Major Archbishop Cyril Baselios Catholicos

The Third Metropolitan Archbishop and The First Major Archbishop-Catholicos

Major Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios Catholicos (James) was born on 16 August 1935 at Ullannoor in Pandalam as the son of Mathai Malancharuvil and Aleyamma. He had his elementary education at Mezhuveli.  He successfully completed his tenth standard in 1950.  He is one among the six brothers of the Malancheruvil family who gave importance to the religious life dedicating their life to the service of Christ and his Church. He was sent to the Bethany Ashram by Archbishop Mar Ivanios and was received there on 15 June 1950. He made his temporary profession of vows on 18 March 1953.  Later he was sent to the Bethany Ashram, Pune to pursue his studies in Philosophy and Theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum. On completing the major seminary and ashram formations successfully he was ordained priest at the Papal Seminary, Pune in 1960.  After returning to Kerala, Fr. Cyril took charge of some of the mission centers in Thiruvananthapuram. Here he learnt the initial lessons of doing good to the human society especially to the poor. Thereafter he was sent to Rome and joined the Gregorian University to study Canon Law.  His dissertation titled ‘the Syro-Malankara Church’ is the study that specifies the canonical status of the Malankara Catholic Church. On returning to Kerala, he was appointed professor in St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Vadavathoor, Kottayam.  Fr. Cyril was sent to St. John’s University in New York in 1970 for his higher education in Psychology, which he completed with the highest rank.