Servant of God Geevarghese Mar Ivanios

Panikkervettil Thomas Panicker Geevarghese (21 September 1882 – 15 July 1953), known formally as Geevarghese Mar Ivanios, was a prominent Indian bishop and the first metropolitan archbishop and the founder of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. He was a key figure in the Malankara Reunion Movement, which sought to reunite the Malankara Church with the Catholic Church, culminating in his joining the Roman Catholic Church in 1930 along with a small group of followers. Mar Ivanios was instrumental in founding the Bethany Ashram and played a vital role in the establishment of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Hierarchy, becoming the first bishop of the Archdiocese of Trivandrum in 1932. He was the first M.A. degree holder in the Kerala or Malankara Church. He also served as the principal of the Kottayam M.D Seminary High School and as a professor at Serampore College. Geevarghese established about 50 schools, including one 'A' grade college named Mar Ivanios College. He is a candidate for sainthood in the Catholic Church, having been declared a Servant of God by Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottungal in 2007 and Venerable by Pope Francis in 2024. P. T. Geevarghese was born on 21 September 1882, in Mavelikkara, Kerala, India, to Thomas Panicker and Annamma Panicker. Geevarghese was a member of the Panickervettil family, an aristocratic lineage in Mavelikkara, which was part of the princely state of Travancore, now located in the Alappuzha district of Kerala. The family was recognized with the title of "Mylitta Panicker" by the rulers of Travancore. Geevarghese received his early education at Protestant and government schools. In 1897, he attended M. D. Seminary High School in Kottayam, and later pursued higher studies at Serampore College and Madras Christian College. He completed his matriculation in 1899, after receiving minor clerical orders on 20 September 1898.