Marriage comes with responsibility and H.G. Dr Zachariah Mar Theophilos, the bishop of Malabar Diocese of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, understands it better. Thirumeni, as he is lovingly being called, has done 37 weddings so far. And the number will reach 50 by February 18, this year.
Thirumeni will give Rs 1 lakh along with a sovereign of gold and a set of beautiful dress to each newly-weds. This is Thirumeni little effort to help the new pair to start their life with some income generating venture.
Significantly, Thirumeni is also celebrating his 25th year of priesthood this year. During his tenure, he wished to do charity works of Rs 1 crore. However, he has outdone that target. In fact, so far Thirumeni has facilitated more than 150 deprived families with houses along with giving educational scholarships of over Rs 55 lakhs.
The effort to help the underprivileged section of society to get better education opportunity still continues. Undoubtedly, Thirumeni’s contributions towards the society are immense. From education, poverty, marriages to drug rehabilitation centers – he has helped the needy in every domain.
Thirumeni offers a meal to almost 1000 people daily, including bystanders in hospitals. He is also backing two tribal villages with daily food for an entire year. Apart from this, he has also established a KRUPA de-addiction center in Erumamunda, Malappuram that helped de-addict more than 450 people from alcohol and drug abuse so far.
Unfortunately, Thirumeni is suffering from double cancer and fracture in L3 and his prostrate cancer is severe. Despite, he is trying his best to aid as many needy as he can from different caste and class of society.
