Mar Thoma Syrian Theological Seminary

During the 19th century, the church of Malabar was divided into two sections . The reformed section came to be known as the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, affirming the faith and practices of the ancient church founded by St.Thomas. The division of the church was followed by a prolonged period of litigation over the right of possession of the Seminary and the property of the Malankara Church. According to the Royal Court verdict of 1889 the Mar Thoma Church lost its right over the Seminary. The Church felt the need of a Seminary of her own. During the time of Metropolitan Titus­I, the foundation stone for the Mar Thoma Seminary was laid at the Zion Hill Kottayam in 1896. But the church had to wait for another 30 years to start the work of the Vaidika Seminary. Mar Thoma Syrian Vaidika Seminary was inaugurated on the 3rd July 1926 on the St.Thomas Day the as the Episcopal Silver Jubilee Memorial of His Grace Titus­II Mar Thoma Metropolitan. The Seminary has been affiliated to Serampore University from the very beginning. Initially the courses were designed to fulfill the requirements of the Diploma in Licentiate in Theology (L.Th). The Seminary was upgraded to B.Th degree in 1970. The Seminary was further upgraded to B.D.degree in 1974 and the program started on the St. Thomas Day (July 03) with English as the medium of instruction. Read More...