Joseph Pamplany

Mar Joseph Pamplany
Archbishop of Tellicherry
Church	Syro Malabar Church
See	Tellicherry
Elected	15 January 2022
Installed	20 April 2022
Predecessor	George Njaralakatt
Other post(s)	Secretary of the Synod of the Syro Malabar Church (2022-present) Chancellor of the Alpha Institute of Theology, Thalassery [1]
Previous post(s)	Auxiliary Bishop of Tellicherry (2017–2022)
Orders
Ordination	30 December 1997 by  George Valiamattam
Consecration	8 November 2017 by  George Njaralakatt
Rank	Archbishop
Personal details
Born	(1969-12-11) 11 December 1969 (age 54) Charal, Kannur, Kerala
Denomination	Syro-Malabar Catholic
Motto	Non Nisi Te Domine
Ordination history
History Priestly ordination Ordained by George Valiamattam Date 30 December 1997 Episcopal consecration Principal consecrator George Njaralakatt Co-consecrators George Valiamattam, Joseph Kallarangatt Date 8 November 2017 Place St. Joseph's Cathedral in Palissery, Thalassery
Episcopal succession Bishops consecrated by Joseph Pamplany as principal consecrator Alex Tharamangalam 2022

Mar Joseph Pamplany (born December 11, 1969) is a is an Indian-born bishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church serving archbishop of the Archdiocese of Tellicherry since 2022.

Pope Francis announced his approval of his election by Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church as archbishop on January 15, 2022, replacing Mar George Njaralakatt. He was also elected the synod's secretary replacing Mar Antony Kariyil. He previously served as the Archdiocese of Tellicherry's auxiliary bishop.

Early life and priesthood

Childhood and education

Mar Joseph Pamplany was born on December 11, 1969, in Charal, Kannur, Kerala to Thomas and Mary Pamplany, as the fifth of seven children. He went to St. Sebastian’s School, Charal and St. Thomas High School, Kilianthara. He then went to Nirmalagiri College, Koothuparamba for a Pre-degree before deciding his vocation as a Priest. In 1988, He joined the St. Joseph's Minor Seminary in Tellicherry to begin his priestly formation and completed it at St. Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary, Aluva. Mar George Valiamattam ordained him a Priest for the Archdiocese at St. Joseph's Cathedral on December 30, 1997. After a few years as a Priest, He was sent for further studies. In 2001, He obtained a Master of Arts in Religious Studies from Katholike Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. He continued his education there for a Licentiate and Ph.D. in Sacred Scripture in 2006. He also holds a P.G Diploma in German, Hebrew and Greek ^{[2] [3]}

Priestly Ministry

He began his Priesthood as the assistant vicar of St. Joseph’s Forane Church, Peravoor before becoming the Vicar of St. Thomas Church, Deepagiri. After he returned from his studies in Belgium, He was appointed by George Valiamattam as the Archdiocese's Bible Apostolate Director and founded the Alpha Institute of Theology and Science to help form the theological formation of lay people in the Archdiocese and was the Founder-Director.

He also became a Professor at various colleges including teaching Sacred Scripture in St. Joseph’s Pontifical Institute, Aluva, Good Shepherd Major Seminary, Kunnoth, St. Peter’s Seminary, Bangalore, and Divine Bible College, Muringoor and also serving as a research guide.

Mar Pamplany has published more than 30 books and has conducted 40 research articles in his career along with 250 articles in Malayalam Newspapers serving on editorial boards of many of academic journals. Mar Pamplany also served as a retreat preacher in India and the various disapora of the Syro Malabar Church. ^{[4] [5]}

He has also served in Various Bishop Conferences as a priest including

- Catholic Bishops' Conference of India: Secretary of the Commission for Doctrine and Secretary of the Commission for Inter Ritual Text Books

- Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences: Member of the Commission of Theology

- Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council: Member of the Commission for Doctrine

- Syro-Malabar Catholic Church: Chair of the Catechesis Textbook Committee

Episcopal Ministry

Auxiliary Bishop

On September 1, 2017, Pope Francis announced his election as the Auxiliary Bishop of Tellicherry by the Synod of Bishops for the Syro Malabar Church after the request of Mar George Njaralakatt to have a Auxiliary Bishop. He was ordained and consecrated a bishop by Mar Njaralakatt, Archbishop of Tellichery in the presence of George Valiamattam, Archbishop Emeritus of Tellicherry and Joseph Kallarangatt, Eparch of Palai at the St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Thalassery. ^{[6] [7]}

When He began his Tenure as Auxiliary Bishop, He became the Media Commission Chairman for the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council and the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. He also serves as the Chairman of the Synodal Commission of the Good Shepherd Major Seminary, Kunnoth which supervises the Seminary. He also spoke at the 2021 International Eucharistic Congress in Hungry to a large crowd. ^[8]

Archbishop

In 2022, He was nominated by Cardinal Mar George Alencherry to become the Secretary of the Synod of Bishops replacing Mar Antony Kariyil. In that Synodal Session, He was also elected to become the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Tellicherry replacing Mar George Njaralakatt. He was installed by Major Archbishop George Alencherry on April 20, 2022, at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Thalassery. ^[9]

References

1. "Alpha Institute Thalassery".
2. "Archbishop of Thalassery | Archdiocese of Tellichery". www.archdioceseoftellicherry.org. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
3. Pamplany, Joseph (2016). Crossing the Abysses: An Exegetical Study of John 20:19-29 in the Light of the Johannine Notion of Discipleship: Volume 4 of Alpha Research Serial. Thalassery: Alpha Institute. ISBN   9788190851404.
4. "Syro Malabar Church". www.syromalabarchurch.in. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
5. ccbi, Editor (2022-01-15). "Mar Joseph Pamplany Elected as Archbishop of Tellicherry and Mar Peter Kochupurackal as new Bishop of Palghat". CCBI. Retrieved 2023-12-09.{{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
6. "From the Eastern Churches". press.vatican.va. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
7. Correspondent, Special (2017-09-01). "3 more bishops for Syro-Malabar Church". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 2023-12-09.{{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
8. Bishop Joseph Pamplany - Eucharist: the source and summit of hope - 09.09.2021 - IEC2021 , retrieved 2023-12-09
9. "New Archbishop, Bishop for Syro Malabar Church". The Times of India. 2022-01-16. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 2023-12-09.