Abraham Mar Julios

Abraham Kakkanattu was born on 25 May 1945 in Kalloopara, near Thiruvalla in present-day Pathanamthitta district, Kerala. His father, Varghese Kakkanattil, belonged to the Padinjaremannil branch of the Paramel family of Cherukole-Kozhenchery; his mother was Annamma Varghese. After school he joined the Infant Mary Minor Seminary in Thiruvalla in 1961, beginning a path that would take him from Kerala classrooms to Rome and back into Malankara pastoral life.

After priestly ordination by Metropolitan Zacharias Mar Athanasios, he served as parish priest of Mycavu and Ounjil in Kozhikode. From 1974 to 1979 he was economus and Social Service Society director for the Eparchy of Tiruvalla, while also caring for Thalavadi North and South. In 1978 he founded Matha Senior Secondary School in Thumboly, Alappuzha. As rector of St. Mary's Malankara Major Seminary in Thiruvananthapuram he pushed construction of a new seminary campus. From 1990 to 1997, as vicar of St. John's Cathedral, Tiruvalla, he started St. John's ITC and spent seven years as president of the local Horticulture Society. In 1997 he became vicar of Chengaroor and corporate manager of the eparchy's school board.

On 18 January 2008 he was appointed Metropolitan of the Syro-Malankara Eparchy of Muvattupuzha. Ordained remban on 30 January at St. John's Cathedral, Tiruvalla, he was consecrated bishop on 9 February 2008 at the Muvattupuzha cathedral by Catholicos Baselios Cleemis, taking the title Abraham Mar Julios. He led the eparchy until 2019, when Yoohanon Mar Theodosius succeeded him. His episcopal feast day followed St. Julius the Pope on 12 April.

Abraham Mar Julios died at Pushpagiri Medical College, Thiruvalla, early on 19 September 2026, aged 81. Kerala Kaumudi reported the time as about 2:15 a.m. After viewing, his body was taken to St. John's Metropolitan Cathedral for Syro-Malankara funeral stages across 19-21 September. Major Archbishop Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Catholicos led services with other metropolitans. He was buried at the cathedral in Thiruvalla.

He is remembered as a biblical theologian who shaped Malankara seminary formation, strengthened Pushpagiri's medical campus, and guided the Eparchy of Muvattupuzha for more than a decade. His feast day as a bishop had been linked to St. Julius the Pope (12 April).

He completed philosophical studies at St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Vadavathoor, and theology at Propaganda College in Rome. Later biblical work at the Pontifical Biblical Institute and a doctorate in biblical theology from the Pontifical Urbaniana University grounded his teaching career. A master's degree in psychology from the University of Mysore broadened his approach to formation. The church's official biography notes that he was a linguistic scholar familiar with twelve languages, a skill that shaped both his scripture teaching and his fundraising travels for seminary construction.

On 5 February 2001 he was appointed director of Pushpagiri Medical College in Thiruvalla. During his tenure the campus and network grew to include nursing, pharmacy, and dental colleges, Medicity, the Pushpagiri Heart Institute, Cyril Baselios Catholicos Hospital, primary health centres at Pulikunnu, Perumthuruthy and Champakulam, guest houses, and related facilities. Church sources credit him with sustained legal efforts to defend the constitutional rights of self-financing colleges and other minority institutions in Kerala.

His public ministry emphasized scripture study, priestly formation, and Catholic education and healthcare as expressions of Malankara identity within the wider Catholic communion. Colleagues and church biographies present him as an institution-builder who linked academic theology with concrete schools, seminaries, and hospitals rather than as a purely ceremonial prelate.

As a celibate Eastern Catholic bishop he had no spouse or children. Family ties remained with his parents' households in the Thiruvalla region. In retirement after 2019 he lived quietly at the Thiruvalla Archbishop's House at Pallimala, remaining close to Pushpagiri and cathedral life until his final illness.

His principal offices included rector of St. Mary's Malankara Major Seminary, director of Pushpagiri Medical College, and Metropolitan Bishop of Muvattupuzha (2008-2019). Episcopal consecration by the Major Archbishop-Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Church marked the height of his hierarchical service. His feast as bishop recalled Pope St. Julius.

His biography is preserved on the Malankara Catholic Church Holy Synod site, diocesan pages, and Wikipedia. After his death, Kerala newspapers including The Times of India, Mathrubhumi, Kerala Kaumudi, and Manorama carried obituaries, while Malankara Catholic television channels livestreamed multi-day funeral rites from St. John's Metropolitan Cathedral, Thiruvalla.

He is remembered as a biblical scholar-bishop who translated academic formation into lasting institutions: a school in Alappuzha, a rebuilt major seminary, an expanded Pushpagiri medical complex, and a decade of leadership in the Muvattupuzha eparchy. For Malankara Catholics, his career models the combination of scripture teaching, minority-education advocacy, and healthcare service.