Beloved Achen in Christ Jesus,

As you are aware, the next meeting of the Malankara Association is
scheduled to be held on 21st March 2007. Among other things, one of
the agenda items is the election of the Priest â€"Trustee of the
Church. The erstwhile practice has been to elect one to the office and
the same person used to continue indefinitely almost for his full life
time as Priest â€"Trustee. This was resented by many a well meaning
person, mostly owing to the fact that in a dynamic situation, we need
proactive people who are contemporary to imbibe the spirit of changes
that are taking place in and around. In fact the tenure of such office
bearers must be limited, if our motto is the emergence of a vibrant
church reflecting our relevance to the live themes around, both with
in and with out.

Who is such a person?

Thus reflecting the unspoken collective will of the church, a person
is identified who has the qualities of both head and heart to join the
team of leading this church of ours in the 21st century. He comes from
the illustrious family of Konat Malpans of the Indian Orthodox Church.
As the Bible says, “some one in the order of Melccesadeck” is this
person. He is the 23rd ordained priest of this historic family. He is
Fr Dr Johns Abraham.

After having graduated from UC College, Alwaye, Fr Johns had his
studies in Theology in the Orthodox Seminary, Kottayam and his
doctoral dissertation done from the famous Catholic University of
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.

Currently Fr Dr Johns is a full time faculty member at the Orthodox
Theological Seminary, Kottayam and a visiting faculty to the St.
Thomas Orthodox Seminary, Nagpur. As a Malpono well versed in Syriac
language, he lectures at the St. Ephraim Syriac Institute, Kottayam.

Fr. Dr. Johns has already served the church holding some important
positions such as secretary of St. Thomas Orthodox Vaidika Sanghom,
secretary of “Pro-Oriente Regional Committee”, member of Joint
commission for dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, member of
Faith and Order Commission, and secretary of Kandanad diocese.
Presently he is serving as the bursar of Orthodox Seminary Kottayam,
secretary of liturgical revision committee and as member of Malankara
Orthodox Church publications committee.

Why is he an outstanding choice?

As we all know the Orthodox worship service is known for its
wholesomeness and Fr Dr Johns is known for the melodious conduct of
our worship service. Why not such a person to be our next priest
Trustee? He has attended, chaired and or moderated some 1000 plus
meetings, seminars and conferences both in India and abroad as well as
presented several papers and authored a few books. Besides, he is an
excellent organiser too. Yes, we do need such a person as our next
Priest Trustee please.

Why do you vote for Fr Dr Johns Abraham Konat?

In short, Fr Dr Johns is a promise of the future vis a vis the Indian
Orthodox Church. He has the capacity, character and charisma to be a
decision thinker. His sagacity and wisdom when it comes to the cause
of the independence of our church know hardly any limits. Winner he
thinks and winner he becomes, not for himself but for the cause of our
church. Let us have a change. Let us vote for a young and capable
visionary who understands the church both physically and
metaphysically. In Fr Dr Johns Abraham Konat, we get a young and
committed Priest- Trustee who represents a happy blend of the rare
qualities of both heart and head in seasoning our march forward with
maturity and prudence. Yes why not vote for such a vibrant person and
for the bright future of our church too? Hope you would be guided by
objective considerations and God willing you have your voice heard in
the decision making bodies of our church in the days to come.

Signed by:

Rev. Fr. O.P.Varghese, Secretary, Kandanad West
Fr. Abraham Karammel, Sec. Kandanad east
Fr. P. K. Zachariah, Sec. Kottayam
Fr. Titus George, Sec. Thumpamon
Fr. Alias K.T, Sec. Cochin
Fr. Thomas Paul Ramban, Sec. Ankamaly East
Fr. N. D. Daniel Ankamaly West