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St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary Mangalapuzha

Seminary of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary Mangalapuzha is a Major seminary of the Syro-Malabar Church of the St. Thomas Christians. It is the continuation of several Seminaries and the outcome of the centralization of the priestly formation in Kerala. It has a long history of untiring service and selfless sacrifice of several missionaries, native clergy and laity. Until the sixteenth century the St. Thomas Christians of Kerala followed the general system of education of Malabar known as 'Gurukulavasam', which means living with the teacher. Such a system of the formation of the clergy was known as Malpanate.

A boy who aspires to priesthood inscribes himself as the disciple of a Malpan (teacher) who was generally the parish priest himself or the elderly Priest of the parish. Under such Malpans the candidate learns to read and understand Syriac, the liturgical language, and to interpret the Sacred Scriptures. Besides these Magnates there certain educational centres were selected few were trained. Angamali was a training centre of the clerics who came from all parts of Malabar. The very names of the books mentioned by the synod of Diamper (1599) show that the clergy of the pre-Diamper period were keeping a rather high standard of learning in scripture and other ecclesiastical matters.

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History
History of the Seminary

St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary Mangalapuzha is a Major seminary of the Syro-Malabar Church of the St. Thomas Christians. It is the continuation of several Seminaries and the outcome of the centralization of the priestly formation in Kerala. It has a long history of untiring service and selfless sacrifice of several missionaries, native clergy and laity. Know more

Pontifical Institute of Theology & Philosophy

The first step towards the realization of the plan for a Faculty had been taken on October 7, 1959, when the Congregation issued a decree affiliating the theology department of the Seminary with the Lateran University, Rome. With this, the theology department of the Seminary became “Studium Theologicum” which was governed by norms given by the University Know more

PIA
Library
Our Library

The library of the St Joseph Pontifical Seminary is renowned for its collection of books. It is one of the largest of its kind that exist in seminaries of Kerala. It is called ‘BIBLIOTECUM’ which means library in English. The library is divided into two parts one the Seminary library and the other belonging to the Pontifical Institute. The books are arranged... Know more

Our Museum

A historical journey to the glorious past of St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary, Aluva! Unveiling the notable events and currents in the course of her development to the present, museum with antique pieces including pious articles and sacred vestments, objects of artistic, cultural and historical interest are well preserved and portrayed to the public. Know more

Museum
SH League
SH League

S.H.League (Sacred Heart League), Printers, Publishes and Dealers of Religious Books is an initiative of St.Joseph Pontifical Seminary,Mangalapuzha to foster good literature of ethical values. It was started in 1924 by Fr.Zacharias O.C.D. of happy memory, a zealous Carmelite Missionary from Spain. Fr.Zacharias was assiduous in working for the... Know more

“Pontifical Institute of Theology and Philosophy”
News & Events
04
Aug
Priesthood is a celebration of sile...

Mangalapuza, August 4, 2024- The Mangalapuza Seminarycelebrated Vianney Day emphasizing the profound essence of the priesthood as a celebration of silence. The event commenced with the inaug...

03
Jul
Humility the Hallmark of Priesthood...

Dr. Ruble Raj, a distinguished speaker and educationalist, while inaugurating the St. Thomas Day celebrations in Mangalapuzha Seminary on 3rd July stated that what the laity expects most fro...

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