Mor Polycarpus Geevarghese wasn’t just a bishop. He was the quiet force that kept thousands of Malayalee families from being pushed out of Karnataka in the 1960s and 70s. While politicians debated land rights and language laws, he walked door to door in dusty towns like Honnavar, ensuring children had shoes, books, and a place to learn. His story isn’t in history books much, but if you ask anyone who grew up in the Jacobite Syrian Christian community in Karnataka, they’ll tell you: without him, their families wouldn’t be there today.
From Chennithala to Honnavar: A Life of Service
He was born M.P. George on April 5, 1933, in a small village in Pathanamthitta, Kerala. His family wasn’t rich. His father worked the land. His mother prayed. He was ordained as a deacon in 1956 and became a priest the next year. But he didn’t stay in Kerala. In 1962, he was sent to Honnavar, a quiet coastal town in Karnataka, to lead a struggling mission that had been around since 1917.
The Honnavar Mission had been founded by Fr. George Pinto to help migrant workers from Kerala. By the time Polycarpus arrived, many of those families were struggling. Their children didn’t speak Kannada. They didn’t have land titles. The state government had taken over 32 mission schools in the 1940s. People were being told to go back to Kerala. Some families packed up. Others stayed, afraid.
The Eviction Crisis and How He Stopped It
In the late 1960s, pressure mounted. Local authorities started pushing Malayalee families off land they’d lived on for decades. They claimed the land belonged to the state. No papers? No right to stay. Families faced homelessness. Children were pulled out of school. Parents lost jobs.
Polycarpus didn’t protest in the streets. He didn’t give speeches. He went to the district collector’s office. He brought lists of names-children’s names, school records, baptism certificates. He showed how each family had been there for 20, 30 years. He didn’t argue about politics. He argued about humanity.
And it worked. He convinced officials that these weren’t outsiders. They were part of the community. He built relationships with local leaders, teachers, even police officers. He made sure every child in the mission schools had a uniform, lunch, and a tutor for Kannada. He didn’t just teach them to read-he gave them a future.
Building a School System from Scratch
Under his leadership, the Honnavar Mission didn’t just survive-it grew. He opened new schools, a hospital, a home for widows, and a vocational training center. He didn’t wait for government help. He raised money by visiting homes in Kerala, asking families to send what they could. A sack of rice here. A few rupees there. He kept meticulous records. Every rupee was accounted for. Every child was known by name.
By the 1980s, the mission ran over a dozen schools in Karnataka and northern Kerala. Thousands of students passed through them. Many became doctors, teachers, engineers. They didn’t forget where they came from. They still talk about how Fr. M.P. George would show up at their homes on rainy nights, just to check if their lights were on and their homework was done.
A Leader Who Stayed
He was consecrated as Metropolitan on May 27, 1990. But he didn’t move into a big house. He didn’t change his routine. He still woke up at 4 a.m. He still visited the sick. He still walked to the school gate every morning to greet students.
His tenure lasted 54 years-longer than almost any bishop in modern Syriac Christian history. He didn’t seek power. He didn’t climb church hierarchies. He stayed where he was needed. Even when other bishops moved to bigger cities, he stayed in Honnavar. He knew his place wasn’t in a cathedral. It was in the classroom, the clinic, the kitchen where mothers cooked food for hungry children.
Legacy in Stone and Memory
He died on March 6, 2011, at 77. His body lay in state at St. Anthony’s Jacobite Syrian Cathedral in Mangalore. Thousands came-not just church members, but former students, teachers, local shopkeepers, even government workers who remembered his quiet kindness. His funeral was held on March 9. He was buried in the same cathedral where he’d baptized hundreds of children.
His successor, Mor Chrysostomos Markose, took over the Arch Diocese. The schools still run. The hospital still serves. The mission still feeds children who can’t afford lunch. But no one has filled his shoes.
Church records say membership in Karnataka grew by 300% under his leadership. But numbers don’t tell the whole story. What matters is that a community that could have vanished didn’t. That children who were told they didn’t belong learned to speak, to write, to dream. That a bishop chose to live among the poor instead of above them.
Today, if you walk into a school run by the Honnavar Mission, you’ll see a small plaque. It doesn’t say "Metropolitan" or "Bishop." It just says: "For the children. Always."
Who was Mor Polycarpus Geevarghese?
Mor Polycarpus Geevarghese was a Metropolitan of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church who served the Evangelistic Association of the East Arch Diocese from 1957 until his death in 2011. He is best known for leading the Honnavar Mission in Karnataka, where he protected Malayalee migrant families from eviction, built schools, and ensured thousands of children received education and care.
What did he do in Karnataka?
In Karnataka, he resisted government efforts to evict Malayalee migrants in the 1960s-80s by organizing communities, providing education, and negotiating with officials. He founded and expanded schools, a hospital, and welfare programs under the Honnavar Mission, ensuring children had food, uniforms, and language support to integrate into local society.
Why is he called a "social advocate"?
He didn’t just lead a church-he defended people. When families faced losing their homes and children were pulled out of school, he stepped in. He used diplomacy, not protests. He built trust with local leaders, kept records of every family, and made sure no child was left behind. His work preserved a community that might have disappeared.
How long did he serve as Metropolitan?
He served in leadership roles for 54 years-from 1957 until his death in 2011. He was officially consecrated as Metropolitan in 1990, but had been guiding the Arch Diocese since 1957. His unusually long tenure is attributed to his calm leadership, deep community ties, and ability to navigate complex church politics.
Where is he buried?
Mor Polycarpus Geevarghese is buried at St. Anthony’s Jacobite Syrian Cathedral in Mangalore, Karnataka. His body was publicly viewed there after his death on March 6, 2011, and his funeral was held on March 9, 2011.
Did he have formal education?
Yes. He earned a BA (Hons) from Mangalore University and completed theological studies at Malecruz Dayro in Puthencruz, Kerala. His education gave him the tools to lead, but he always said his real classroom was the streets, homes, and schools of Honnavar.
What’s left of his work today?
The Honnavar Mission continues to run schools, a hospital, and community centers in Karnataka and northern Kerala. The institutions he built still serve thousands of children. Though no one has matched his personal touch, his model of combining faith with social service remains the foundation of the mission’s work today.
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