Mathew Makil

Mar Mathew Makil

Mar Mathew Makil (born March 27, 1851 in Manjoor near Kottayam, Kerala , India ; † January 26, 1914 in Kottayam ) was a Catholic titular bishop and apostolic vicar of the vicariates of Changanacherry and Kottayam , the latter exclusively for the Syro-Malabar believers of the strict endogamous group of Knananites was established.

Historical background

Around 350 72 families of Jewish Christians moved with their leader, the rich merchant Thomas von Kynai (also Thomas von Kana), a bishop named Uraha Mar Yousef and several clerics from their Persian homeland to the Pepper Coast in southern India. Kynai or Kana was about 70 km south of today's Baghdad . At the Pepper Coast, the current Kerala , lived at that time already stemming from apostolic times, in the missionary activities of the apostle Thomas declining Thomas Christians . They also had strong Jewish-Christian traditions, as the apostle had initially proselytized among his compatriots who were resident there as spice dealers. However, the Jewish Christians quickly mingled with new Christians from the local population. The immigrants under Thomas von Cana, so-called Southernists or Knananites, were, however, strongly endogamous. Although they followed the same Eastern Syrian liturgy as the Indian Thomas Christians, they cut themselves off from them as an ethnic-religious group . They were only allowed to marry one another, had their own parishes and mostly only socialized with their own kind. So it remained under the Portuguese colonial rule and with the later split of the entire Thomas Christians into a larger Catholic and a smaller autocephalous part. In both camps the Knananites lived separately and endogamously again. The Catholic Knananites were brought together on August 29, 1911 by Pope Pius X to form the Apostolic Vicariate Kottayam, which was established exclusively for them. On December 21, 1923, Pope Pius XI. this Vicariate through the Apostolic Constitution Romani Pontifices to a regular diocese (eparchy). Pope Benedict XVI elevated it to an archparchy on May 12, 2005.

Live and act

Early years

Mar Mathew Makil, 1896

Mathew Makil was born as the third son of the Knananite Catholic couple Thomman and Anna Makil in the Kottayam district. His uncle, minister Joseph Makil, led the boy on the path to the priesthood. Mathew ministered to him at Holy Mass and received his first religious instruction from him. Through him he came in 1865 to the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate Seminary in Mannanam Monastery, founded by the Blessed Curiac Elias Chavara . In 1866 he moved to the great seminary of Verapoly (now Varapuzha) where the later Bishop Marcellinus Berardi became his teacher. On May 30, 1874, Mathew Makil was ordained a priest from the Vicar Apostolic of Verapoly, Archbishop Leonardo Mellano.

At first Makil taught for two years at the seminaries of Puthenpally in Erattupetta and in Brahmamangalam, then he came to Kaipuzha as chaplain and assistant to his uncle at St. George's Church, an important center of the Catholic Knananites. Then Mathew Makil was pastor in Edackad and finally again at St. George's Church Kaipuzha, as the successor of his uncle.

During this time his old teacher, Bishop Marcellinus Berardi, the then coadjutor and special representative for the Catholic Thomas Christians in the Apostolic Vicariate of Verapoly, appointed him to be his secretary. Of particular importance for the vocation, in addition to character qualities, was the fact that Mathew Makil was fluent in Latin and English, as the latter was not the case with Bishop Berardi, an Italian. The Indian priest independently conducted all of the English correspondence for the bishop.

On May 20, 1887, Pope Leo XIII. the Catholic Thomas Christians for their better development and greater liturgical freedom, generally out of the Latin jurisdiction. He created the two Apostolic Vicariates Trichur and Kottayam for them , under the Latin bishops Adolph Edwin Medlycott and Charles Lavigne . Both pastors were open to the Thomas Christians and their rite and prepared the transition to local bishops. Bishop Charles Lavigne of Kottayam appointed Mathew Makil professor of Latin at the seminary of Brahmamangalam and in 1889 his vicar general for the Knananite group of his diocesans. In this capacity, Makil founded the first Knananite Catholic order of sisters in 1892, the "Sisters of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary" (SVM) , which still exists today.

Bishop and Vicar Apostolic

Mar Mathew Makil (center) with his secretary and later successor Alexander Chulaparambil (right), 1911

In 1896 the two vicariates of Kottayam and Trichur were converted into the three apostolic vicariates of Changanacherry, Ernakulam and Trichur and passed to local bishops. Bishop Charles Lavigne was a strong advocate of Mathew Makil's calling as one of these new Indian vicars. Bishop Berardi also considered Makil to be suitable, as he was an honest, capable and humble priest. So Matthew Makil was appointed on June 11, 1896 Apostolic Vicar of Changanacherry and on 25 October by the apostolic delegate , Archbishop Ladislas Zaleski , at his residence Kandy ( Sri Lanka ) titular bishop of Tralles consecrated.

Bishop Makil had to completely rebuild the new district and the previously more or less suppressed Syro-Malabar liturgy. He officiated with great skill and zeal. Nevertheless, there was always displeasure because as Knananit he ruled all Catholic Thomas Christians and not just his own group. In April 1911 Makil traveled to Rome and submitted a memorandum of the three Syro-Malabar vicars to the Pope, with the request that an additional, separate vicariate be created for the subgroup of the Knananites. As a result, Pope Pius X issued the Apostolic Constitution In universi christiani on August 29, 1911 , by which he consolidated all Catholic Knananites - regardless of their place of residence - into the Apostolic Vicariate Kottayam, established exclusively for them, and appointed Bishop Mathew Makil as the first Vicar Apostolic of this personal diocese . In the vicariate of Changanacherry, Bishop Makil previously appointed Thomas Kurialacherry , whom he was particularly familiar with, as vicar general; he was finally appointed by Rome as his episcopal successor there. His beatification process began in 1983.

In his new personal diocese Kottayam, Bishop Makil had to rebuild all structures. He was the first bishop of the Catholic Knananites and the first shepherd of today's Syro-Malabar Archeparchy Kottayam.

Bishop Makil published several religious books, including a. the first manual of the organization and administration of dioceses of the Syro-Malabar rite. He was a great devotee of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and had a general reputation for holiness because of his piety and selflessness.

Mar Makil died on January 26, 1914 in the presence of his brother, Pastor Kunjeppu Makil, and his secretary Alexander Chulaparambil , who was also to become his successor as Vicar Apostolic of Kottayam and in 1923 the first regular bishop of this diocese.

Mar Mathew Makil was buried in St. George Forane Church in Kottayam-Edackat, and his grave developed into a well-known pilgrimage site. Meanwhile, the beatification process has begun, during which Mathew Makil was awarded the title of “ Venerable Servant of God ” on January 26, 2009 .

literature

• Mathew John Moolakkatt: The book of decrees of Mar Mathew Makil. A historico-juridical study. Pontificium Institutum Orientale, Rome 1992.

Web links

• Entry for Mathew Makil on catholic-hierarchy.org
• Web portal to Bishop Mar Mathew Makil

Individual evidence

1. ↑ On the history of the Thomas Christians and their Jewish roots on the Malabar coast
2. ↑ History of the Kottayam Archeparchy
3. ^ To Bishop Marcellinus Berardi
4. ↑ On the history of the order of sisters founded by Mathew Makil ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ Illustrated website on the grave of Mar Makil ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.