H. G. Alvares Mar Julius [1889-1923] is truly a Martyr of Orthodox Church in India. He is truly a saintly son of the Church, who sacrificed his life to God. He was a patriot, freedom fighter, journalist and writer, educationist and social worker, true missionary, philanthropist, and Apostle of Charity.
Alvares was born April 29, 1836, as the son of Joseph Baptista Alvares and Marino Expectaco Lorenco, in a pious, aristocratic Catholic family in Verna, Goa, India. Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvares, after completing his studies in Rachol Seminary, (today’s Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol), in 1859, he left for Bombay. He was initially ordained as a priest in Roman Catholic Church in Goa, 1862 by Bishop Walter Estin, the Apostolic Vicar of Bombay. Fr Alvares came to Goa in 1867 and resided in Panaji. He started an orphanage and later a college. He was a known social worker, journalist, and educationist. He started charitable services, rehabilitated handicapped and homeless people. His home became a homeless shelter. He used his pen against the corruption in the Portuguese government, and eventually against the wrong practices in their Church and criticized the misgivings of the Jesuit Missionaries. This led to his excommunication from RC Church. He was forced to leave the place due to the continuous persecution against him, out of the vengeance. He later escaped to Travancore.
In Travancore, he came in touch with the Orthodox Syrian Church and was attracted towards the Church and in due course joined the Orthodox Church in 1887. Fr. Alvares embraced Orthodox Syrian Church voluntarily. He was elevated as Ramban, by Parumala Thirumeni in the same year. Due to his pious life, Ramban Alvares was consecrated as Episcopa on July 29, 1889, the Old Seminary, Kottayam by Malankara Metropolitan Pulikkottil by Mar Joseph Dionysius II, Mar Gregorios of Parumala, Paulose Mar Ivanios and Kadavil Mar Athanasios. Metropolitan Mar Julius was appointed as the as Metropolitan of Goa and Ceylon for the diocesan area of outside Kerala of the Malankara Orthodox Church.
Because he embraced the Orthodox Church, Catholic Church and the Portuguese Government, that ruled Goa, at that time, continued to persecute him. He was falsely abdicated, arrested, stripped off his Episcopal vestments and taken through the street, only with his inner wears, to the police lockup. There he was put in a filthy room without a bed or chair wherein the floor smelt of urine and faeces. He was also forcibly deprived off his cross and the ring, the episcopal insigne he was wearing. He was beaten and presented in the Court.
Mar Alvares was a pious bishop, a zealous missionary, prolific writer, a powerful orator, a militant Journalist, a selfless Philanthropist, a noted Educationist, a dedicated Social Worker, Freedom fighter, a daring Revolutionary, an alert Political Activist, founder of the Bramahawar Mission and aptly named ‘Apostle of Charity’. He spent a good part of his life begging and collecting for the poor, and above a firm believer in the true Christianity. Bishop Alvares stood to his last breath for his faith in the Church, which he embraced. Through his periodicals “A Cruz“, and “A Verdade“, (The truth) and later “The Times of Goa”, “O Brado Indiano” and “Progress de Goa“, the pamphlets like “Antioch and Rome”, “Universal supremacy in the Church of Christ”, “Directions to the treatment of cholera”, etc he educated the people, argued for the downtrodden and fought for the freedom of the Church.
Since Alvares Mar Julius was not allowed by the rulers to work freely in Goa he was mostly based in Canara region of Karnataka with the main base at Bramahawar. Alvares Mar Julius started the Brahmavar Mission at Karnataka in 1888. He concentrated his social and spiritual activities among his folks in Brahmavar. He along with Fr. Roque Zephrin Noronha worked among the people along the west coast of India from Mangalore to Bombay. He helped them to learn liturgy and catechism of the Church and finally started the Malankara Syrian Worship and Qurbana. About 5000 families joined the Orthodox Church, during his time and he shepherded over 5000 faithful, in Brahmavar and they bestowed their allegiance to him. He travelled a lot in the Brahmavar region, and the mission slowly and steadily spread to many places in Karnataka, Andhra and Maharashtra. Our Church supported by sending priests for the Churches and other mission works at Brahmavar. A Primary School was started at Brahmavar, that eventually bloomed into a college. Currently there is one Degree College, one Junior College, two U.P School, one English Medium School functioning here. The liturgical services conducted here are in Malayalam, Konkani and Kannada and has about 35 parishes.
He entered the heavenly abode on September 23, 1923, and was buried at St. Inex Municipal Cemetery, Panji, Goa. His relics were collected by his friends, placed in a lead box, buried in the same place, under a marble slab – 23 September 1927. The tomb of Alvares Mar Julius was discovered on January 1, 1967, due to the initiatives of HG Mathews Mar Athanasios (HH Baselios Marthoma Mathews I) and Rev. Fr. K. M George and Rev. Fr T. E. Isaac. Holy Relics were then, translated from St. Inex Cemetery to St. Mary’s to St. Mary’s Orthodox Syrian Church, Ribandar on Oct 5, 1979, by H G Philipose Mar Theophilus and Holy Relics shifted into the present Tomb October 10, 2001, by H.H Moran Mar Baselios Mathews II. H.G Alvares Mar Julius is one of the very few Malankara Orthodox Metropolitan buried outside Kerala.
The St. Mary’s Orthodox Syrian Church, Ribandar, Panaji celebrates his Dukhrono (Memorial Feast) every year in September, during the week falling 23rd to honor this great Apostle of charity and Martyr.
(Article courtesy: https://oneinchrist.in/)
