Mar Cleemis as

Apostolic Visitor In the Catholic Church, an apostolic visitor (or ''Apostolic Visitator''; Italian: Visitatore apostolico) is a papal representative with a transient mission to perform a canonical visitation of relatively short duration. The visitor is depute ...

and the Auxiliary Bishop of

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 ...

on 18 June 2001 for the Syro-Malankarites residing in North America and Europe. He was consecrated on 15 August 2001 at Tirumoolapuram,

Tiruvalla Thiruvalla, alternately spelled Tiruvalla, is a town in Kerala and the Headquarters of the Taluk of the same name located in Pathanamthitta district in the State of Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of . It lies on the banks of ...

, assuming the name Isaac Mar Cleemis. The

appointed Cleemis as sixth Bishop 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 ...

on 11 September 2003. Cleemis was installed as the first

Metropolitan Archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

of the Archieparchy of Tiruvalla on 10 June 2006. Baselios Cleemis was unanimously elected as the Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church through the first Holy Episcopal Synod of election of the

convoked on 7–10 February 2007 at Catholicate Centre,

Pattom Pattom is a dense commercial region of Thiruvananthapuram city in Kerala, India. It is located approximately 4 kilometres north of centre of Thampanoor. Pattom is largely a residential area, also housing few important administration offices of Ke ...

approved the election on 9 February and it was announced on 10 February at

St. Mary's Cathedral, Pattom, Trivandrum St. Mary's Malankara Syrian Catholic Cathedral, Pattom, Trivandrum is the central place of worship of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Major Archbishop of Trivandrum. The tombs of the Servant of God Archbishop Geevarg ...

. He assumed the name Baselios Cleemis; Cleemis was enthroned the Second Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church on 5 March 2007 at St. Mary's Cathedral, Pattom, Trivandrum. Cardinal

Telesphore Toppo Telesphore Placidus Toppo (born 15 October 1939) is an Indian cardinal and was the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ranchi from 1984 until his resignation was accepted on 24 June 2018. A polyglot, Toppo speaks Sadri, Oraon ( ...

and 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 ...

participated in the installation ceremony. Cleemis was elevated to the

of the Catholic Church by Pope

Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

on 24 November 2012. As

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

he was assigned the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary de ...

of San Gregorio VII. He is the first bishop of the Syro-Malankara Church and the fifth Keralite to be named a cardinal. He said it was a sign of the Pope's appreciation of Indian Catholics' "unity in diversity", and cited the witness, the defense of human life, and the example of authentic prayer given by Mother Teresa of Kolkata. On 31 January 2013, Cleemis was appointed by

to serve as a Member of the

and the

. Cleemis participated as a cardinal-elector in the

conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Co ...

that elected

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. ...

. Because he was the first bishop from the Syro-Malankara Church to be made cardinal, he also was the first cardinal from the Syro-Malankara Church ever to participate as a cardinal-elector in a papal conclave.

References

External links

* *
The Hindu report on CardinalSyro-Malankara Catholic ChurchSyro-Malankara Catholic Church – alternative site built by MalankaritesTimes of India, News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleemis, Baselios 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in India 21st-century Eastern Catholic archbishops 1959 births Living people Syro-Malankara bishops Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Indian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI Members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches