The Synod of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church, gathered at Mount St. Thomas, Kerala, having received prior Papal Assent, canonically elected three new bishops.
The new bishops are Fr Alex Tharamangalam (64), of the clergy of the Archieparchy of Tellicherry, as Auxiliary Bishop of the Eparchy of Mananthavady; Fr Joseph Kollamparambil (67), of the clergy of the Palai Eparchy and Fr. Thomas Padiyath (53), of the clergy of the Archieparchy of Changanacherry, as the Auxiliary Bishops of the Shamshabad Eparchy. This provision was made public on August 25.
Fr. Alex Tharamangalam
Fr. Tharamangalam was born on April 20, 1958, in Moozhoor, Kerala, south India. After studying at Nirmalagiri College in Kuthuparamba, he entered St. Joseph Minor Seminary in Tellicherry in 1973.
He completed the Philosophy and Theology courses at St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary in Vadavathoor and was ordained a priest for the Archieparchy of Tellicherry on January 1, 1983. He received a doctorate in philosophy from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
In addition to the pastoral ministry he exercised in various parishes of the Archieparchy, he was the Secretary to the Bishop. He was a professor of philosophy at the Paurastya Vidyapitam Institute in Kottayam and taught in the seminaries of Aluva, Trivandrum, and Vadavathoor; he also held the positions of Vice Rector and Rector of Vadavathoor Seminary.
He has been Syncellus of the Tellicherry Archieparchy since 2016 and in 2022. He speaks Malayalam, English, Italian, and German.
Fr. Joseph Kollamparambil
Fr. Kollamparambil was born on September 22, 1955, in Chennad. He entered the Good Shepherd Minor Seminary in Palai and completed his priestly formation at St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary in Vadavathoor.
He holds his Master of Arts degree from St. Thomas College in Palai and his Doctorate in Political Science from Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam.
He was ordained a priest on December 18, 1981. He was the parish priest in Kudakkachira, Nellappara and Vellikulam.
He has also held the positions of Director of the Pastoral Institute, Lecturer and Bursar of St. Thomas College, Director of the Christ Raj Hostel and the St. Thomas College of Teacher Education.
From 2003 to 2011, he was Dean of St. George's College, Aruvithura. He also held the posts of Eparchial Consultor, member of the Council for Economic Affairs, and Sincellus of the Eparchy of Palai.
Since 2019, he has been the Syncellus of the Eparchy of Shamshabad for the Mission in Gujarat. He speaks English and Malayalam.
Fr. Thomas Padiyath
Fr. Padiyath was born on January 14, 1969, in Ettumanoor. After his university studies in Changanacherry, he began his priestly formation at St. Thomas Minor Seminary in Kurichy. He did his philosophy and theology studies at St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary in Aluva.
He was ordained a priest on December 29, 1994. He was sent for higher studies in Belgium, where he obtained a doctorate in philosophy and a licentiate in theology from the Catholic University of Louvain.
Returning to India, he held the following ministries: Assistant Parish Priest, Secretary of the Archbishop, Professor at Good Shepherd Major Seminary, Kunnoth, Kristu Jyothi Seminary, and Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram in Bangalore, Mater Dei Institute in Goa, Paurastya Vidyapitham in Vadavathoor, the St. Charles Seminary in Namibia and the CANA Institute in Thuruthy. It is currently one of the Sincellus of the Changanacherry Archieparchy. He speaks Malayalam, English, and German. -Stephen Alathara
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
Latest News
