Baselios Cleemis | |
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Major Archbishop-Catholicos , Basileus , Catholicos of India and all East on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Thomas the Apostle of the Catholic Church [1] | |
Church | Syro-Malankara Catholic Church |
Archdiocese | Trivandrum |
See | Trivandrum |
Elected | 8 February 2007 |
Installed | 5 March 2007 |
Predecessor | Cyril Baselios |
Other post(s) |
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Previous post(s) |
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Orders | |
Ordination | 11 June 1986 by Cyril Baselios |
Consecration | 15 August 2001 by Cyril Baselios |
Created cardinal | 24 November 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI |
Rank | Cardinal priest, Catholicos, Major Archbishop |
Personal details | |
Born | Isaac Thottumkal 15 June 1959 Mukkoor, Thiruvalla, Kerala, India |
Parents | Mathew Thottumkal Annamma Thottumkal |
Alma mater | SB College Changanasserry Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram Pontifical Athenaeum Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas |
Motto | To unite in love |
Coat of arms |
Styles of Baselios Cardinal Cleemis | |
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Reference style | His Beatitude |
Spoken style | Your Beatitude |
Informal style | Cardinal |
Baselios Cleemis (born 15 June 1959) is the current major archbishop-catholicos [2] 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. [3] [4]
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 and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. He served as President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India from 2014 to 2018, and is currently the president of the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council. [5]
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 in the State of Kerala in South India. His parents are Mathew and Annamma Thottumkal. [6] The Thottumkal (Powathikunnel Thottumkal) family is a part of the Pakalomattom family, which is an ancient Saint Thomas Christian family in Kerala. [7] [6]
After graduating with BA. Economics from SB College Changanassery, he attended the Minor Seminary Formation in Tiruvalla from 1976 to 1979. He received a B.Phil. 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, Pune where he attended from 1983 to 1986. Thottunkal was ordained a priest on 11 June 1986. He studied for the Master of Theology in DVK Pontifical Athenaeum, Bangalore where he attended from 1986 to 1989. Thottunkal took his Doctorate in Ecumenical Theology from Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Rome in 1997. [8] [9]
On his return from Rome he became the Vicar General (Proto Syncellus) of the Eparchy of Bathery. Pope John Paul II nominated Aboon Isaac Mar Cleemis as Apostolic Visitor and the Auxiliary Bishop of Trivandrum on 18 June 2001 for the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church residing in North America and Europe. He was consecrated on 15 August 2001 at Tirumoolapuram, Tiruvalla, assuming the name Isaac Mar Cleemis.
The Holy See appointed Cleemis as sixth Bishop of the Eparchy of Tiruvalla on 11 September 2003. Cleemis was installed as the first Metropolitan Archbishop 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 Syro-Malankara Catholic Church convoked on 7–10 February 2007 at Catholicate Centre, Pattom, Trivandrum. Pope Benedict XVI approved the election on 9 February and it was announced on 10 February at St. Mary's Cathedral, Pattom, Trivandrum. 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 and Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil participated in the installation ceremony.
Baselios Cleemis was elevated to the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church by Pope Benedict XVI on 24 November 2012. [4] As Cardinal-Priest he was assigned the titular church 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. [10]
On 31 January 2013, Cleemis was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to serve as a Member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
Cleemis participated as a cardinal-elector in the conclave that elected Pope Francis. [3] 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. [11]
His Eminent Beatitude Cardinal, Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis Catholica Bava, Major Archbishop-Catholicos of Thiruvananthapuram. Baselios [12] is also a title used in the Eastern Catholic churches for bishops of high rank granted by the Holy See to the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church on 6 November 1995. [4]
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 Canons of the Eastern Churches. It is one of the major archiepiscopal churches of the Catholic Church. It is headed by Major Archbishop Baselios Cardinal Cleemis Catholicos of the Major Archdiocese of Trivandrum based in Kerala, India. With more than 1096 parishes, it is one of India's biggest church evangelical establishments.
A catholicos is 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 Greek καθολικός, derived from καθ' ὅλου from κατά and ὅλος, meaning "concerning the whole, universal, general"; it originally designated a financial or civil office in the Roman Empire.
In the Catholic Church, an apostolic visitor is a papal representative with a transient mission to perform a canonical visitation of relatively short duration. The visitor is deputed to investigate a special circumstance in a diocese or country, and to submit a report to the Holy See at the conclusion of the investigation.
In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop is a title for the chief hierarch of an autonomous particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarchal title". Major archbishops generally have the same rights, privileges, and jurisdiction as Eastern Catholic patriarchs, except where expressly provided otherwise, and rank immediately after them in precedence of honor.
Panikkervettil Thomas Panicker Geevarghese, known formally as Geevarghese Mar Ivanios, was a prominent Indian bishop and the first metropolitan archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. He was a key figure in the Malankara Reunion Movement, which sought to reunite the Malankara Church with the Catholic Church, culminating in his joining the Roman Catholic Church in 1930 along with a small group of followers.
Moran Mor Cyril Baselios Catholicos or, when referencing his title of Major Archbishop, Cyril Baselios Malancharuvil OIC was the first major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. He was elevated by Pope John Paul II in 1995.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) is the permanent association of the Catholic bishops of India. It was established in September 1944, in Chennai. The CBCI Secretariat was located in Bangalore until 1962, when it was shifted to the national capital, New Delhi. The CBCI is a member of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.
St. Mary's Malankara Syrian Catholic Major Seminary is a centre of priestly training for the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.
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 Venerable Archbishop Geevarghese Mar Ivanios, Archbishop Benedict Mar Gregorios and of Major Archbishop Cyril Baselios Catholicos are located here.
John Kuzhinapurath, OIC, (1904–1994), a great philanthropist was among the first priests who united with the Catholic Church along with Archbishop Mar Ivanios on 20 September 1930 in the process of the formation of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.
The Syro-Malankara Catholic Major Archeparchy of Thiruvananthapuram is a Syro-Malankara Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or major archeparchy of the Catholic Church in Thiruvananthapuram, India. Baselios Cleemis, the Major Archbishop-Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, presides over the as of 2020. The cathedra is at Cathedral of Saint Mary, Pattom, Trivandrum in Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The Archeparchy of Thiruvananthapuram is a metropolitan see with four suffragan eparchies.
The Syro-Malankara Catholic Eparchy of Bathery is an eparchy of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in Sulthan Bathery, in Kerala, India. As of 2024 Aboon Joseph Mar Thomas was the bishop. The seat of the eparchy is at St. Thomas Syro-Malankara Catholic Cathedral in Sulthan Bathery.
Dr. Abraham Mar Julios is the Metropolitan Bishop of the Eparchy of Muvattupuzha of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. Abraham was born to late Varghese Kakkanattil in Padinjaremannil branch of Paramel family, Cherukole-Kozhenchery and Annamma Varghese in the village of Kalloopara, Thiruvalla. Having completed his school education, he joined the Infant Mary Minor Seminary, Thiruvalla in 1961. He completed his philosophical studies in St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary at Vadavathoor, Kottayam. He had his theological studies in Propaganda College, Rome. He was ordained priest by Metropolitan Zacharias Mar Athanasios. After his ordination, he served as parish priest of Mycavu and Ounjil in Kozhikkodu. From 1974 to 1979 Abraham Kakkanattu was the Procurator and the Director of the Social Service Society of the Eparchy of Tiruvalla. Meanwhile, he served as the vicar of the parishes of Thalavadi North and South. In 1978 he started Matha Senior Secondary School in Thumboly, Alleppey district.
The St. Mary, Queen of Peace Basilica, located in the Palayam/Cantonment area of the city of Thiruvananthapuram, in the state of Kerala, India, is the first Syro-Malankara Catholic Church to be elevated to the rank of a Catholic basilica. It is the fifth basilica in Kerala.
Geevarghese Panicker (1924–2008) was a priest, teacher, guide, and educationalist of Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.
Aboon Thomas Mar Eusebius is serving as the first bishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Eparchy in the United States. A senior priest of the state Christian clergy, he was serving as the first exarch of the Malankara Syrian Catholic Exarchate since his enthronement on October 3, 2010. On August 5, 2017, Baselios Cardinal Cleemis, the Major Archbishop-Catholicos of the Malankara Catholic Church, announced that Eusebius would be the first Bishop of the new Malankara Diocese of Parassala, India.
Aboon Samuel Mor Irenios Kattukallil is an Indian Syro-Malankara Catholic clergyman, educator, and prelate. He is currently bishop of the Eparchy of Pathanamthitta of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. He succeeded Yoohanon Chrysostom Kalloor on 7 June 2019 and became the second bishop of the eparchy, which was erected in 2010.
Geevarghese alongside Varughese, Varghese, Verghese, Varkey, Varughis, and Vergis are Syriac–Malayalam variants of George in India. Geevarghese may refer to: