Former Vicar Professed as Ramban (Monk) by H.H. The Catholicos

The vicar and members of St. Thomas Indian Orthodox Church, Greater Washington are proud to announce that Rev. Fr. Dr. M.S. John, former parish vicar from June 1999 through August 2001, was professed as Ramban (Monk) on Wednesday, May 9, 2007 by His Holiness Baselius Mar Thoma Didymus I in Parumala. Fr. John hails from the Mannilayathu family in Thumpamon. After obtaining his postgraduate degree (M.A., M. Ed.) in Education from Kerala University, he received B.D. and M.Th. from Serampore College. John "Achen" (Malayalam word meaning 'Father') was ordained to the priesthood in 1982, and served parishes in both the Bombay and American Dioceses. While in the U.S., Achen completed his Doctorate of Ministry at St. Vladimir Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York. It was at that time that our Vicar, Fr. G. Ninan, decided to return to Kerala. Our parish contacted John Achen, who willingly agreed to come to Washington DC to conduct services for the twenty-seven families in the parish. The Diocese Metropolitan soon afterwards appointed John Achen as our vicar.

John Achen's presence and prayers benefited the church tremendously. Foremost, Achen demonstrated the need and purpose of prayer in daily spiritual life. He encouraged the faithful to be punctual when attending services and in keeping the true Orthodox faith. He always practiced what he preached. Whether it was braving scorching temperatures or a highway layered with a wintry mix and cold blistering wind, John Achen faithfully traveled from New York to Washington DC every weekend to ensure that the parish received its spiritual nourishment.

His advice to students, as the pastor of our church and as principal of Mar Gregorios Memorial (MGM) High School in Baroda was, "If you do not plan for a better tomorrow, tomorrow will be no better." He often encouraged the youth by saying, "Write down your goal now. It should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and tangible." MGM High School has strength of 2,000 students with more than 50 teachers. The school achieves 100% results in both secondary and higher secondary sections every year, and the school's alumni have been very successful and are well placed all over the world. This is truly a credit to John Achen.

As one of the founding Indian Orthodox parishes in the American Diocese in 1965, for many years, our parish had a dream of constructing a church of our own. With the creation of a Building Fund several years ago, John Achen helped to build a strong momentum to begin the process of acquiring land and raising funds to meet this goal. Achen was also instrumental in our move to our present location in Silver Spring, Maryland in Jan 2000 and in instituting the Eucharistic service in English, twice a month. John Achen taught the parish how to give and find joy in giving during hard times. He steered our initial fund raising efforts, such as the Lotto program, Lenten sacrifices, and encouraged tithing as much as possible. As a result, the parish was able to purchase 1.2 acres of land in Montgomery County, Maryland in July 2001.

Those that attended his commencement ceremony in Crestwood, New York felt honored and immense spiritual joy watching John Achen walk in his priestly robe, along with other orthodox clergy from all over the world, to accept his Doctorate of Ministry. After completing his program, the parish insisted that Achen should continue as vicar of the parish. Sadly for the parish, Achen chose to honor his promise to return to serve MGM High School in Baroda. Concerned for the parish, though, he decided to stay until the Diocese appointed a new Vicar even though it meant returning after the start of the new academic year.

It is rare for youth in America to get an opportunity to learn from the spiritual life of priests such as John Achen. John Achen was deeply concerned with the difficulties faced by youth raised outside of Kerala, who were unable to connect with our Divine Liturgy or the hymns in Malayalam or Syriac. He wanted their participation in the Church and published and freely distributed an exceptional book with transliterations of liturgical hymns of the church, entitled Aradhana Geethangal. In addition, his commitment to spiritual life and Orthodox praxis provided illumination and encouragement to many American-born youngsters, including that of our own Dn. George Mathew, who was recommended by John Achen to the Diocesan Metropolitan for ordination to the diaconate in 2002. Sadly, Achen was unable to attend the ordination due to his return to Baroda.

John Achen left our parish to return to India in August 2001. The parish vividly recalls the highly emotional and tearful farewell of both young and old. Our parish had grown to 40 families during Achen's years of leadership. He touched every family in a real and deep way with his prayerful, humble, and graceful life. Above all, Achen witnessed Jesus Christ and gave of himself willingly and freely in his ministry, just as Christ did.

On behalf of the Vicar and members of St. Thomas Indian Orthodox Church, Greater Washington, both past and present, we congratulate and felicitate Achen on being professed as Ramban of the Malankara Orthodox Church on May 9, 2007 at the St. Paul and St. PeterŐs Orthodox Church in Parumala. We are proud that John Achen will be the third Ramban associated with our parish. We pray that God will continue to keep Achen in His protective hands, guiding and directing him in his spiritual journey as he proclaims and witnesses Jesus Christ and in his future ministry in the Malankara Orthodox Church.