A Repository of Memories
The Mar Thoma Syrian Christian Community founded by St. Thomas the Apostle in 52 AD remained as an autonomous Church in the unity of the Catholic Church. They remained one body and incorporated many of the customs, practices and lifestyles of this land. With the coming of the foreign missionaries and their undue interferences in the life and liturgical practices of the people, a schism occurred in 1651. A good section of the faithful eventually became Jacobites under the Patriarch of Antioch.
Ever since the schism, attempts at reunion have been made. On September 20th, 1930 the Reunion Movement took shape under the leadership of Archbishop Mar Ivanios, and assisted by Jacob Mar Theophilos, the first bishop of Tiruvalla, it became historic. It was a triumph of ecumenism as their reunion took place as a Church accepted with its peculiar liturgy, customs and jurisdiction.
As the Reunion Movement developed speedily, Pope Pius XI established the Malankara Catholic Hierarchy for the reunited people and established the Archieparchy of Trivandrum and the Eparchy of Tiruvalla through the Apostolic Constitution, Christo Pastorum Principi dated June 11th, 1932. Listed below are the most important events of the Archdiocese in the last 90 years:
1930 August 20: Mar Ivanios, Mar Theophilos and Bethany Members leaving Perunad to join the Catholic Church, came to Vennikulam and Thirumoolapuram and prepared for the Reunion.
1933 November 6: Mar Theophilos was installed as the eparch of Thiruvalla. Mar Theophilos stayed in a rented house near the present St. John’s Cathedral.
1935: Cherupushpagiri land was bought and there the Bishop’s house and Minor Seminary started.
1937: Reunion of Joseph Mar Severios, the bishop of the Orothodox Niranam Diocese.
1953: Visit of Cardinal Tisserant, the Papal Delegate and the Prefect of Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
1959: For catering to the health of mothers and children and empowerment of women, Pushpagiri hospital was started. In 2001 it became a Medical College. And now it is a teaching institute in Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy and other Allied Sciences.
1977: St. John’s Cathedral was constructed in a unique architectural pattern and dedicated.
1978: the new Eparchy of Bathery was carved out of Tiruvalla. Cyril Mar Baselios, the first bishop of Bathery, later became the first Catholicos.
1979: St. Joseph’s ITC in Mallappally.
1980: St. Pope John Paul II sent Cardinal Wadislaw Rubin, the Prefect of Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Churches as his delegate to the Golden Jubilee of the Reunion Movement at Kottayam.
1986: H.Ex. Isaac Mar Youhanon consented to donate free of cost 2.75 acres of prime land for the construction of the Tiruvalla Public Stadium.
1996: Achille Cardinal Silvestrini, the Prefect visited the Eparchy
1994: Mar Severios Teacher Training Institute.
2000 December 27: The septuagenial of the Reunion Movement was celebrated at Tiruvalla. The Patriarch Emeritus of the Syrian Catholics of Antioch and the former Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, His Beatitude Ignace Cardinal Moussa Daoud was the chief guest.
2001: MACFAST College.
2002: Starting Pushpagiri Medical College and other Colleges in subsequent years.
2014: Sahyajyothi Arts and Science College, Kumily.
2015: MICFAST Arts and Science College Mallappally.
2003 January 15: His Holiness Pope John Paul II, bifurcated the Eparchy of Tiruvalla and established the Eparchy of Muvattupuzha.
2004 September 20 & 21: The newly built St. John’s Cathedral was blessed.
2015 September 20 & 21: The 85th Reunion was celebrated in Tiruvalla with a lot of social activities like: housing, free heart surgeries, free dialysis, Organ donation campaign, Marriage aid programmes, etc.
2021-22: The Archdiocese of Tiruvalla marks the year 2021-22 as the ‘Navathi Year of the Establishment of Archdiocese’ along with the Silver Jubilee of the Episcopal Ordination of His Grace Thomas Mar Koorilos. 90 houses are being constructed either fully or partially to mark these events.