About us
Our Church
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, otherwise known as the Indian Orthodox Church is a prominent member of the family of Oriental Orthodox Churches. It traces its origins to the arrival of St. Thomas the Apostle, the Disciple of Jesus Christ. Saint Thomas came to India in AD 52, specifically in a state presently known as Kerala. It is there that the Apostle Thomas established the Christian Church, which grew from hundreds of souls to more than 3.5 million faithful. More than 15,000 of those humble faithful live in the northeast North American continent. The autocephalous Indian Orthodox Church is headed by the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan His Holiness Moran Mar Baselios Marthoma Mathews III and follows the ancient West Syrian Liturgical Rite.
The faith of the Church is that which was established by the three Ecumenical Councils of Nicea (A.D. 325), Constantinople (A.D. 381) and Ephesus (A.D. 431). The Indian Orthodox Church is in communion with the other Oriental Orthodox Churches namely, Antiochene, Coptic, Armenian, Eritrean and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches and maintains cordial ecumenical relationships with the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Churches.
Although a majority of the members of the Indian Orthodox Church today reside in the state of Kerala in South West India, there are parishes spread across various parts of the globe. It is due to this international presence that the Church is presently popularly known as the Indian Orthodox Church. For administrative efficiency, the Church is divided into 30 ecclesial units called dioceses, each of which are administratively and spiritually headed by a respective Diocesan Bishop. The Council of bishops, known as the Holy Synod is headed by the Holy Catholicos, who is the supreme spiritual head of the Church.
H.H. Moran Mar Baselios MarThoma mathews III
His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Mathews III was enthroned as the Catholicos of the East & Malankara Metropolitan (the Supreme Head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church of India) on Friday, 15th October 2021. His Holiness is the 92nd Primate on the Apostolic Throne of St. Thomas.
His Holiness was born on 12 February 1949 to Mr. Cherian Anthrayos of Mattathil family, being a member of St Peters Church, Vazhoor. After his school education, he joined Kerala University and passed his BSc Chemistry. After his BSc, he joined Orthodox Seminary, Kottayam, and had his GST degree.
H.G. Zachariah Mar Nicholovos
His Grace, Metropolitan Zachariah Mar Nicholovos was born on August 13, 1959 to the famous Poothiyottu family in Mepral. His boyhood name was Cheriyachen. He has three brothers and one sister.
He studies in different schools in Kerala until he finished his High school. The first two years of his college education was in Malabar Christian College. He received his BA (English) from the St. Joseph College, Devagiri (Calicut University). He continued his studies in Theology at United Theological College, Bangalore and received a Bachelors of Divinity and a Masters of Theology.
Our Priest
Rev. Fr. Thomas Paul
Rev. Fr. Thomas Paul (Johnson Achen) is the vicar of St. Basil Orthodox Church, Franklin Square, NY. He currently serves as the Diocesan Chancellor for Northeast American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.
St. Basil The Great Pray for US
About Us
Our Parish, St. Basil Orthodox Church, was originally founded in Garden City, New York, in October, 1990 by the initiation of Rev. Fr. P.S. Samuel Corepiscopa who served as the officiating priest until Rev. Fr. Thomas Paul was appointed as the Vicar in April 1992 by the order of the diocesan Metropolitan, H.G. Mathews Mar Barnabas. Services were conducted in a chapel, owned by the Cathedral of Incarnation Episcopal Church, which was permitted to use as a willingness to share for Christian brotherhood until we found a place of our own in Franklin Square in 2001. The church has a history of steadfast growth which started with 12 families and has currently more than 80 families with 300 plus faithful as members. Many non-members also visit this church on Sundays to participate and experience the joy of worship.
St. Basil Orthodox Church, Franklin Square is open every day of the year and has evening prayer from 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm (except for Saturday 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm) which is regularly attended by many devotees who seek saintly intercession and receive blessings, specifically on Wednesdays and Fridays. Sunday morning prayer starts at 8:00 a.m. followed by Holy Qurbana at 9:00 am. Sunday school is conducted from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm every Sunday, September through June. Rev. Fr. Thomas Paul, also known as Johnson Achen, continues serving as the Vicar.
Click the followings for more information regarding our Diocese