Payyappilly Varghese Kathanar | |
|---|---|
 Venerable Varghese Payyappilly | |
| Born | 8 August 1876 Perumanoor, Thevara, Kingdom of Cochin |
| Died | 5 October 1929 (aged 53) Ernakulam, Kingdom of Cochin [1] |
| Part of a series on |
| Christianity in India |
|---|
 |
Varghese Payyappilly was an Indian Syro-Malabar priest from Kerala and the founder of the congregation of Sisters of the Destitute. [2] He was declared Venerable by Pope Francis on 14 April 2018. [3] [4]
Kathanar was born as Kunjuvaru on 8 August 1876 to Payyappilly Lonan and Kunjumariam in the Palakkappilly branch of Payyappilly Nasrani family at Perumanoor, Thevara. [5] Payyappilly is an ancient Saint Thomas Christian family in India, baptized by Thomas the Apostle in the first century. [6] The word Payyappilly, translated as "beautiful building" or "beautiful house", is derived from the Syriac ܦܐܝܐ Payya "beautiful, radiant" and the Malayalam word പിള്ളി Pilly, a variant of പള്ളി Pally, "church, building". Mary Celine Payyappilly is another Servant of God from the Payyappilly family. [7]
Payyappilly was educated in the parish school at Perumanoor and at St. Albert's School, Ernakulam. He received his religious training from the Mangalapuzha Seminary at Puthenpally and the Papal Seminary at Kandy, Sri Lanka. He was ordained a priest on 21 December 1907 and was known as Payyappilly Varghese Kathanar. He learned the Syriac language under the guidance of Aloysius Pazheparambil. [8]
Payyappilly served as parish priest in Kadamakkudy (1909–11), Alangad (1911–13) and Arakuzha (1920–22). During his tenure in Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church, Arakuzha he began the St. Mary's Higher Secondary School there. His efforts transformed the parish and helped to solve many long-lasting family problems. He made some land purchases for the church, thus making it self-sufficient. [8] He also purchased 12 acres (49,000 m2) of land in M. C. Road for constructing St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Meenkunnam.
He was manager of St. Mary's High School, Aluva, Travancore, between 1913–1920 and 1922–1929. [8] According to Joseph Parecattil, who was a pupil at the time, the school was a seedbed of priestly vocations during Varghese Kathanar's tenure. [9]
Payyappilly served as a member of the Diocesan Council, as Director of Apostolic Union as well as Priests' Provident Fund. He was a good mediator and people approached him seeking solutions to their problems. [9] He was held in great honour by the church authorities and equally by the officials in the education department and government officers. [8] His concern and care for the poor and the suffering were noted particularly in the way he helped the victims of a flood in 1924. [2] He transformed his parish into a center for the homeless [1] and turned St. Mary's High School into a shelter for the suffering people and brought food for them in a hired boat. [10]
On 19 March 1927, Payyappilly founded the Sisters of the Destitute in Chunangamvely. [11] This organisation was intended to continue what he saw as Christ's redemptive mission among the poor. He found abandoned people, brought them to the shelter of the Home for the Aged and nursed them. The S.D. was originally named Little Sisters of the Poor but in 1933 the name was changed to Sisters of the Destitute in order not to be confused with another congregation having the same title. [8]
Payyappilly fell ill in September 1929 and eventually was hospitalised. He died of typhoid fever on 5 October 1929 and was buried in St. John Nepumsian Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Konthuruthy. [8]
The Cause of the Beatification of Payyappilly was initiated on 25 August 2009. He was declared as Servant of God by Varkey Vithayathil, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church on 6 September 2009.
In February 2011, his remains were exhumed, identified and transferred to a new tomb. The Miracle Tribunal that had been established to study the miraculous healing of Sr. Mercina through Payyappilly's intercession was closed in May 2012 [12] and the Archdiocesan Tribunal was closed in November 2012. [12] His case was submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Rome, and on 14 April 2018 Pope Francis declared him "Venerable". [1]
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.
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanacherry (Syriac: ܐܦܪܟܝܐ ܪܒܬܐ ܕܫܢܓܢܐܣܐܪܐ, romanized: Afarkaya Rabbta d-Shanganasara; Malayalam: ചങ്ങനാശ്ശേരി അതിഭദ്രാസനം, romanized: Changanassery Athibhadhrasanam) is a Catholic East-Syriac Rite archeparchy with an area of 24,595 km2 comprising the districts of Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, and also Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the largest Catholic dioceses in India in terms of area. Thomas Tharayil is the current Metropolitan Archbishop, serving from 2024.Suffragan eparchies of the Changanassery archeparchy includes Palai, Kanjirappally-Nilackal, and Thuckalay-Thiruvithancode.
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.
Joseph Parecattil was an Indian prelate of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Ernakulam from 1956 to 1984, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969. He was the first Cardinal from Kerala and second from India.
Arakuzha is a small village situated 6 km from Muvattupuzha in Kerala, India. The SH 41 connects Arakuzha with Muvattupuzha and Koothattukulam and Moozhi bridge connects Arakuzha to pineapple city of India, Vazhakulam town which is also 6 km from Arakuzha. It is located on SH 41 towards Koothattukulam, the alternate route for Main Central Road. St. Mary's High School and St. Joseph’s girls' school are the oldest high school in Arakuzha. Arakuzha is also home to two Christian pilgrim centres-St. Mary’s Forane Church and Malekurish Church. The chief festival is on the first Sunday after Easter.
This is a timeline of the history of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India.
Thevara is a ward of Kochi, Kerala.
Sisters of the Destitute (S.D) is a Syro-Malabar Catholic women's religious institute. Venerable Mar Payyappilly Varghese Kathanar laid the foundation stone on 1927 March 19 at Aluva.Currently there are 6 provinces and 1 region inside India and abroad having a number of 1835 sisters.
Meenkunnam is a village with waterfalls, rocky terrains, small hills, and paddy fields. It is located within Arakuzha and Marady Panchayat, Kerala. The local community heavily rely on farming and forms an agrarian-based economy. Most of the income is generated from rubber and pineapple plantations combined with other cash crops such as black pepper, cocoa bean, banana, and tapioca. Due to farming, when compared with the extent of land which was available a decade ago, only 20% of the paddy fields remain today.
Euphrasia Eluvathingal was an Indian Carmelite nun of the Syro-Malabar Church, which is an Eastern Catholic Church in Kerala. Euphrasia is said to have had a vision of the Holy Family, at which point the illness she had long felt ceased. She was canonised as a saint by Pope Francis on 23 November 2014 in Vatican City. Since the beheading of St. John the Baptist is celebrated on 29 August, the feast of St. Euphrasia is moved to 30 August.
Champakulam Kalloorkadu St. Mary's Basilica is an ancient Christian Church in Kerala. It belongs to the Syro-Malabar Church under the Archeparchy of Changanacherry. It is a Forane church, with several parishes under it.
St. Mary's Forane Church is a Syro-Malabar church in Arakuzha village, 6 km from Muvattupuzha, India. The village has a large population of Nasrani Christians. These Nasrani Christians of Arakuzha have more than 1500 years of recorded history. The church is under the jurisdiction of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Kothamangalam. Servant of God Mar Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly has served as the parish priest between 1920 and 1922.
Augustine John Ukken was a Syrian Catholic priest from the Indian state of Kerala in Thrissur and the founder of the Congregation of Sisters of Charity (CSC).
Antony Thachuparambil, popularly known as "the Missionary of Chelakkara" was an Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic priest and social reformer who worked in Chelakkara, Thrissur District, Kerala, India. A candidate for sainthood, he was declared a Servant of God by the Holy See in 2009.
St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is situated in Meenkunnam village, 6 km from Muvattupuzha, India. It was founded by Venerable Mar Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly in 1921. The church belongs to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Kothamangalam.
Kottakkavu Mar Thoma Syro-Malabar Pilgrim Church is a Syro-Malabar church located in North Paravur. According to Saint Thomas Christian tradition, the church was established in 52 AD by St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. It is one of the first churches in India and is called an Apostolic Church credited to the Apostolate of St. Thomas who preached and also started conversion of people to Syriac Christianity here. It is one of the Ezharappallikal that he established in India; the other six churches were established at Kodungalloor, Kokkamangalam, Palayoor, Kollam, Niranam, and Nilackal.
Mary Celine Payyappilly was a Syrian Catholic (Syro-Malabar) nun from the Indian state of Kerala. She was declared as Servant of God by Mar George Cardinal Alencherry, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church on 9 April 2018.
Jacob Manathodath is a former Bishop of Palghat. Briefly he also served as the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam, India.
