Ashram Life and Training in Japan:
Rev. V. T. Koshy was considerate to his juniors and sisters of the Ashram. He was sent to
Japan for special training in Rural Development. After training he fully engaged himself
in poultry and agricultural development. He was equally eager and interested in village
evangelism and was engaged in pastoral work in the nearby Mar Thoma Congregations.
He had a deep desire to start a training institute in Sihora to impart knowledge and to
train young men in evangelism and rural development programme. But it was made
possible only as his memorial.
Becomes Bishop:
In 1974, Rev. Koshy’s name was proposed for the selection of Bishop. On hearing this he
requested the Metropolitan not to put his name for the Bishop post. He considered
himself unworthy for such a big calling. The then Metropolitan, Juhanon Mar Thoma
asked Rev. V. T. Koshy to stay with him for a few days before making his decision. With
the advice and compulsion of his senior ashram friends and others he finally agreed to
stand for the Bishop election. It was very difficult for him to say good bye to the Ashram
Fellowship. He never asked anybody to vote for him. While the election was going on in
Tiruvalla, he spent time in fasting and prayer at the St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church in
Kozhencherry.
On 11 January, 1975, he was consecrated as Ramban along with Rev. P. T. Joseph
(Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Mar Irenaeus). On 8 February, 1975, he was consecrated as Bishop.
In the meeting held immediately after the consecration ceremony, he humbly said that he
was only poultry expert and that he compared himself with King David. King David was
selected by God to be the king of Israel while he was looking after his father’s sheep.
God called Rev. V. T. Koshy while he was looking after poultry farms, to be the Bishop
of the Mar Thoma Church.
Rt. Rev. Easow Mar Timotheos -As Bishop:
After the consecration he was posted as the Asst. Bishop of the Niranam Marmon
Diocese, to work with Metropolitan Dr. Juhanon Mar Thoma. He was then sent to St.
Augustine College, Canterbury, United Kingdom and the Wycliffe College in Canada for
higher education. After that he became the Diocese Bishop of the Kunnamkulam- Madras
Diocese. His main concern was the upliftment of the downtrodden both financially and
spiritually. He was responsible for the establishment of the Chungathara Mar Thoma
College and the Deaf and Dump School at Kasargod. After the sad demise of Thomas
Mar Athanasuis Suffragaon Metropolitan, he became Bishop of the Adoor - Mavelikkara
Diocese and later he was in charge of the Delhi - Bombay diocese.
Thirumeni and Sunday School - Samajam:
Easow Mar Timotheos Thirumeni was the president of the Mar Thoma Sunday School
Samajam for seven years. To impart Biblical knowledge to the common people of the
Parish, he started Adult Sunday School in parishes. To train the Sunday School teachers
he introduced ‘Centre Level Teachers Training’ programmes. He was a regular
participant of the Mar Thoma Students’ Conference and student camps.
Thirumeni and Yuvajana Sakhyam:
Thirumeni was the president of the Yuvajana Sakhyam from August 1986 to January
1988. Though it was a short period his leadership was eventful. He encouraged many
youths to work in North Indian villages as missionaries. His life itself was an example to
the youths.
Thirumeni and Sevika Sanghom:
While Thirumeni was the Bishop of the Madras - Kunnamkulam Diocese, he introduced
many projects for the welfare of the poor women. He was behind the development of the
associations SSWAC (Society for the Service of Women and Children- in
Chandhakunnu, Nilambur) and ADWAC (Association for the Development of Women
and Children- in Kunnamkulam). It was through his initiation that a women’s hostel was
constructed in Chandhakunnu, Nilambur for students and working women.
A Man of Reading:Thirumeni was a man who loved books. He had a thorough knowledge of the Bible and it
was his habit to memorize verses whenever possible. After his demise, the Church
donated all the books from his personal library to the Sihora Ashram Library in Madhya
Pradesh.
Prayer and Fasting:
His life of prayer and deep spiritual experiences were his special characteristics. For him
prayer was part of his life. He talked to the Lord as he would speak to his earthly father.
He used to spend hours and hours in prayer. On certain days when there was a special
need he would pray the whole night without eating any food. Fasting is a Biblical requirement taught by Jesus Christ by both word and example for the
purpose of enriching Christian life in this world. To lead a victorious Christian life we
need to fast and pray. Timotheos Thirumeni used to fast regularly four times a week -
Monday, Wednesday, Friday evenings and Sunday mornings. In addition to these he used
to fast for special needs and requirements. During the construction of the Chungathara
College, a huge amount was required to pay off the debts. Thirumeni, who was the
Chairman of the college, abstained from dinner for forty days and spent time in prayer for
help. Help did come from a charitable organization in Germany and all debts were
cleared.
Identified himself with villagers and poor people:
Easow Mar Timotheos was the only Mar Thoma Bishop who could fluently speak in
Hindi – which is mostly spoken in North India. His 21 years of Ashram life in Sihora, in
Madhya Pradesh, gave him a broad view of life in Indian Villages. He felt sorry for them
and tried his level best to uplift them by training them in poultry faming and cattle
rearing.
A Man of Humility:
He was willing to do any menial job. Here is one incident from the Sihora ashram. “ One
of the beauty treatments which the Ashram used to get before the Ashram day was the
spraying or rather leaping of the cow dung mix on the ground so that on drying the
ground used to have a polished look.!. In those days the ashram did not possess many
cows; where as the village neighbours to the ashram brought plenty of cows for grazing;
which enabled the ashram staff to collect cow dung necessary for leaping. They used to
be well equipped with baskets to collect the cow dung. Our late Easow Mar Timotheos
Thirumeni who was a permanent member of the Ashram used to enthusiastically
participate in this job” V. T. Mathew (A friend of the Ashram) - Sihora Ashram-Some
recollections.
Bishop Timotheos was a simple and humble man. Even after becoming a Bishop, he
found joy in sitting with the common people on the floor, while attending prayer
meetings. During his visits to the parishes in the Arabian Gulf area, he showed special
interest in the welfare of the Mar Thomites living in labour camps. He was never too
busy or occupied to neglect a friendly visit to them.
Bishop of Madras Kunnamkulam Diocese (1977-1984):
While he was the Bishop of the Madras-Kunnamkulam diocese he was concerned about
the development of the downtrodden, both financially and spiritually. He collected funds
from the Arabian Gulf Parishes for the development of Malabar. He was behind the
establishment of the Chungathara College and the Deaf School in Kasargod.
Bishop of Adoor Mavelikkara Diocese (1985-1987):
While he was in Adoor his priorities changed. He gave importance to the spiritual
upliftment of people. Where ever he preached, the main message was on the fullness of
the Holy Spirit. He became a strong supporter of the Charismatic movement in our
Church. (“Charismatic" is derived from the New Testament Greek term charisma,
translated "gift." Charismatic theology holds to a belief in a spiritual experience
subsequent to salvation commonly known as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This
experience is usually accompanied by speaking in other tongues, or glossolalia, a term
derived from the New Testament Greek word that is translated "tongue.") There was a
tremendous change in his life. The conservative group of the Church found it difficult to
digest the teachings of the Holy Spirit. The difference in opinions caused opposition.
Chungathara College and Wandoor Project:
Easow Mar Timotheos has been Chairman of the Governing Board of the Mar Thoma
College Chungathara, which was started out of his personal interest for the development
of that region. He has been Chairman of the Committee directing the Wandoor Project for
the integrated development of five Panchayats in that area.
School for the Deaf and Dumb at Kasargod:
In 1979, the Mar Thoma Church started a School for the deaf and dumb children at
Kasargod, under the initiative of Easow Mar Timotheos Episcopa. One of our priests with
special training in this line is in charge of this school.
Last days of Life:
In 1988, just before his visit to the parishes in Andaman Nicobar Islands Thirumeni had
an interview with Mr. Rajive Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi
greatly appreciated the Thirumeni because of their common interest in the development
of rural India.
In order to visit the parishes and the mission fields in the Andaman Nicobar Islands,
Thirumeni arrived at the Port Blair Airport on Saturday 26 March, 1988. The Port Blair
parish priest Rev. C. Joseph and a large group of parish members where there at the
Airport to receive Thirumeni. It was the Holy week and so Thirumeni had a very busy
schedule.
Port Blair, the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is 1255km is away
(South) from Calcutta and 1191 km away (East) from Madras. Andaman and Nicobar
Islands are a group islands. Out of the 300 islands only 45 are inhabited (Population as on
31/12/2004 is 356,265). The Mar Thoma Church started its mission work in the Islands in
1965. Now the Mar Thoma Church in the Islands has 350 families (1500 members). 2
priests and 3 evangelists are stationed there to look after the spiritual needs of the church
members.
From Port Blair, Thirumeni visited and conducted Services for all the Mar Thoma
congregations in the islands. He even conducted Holy Communion at the CNI Cathedral.
On Saturday, 2 April, 1988, All India Radio in Port Blair broadcasted his Easter Message.
On Sunday, 10 April, 1988, Thirumeni was the chief guest of the Parish day celebrations
of the Port Blair Mar Thoma Parish. On Monday, 11 April, 1988, after conducting a
marriage in the Port Blair Church, Thirumeni reached the Airport at 10:05 am for his
return journey to the main land. While taking rest in the VIP room Thirumeni had a mild
heart attack. Immediately he was taken to the J. B. Panth Hospital in Port Blair. Even
though he showed temporary recovery from the sickness, he peacefully passed away at
3.20 pm.
The Government authorities in islands were extremely helpful in making arrangements to
send Thirumeni’s body to Kerala. Through the intervention of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi a special
Indian Navy plane was arranged and the body was taken to the Cochin Airport on
Tuesday, 12 April, 1988. From there the body was taken to the head quarters of the Mar
Thoma Church at Tiruvalla. The funeral service was held on Wednesday, 13 April, 1988
at the St. Thomas Church in Tiruvalla. A huge crowd was present to bid farewell to their
beloved Bishop. On 13 April, at 1:45 pm he was buried in the Bishops’ cemetery in the
SCS Compound, Tiruvalla.
Notes:
Sihora Ashram: Christa Panthi Ashram, Sihora was established in 1942 under the
leadership of Rev. K. T. Thomas, Mr. John Varghese and Mr. M. P. Mathew, who later
became ordained ministers of the Church. Sihora is about 40 km away from Jabalpur, in
Madhya Pradesh.
AMM Bible Institute: Bishop Abraham Mar Thoma Memorial Bible Institute in
Tiruvalla is functioning under the Voluntary Evangelists Association of the Church.
A short course (four months duration) is conducted for those who were interested for the
Missionary work.
Leonard Theological College: L. T. College in Jabalpur is under the management of
Church of North India. Many of the Mar Thoma priests were trained in this college
before the upgrading of Mar Thoma Theological Seminary in Kottayam to B. D. Level.
Chungathara College: Chungathara College in the Malapuram district was established
in 1981.
Deaf School in Kasargod: Mar Thoma School for the deaf, in Kasargod was established
on 30 June in 1981. Easow Mar Timotheos Thirumeni had special interest for this
school. It was during his time the Main School Building (1983) Manager’s quarters
(1981) and the Mess hall (1984) were constructed.