 |
Augustine of Ramapuram | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Priest | |
| Born | 1 April 1891 Ramapuram, Kerala, India |
| Died | 16 October 1973 (aged 82) Ramapuram, Kerala, India |
| Venerated in | Syro Malabar Church |
| Beatified | 30th April 2006, Ramapuram by Mar Varkey Vithayathil |
| Major shrine | Mar Augustine's Forane Church, Ramapuram. |
| Feast | 16th October |
Thevarparambil Kunjachan (born Augustine Thevarparambil) was an Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic priest who dedicated himself to the spiritual and temporal welfare of marginalized Dalits.
Augustine was born on 1st April 1891, at Ramapuram in Travancore (present-day Kerala, India). He was the son of Itty Iype and Eliswa of the Thevarparambil clan, which is a branch of the Kuzhumbil family lineage. Augustine received his primary education at a school sponsored by the government of Travancore. He advanced to St. Ephrem's School in Mannanam where his religious faith intensified, compelling him to pursue a career as a priest. After completing his secondary education at St.Ephrem's School, Augustine embarked on a journey on foot from Ramapuram to Changanacherry in order to enroll in St. Thomas Minor Seminary. After receiving his major seminary formation at Puthenpally Seminary in Varapuzha, Augustine was ordained as a priest on 16th July 1915.
After celebrating his first mass at St. Augustine Church in Ramapuram, his home parish, Augustine resided in his home village for eight years while undergoing practical training. He was known as Kunjachan ("Little Father" in Malayalam) for his short stature. In 1923, Augustine was appointed as assistant vicar to Thomas Kuzhumpil at St. Sebastian Church in Kadanad.
During his vocation in Kadanad, Kunjachan was often approached by the local villagers, who relied on his advice and blessings for their agricultural yield. Kunjachan would sprinkle holy water on crops, ensuring a plentiful harvest. Unfortunately, an illness forced Kunjachan to return to Ramapuram.
In Ramapuram, Kunjachan witnessed an entire caste of people deprived of dignity, respect, and the basic necessities of life. He would devote his entire life to the uplifting of the downtrodden. It is the singular achievement of Kunjachan that he had been able to baptize by himself no less than 5,000 Dalits (earlier the term 'Harijan' was used). He is to be counted as one of the foremost missionaries among the Dalits in India. In fact, he neither made use of eloquent sermons nor of any human techniques in order to give them the "Christ" of whom he was the herald. He preached with his works, practising charity, and always sublime and more dedicated.
Kunjachan led a very simple life for the poor and wished to be with them even after death. He spent everything he had for the poor. The Blessed who was a priest for more than 50 years, wrote in his Testament: "I do not possess anything either as landed property or as cash account... After my death, my funeral must be conducted in the most simple way. Ever since 1926, I had been staying with the Harijan (Dalit) Christians. Even after death, I would like to be with them. Therefore my dead body should be buried where the Harijan Christians are buried".
After a brief period of serious illness Kunjachan died on 16 October 1973 at the age of 82. At his death the children and others told that 'a saint has passed away'. At his funeral the priest who preached the panegyric, spoke well of his holiness in life, apostolic zeal, kindness of heart, love for the poor and other outstanding virtues. And towards the end of the speech he said to the surprise of all, "we are participating in the funeral of a saint. We have one more mediator in heaven."
Kunjachan had the reputation of a holy man even while he was alive. People irrespective of caste and religion, used to approach him in their manifold needs and they got favors through his prayers and blessings. Within a few days after his death his tomb at Ramapuram became a center of pilgrimage for people from far and wide.
The process of beatification and canonization started on 11 August 1987 at Ramapuram, bestowing upon him the title, 'Servant of God'. The 'Positio super vita et virtutibus' was completed after ten years and was submitted at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on 12 February 1997. The 'positio' on the heroic practice of virtues of the saintly priest was approved by Pope John Paul II on 22 June 2004 and he was declared 'The Venerable'.
Meanwhile, the process of the miraculous cure of the clubfoot of a boy, Gilson Varghese, was undertaken, and the findings were sent to Rome for consideration. After a thorough investigation of the miraculous nature of the cure, made by personnel in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI approved it, opening the way for beatification. Kunjachan was beatified by Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church on 30 April 2006 at the very same village Ramapuram where he was born, worked, died and buried.
The Papal Nuncio to India Archbishop Pedro López Quintana, Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), and other bishops and priests participated in the ceremony.
The Feast of Blessed Kunjachan is celebrated on 16 October every year.
Kunjachan had his last times at family house Thervarparampil Ramapuram.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
\
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, its 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. The Syro-Malabar Synod of Bishops canonically convoked and presided over by the major archbishop constitutes the supreme authority of the church. The Major Archiepiscopal Curia of the church is based in Kakkanad, Kochi. Syro-Malabar is a prefix reflecting the church's use of the East Syriac Rite liturgy and origins in Malabar. The name has been in usage in official Vatican documents since the nineteenth century.
Varkey VithayathilCSsR was an Indian cardinal who served as the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly from 1999 to 2011. He was also a religious priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.
Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception, FCC ; 19 August 1910 – 28 July 1946), was a nun in the Franciscan Clarist Congregation and an educator by profession. She was also known for being a victim soul, visionary and prophetess in the Kottayam pergunna of the erstwhile Travancore province of British India, in the present-day Kerala, India.
Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara, CMI was an Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic priest, religious, philosopher and social reformer. He is the first canonised Catholic male saint of Indian origin and was a member of the Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern Catholic church.
The Archeparchy of Ernakulam–Angamaly is the major archeparchy and the see of the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. It has been the major archeparchy since 1992 when the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church was elevated to the status of a major archiepiscopal church with Ernakulam-Angamaly as the primatal see. The major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly is the main bishop of the jurisdiction, at the same time the head of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. The eparchies of Kothamangalam and Idukki are the two suffragan eparchies of the major archeparchy.
Devasahayam Pillai or Mar Lazarus Sahada was an Indian layman and martyr of the Catholic Church. He was canonized as a saint of the church by Pope Francis on 15 May 2022.
Venerable Thomas of Kurialacherry was a Catholic bishop from Kerala. Kurialacherry was a member of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, had his ordination in May 1899 from Cardinal Cassantha, and was the first bishop of what would become the Archdiocese of Changanassery.
Mar Antony Padiyara was a Syro Malabar Major Archbishop and cardinal. He was the First Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. He was Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly from 1985 to 1996, having previously served as Bishop of Ootacamund (1955–1970) and Archbishop of Changanassery (1970–1985). He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1988.
Palackal Thoma Malpan was an Indian Catholic priest of the Syro-Malabar Church based in India. He was the senior priest and founder who envisaged the formation of the first native religious institution in India, Carmelites of Mary Immaculate also known as C.M.I., and the founder of the first seminary for Syro-Malabar Catholics.
This is a timeline of the history of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India.
Christianity is the third-largest practiced religion in Kerala, accounting for 18% of the population according to the 2001 Indian census. According to traditional accounts, Thomas the Apostle sailed to the Malabar region in 52 AD and introduced Christianity to the area. Although a minority, the Christian population of Kerala is proportionally much larger than that of India as a whole. A significant portion of the Indian Christian population resides in the state.
Geevarghese Panicker (1924–2008) was a priest, teacher, guide, and educationalist of Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.
Varghese Payyappilly was a Syro-Malabar priest from the Indian state of Kerala and the founder of the congregation of Sisters of the Destitute. He was declared Venerable by Pope Francis on 14 April 2018.
Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar (1736–1799) is the author of Varthamanappusthakam (1790), the first ever travelogue in an Indian language. Also known as Roma Yatraa Varthamanapusthakam, it postulates that the foundation of Indian nationalism rests on the basic principle that India should achieve civic self-rule. Long before the debates on nationalism shaking the intellectual circles of Europe, Asia, and Africa, Thoma Kathanar offers a distinctive positionality as a minority Syriac Christian priest and subsequent administrator of the Archdiocese of Cranganore with transnational ties to Portuguese ecclesiology who nevertheless argues in favor of autonomous civic Indian governance.
The Eparchy of Palai is a Syro-Malabar Catholic ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church with an area of 1166 km2 comprising the Meenachil taluk and a few villages of the neighbouring taluks in Kottayam, Ernakulam, and Idukki districts of central Kerala in South India. The faithful of this eparchy, numbering 326,742, belong to the ancient St. Thomas Christian community. The seat of the bishop is the St. Thomas Cathedral based in the town of Palai. The current bishop is Joseph Kallarangatt, serving since March 2004.
Pizhaku is a village in Kottayam District in the Indian state of Kerala. It is located on the Pala–Thodupuzha state highway.
Places of worship in Pala include both Christian churches and Hindu temples in Pala in the Indian state of Kerala.
Ramapuram church is a Syro-Malabar Catholic church complex located in Ramapuram of Kottayam district, Kerala, India. There are three churches in the same compound. The oldest church, St. Augustine's Forane Church, was built in 1450 and the second church in the name of Blessed Mary was buit in 1864. The two churches and a two-storey building in which the Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar is said to have lived, is a protected monument of the Archeology Department of the Government of Kerala. The third church built in 2019, in the same compound, is one of the largest churches in Asia.
