Order of the Imitation of Christ

Bethany Ashram

ബഥനി ആശ്രമം
Bethany Ashram Logo
Monastery information
Order	Order of the Imitation of Christ
Established	15 August 1919
People
Founder(s)	Geevarghese Mar Ivanios
Website	www.bethanyashram.com

Bethany Ashram is a monastic order in the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. It was established by Archbishop Geevarghese Mar Ivanios. The Ashram follows the religious order called Order of the Imitation of Christ (O.I.C.), which is derived from the Catholic devotional book called The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis.

Geevarghese Mar Ivanios, who founded Bethany Ashram, was born on 21 September 1882 at Mavelikara to the 'Mallitta' Panikar family, belonging to the Malankara Church. He was given the baptismal name Geevarghese. At the age of 15 he joined M.D.Seminary School for high school studies. On 20 April 1898 he received minor orders and was sent to Madras Christian College for higher studies, there he obtained his master's degree. On Sept.15th 1908 Geevarghese was ordained priest by Vattasseril Mar Dinoysius. Just after the ordination Fr.P.T.Geevarghese was appointed Principal of M.D.Seminary, Kottayam. He moved to Calcutta in the year 1913, accepting an invitation from Dr. George Howells, the principal of Serampore College to teach there. He made use of this opportunity to educate the Malankara Youth. About 20 young people from Kerala reached Calcutta for higher education.

At Serampore Fr.P.T.Geevarghese got more time for prayer and contemplation. He came across the writings of St. Basil on monasticism. Basilian monastic vision had a great influence on him. Besides the visits to the Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi and Santiniketan of Rabindranath Tagore gave him a new vision of Indian Sanyasa (monasticism). These experiences made him to reflect upon starting an order of missionaries to carry out the task of evangelization in India. Slowly the residence of Fr.P.T.Geevarghese and his followers at Serampore became an Ashram (Monastery), and they began to live a sort of religious life according to the monastic rules of St. Basil, adapting them to Indian culture. As he accepted this as his way of life, he resigned from the Serampore College.