Funeral Ceremony of Rt.Rev.Geevarghese Mar Athanasius Suffrgan Metropolitan
Kochi: Rt. Rev. Geevarghese Mar Athanasius, the Suffragan Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Entered into the Eternity in the early hours of today. Funeral will be on Friday at the church headquarters at Thiruvalla.
Bishop Athanasisus, who had been ailing for a long time and had been in and out of hospital for the past many months, was admitted again to the P V S Memorial Hospital here yesterday and was put on a ventilator. He breathed his last at 4.40 am today.
The Bishop, who headed the Ranni-Nilackal Diocese of the church, was "fondly remembered for his soul-stirring oration, marked with Christian maturity and vast knowledge in human relations".
It said he had initiated several humanitarian projects for the upliftment of the poor and needy.
Born as C. I. George on April 26 to C I Idicula and Achiyamma of Nedumpram, he did his schooling at Neerattupuram and obtained his B. Sc. degree from the Mar Thoma College, Thiruvalla and a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree from the Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur in 1969.
He was ordained as a deacon on May 3, 1969 and as a priest on June 14 that year and served in various parishes of the church, including Mumbai Dadar, Kottayam, Madras Chetpet and Toronto, Canada.
While in Canada he did higher studies in Wycliffe College, Toronto (1975-76). He was selected as Bishop while serving in Edayaranmula parish. He was consecrated on December 9, 1989 with the name Geevarghese Mar Athanasius.
He was assigned to be the head of Mumbai – Delhi Diocese. Later, he served as head of Kottayam-Kochi Diocese from November, 1993 to September, 2001 before coming head of the Ranni Nilackal Diocese in October, 2001.
He was installed as Suffragan Metropolitan of the church on October 2, 2015, making him the second in the official hierarchy after the Metropolitan, the Most Rev. Joseph Mar Thoma, the head of the church.
Funeral Service Details
First Service 18/4/2018 (Wed) 3:00PM @ Tiruvalla St. Thomas MTC.
Second Service 19/4/2018 (Thu) 8:30AM@Tiruvalla St. Thomas MTC.
Third Service 20/4/2018 (Fri) 8:30 AM@ Tiruvalla St. Thomas MTC.
Fourth Service 20/4/2018 10:00AM @ SCS Ground, Tiruvalla.
തിരുവല്ല നെടുമ്പ്രം മുളമൂട്ടില്‍ ചിറയിന്‍കണ്ടത്തില്‍ പരേതരായ സി.ഐ. ഇടിക്കുളയുടെയും ആച്ചിയമ്മയുടെയും മകനാണ് സഫ്രഗന്‍ മെത്രാപ്പോലീത്ത ഗീവര്‍ഗീസ് മാര്‍ അത്താനാസിയോസ്. 1944 ഏപ്രില്‍ 26 നാണ് ജനനം. സി.ഐ. ജോ ജോർജ് എന്നായിരുന്നു ആദ്യനാമം. 1969 ജൂൺ 14ന് വൈദികനായി. 1989 ഡിസംബർ ഒൻപതിന് ഡോ. അലക്‌സാണ്ടർ മാർത്തോമ്മാ മെത്രാപ്പൊലീത്ത മേൽപ്പട്ട സ്‌ഥാനത്തേക്ക് ഉയർത്തി. 2015 ഒക്ടോബർ രണ്ടിന് സഫ്രഗൻ മെത്രാപ്പൊലീത്തയായി. മികച്ച വാഗ്മിയും കവിയുമാണ്.
മുംബൈ, ഡല്‍ഹി, കോട്ടയം, കൊച്ചി ഭദ്രാസനങ്ങളുടെ അധ്യക്ഷന്‍, മാര്‍ത്തോമ വൈദിക സെമിനാരി ഗവേണിംഗ് ബോര്‍ഡ് ചെയര്‍മാന്‍, നാഷണല്‍ മിഷനറി സൊസൈറ്റി പ്രസിഡന്‍റ് തുടങ്ങിയ നിലകളില്‍ പ്രവര്‍ത്തിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്.
