St. George Syro-Malabar Church Thalayolaparambu
| St. George Church | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Denomination | Syro-Malabar Catholic Church |
| Tradition | Malayalam |
| Website | St. George Church |
| History | |
| Founded | 1815 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Ernakulam – Angamaly Diocese |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Mar George Alencherry |
St.George Church, Thalayolaparambu is an important Catholic church in Kerala. This church is situated beside the Kottayam – Ernakulam road at Pallikavala junction, Thalayolaparambu. The reconstructed church was inaugurated by Cardinal Joseph Parecattil on December 31, 1972 which was apparently the same day of the centenary remembrance of St. Thomas.
History
St. George Church, Thalayolaparambu has been ever growing into a famous pilgrimage centre since its humble beginning during the dawn of the 19th century (1815) and this can be seen in its long illustrious history. A Chapel was first formed by the collective effort of 31 families to suffice their religious aspirations, later the Chapel was converted to a Parish. In the beginning it was part of the Changanacherry Archdiocese and in 1934 it was taken over by the Ernakulam Archdiocese. The Church was later reconstructed and the new Church was inaugurated by Cardinal Joseph Parecattil on December 31, 1972 which was apparently the same day of the centenary remembrance of St. Thomas.
During the period of Marthanda Varma (1729-1758), The King of Travancore; his Divan Veluthampi Dhalava was ruling here. The Thalayolaparambu market was started at that time where the nearby village people came to sell their produce, it is now a very famous vegetable market. Spices like pepper & ginger were dried on the barren area near the market. At that time there were 31 Catholic families living near the vicinity of the market & town, 17 of these families living near the market were called as ‘Chanthakar’ and rest of the 14 families called as ‘Kudikar’ were living far from the market. They used to go to Kaduthuruthy Church which is 3.5 miles away from Thalayolaparambu. The Catholic people who used to gather every evening near the market decided to establish a Holy Cross for conducting evening prayer. This was history in making, later a Chapel came into being in the year 1815.
Rev. Father of Kaduthururty, who belongs to Changanacherry Archdiocese, came here to conduct the religious prayers. However functions like marriage and funeral were done at Kaduthuruthy Church. In order to avoid such problems meetings were held, meantime there were some escalations between the natives of Thalayolaparambu and Kaduthuruthy during the Church festival. This made the natives of Thalayolaparambu to think for making of a new Church of their own. As a solution, Changanacherry Archdiocese Chairman Rev. Father Charles Lavingue Methran converted it to a Parish on 15 August 1895 during the St. Mary’s Easter Festival and Rev. Father Meledathu Ouseph was appointed the vicar of Thalayolaparambu Church.
Today the neighboring Churches like Mevelloor, Arunoottimangalam, Mannar and Pothy natives belong to this Church. Since it was near to the market, local people used to call it as Chanthapally. The Kudikar initiated and build a Chapel, in the name of St. Ouseph which is one mile away from the Church, St. Ouseph’s festival is conducted here. Whereas the Chanthakar build a Chapel, in the name of St. Mary which is located in the market. St. Mary’s Immaculate Festival is conducted here, May-month Welcome is also conducted here.
Even though the St. George Chapel was made a Parish it wasn’t enough to sustain an increasing number of members, so in 1911 Rev. Father Olakkapadi Thomachan removed the walls of the Church and constructed verandas on both sides, behind the Sankirthi and in front of the porch. He also constructed an Office complex for the clergymen to stay there. In 1932 the native of Kuravilangad Rev. Father Vellayiparambil Ousepachan reconstructed the Office complex.
To Ernakulam Archdiocese
Primarily, Thalayolaparambu belonged to Changanacherry Archdiocese. During the time when Rev. Father Nelluveli Ousepachan was vicar, the Ernakulam – Changanacherry Archdiocese border was determined. As per the new decree Thalayolaparambu belonged to Ernakulam Archdiocese. In 1934, the first vicar from Ernakulam Archdiocese was Rev. Father Kudiyirippil Yakkubu. The new vicar reconstructed the damaged frontage of the Church. When the Church was under Changanacherry Archdiocese, to strengthen the financial background of the Church, they started a chitty. The chitty was intended for good, however unfortunately the chitty was a loss and due to that the Church became in debt. In 1946 the vicar of Vaikom Forane Rev. Father Puthussery Louis worked hard in repaying the debt and eventually all came to normal. The building for catechism was destroyed during this time. In 1951 the native of Vaikom Rev. Father Kammattil Mathayi came as the vicar and he constructed the parish hall and catechism classes were conducted there. A notable political personality Shri A. J. John was a member of the Church, later on the Govt High School was started in his memory.
The New Church
Over the years the old building wore-out, there were 48 structural damages in the Office complex and a lot in the Church, due to that the vicar who had an intention to build the new Church didn’t put much effort to build the new Church because of the several financial reasons. In May 1968 the vicar Rev. Father Joseph Thekkinen, who was also an artist, reconstructed the Office complex, and for the first time he dismantled the old Church for the rebuilding process. He encouraged the people to donate for building the new Church and by God’s grace he saw a lot of incoming donations, and constructed the present magnificent Church which finished construction in 1972. On 31 December Rev. Cardinal Joseph Parekkattil inaugurated the Church. After that he built a Parish hall and a shopping complex in the market. The mansion near the church was constructed by Rev. Father Francis Thachil.
Two important festivals were conducted in the Church. The St. Mary’s & the St. Sebastian’s festivals, these were combined and conducted in the last week of January. St. George’s festival is conducted on the last Sunday of April. In May, 10 days of St. Mary’s novena is conducted. On 19 March St. Ouseph’s death anniversary is conducted, and from 1999 onwards “Single-offering” [oottunercha] is being conducted. The belief of people towards St. Mary is very special. On every Saturday St. Mary’s novena and pattukurbana is conducted and people from nearby Church and other religions take part.
The Church is spiritually blessed; we can see this from the fact that there are a lot Revered Fathers and Nuns from this Church who are working around the world to serve the purpose of Almighty God. The vicars of this Church were a great motivation to this cause.
Our sacrament makes our body sacred so do our final resting place, thus our cemetery has been well maintained. A small Church was built near the cemetery to conduct the Mass in remembrance of the beloved ones, in the month of November. On every November 30 the cemetery is cleaned and flowered and a special Mass is conducted, a lot of people participate in this Mass. In 1999 Rev. Father Xavier Kareethara gave a facelift to the cemetery, new graves were built and was named Angel Gardens.
For conducting meetings related to the Church there was no hall at that time, so as a part of the mega jubilee, “The Millennium” hall was built. It was inaugurated on 21 January 2000 by Archdiocese Assistant Methran Rev. Thomas Chakyath.
Panthalathu family build a Chapel nearby the main road in Thalappara for the Church and from 01/03/1983 onwards on every Tuesday evening St. Antony’s novena is being conducted here. They also dedicated 13 cent of their land to build a church there. The vicar at that time late Rev. Father Jacob Elamkuttichira successfully completed this work with financial help from a well wisher abroad. In 1983 the foundation stone for the Church was laid. On 26 March 1985 Ernakulam Archdiocese Administrator Rev. Father Sebastian Mankuzhikari inaugurated it in the name of St. Mary. A festival is also conducted for St. Mary during August 15 and people are seen showing much interest. During Tuesdays and Sundays, evening masses are conducted there for the spiritual enlightenment of the people.
To make the Catholic people live in peace and harmony, a family meeting was essential. So in 1984 Rev. Father Jacob Elamkuttichira started the family meeting. It was very difficult for the vicar to handle alone the various needs of around thousand families. So after putting a lot of pressure to the Archdiocese, an assistant vicar was appointed to the Church. On 17 March 1984, Rev. Father George Aathappilli was appointed as the first assistant vicar of the Church.
As part of an initiative to provide better Education to poor and unprivileged children an English medium (LKG & UKG) class was started in the Parish hall in 1983. The government approved its School status in 1985, and in 1986 the School was approved from 1st to 4th grade. Further approval were given for 5th, 6th and 7th grade in the upcoming years. In 1986 December during the time of Rev. Father Sebastian Sankoorikkan the Church celebrated its centenary. During this time the new building for the school was inaugurated. As a part of the centenary, two new houses were built for poor people and the keys were handed over to them.
Over the years the number of students increased and the School wasn’t able to accommodate all, so during the starting of 2000-2001 education year the St. George English Medium School was modernized and for making the transportation easier four buses were purchased. Computer Education was started as well for giving better standard to the students. In 2003 St. George English Medium Upper Primary School was promoted to St. George English Medium High School. The Church can be proud of the development of the School from its humble beginning, the school has made leaps and bounds for giving students the opportunity to live in the Catholic spirit and Christian belief. It is an added feather to the crown for the Church, Community and Archdiocese.
On 8 March 2003 Rev. Father Kuriakose Kalapurakkal came as the vicar of the Church, who was the leader in building the Parish hall. On 18 January 2004, the Parish hall was inaugurated by Ernakulam – Angamaly Archdiocese Assistant Methran Mar Sebastian Edayantharathu. The School also got Higher Secondary School approval in 2006. In 2006-2007 11th grade classes commenced. On 28 November 2006 Ernakulam – Angamaly Archdiocese Assistant Methran Mar Sebastian Edayantharathu laid the foundation for the new higher secondary building. The Parish hall was named as K.M.M St. George Church Cultural Center. This was inaugurated on 18 January 2007 by Zero Malabar Sabha Ernakulam – Angamaly Arch Bishop Mar Varkey Vithayathil.
Notable fathers of the Church
- Fr. Joseph Thekkinen
- Fr. Jacob Elamkuttichira
Institutions run by the church
- St.George HSS, Thalayolparambu
