St. Thomas
Orthodox Church, Toronto
OUR VICAR
Vicar - Rev. Fr. Dr. Thomas George
Rev. Fr. Dr. Thomas George is the youngest among the four children of Mr. K. M. George and Mrs. Saramma George, Kavil House, Chungathara, Nilambur, Malappuram District, Kerala.
Achen and his wife (Kochamma) Ancy Thomas, together with their two children, daughter Kripa and son Gregory now resides in Brampton, Ontario. Rev. Fr. Dr. Thomas George was called to serve in the Holy altar at the age of thirteen by late lamented H.H Baselios Marthoma Didymos I, while H.H was serving as the Metropolitan of Malabar Diocese. His Holiness ordained Rev. Fr. Thomas George as sub-deacon (5th June 1990), deacon (6th Mar 1993), Priest (25th March 1993) and appointed as the Vicar of St. Gregorios Orthodox Church of Toronto, in June 2006.Rev. Fr. Dr. Thomas George has been proudly serving as Vicar of various parishes including St. George Orthodox Cathedral, Kozhikode under the Malabar Diocese of the Indian Orthodox Church since his ordination as a priest in 1993.
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As of December 1st, 2016, achen has been the vicar of our Parish- St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Toronto. Achen can be reached by phone at 905-497-1774 (Home), 647-449-0590 (Cell) or by e-mail at frthomasgeorge@yahoo.com.
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Prior to Rev. Fr. Dr. Thomas George, our vicar was Rev. Fr. Anoop Thomas, who is currently the vicar of St. Barnabas Indian Orthodox Mission in Washington, D.C.
Our Founding Vicar - Late Rev. Fr. Dr. Parackel Kuriakose Mathew (1937-2015)
Achen is the son of the late Rev. Fr. Parackel Kuriakose Cor Episcopa and Annamma Kuriakose. He was born and brought up in Meenadom, near Kottayam, Kerala, India, as the eldest of six children. He came to Canada in 1972 and has been serving the communities in Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, and Montreal. He organized congregations and served as vicar of St. Thomas Orthodox Churches in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, and St. George's Orthodox Church, Kingston. He was very active in social, community and Church spheres in India, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Canada. His last Holy Qurbana was on September 20th, 2015, at St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Toronto.
His decision to become a priest came about in his youth when he encountered H.G. Geevarghese Mar Philoxenos (Puthencavil Kochu Thirumeni). When passing through Pampady in front of his mother’s house, Thirumeni stopped and spoke to the young Thankachen (Mathew Achen), exhorting him to become a priest like his father, Parackel Achen. He has been influenced in his life by many pious and saintly men, key among them being H.H. Baselios Augen I, H.G. Geevarghese Mar Osthathios, and H.G. Mathews Mar Barnabas.
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After completing his B.A. from SB College, Changanassery, P.K. Mathew joined the first batch of students (1959) at the Kottayam seminary after it was re-opened. He studied under H.G. Yuhanon Mar Severios (then Malpan Achen), and H.G. Geevarghese Mar Osthathios (then M.V. George Achen), among others. Recognizing the talents in the young student after one year of studying in Kottayam, M.V. George Achen helped him to gain admission at Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur, with recommendation from H.G. Pathrose Mar Osthathios. During his time there he became close with K.K. Mathews Achen (later H.G. Mathews Mar Barnabas). He completed his B.D. degree and served as the SCM Secretary in Trivandrum for one year. He wanted to pursue higher studies, so he went to H.H. Baselios Augen I (Augen Bava). Augen Bava encouraged this aim. Thus, with the recommendation and blessings from Augen Bava, he completed his M.Th. from Serampore University, Calcutta. He was ordained as a Kooroyo by Augen Bava after completing his M.Th. When a unique opportunity arose, Augen Bava sent Deacon Mathew to teach at Theological College of Holy Trinity, Haile Selassie I (present Addis Ababa) University, Ethiopia. There, as a young associate of the great Professor V.C. Samuel Achen, he benefitted greatly from this extraordinary Malpan’s guidance, supervision and discipline. During his time in Ethiopia, he returned briefly to India, to be ordained first as a full deacon by H.G. Mathews Mar Ivanios (Parettu Thirumeni), then as a priest by Augen Bava in 1968. Mathew Achen wanted to pursue further studies, so completed an S.T.M. (Master of Sacred Theology) degree from the Near East School of Theology, Beirut, in one year, and earned a Ph.D. from McGill University, Montreal in New Testament studies. For eight years afterwards, he taught at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. He was also visiting Professor of Biblical Languages at the Spiritan International School of Theology at Enugu, Nigeria and has published articles in books and international journals. Achen more recently embarked on a task of creating a collection of literature on the Malankara Orthodox Church's beliefs, traditions and its relevance today (parackelmathewachen.blogspot.com).
Mathew Achen has been a very devout and faithful Orthodox priest, an excellent scholar, counselor, and defender of the Orthodox faith. He was a strong proponent of the ecumenical movement and counted priests and members from other denominations and faiths among his friends. Above all he was a truly noble soul who loved to tell stories from his life and cared for all his faithful and loved ones, unreservedly.
He is survived by his wife Ponnamma Mathew (retired teacher) from Venmony (Kandalore House) in Kerala and three daughters, Dr. Anu Mathew (w/o Varghese Abraham (Unni), Maryland, USA), Renu Mathew (w/o Bejoy Philip, Montreal, Canada) and Sneha Susan Mathew (w/o Sanjay Markose, Montreal, Canada). His greatest pride was his six grandchildren – Mariam (Ammu), Anna, Anika, Tarun, Joshua and Nathan, who will miss their Appacha as will his congregations and many friends and relatives around the world.
Let us pray for the soul of this noble and valiant servant of God. May his soul be welcomed in Paradise with hosts of Saints and Angels.
