Grace the Most Rev Dr Alexander Mar Thoma Valia Metropolitan (1953 - 2000)
 Born in 1913 he was the son of Rev. M C George, Kuriannor, a devout Minister of the Church, who passed away in 1923. After his graduation and teacher’s training, he taught in the C M S High School, Kottayam for 12 years. He resigned his teaching job and studied Theology at the United Theological College in Bangalore. There after he secured S T M Degree from the Union Theological Seminary, New York and Ph.D on Bhagavad Gita from Kennedy School of Mission of the Hartford Seminary Foundation. He had the opportunity to travel extensively in the European countries and after returning from the States, he was in charge of the Managnam Parish for a year. Thereafter he worked as the first Principal of Mar Thoma College, Tiruvalla. In 1953 he was consecrated as Bishop as Alexander Mar Theophilus, together with Thomas Mar Athanasius and Philipose Mar Chrysostom. A participant of the Assemblies of World Council of Churches representing the Mar Thoma Church at Evanston in 1954, Nairobi in 1975, and Vancouver in 1983, he worked as Missionary Bishop for many years, which involved extensive travel in India and abroad. He was president of the Bible Society of India for nearly 10 years and was also one of the Vice-Presidents of the United Bible Societies. He has also attended the Central Committee of the W.C.C on different occasions. He attended the Lambeth Conference in 1980 and the Anglican Consultative Council held at Nigeria in 1984. In 1973 he was designated Suffragan Metropolitan and as Metropolitan in the year 1976 after the demise of Juhanon Mar Thoma Metropolitan. Together with the responsibility as Metropolitan he was in charge of the Niranam-Maramon Diocese with 82 Parishes. He used to spend several weeks in a year with the youth giving leadership in camps and conferences and challenging them to personal commitment towards Jesus Christ. He took special interest in the developmental activities and the social concerns of the church, its educational institutions, its missionary and evangelistic outreach, its witness and ecumenical concerns. In 1999 Alexander Marthoma was designated Alexander Marthoma Valia Metropolitan, as the first Marthoma Metropolitan to be made Valia Metropolitan. He passed away in 2000.
Courtesy - www.marthomasyrianchurch.org
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It took some time before Mar Athanasius could establish himself as the Metropolitan of the church. One of the factors which helped him to attain this position was an order from the government of Travancore (1852) giving him recognition as the Metropolitan. As head of the church he worked hard for the education of the clergy and for raising the moral standards of the people. He was also able to remove various social disabilities of the people. For understandable reasons in the early years of his episcopate he did not identify himself too closely with the movement for reform. But having established his position, there was no doubt as to where his sympathies lay. From the beginning there was opposition against him from those who feared that he would be in favour of the reform programme. The opposition became gradually strong and succeeded in enlisting the support of the Patriarch on its side. The opponents of Mathews Mar Athanasius had sent complaints about him to the Patriarch, who without a judicial enquiry appointed Pulikottil Joseph Mar Dionysius to supercede Mathews Mar Athanasius as Metropolitan. As a result of this struggle for power the church tended to be divided into two sections, one favouring reform and the other opposed to it. Thomas Mar Athanasius, son of Abraham Malpan was consecrated by Mathews Mar Athanasius as his successor in 1869. Mathews Mar Athanasius is generally considered one of the ablest Metropolitans of the Syrian Church. At this difficult time the support of leaders from the clergy and the laity who had been inspired by the spirit of the reform movement was a source of great strength to the position taken up by their bishops. 
Mathews Mar Athanasius consecrated Thomas Mar Athanasius of Palakkunnathu Family, son of Abraham Malpan as his successor in 1869. In 1876 there was held a synod at Mulamthuruthi presided over by the Patriarch of Antioch, Moran Mar Pathros who was on a visit to Malabar. This helped to tighten his hold over the Syrian Church in temporal as well as in spiritual affairs. Mathews Mar Athanasius Metropolitan and his followers inspired by the reformation were of course opposed to this policy. Thomas Mar Athanasius Metropolitan as the leader of the reformed section of the Church followed in the footsteps of his predecessor and eventually he was involved in a litigation, lasting for over 10 years regarding his title to the possession of the ‘Syrian Seminary’ and allied properties of the Church. In the court of final appeal two Hindu judges decided in favour of Joseph Mar Dionyasius as representing the Patriarch, but the English judge, Mr Justice Ormsby dissented from their findings. 
Abraham MarThoma was known all over India for his burning passion for evangelism, for his zeal for spreading the Gospel through the length and breadth of India. He received theological training in India and Canada. It was during this time that the Mar Thoma Church became well known in the Western World. He was consecrated Bishop in the year 1917 and he worked relentlessly as Suffragan Metropolitan for the spiritual strengthening of the Church and for its witness. He was installed Metropolitan in 1944 when Titus II Metropolitan passed away. He was born in an illustrious Orthodox family but his father passed away when he was very young and he was brought up in his mother’s house at Eraviperoor, a home which cherished the blessings of the reformation. Thus from his early days he was inspired by evangelistic activities. Even as a student in High School at Kottayam and in Madras Christain College, he was a spiritual leader among his fellow-students. He strongly believed that evangelism was the responsibility of every member of the Church and not of the clergy alone. He emphasized that every man and woman was called to be witness of Jesus Christ, irrespective of his/her secular occupation. It was this conviction that led him to organize groups of men and to give them specialised training in personal evangelism. Thus the Voluntary Evangelists Association was established in 1924 as a voluntary lay movement of the Church. The women of the Church also were encouraged to take their part in fulfilling the mission of the Church. He encouraged the formation of the Mar Thoma Suvisesha Sevika Sangam, which is the women’s auxiliary of the evangelistic work in the Church. 
Church saw remarkable growth during the long Episcopal Ministry of Metropolitans Titus II and Abraham Mar Thoma. Many new church buildings came up in different places. Parishes became well organized. The whole region in Kerala was divided into administrative divisions under the charge of Divisional Secretaries. The need for consecrating more Bishops was keenly felt and Rev. C.M John and Rev. C.T Mathew were selected. They were consecrated Bishops of the Church in 1937 with names Juhanon Mar Timotheos and Mathews Mar Athanasius. This was the first time in the Mar Thoma Church when two Bishops were consecrated together. They were given charge of two dioceses. On the expiry of Abraham Mar Thoma Metropolitan in 1947, Juhanon Mar Timotheos was installed as Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Church, with the title Juhanon Mar Thoma Metropolitan. Juhanon Mar Thoma had his theological education at the United Theological College, Bangalore, and the Union Theological Seminary, New York. He taught in The Mar Thoma Theological Seminary, Kottayam before he was consecrated as Bishop. He was reputed for his deep concern for social justice derived from the study of the message of the prophets and of the message of the kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus. During the days of revival in the Church, emphasis was primarily on individual relationship to God and personal holiness. With the new understanding of the message of the Kingdom of god, there came an awareness of the wider implications of the Gospel, and a deep social consciousness. The gospel of liberation proclaimed in the Nazareth manifesto made its impact on the life of the Church. The national struggle under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi for freedom from English rule was at its peak. Juhanon Mar Thoma made no secret of his identification with the national aspirations and he encouraged those who took part in the political and social struggles. While being deeply committed to the principle of reformation, his friendship and affection crossed all denominational barriers. Ecumenism was a reality with him and he appreciated the good points in other Churches and also in other religions. Therefore he was looked up to with respect and admiration by Christians belonging to other denominations and people of other faiths. His advice was sought in social and political concerns as well as in spiritual matters. He actively participated in the ecumenical movement from its very inception in the first Assembly of World Council of churches at Amsterdam in 1948. In the second Assembly at Evanson in 1954, he was elected as one of the Presidents of the World Council of Churches and was in the presidium when the Third Assembly met at new Delhi in 1961. Thus he rose to great eminence in ecclesiastical and national spheres. It was during his regime that full communion relationship was established with C.S.I and C.N.I. He had strong convictions and he was fearless. When the national emergency was clamped on the country, the Metropolitan saw that the country was in danger of losing its hard-won freedom. He was the only Church leader in India who took courage to write a personal letter to the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asking to lift the Emergency in the interest of the Indian democracy. Thus he faced the risk of being placed under arrest. Before long, emergency was lifted and nobody is sure as to how much his letter weighed with the authorities in deciding the issue. He made his mark as an educationist too. Four institutions of higher education in the Mar Thoma Church (The Mar Thoma College, Tiruvalla, St. Thomas College, Kozhenchery, Christian College, Chengannur, and Titus II College Tiruvalla) were started under his leadership. They have grown in a marvelous way and have become first grade College. Even when facing tremendous strain to raise funds for development of the institutions, he adhered to the principle that no money should be collected as donation or capitation fee for appointing teachers or giving admission to students. Technical institutions also were started to give job-oriented training to young people to help them find employment. 
Mar Athenasius Episcopa was consecrated in 1937 with Mar Timotheous (later Juhanon Mar Thoma Metropolitan). He was noted for his deep personal dedication to Jesus Christ and his zeal for the spread of the Gospel, continuity in the Evangelical tradition of the Mar Thoma Church. He was full of energy and sacrificial spirit. At the age of 21 he left home to go to the North Travancore which was an underdeveloped area. It had been selected as a mission field of the Evangelistic Association. Soon he started a school at Keezhillam as a means to reach out and help the people living in that area, with a group of fellow workers, having only their faith in God as their resource. They worked hard and opened the way for education for hundreds of children in poor families. In those days education wasn’t free and many of the people couldn’t afford schooling. By giving concessions in fees to such students, they were encouraged to study and the money for their education was taken from the meagre salary of the teachers who were gracious enough to accept it as a way of serving the Lord. Gradually education began to spread in those areas and people began to see the truth of the Gospel in the lives of their teachers. Many from that area like Very Rev. A A Pylee, who was one of the Vicars General of the Church stands testimony to this fact. The school at Keezhillam developed to be a High School with a well- managed boarding home. Thereafter Rev. C T Mathew (Mar Athanasius) moved to Perumbavoor seeing the need of that area. He was supported by a small group of friends including Mr.A. Cherian who later became a judge. A High School was incepted where teachers worked on fellowship basis, on the pattern of the Union Christian College, Alwaye. A group of dedicated teachers under the leadership of Rev. C T Mathew, the headmaster, became the nucleus of an Ashram. The school was known as the Ashram High School. The teachers shared everything in common and lived a life of fellowship as the first century Christians, devoting all their time to the welfare of the students. The boarding home and the school became highly reputed across the state. It was from there that Rev. C T Mathew was called to be a Bishop of the Mar Thoma Church. His deep devotion and sacrificial life and the spirit of fellowship were the special characteristics of his service as Bishop. 
He was born in 1914 in the Panampunna family at Kottayam and was a deep scholar who continued his reading and studies to the end of his days. He was known for his deep devotion and great ability to build up the Church. He had his earlier education at the C.M.S College Kottayam and later as at Trivandrum where he took Post Graduation in History from the Arts College. He had his Theological training at the Bishop’s College Calcutta and at Oxford University, England. He taught in the Mar Thoma Theological Seminary and the M.T High School Kottayam. He was ordained Deacon of the Church in 1944 and Kasseessa in 1946 while he continued his teaching at the Mar Thoma Theological Seminary. On his consecration as Bishop in 1953 with the other two Bishops, he was first in charge of the Diocese in Kerala, South of Adoor, called the Southern Diocese at that time. After six years in this capacity, he functioned as Missionary Bishop from 1959 to 1963. Since then he has been in charge of the Northern Diocese with head quarters first at Kottayam, and later at Manganam. He attended the first Assembly of the World Council of Churches at Amsterdam in 1948, and also the Assembly at New Delhi in 1961. He was a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches since 1961. Thus he made significant contributions to the cause of ecumenism. He has attended many other international conferences in the Churches and was a delegate to the Melbourne Conference where he had made a distinct contribution as a leader of Bible Study. He also attended the sessions of the second Vatican Council on special invitation. He was designated as Suffragan Metroploitan in May 1978 together with Philipose Mar Chrysostom. 
His Zeal for mission made him dedicate his life for missionary work. He worked as a member of the Christa Panthi Ashram, Sihora for 21 years from the age of 20. He had his theological education at the Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur and later at St. Augustine College, Canterbury, UK. His life of prayer and deep spiritual experience are his special characteristics. He is deeply interested in rural development activities and has been on two occasions to Japan for obtaining training in this area. He was consecrated Bishop along with Joseph Mar Irenaeus in February 1975 and was given charge of the Kunnamkulam-Malabar Diocese where he worked strenously for the uplift of the parishes in those undeveloped areas of Malabar. He has been Chairman of the Governing Board of the Mar Thoma College Chungathara, which was started out of his personal interest in the development of that region. He has been Chairman of the Committee directing the Wandoor project for the integrated development of five Panchayats in that area. Being also in charge of the Parishes in the Arabian Gulf area, he raised funds from there for the development of Malabar area. On the rearrangement of the Dioceses, after the demise of Thomas Mar Athanasius Suffragan Metropolitan he took charge of the Adoor Mavelikara Diocese. He helped many to find new life in Jesus Christ. He was very much in demand as a convention speaker and for leading retreats and conferences. His sudden demise at Port Blair, Andamans on 11th April 1988 was a great loss to the Church.