Baselios Augen I

Catholicos Baselios Augen I (26 June 1884 - 8 December 1975) was the fourth Catholicose of the East of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.

Early days

The future Catholicos was born on 26 June 1884 at Perumbavoor, Vengola, Ernakulam district of the Indian state of Kerala to Father Abraham Malpan of Chettakulathukara family. He was ordained as deacon by Kadavil Paulose Mar Athanasius. In 1908 he was elevated to the monastic order of Ramban at the St. Mark's Syrian Orthodox Monastery in Jerusalem. He was consecrated as Metropolitan by name Mor Thimotheos on 15 May 1927 at Jerusalem by the Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, Ignatius Elias III. Patriarch appointed him as the fourth Metropolitan of Kandanad of the "bava" faction in the malankara church.

In late 1930s he left the bava faction and joined the "metran" faction. He later became the principal of the Theological Seminary of Malankara Orthodox Church and also held charges of the Kandanad and Thumpamon dioceses.

Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan(1964-1975)

After the Supreme court order in 1958, the two factions of Malankara Church, viz; metran and bava re-united.

When the re-unified Malankara Association met at Niranam on 17 May 1962, Augen Mor Thimotheos was chosen as the Catholicos of the East. On 22 May 1964 he was installed formally as Catholicos Baselios Augen I by the visiting Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, Ignatius Yakub III. The ceremony was held at M.D. Seminary Chapel, Kottayam.

His reign in the united Malankara Church lasted until 1975 when there was a second rift and the old two factions re-emerged, which are now known as Jacobite Syrian Christian Church and Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.

Catholicos of all of the East (1964)

Towards the end of his tenure, schism again started in the Malankara Church and resulted in a vertical split after which Mor Baselios Augen I continued as the Catholicos of one section of the church only, namely Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, whereas the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church elected Mor Philoxenos of Kandanad as Baselios Paulose II and installed him as the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan, even though the earlier Unified Malankara Church (prior to the split) had already selected in 1970 Mor Mathews Athanasius (Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews I) as the Catholicos designate.

After a few months, on 24 September 1975 Mar Baselios Augen I relinquished his position as Catholicos of Malankara Orthodox Church and a new head Catholicos Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews I was installed for the Church.

Two months later, on 8 December 1975, Mar Baselios Augen I died and was buried at Devalokam_Aramana Chapel.

Syriac scholarship

Having stayed at the various Syrian Orthodox monasteries in Turkey and Syria, he came in contact with various Syriac scholars which helped him to master the Syriac Church language. With his mastery of the Malayalam, Sanskrit and Syriac languages, he composed the 'Pemkisa (Fenqitho) Namaskaram' in Syriac for the feasts of St.Mary and St.Gregorios of Parumala and translated them into Malayalam. His major translations from Syriac are 'Prumiyonukal', ' Valiya Nombilae Namaskaram', 'Pattamkoda Shushrusha Kramangal' and 'Pallikoodasha Kramangal'. He also composed the 'Hoothomo' for 'Holy Synods' and the 'State after death'.