Date: December 19, 2019
Time: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
At the invitation of Church of South India (CSI) Moderator Most Rev Thomas K. Oommen, the Archbishop of Canterbury Most Rev Justin Welby visited CSI in September. The Archbishop said that the purpose of his visit was prayer, pilgrimage and pastoral concern, that he was visiting as a religious leader to pray with Christians, to learn about Christianity in India and to share their experiences. In Kerala, he prayed with Christians from CSI, and spent time with CSI’s Sisters Order and Women’s Fellowship in Bengaluru, who inspired him their devotion and their “vital work among poor, oppressed and marginalised women and children.”
In addition, the Archbishop dedicated the newly constructed Bishop’s Chapel adjacent to the Bishop’s House of the Madhya Kerala Diocese of CSI in Kottayam. He was also welcomed by the villagers of Kavalam, a predominantly Dalit-Christian populated area near Kumarakom, Kerala. The villagers presented traditional folk dance, an age-old form of planting rice plants and harvesting, and water irrigation. Also, Rev.
Prasad John, Vicar of the CSI Church in Kavalam and Rev. Sabu K. Cherian explained the equipment related to agrarian life in the village.