Zacharias Mar Theophilus Suffragan Metropolitan
Zacharias Mar Theophilus (29 August 1938 - 27 December 2015) was the Suffragan Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar. The Mar Thoma Syrian Church is believed to be established by St Thomas, The Apostle of Jesus Christ and is believed to be the continuation of the ancient Christian community of India. Early days. Oommen Koruth was born on 29 August 1938 to Mr V.K Oommen and Mariamma. Mr V.K Oommen was a devout Christian and was a Postmaster. His mother Mariamma was a teacher and the daughter of Iykareth Joseph Asan (teacher) of  Puthencavu. The family inherited a rich Christian tradition and heritage and made sure that their children understood the importance of this tradition. Oommen's parents were very particular in giving Christian education as well as secular education to all their children. Family roots. Mattackal famliy traces its roots even before the dawn if the Christian era as a famous Brahminic family of Niranam. The Mattackal family was closely associated with the Thrikkupaleswara Temple of Niranam. The very name of the family is derived from the geographical location. Etymologically the word Mattackal is derived from the work 'Marracku' which means the  Bank of the River. The family that lived near the Niranam River came to be known as the Mattackal Family. Education. Oommen Koruth started his early schooing in Kadapra School where is mother was a teachers. He joined the Niranam St Mary's School for his high school education and received his secondary school leaving certificate. He passed his intermediate level examination from NSS College, Changanassery. Oommen joined the Union Christian College, Alwaye and completed his graduate studies in science. Later on he received his Bachelor's in education from Titus II Teachers College. After receiving the call to priesthood , Oommen Koruth joined the Jabalpur Theological Seminary for his bachelor's degree in divinity. In the course of near future, he received a master's degree in theology from Princeton Theological Seminary and later completed his Doctoral studies in Missions from Boston University. Life in the church. Before deciding to be a priest, Oommen Koruth started his career as a school teacher. He taught in Thevari School, Alwaye Settlement High School, Perumbavoor Ashram High School, Mysore St Thomas High School and Trivandrum Mar Thoma Residential School. He was a respected teacher and was imbibed with a nationalistic spirit and led  a life in conformity with the Gandhian Teachings. He as a teacher used to wear a white jubba and a white dhothi at all times that represented the Indian gurus. Accepting the call. The time spent as a teacher in the Ashram School and Perumbavoor was more of a preparatory time of prayer and meditation which ultimately led him to the path of ministry in the Church. While he was there, he spent a lot of time in prayer with his colleagues especially Dr T M Thomas. During such a prayer, he received a call to join the Church as  a minister. He declared to his colleagues of his decision to leave teaching and to join the ministry of the Church as a celibate. Priesthood. Oommen Koruth was ordained as a deacon of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church on 5 May 1966. He was ordained as a priest by Dr Juhanon Mar Thoma Metropolitan on 9 July of the same year. Rev Oommen Koruth was the first resident priest of the Mar Thoma Congregations in the USA. He was instrumental in organising Mar Thoma parishes in Boston and New York. As a priest he later ministered to the parishes in  North Travancore, Mysore, Trivandrum, Satacruz and Kozhencherry. Episcopacy and Suffragan Metropolitanate. While serving as the priest to St Thomas Mar Thoma Church, Kozhencherry, the Sabha Pradhinidhi Mandalam (Highest Democratic Body of the Mar Thoma Church) elected him to the episcopate. On 26 April 1980 he was made a Ramban ( Syriac for Monk) by the then Suffragan Metropolitan Philipose Mar Chrysostom. On 1 May 1980 Rev Oommen Koruth was consecrated as Bishop of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church and was given the name Zacharias Mar Theophilus by the then Mar Thoma Metropolitan Dr. Alexander Mar Thoma. The whole Church declared him  to be eligible and worthy as an Episcopa under the Apostolic See of St Thomas. On 3 July 2004 Zacharias Mar Theophilus was installed as the Suffragan Metropolitan of the Church of St Thomas. In the Mar Thoma Syrian Church the office of Suffragan Metropolitanate is given to bishop who will be an associate to the head of the Church, The Mar Thoma of the Apostolic Throne of St Thomas. A Suffragan Metropolitan assists the Head of the Church, in different administrative roles as decentralized by the Mar Thoma. As a Bishop he served in the Dioceses of Adoor Mavelikara , Kottayam-Ranni, Kottayam- Kochi, Kunnamkulam-Malabar, North America and Europe and Chenganoor-Mavelikara. Personality and vision. The name Theophilus aptly suits Bishop Zacharias. The name originates from two Greek words, "Theo" meaning God, and "Philous" meaning fond of. In literal terms it means God's Friend. Personality. Zacharias Mar Theophilus had a calm personality. He was blessed with a melodious voice and had deep thoughtful insights about everything that he encountered. His messages used to challenge the hearers to repent and renew their lives in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ. The central message of his theological expositions is  a call to introspection and a challenge to the community as a whole. His messages were powerful and they challenged the community for a paradigm shift to come out of the ghettos and to lead a life of conformity with the Kingdom values. Vision. The vision that Zacharias Mar Theophilus upheld is well expressed in his reply speech on the day of his consecration. He avowed his calling and commitment to serve the last, the least and lost. He declared his solidarity with the suffering of humanity and the laboring class. He was a man who walked the talk. As  a Bishop he wanted to see the Mar Thoma Syrian Church to be transformed from a "convention Church" to a Church that would redeem the world and transform it into a heaven. His vision was to preserve the identity of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church as in Independent, Oriental, Orthodox, Ecumenical, evangelical (missionary) and Indigenous Church at the same time be futuristic and be able to understand that the Church should widen its horizons outside the comfort zone of Kerala. For Zacharias Mar Theophilus the word 'mission' was misunderstood. Mission, he believed was a form of communication of God's  love. The aim of mission was to bring all nations to the nature of Jesus Christ rather than bringing them into the Churches. For Zacharias Mar Theophilus, Ecumenism was not uniting Churches as one. He believed uniformity of the Church is not uniformity in traditions and practices. He believed that the real strength lied in diversity. Diversity of worship, liturgy and sacraments helps Churches to involve in its mission in different ways. Ecumenical world. Zacharias Mar Theophilus was an ardent Ecumenist who was deeply committed to bringing an end to the divisive tendencies of the Churches and to promote harmonious  unity. The Ecumenical journey of Mar Theophilus began from the beds of River Pamba. He has been an active pariticipant of Bible society, Student Christian Movement, National Missionary Society, Ecumenical Christian Centre etc. In the 1980s he served as an executive of the Christian Conference of Asia. Bishops Theophilus's relationship with the World Council of Churches began with his attendance in the 1989 World Mission and Evangelism Conference held in San Antonio. The first WCC Assembly that he attended was held at Canberra in 1991. There he was elected to the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches  and later to the Executive members of the WCC. The same process also repeated in the Harare assembly of the WCC which was held on 1998. He attended as the representative of the Mar Thoma Church in the 1998 Lambeth Conference. He was Ecumenical Advisor of the Mar Thoma Church's Delegation in the WCC General Assembly of 2006 held in Porto Alerge Brazil. He represented the WCC in various ecumenical and pastoral solidarity visits as part of the Decade to Overcome Violence (2001-2010). Zacharias Mar Theophilus was also a member of the Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in  the WCC, a member of the WCC Asia Regional Group (1999-2006) and the WCC-CCA Joint Working Group. His efforts in the WCC alongside other Ecumenical leaders of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church led to the Mar Thoma Syrian Church officially being proclaimed as an Independent Family of its own, that is Independent, Oriental and Orthodox. The Church was recognized as a separate ecclesiastical traditional church which blends unique attribute from the Syriac Orient theology at the same time reformed in its social and evangelical mission. Death. On his way back from Muscat after the Christmas Programs, Bishop Zacharias  Mar Theophilus suffered a brain hemorrhage mid flight and was hospitalized in an unconscious state after reaching Kerala. On 26 December 2015 he died. His body was laid in rest at a specially constructed Tomb at the headquarters of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar.