A meeting of Malankara Syrian Christian Association held at Pathanamapuram on Thursday elected Ronnie Varghese Abraham as new lay trustee and Thomas Varghese Amayil as clergy trustee of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.
While Fr.Thomas Varghese defeated M.O.John, Mr.Abraham defeated C A. George Mathai Nooranalil. As many as 4,203 members, including 1,381 priests, attended the event.
Ronnie Varghese Abraham
The association meeting formally began with special prayers at the Mount Tabore Dayara here in the morning. Later, Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan, was accorded a reception to the venue. The Catholicos was followed by other Metropolitans and members of the outgoing managing committee.
Calling the meeting into order, the Catholicos urged the participants to help victims of natural calamities and to convert the barren places of the church’s ashrams and institutions into agricultural farms. The Catholicos also extended wishes of the church to Draupadi Murmu who was elected as the President of India on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Independence.
This was followed by constitution of a of 141-member Malankara Association Managing Committee, which comprised 47 priests and 94 laity nominated from the various dioceses under the church. The managing committee is the highest decision-making body of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church.
