Clemis Abraham

{{Infobox Christian leader

| type = Chief Metropolitan

| honorific_prefix = "Qooberneethi Hakheemo"

| name = Abraham Mor Clemis

| honorific_suffix = Grand Metropolitan of the East

| title = Malankara Metropolitan
Archbishop of Knanaya Archdiocese

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| caption = Mor Clemis Abraham

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| church = Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church

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| term = 1957 — 1958

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| predecessor = Mar Athanasius

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| other_post = Archbishop of Knanaya Syrian Archdiocese,

Malankara Metropolitan of Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church (1957-58)

| ordination = 15 January 1947

| ordained_by = Yulios Elias Qoro

| consecration = 15 April 1951

| consecrated_by = Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum

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| rank = Chief Metropolitan

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| birth_date = {{birth date|1918|04|22|df=y}}

| birth_place = Vaikom, Ranni, Travancore, British Raj

| death_date = {{death date and age |2002|9|29 |1918|4|29 |mf=yes}}

| death_place = Lisie Hospital, Kochi, Ernakulam, Kerala, India

| buried = St. John's Dayro, Mor Epiram Seminary Chingavanam, Kottayam

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| nationality = India

| religion = Oriental Orthodoxy

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| education = B.A. from St. Xavier's College, Palayamkottai,

M.A. (Hons.) in Political Science from Annamalai University,

B.D. Syriac & Theology Studies from Theological Seminary Mosul,

M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary (New York City), United States of America

| alma_mater = Columbia University,
Annamalai University

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Mor Clemis Abraham, The Chief Metropolitan of the East (born as Abraham, 1918–2002) was an Indian prelate, the Malankara Metropolitan (1957–58) and the Archbishop of Knanaya Syrian Archdiocese of Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church.{{cite book |last1=Brock |first1=Sebastian P. |last2=Taylor |first2=David G. K. |title=The Hidden Pearl: At the turn of the third millennium ; the Syrian Orthodox witness |date=2001 |publisher=Trans World Film Italia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1lPuAAAAMAAJ&q=Mor+Clemis+Abraham |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Raymond Brady |last2=Brady |first2=Williams Raymond |title=Christian Pluralism in the United States: The Indian Immigrant Experience |date=1996 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521570169 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w1uk6zZQKzAC&q=Mor+Clemis+Abraham&pg=PA68 |language=en}}{{cite web |last1=Joseph |first1=Thomas |title=Mor Clemis Abraham Vayala (1918 - 2002) |url=http://sor.cua.edu/Personage/Malankara/MClemisAVayala.html |website=sor.cua.edu}}

Succession

{{succession box

| before = Saint Athanasius of Aluva the Malankara Metropolitan

Mor Yulios Elias Qoro
Syriac Orthodox Patriarchal Delegates of India
1953-1957

| title = Malankara Metropolitan of Jacobite Syrian Christian Church

| years = 1957–1958

| after = Malankara Metropolitan Geevarghese II
1958-1964

}}

{{succession box|

| before =

| title = Knanaya Metropolitan of Knanaya Jacobite Archdiocese

| years = 1951–2002|

| after = Severios Kuriakose

}}

Education

Mor Clemis Abraham did his primary education at the Vaikom Town Government Lower Primary School.{{cite web |title=Govt. Lower primary School at Vaikom |url=http://education.kerala.gov.in/Downloads2011/Notifications/statitics/lp/kottayamlp.pdf}} His secondary education was in MS Higher Secondary School, Ranni in 1934.{{cite web |title=MS Higher Secondary School, Ranni |url=http://mshssranni.com/higher-secondary}} and later joined St. Mary's High School in Aluva. He passed his pre-degree from CMS College Kottayam and joined St. Xavier's College, Palayamkottai for Bachelor of Arts. He did his master's degree in political science from Annamalai University, studied Syriac and theology studies at the Theological Seminary in Mosul. In 1960 he obtained a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, United States of America.{{cite web |title=Union Theological Seminary |url=https://utsnyc.edu/ |website=Union Theological Seminary}}

Ecumenical relations

He had an audience with the pope of Rome at Vatican on July 29, 1960, and on May 14, 1980, Mor Clemis visited the pope again at Vatican with Patriarch Mor Ya`qub III.{{cite journal |title=Meeting with the Syro-Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch (May 14, 1980) {{!}} John Paul II |journal=W2.vatican.va |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1980/may/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19800514_patriarca-antiochia.html}}

Honors

1982, Patriarch Mor Ignatius Zakka I conferred the title Kooberneethi Hakheemo (wise captain).
1989, the title Great Metropolitan of the East by Patriarch Mor Ignatius Zakka I.{{cite book |title=Eastern Churches Journal: A Journal of Eastern Christendom |date=2003 |publisher=Society of Saint John Chrysostom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=994kAQAAIAAJ&q=Mor+Clemis+Abraham |language=en}}
1992, Established a school named after himself: Clemis School and Junior College, Chingavanam, Kottayam, Kerala.{{cite web |title=The school is named after the illustrious Abraham Mor Clemis, Chief Metropolitan of Malankara and all the East. |url=http://clemisschool.org/about%20-%20us.html |access-date=2018-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719113746/http://clemisschool.org/about%20-%20us.html |archive-date=2018-07-19 |url-status=dead }}

Death and Funeral

Clemis Abraham passed away at Lissie Hospital in Ernakulam on September 29, 2002. At the time of his death, Mor Clemis was the senior most Metropolitan of the Syriac Orthodox Church all over the world and the longest serving bishop in the history of the Malankara Church. His mortal remains were interred at St. John's Dayara Church, Chingavanam on October 1, 2002 after funeral rites were led by Baselios Thomas I, Mor Yulius Yeshu` Çiçek of Europe, and other Metropolitans of Malankara.