Kurisumala Ashram, also known as Monastery of Our Lady of Kurisumala, is a Trappist monastery of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, located in the Sahya Mountains of Vagamon, Kerala, India.
Kurisumala Ashram, also known as Monastery of Our Lady of Kurisumala, is a Trappist monastery of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, located in the Sahya Mountains of Vagamon, Kerala, India.
In 1956, Zacharias Mar Athanasios, then the Bishop of Thiruvalla, [1] [2] invited Francis Mahieu, a Trappist monk from Scourmont Abbey in Belgium, to Kerala to establish the ashram.
He was later joined by Bede Griffiths. On 1 December 1956, Mahieu and Griffiths laid the foundation at Tiruvalla in the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church [ citation needed ]. They acquired 88 acres (360,000 m2) of land [2] and, on 20 March 1958, traveled sixty miles to a mountain known as Kurisumala. The monastery was officially established on 21 March 1958. [1] They soon started a dairy farm with cattle imported from Jersey to support themselves . [2] [3]
Within three years, the population of the monastery grew to fifteen individuals. [3] [4] Prayer services were initially held in Syriac. [3]
Francis Mahieu later changed his name to Francis Acharya [5] and became an Indian citizen. [6]
The monastery was incorporated as an abbey into the Cistercian Order of Strict Observance in July 1998. [1] [3] [7]
After Acharya's death, Yesudas Thelliyil became the monastery's second abbot in March 2002. [1]
Bede Griffiths spent the last years of his life at Shantivanam in Tamil Nadu. [8] Francis Acharya became the sole religious leader of the ashram at Kurisumala. A couple of years before his death in 2002, Acharya, who had remained in touch with the monastery of his youth, had the Kurisumala Ashram affiliated with the Trappists [ citation needed ].
"Kurisu" is the Malayalam translation of the word "cross," the language of Kerala, while "mala" means mountain and "ashram" means monastery. [4]
In the monastery, the liturgical services follow the Syro-Malankara tradition and use the Indian Rite Mass. [4] [9] [10] The Mass includes chants, ceremonies, and symbols adapted from Hindu tradition. [4] [11]
The ashram also emphasizes the importance of "bread-labour," where monks engage in farming and housework for several hours each day. [12]
The monks have a nightly satsang , a time of reflection that may include readings from Christian or Hindu texts. [9] [10] Kurisumala is seen as a place for both Catholics and those who follow Gandhian philosophy. [13]
The monastery has hosted Hindu guests and religious leaders. [10]
In 2023, the current abbot is Tarrawarra, who succeeded Ishananda Machiyanickal in 2018. [14]
There is an ascent of 328 steps to reach on the top of the mountain. Devotees come here to venerate the Holy Cross. The Death of Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross and The experiences of Inflict is commemorated here where during the Lenten especially on Good Friday. The 14 stations of the Way of the Cross have been clearly marked as one climbs the steps of the mountain. It is two and a half kilometres away from the Holy Cross Church. Every Good Friday, the Way of Cross procession begins from the Holy Cross Church, at 7.30 am and reaches at the top of the Holy Cross Mount.ross Church, at 7.30 am and reaches at the top of the Holy Cross Mount.
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. It serves India's Saint Thomas Christian population. According to tradition, these communities originated in the missions of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. It employs the Malankara Rite, an Indian form of the West Syriac liturgical rite.
The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Catholic religious order of cloistered monastics that branched off from the Cistercians. They follow the Rule of Saint Benedict and have communities of both monks and nuns that are known as Trappists and Trappistines, respectively. They are named after La Trappe Abbey, the monastery from which the movement and religious order originated. The movement began with the reforms that Abbot Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé introduced in 1664, later leading to the creation of Trappist congregations, and eventually the formal constitution as a separate religious order in 1892.
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.
The Syro-Malabar Church, also known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. It is a sui iuris (autonomous) particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO). The major archbishop presides over the entire church. The incumbent Major Archbishop is Raphael Thattil, serving since January 2024. It is the largest Syriac Christian church and the largest Eastern Catholic church. Syro-Malabar is a prefix reflecting the church's use of the East Syriac liturgy and origins in Malabar. The name has been in usage in official Vatican documents since the nineteenth century.
Bede Griffiths OSB Cam, born Alan Richard Griffiths and also known by the end of his life as Swami Dayananda, was a British-born Catholic priest and Benedictine monk who lived in ashrams in South India and became a noted missionary. Griffiths was a part of the Christian Ashram Movement.
The Monastery of the Holy Spirit, officially the Monastery of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit, is a Trappist monastery located near Conyers, Georgia, in the United States. It is part of the Catholic Church.
Nalanchira is a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram the capital of Kerala state in India. It is an educational hub of Kerala, situated between Mannanthala and Pananvila. Nalanchira is approximately 8 km from the Thiruvananthapuram railway station and 11 km away from Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. The Main Central Road runs through this place. This middle-class residential locality is famous for its educational and social service institutions. The Nalanchira Bethany Hills were originally owned by a chettiar and was given to Mar Ivanios the founder of Syro-Malankara Catholic (MSC) Church to start an educational institution. The main residential areas are Benedict Nagar, Christian medical centre (CMC) lane, Parakodu lane, Mangalathu Lane, Convent Lane, Rajeev Gandhi Nagar, Puliyoor Gardens, Rose Nagar, Akshaya Gardens, Shawallace Lane, Thattinakam Souhrda Residents Association, Parkanthara Lane, Post Office Lane, Chathiode Lane, Udayannoor Lane, Kurishadi Jn., Anupama Nagar, Kushavarkal Road, Bethany Nagar Lane and Jayamatha Lane.
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.
The Christian ashram movement is a movement within Christianity in India that embraces Vedanta and the teachings of the East, attempting to combine the Christian faith with the Hindu ashram model and Christian monasticism with the Hindu sannyasa tradition.
Vagamon is an Indian hill station and a revenue village located in Peerumedu Taluk of Idukki district, and also Meenachil taluk and Kanjirappally taluk of Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. Located in the Western Ghats 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of Erattupetta on the border of Kottayam-Idukki districts, Vagamon is known for its natural environment. The Vagamon glass bridge is the longest cantilever glass bridge in India.
Baselios Cleemis is the current major archbishop-catholicos 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.
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.
Francis Acharya was a Belgian-born Indian Cistercian monk. In 1998, he founded the Syro-Malankara rite Kristiya Sanyasa Samaj, Kurisumala Ashram in Kerala, India. He was later affiliated to the Trappist Order.
The Syro-Malankara Catholic Archeparchy of Tiruvalla is an archeparchy of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in Tiruvalla, in Kerala, India. Metropolitan Archbishop Aboon Mor Thomas Koorilos currently presides. The seat of the eparchy is at St. John's Syro-Malankara Catholic Cathedral in Tiruvalla, a circular edifice designed by a British architect.
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.
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The Syro-Malankara Catholic Eparchy of St. Ephrem of Khadki was established by Pope Francis on 23 November 2019. It is for the Syro-Malankara Catholics of Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and parts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It has its pro-cathedral see in the town of Khadki, near Pune, in western India's Maharashtra state.
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