Marthoma Metropolitan breaks the record of longest serving Bishop in the country

Rev. Dr. Philipose Mar Chrysostem, a Marthoma Metropolitan who is the supreme head of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, commonly referred to as the Mar Thoma Church broke the record as the longest serving bishop in India.

The record held by Bishop Jerome Fernandez of Kollam Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church which is 19799 days (54 years and two months) was broken by Rev Philipose, on August 6, 2007.

The Rev. was born on April 27, 1918 and is the son of Vicar General Very Rev. K.E. Oommen. After graduating from U C College Alwaye, Kerala, he took up the work in a Ashram at Ankola with Rev. P J Thomas. Later he received theological education at United Theological College, Bangalore and St. Augustine’s College, Canterbury to become an ordained minister of the church in 1944.

It was in 1953 with the presence of Alexander Mar Teophilus and Thomas Mar Athanasius, the Rev was consecrated as Bishop. On 23 October, 1999, after the death of Alexander Marthoma Metropolitan, the previous head of the church, Philipose Mar Chrysostem got appointed as Metropolitan.

During his ministry, the Rev. has been in charge of different dioceses in Kerala and also served as president of different organizations of the Church and the governing councils of different colleges. He also was appointed as the president of the National Christian Council of India.

The Marthoma Church testified the Rev. as a "spiritual leader, dynamic enabler, prolific orator, voracious reader, pungent writer, tactful negotiator, valiant defender of the law, compassionate at heart and a wonderful team man."

The Rev even had deep concern for the upliftment of the backward communities and helped them improve and achieve self–reliance.

The Marthoma Church is one of several groups of Saint Thomas Christians tracking their origins to St. Thomas the Apostle to India in AD 52.

The church presently has around 1,000,000 members with its majority from the southern Indian state of Kerala.