CAOFC

His Grace, Born on 18-12-1952, is the second of five siblings and the son of a naval officer Cdr. S. Mathews (Palamootil Pulimootil, Mavelikara) and Mercy Mathews (Palamootil, Thonakadu). His home parish is St. Thomas Orthodox Cathedral, Kollam Diocese.

 

His Grace is an alumnus of Baldwin Boys’ High School, Bangalore and a graduate, BA Lit., from Fatima Mata College in Kollam. It was while he was perusing his MA in Lit. that he went to the US for his higher studies. His Grace has an MRE from Gorden Conwell Theological College, Massachusetts, USA and his Ph. D from Fordham University, New York, USA.

 

It was during his doctoral studies in the US, in the New Testament, that the late Dr. Paulose Mar Gregorios approached him to teach the New Testament at Orthodox Theological Seminary, Kottayam. His Grace readily accepted the calling and served as a Professor for a number of years till his elevation to Metropolitan. His Grace took several key positions of the church as Secretary, Ecumenical Relations Committee, General Secretary, Orthodox Vydikasangam, Co-Secretary, Orthodox – Catholic Church Dialogue, Delegate, W. C. C Commission of Educational and Ecumenical Formation, Representative of the Church in many international Conferences, Registrar, F.F.R.R.C, Dean, Doctoral Studies.

 

He was elected as the Metropolitan candidate on 17th February at the Malankara Association held at Sasthamkotta and was consecrated as Metropolitan on 12th May 2010 at Mar Elia Cathedral, Kottayam. His Grace is serving the Delhi Diocese as its Metropolitan with responsibility for the Dubai and Sharjah diocese.

Subdeacon Alexander (Pradeep) Hatcher currently serves at his home church, St. Gregorios Orthodox Mission Parish in Spokane, Washington. By the Grace of God, Alexander Semassen was ordained subdeacon through the hand of His Grace, Alexios Mar Eusebius in 2013, after Semassen had finished his studies at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York. He obtained a Master's Degree in Theological Studies from St. Vladimir's as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Broadcast Studies from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. He is the son of Fr. Michael Hatcher, Corepiscopos, the first American in the Malankara Orthodox Church of non- Indian descent to be ordained to the priesthood.

 

Alexander Semassen grew up in a unique parish within the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. St. Gregorios Orthodox Mission Parish was founded in the 1980s by His Grace, Thomas Mar Makarios of blessed memory as an English-language parish to serve the needs of the diverse Oriental Orthodox community in that part of Washington state, as well as to spread the Gospel to non-Orthodox Americans living in Spokane and the surrounding area. The parish today is comprised of around 50-60 families, made up of American converts to the Orthodox faith from various religious backgrounds and ethnicities as well as Orthodox families from the Ethiopian, Eritrean, Coptic, Armenian, Rum (Antiochean/Middle Eastern), and Malayalee communities, among others. To minister to such a diverse community and potential converts, the services of the church, including feast days, have been conducted primarily in English since the 1980s.

Rev. Fr. Mathai from the Order of the Imitation of Christ (OIC) is one of the senior members of Bethany Ashram, Ranni, and has been, since 2009, the Superior of the first monastic community within the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church. Fr. Mathai's monastic life-style of Indian Sannyasam began when he joined the Ashram in 1969. His simple life has always been confined with intense prayers, apostolic activities, modest dressing in saffron robe (Kavi Kuppayam) with a small wooden cross, and vegetarian food. As an elegant speaker and renowned preacher, he has guided meditation sessions on cultivating one's own ability using God's Grace, self-inquiry, and many more topics. As an educator, he has invested his lifetime to teach God's people to listen to His voice.

 

Ordained as a priest in 1982, Fr. Mathai's home parish is St. Thomas Orthodox Cathedral, Kadampanad. Over the years, he attained several advanced degrees particularly notable are in Education from Kerala University, Jabalpur University, Kottayam Seminary, Serampore University and a Diploma in Law from Annamalai University. He has served as the regional secretary and vice-president of MGOCSM and BalaSamajam; coordinated charity efforts to provide housing for the poor; and travelled to United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, Israel, Germany, Singapore, Australia, and Malta. He has served not only in several parishes in Kerala (Pattambi, Perunadu, Vadasserikara, Vechoochira), but also in Bahrain and in St. Gregorios Church, California,USA. He has been serving as a parish priest in Kunnamkolam Diocese for over 15 years. He has received numerous awards including the PTA Best Principal Award (2006), "Vidhya Ratnam" Education Excellence Award, and the "Prasamsa Patram" Award from the Government of Kerala, Department of Education (2002).