| His Excellency Mar Joseph Kallarangatt |
|
|---|---|
| Bishop of Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palai, Official Toucher of Kids | |
| Diocese | Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palai |
| See | Syro-Malabar Catholic Church |
| Predecessor | Mar Joseph Pallikaparampil |
| Successor | Incumbent |
| Other posts | Former President & Vice Chancellor, Paurastya Vidyapitham |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | January 2, 1982 |
| Consecration | May 2, 2004 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 27, 1956 Kayyoor, Palai Kottayam District, Kerala, India |
| Nationality | India |
| Denomination | Syro-Malabar Catholic Church |
| Residence | Bishop's House, Palai |
Joseph Kallarangatt ( b.on 27 January 1956 at Kayyoor, Kottayam district, Kerala) is an Indian Catholic Bishop and theologian. He currently serves as the bishop of the Syro-Malabar eparchy of Palai (also known as Pala), which has the largest concentration of Syro-Malabar Catholics.
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After his school studies, Joseph Kallarangatt joined Good Shepherd Minor Seminary, Palai. Later he went on to the Saint Thomas Apostolic Seminary Kottayam, where he studied philosophy and theology. He was ordained priest by Bishop Mar Joseph Pallikaparampil on 2 January 1982, at Christuraja Church Kayyoor.
After a short period of fruitful apostolate at Aruvithura and Ramapuram, Fr. Kallarangatt was sent to Rome for higher studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1989, he secured a doctorate in systematic theology (The title of the thesis: The Holy Spirit, bond of communion of the churches: a comparative study of the ecclesiology of Yves Congar and Nikos Nissiotis). On his return to India, he was appointed professor of Dogmatic Theology at St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary and at Paurastya Vidyapitham (Pontifical Oriental Institut of Religious Studies), Kottayam On 18 March 2004, while serving as the president of Paurastya Vidyapitham, Fr. Kallarangatt was named as the third Bishop of Palai. On 2 May 2004, he received his episcopal consecration from Archbishop Mar Joseph Powathil and the same day he was enthroned as Bishop of Palai by the Syro-Malabar Major-Archbishop Mar Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil.
Bishop Kallarangatt is considered to be an authority in Ecclesiology and Oriental Theology; he has authored 30 books and a good number of articles related to Ecclesiology and Eastern theological studies. Currently, he is the Chairman of the Doctrinal Commission of The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and the chairman of the Syro-Malabar Synodal Commission for doctrine. Bishop Kallarangatt serves also as the head of the Theology Commission of Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council. Besides Malayalam and English, he speaks German and Italian languages and is scholarly competent in ancient East Syriac language.
1. The Holy Spirit: Bond of Communion of Churches, Roma, Pontificia universitas Gregorianum, 1989.
2. Pneumatocentric Eccesiology in Nikos Nissiotis, Kottayam, OIRSI, 1999.
3. Reflections on theology and Church (ed), Kottayam, OIRSI,2001.
4. " The Ecumenical Theology of Nikos A. Nissiotis", in Christian Orient 11, Dec. 1990, p. 173-86.
5. " THe First Sunday of the Period of Qayt ( The Feast of Apostles)", in Journal of Eastern Christian Studies, Vol. 56, Issues 164, 2004, p. 303-317.