Thrissur: the former Major Archbishop of the Chaldean Syrian Church, Mar Abimalek Timotheus, was canonized a saint yesterday, 29th September 2019. In the official announcement ceremony that took place at the Chaldean Syrian Higher Secondary School ground, the council was presided over by the head of the East Syrian Church patriarch Mar Geevarghese Sleeva III. The archbishop was given the status of a saint earlier at the headquarters of the Chaldean East Syrian Church in Iraq. Yesterday’s ceremony was to officially announce the declaration in India.
The Saint came to India on 27 February 1908. Soon he became the head of all the Chaldean faithful of Kerala. Being a citizen of Turkey, he had also participated in the Indian freedom struggle. His services were highly appreciated by the faithful of Kerala. In order to revere the saint, the high road of Thrissur was renamed as ‘Mar Timotheus High Road’ by the Thrissur corporation. the Saint was well known for having translated Syrian prayers into Malayalam. He also contributed to crafting catechism books for the young faithful of the church. Mar Abimalek was very active in the social and cultural spheres of Thrissur. He breathed his last in 1945 at the presbytery in Thrissur.
