Juhanon Mar Thoma XVIII Metropolitan (7 August 1894 – 27 September 1976) was the Metropolitan of the

Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian ChurchS. N. Sadasivan. A Social History of India'. APH Publishing; 2000. . p. 442. and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar ...

from 1949–1976, who gave leadership to the church and at the same time actively participated in social and political arenas. He was respected by people from all walks of life, from all religions and from all age groups. He is remembered for providing the church with its famous motto "Lighted to Lighten". His humanistic and socially-engaged approach to the Christian faith was embodied in his personal credo: "The Church must be interested where human life is interested

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Early life

Juhanon Mar Thoma was born on 7 August 1894 and was christened as C. M. John. His father was C. P. Mathew Munsiff (judge) Cherukara Paravelithundiyil,

Ayroor Ayroor (also spelled Ayiroor) is a village Near Thiruvalla,located in the western part of Ranni taluk, in the Pathanamthitta district in Kerala state, India. It is bordered by hills and located near the Western Ghats. Ayroor was previously ...

, 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 Ca ...

. His mother was Annamma Kollenkeril, Aymanam,

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south ...

. His parents called him Yohannachen. C. P. Mathew Munsiff was the grandson of the sister of

Mathews Mar Athanasius Metropolitan Mathews Mar Athanasius (Mar Thoma XIII) (25 April 1818 – 16 July 1877) was the Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Church from 1852 until 1865. As a reformer, he spent most of his reign attempting to reform and heal rifts within the churc ...

Education

John was educated at

M.T. Seminary High School,

Thiruvananthapuram 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 ...

(Trivandrum) Maharaja's college, Madras Wesley College, and

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous insti ...

. The stay at

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, made changes in his attitude, outlook, and lifestyle. He was attracted to

Indian Nationalism Indian nationalism is an instance of territorial nationalism, which is inclusive of all of the people of India, despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Indian nationalism can trace roots to pre-colonial India, ...

, and started to wear

Khadi Khadi (, ), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi as ''swadeshi'' (self-sufficiency) for the freedom struggle of the Indian subcontinent, and the term is used throughout India, Pakistan ...

, following the principles of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

. He was able to meet a number of foreign missionaries that made him decide to select gospel work as his ambition. After completing his education at

, he joined the United Theological College,

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, and obtained BD Degree in 1922.

As a teacher

For six years after leaving

he was teaching at Mar Thoma Seminary High school,

. There, in addition to his teaching, he was the boarding master and Scout Master also. In 1927, John was ordained as a deacon by Titus II Mar Thoma. In 1928 he left for higher studies at

Union Theological Seminary in the city of New York Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. After obtaining STM. degree from there, he joined

Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England theological college and a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was master of Balliol College, O ...

, England. He returned to

and continued to teach at Mar Thoma Seminary High school and at the Theological Seminary,

Scout leader

While teaching at M.T. Seminary

he was a Scoutmaster and later became the

Scout commissioner In the Scout Movement, a commissioner is the person whose role it is to oversee a Scout association's programs, usually within a particular geographic area. Normally, commissioners are volunteers. In some Scout associations, the term Executive Co ...

. He was able to obtain

Wood Badge Wood Badge is a Scouting leadership programme and the related award for adult leaders in the programmes of Scout associations throughout the world. Wood Badge courses aim to make Scouters better leaders by teaching advanced leadership skills ...

, in Scouting. Third World Scout Jamboree was held

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liv ...

, England in 1929 from 31 July to 6 August. From 70 countries about 50,000 Scouts attended. John attended this jamboree as a member of the Indian contingent. While in Canada he was also able to attend the YMCA Boys' camp held in Canada.

Ordination

John was ordained as a Kassessa/Kassesso (clergy) at

church on 7 October 1932. He was appointed as vicar of Jerusalem church,

. There he was very active and motivated the youth for the church and social work, took part in youth camps, sports, and boat races, and was able to instill in them religious and social ideals. His tireless work affected his health and he had to retreat to a sanatorium for rest and treatment.

Consecration

Malankara throne

After the

Koonen Cross Oath The Coonan Cross Oath ( mal, കൂനൻ കുരിശ് സത്യം, Kūnan Kuriśŭ Satiaṁ), also known as the Great Oath of Bent Cross, the Leaning Cross Oath or the Oath of the Slanting Cross, taken on 3 January 1653 in Mattanch ...

in 1653 it became necessary to appoint a bishop. For this purpose, a special chair was made and

Mar Thoma I Mar Thoma I, also known as Valiya Mar Thoma (''Mar Thoma the Great'') and Arkkadiyokkon Thoma (''Archdeacon Thomas'') in Malayalam and Thomas de Campo in Portuguese was the first native-born, popularly-selected Metropolitan bishop of the 17th ...

the first bishop of Malankara church was enthroned. This throne, used for the consecration of

, is in the possession of the

Mar Thoma Church The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian ChurchS. N. Sadasivan. A Social History of India'. APH Publishing; 2000. . p. 442. and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar ...

and is kept at

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 ...

. It has been used in the installation of every Mar Thoma Metropolitan, to this day, so that the continuity of the throne of Mar Thoma is ensured. This was the throne used for the consecration of Mar Thoma XVIII, Juhanon Mar Thoma Metropolitan.

Installation

To enhance the work of the church it was decided to consecrate two more bishops and the lot fell to John and C. T. Mathew. On 30 December 1937 both of them were consecrated at Tiruvalla. John was given the episcopal title Juhanon Mar Timotheos and Mathew was given the title Mathews Mar Athanasius. Mar Timotheos episcopa took charge of the Southern diocese.

Mar Thoma Metropolitan

Abraham Mar Thoma died on 1 September 1949. Juhanon Mar Timotheos was enthroned as Metropolitan Juhanon Mar Thoma at Kozhencherry church. From 1947 to 1953 the administration of the church was reinforced by the appointment of two Diocesan Secretaries. They gave valuable service to the church and that was a great relief for the two bishops, Juhanon Mar Thoma and

Mathews Mar Athanasius Episcopa Mathews Mar Athenasius Episcopa (18 February 1907 – 30 November 1973) was the first missionary bishop of the Mar Thoma Church. As a diocesan Episcopa he did remarkable pioneering work in organising parishes and new mission fields. His evangelica ...

Three new bishops

During this period, members of the Mar Thoma church spread to Malaya, Singapore, and the Gulf region in addition to various parts of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. As the church was growing and the workload was increasing the Prathinidhi Mandalam (Parliament of elected members from each parish and the clergy) of the church decided to consecrate M.G. Chandy, P. Thomas, and Philip Oommen as bishops. Their consecration was held on 23 May 1953 at Tiruvalla. They were given the episcopal titles Alexander Mar Theophilus (later Alexander Mar Thoma Metropolitan), Thomas Mar Athanasius (later Suffragan Metropolitan) and Philipose Mar Chrysostem (later Philipose Mar Chrysostem Mar Thoma Metropolitan).

Pathiopodesa Samiti and Formation of St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India.

Even before the consecration of the three bishops, Mr. K. N. Daniel, Kurumthottical, a renowned church historian and seminary professor criticised Juhanon Mar Thoma and accused him of going against the reformation ideals. Mr. Daniel and his followers formed an organization called Pathiopodesa Samiti (Organization for the propagation of sound doctrine). Several attempts were made for reconciliations. In 1955, Mr.K.N.Daniel filed a case against the Metropolitan. Rev. C. V. John a true friend and supporter of the Metropolitan was the co-defendant. In 1965 the

supreme court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

gave the judgment in favor of the Metropolitan. In June 1960, 14 clergymen resigned and decided to leave the church. On 26 January 1961, they with their followers formed

St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India (STECI) is an Oriental Protestant (Reformed Orthodox) episcopal denomination based in Kerala, India. It derives from a schism in the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in 1961 and forms a part of the Sa ...

Consecration of bishops

P. T. Joseph and V. T. Koshy were consecrated bishops by Juhanon Mar Thoma in February 1975. P. T. Joseph was given the episcopal title Joseph Mar Irenaeus (Later Joseph Mar Thoma) and V. T. Koshy, Easow Mar Timotheos.

Ecumenical efforts

Ecumenism 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 ...

was a reality for him; he restored peace with the Indian Orthodox Church. He actively participated in ecumenical councils such as the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...

. In 1948, he led the delegation to the first Assembly of the

in Amsterdam. At its second meeting at

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

in 1954 he was elected as one of the presidents of WCC. During the third Assembly in New Delhi in 1961, he was the chairman and guided the deliberations with distinction. It was in 1974, it was decided enter into

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but ...

with the Churches of

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 terr ...

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Cen ...

and with various provinces in the

Anglican communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

.''Mar Thoma Sabha Directory'' (1999), p. 93.

Social activities

On 26 June 1975 Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 and was al ...

declared

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

. At that time on 25 August 1976, Juhanon Mar Thoma sent a letter to the Prime Minister arguing for the restoration of democracy. He was the only Indian Christian leader to do such a brave thing. Education was also a major interest for the Metropolitan. He established four institutions of higher education. In 1974, Mar Thoma Theological Seminary was upgraded to a BD Undergraduate college affiliated to the Serampore University. Hospitals and social welfare institutions were opened during his lifetime. Realizing the pain of a family without a house of their own, he introduced the idea of building houses for the poor and providing land by the landless even in 1949. In 1967, before moving to the new residence built for the Metropolitan (known as Poolatheen), he made it a point to present a house to a poor homeless TB patient who was a non-Christian. For many years he served as the President of Ayroor Pakalomattam Thazhamon Family. He was a philanthropist and an advocate of justice. Juhanon Mar Thoma died on 27 September 1976 at

. The funeral service was held St. Thomas Church in

. A huge crowd was present to bid farewell to their beloved Metropolitan. He was interred in the Bishops' cemetery in the SCS Compound,

References

Bibliography

English. *#Juhanon Mar Thoma Metropolitan, The Most Rev. Dr. (1952). ''Christianity in

and a Brief History of the Marthoma Syrian Church''. Pub: K.M. Cherian. *#Zac Varghese Dr. & Mathew A. Kallumpram. (2003). ''Glimpses of Mar Thoma Church History''. London, England. . *#Zac Varghese Dr. & Mathew A. Kallumpram. ''Metropolitan Juhanon Mar Thoma''. "Light of Life", Vol. 3, Issue 7, July 2004. Malayalam. *#Alexander Mar Thoma (1977). ''Dr. Juhanon Mar Thoma, Jeevithaum Sandessavum'' (Life and Message of Dr.Juhanon Mar Thoma). Pub: Mar Thoma Church. *#Eapen, Prof. Dr. K. V. (2001). ''Malankara Marthoma Suryani Sabha Charitram'' (History of Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church). Pub: Kallettu, Muttambalam,

. *#Mathew, N. M. ''Malankara Marthoma Sabha Charitram'' (History of the Marthoma Church), Volume II (2007) and Volume III (2008). Pub. E.J.Institute, Tiruvalla.

External links

http://marthomasyrianchurch.org
{{Christianity in Kerala People from Pathanamthitta district Malayali people Juhanon 1894 births 1976 deaths Christian clergy from Kerala