Instructor

Present Instructor: Remban Paul is invited by the well wishers and beneficiaries of Mar Kuriakose Ashram Retreat Centre to conduct Bible classes in Sankethabhavan, which is run in temporary rented sheds as a bible college.

In the year 1974 on the 25th of July, a young man 30 years old was travelling from Muvatupuza to Trivandrum. He got down at Tiruvalla bus stop to buy some Christian song books from a Christian book shop, attached to a spirituality center in Tiruvalla. But, since it was evening time and the shop was closed the young man was forced to stay at that spirituality center for the night since he wanted to buy the books. After midnight, the young man had an unusual vision, in which he heard the voice of a shepherd or a sheep that was missing. That shepherd was staying near an altar of a church where he saw the fallen veil of a Remban near the altar on the ground. Also the eastern wall of the church was typically shaped (pear shaped). He was rudely awakened. The next day he bought the books from the Christian bookshop and reached the transport bus stand to continue his journey, but he could not board a bus till noon due to the heavy rush of people to Trivandrum and so he was inspired to pray and find the reason for this. Accordingly after a silent prayer in a corner of the bus stand, he felt he had to go to Mylapra to see the Remban Mathews for further guidance from God .He immediately boarded a bus for Adoor and enquired about Mathews Remban .He managed to find the church only by evening, just in time to see the rev Mathews Remban entering for the evening prayer. He was astonished to observe that the eastern wall of the chapel had a pear shaped window as he had witnessed in his dream. Mathews Remban called the young man by his pet name after the prayer service and gave him a warm welcome. This was the first confrontation of the young man with the Rev Remban Mathews at Mar Kuriakose Church, Kumbazha (N).

At the time Mathews Remban was a sankethabhavan for the sick and the depressed .His church and parsonage was a refuge (sankethabhavan ) for the depressed ,the sick and the poor.

He was doing his ministry with part time workers and longed for a full time helper who would be his successor, to help him continue the charitable works. Later on Remban Paul went to America from April 15 to August 31 by the special order of H.H. Catholicose for the extension of the ministry to U.S.A, Canada, Germany and other Gulf countries. At the time, by Gods grace, he completed the research work and submitted the completed thesis to the University of Louisiana, U.S.A to be accepted by Dr. Longsworth. Presently it is under evaluation.

Personal Details

Date of Birth: 29.5.1944
Date Of Baptism: 29.6.1944
Deacon (half) :29.6.1977 By H.G Yuhanon Mar Severios
Deacon(Full): 23.6.1979 By H.G Mathews Mar Coorilos
Priestly Ordination: 29.9.1979 By H.G Mathews Mar Coorilos
Remban : 30.5.1997 By H.H Baselios Mathews II

PERSONAL PORTFOLIO:

Personal Background:

PARAYKULATH NINAN PAUL(a.k.a. Sunnykutty P.N and Remban Paul P.N)
Mar Kuriakose Ashram Mylapra P.O.
Pathanamthitta District
Kerala State
INDIA- 689671

Phone: 011-91-473- 221295, 222295.

Email (1) rembanpaul@hotmail.com (2) sankethabhavan@gmail.com
Living as a monk in a monastery : In Mar Kuriakose Ashram Mylapra, Kerala , India.

Academic Background:

A. 1963-66: Bachelor of Arts- St. Berchman's College, Kerala, India with Economics, Politics, and Statistics as the main focus. B. 1984-1987 Post Graduate Study at the University of Mysore . Obtained the degree of Master of Arts in Christianity from the University of Mysore.

Successfully completed course work in 1. The Gospels 2. Theology of Liberation 3. Gospel and Culture 4. Christian Mysticism 5. Comparative Study of Religions 6. Doctrine of the Church 7. Indian Christian Theology 8. Pauline Theology and Biblical Greek 9. Study of Old Testament.

Dissertation for the completion of M.A in Christianity was given on "Rigdevic Soteriology": A comparative study of Christ and Myth of Prajapathi in Rigveda- Christ has been compared to Prajapathi. Prajapathi is an ancient Hindu mythological character who is presented in the Rigveda comparable to the Prophecy of Jesus Christ's sacrifice.

June 22- July 04 1986- Attended a full program entitled, "The second summer seminar on Carmelite Spirituality" at the St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana and was accredited by Keith J Eagan, Ph.D., Co- director, Center for Spirituality.

August 1987- Successfully completed the orientation course to Doctoral Studies at the United Theological College, Bangalore 3. Credentials A. Licenses: Born 29 May 1944, Nominal Christian life, hurting Jesus as Saul did in Acts 9:4, "He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?'" Realized the vocation to gospel work in 1966 after five years of waiting and prayer. Joined Christusishya ashram (Disciples of Christ) and served there as secretary and trusty of charitable society for four years. Received a license to preach in the churches and the underdeveloped villages in Tamilnadu. Many people heard the gospel. Assisted in a homeopathic clinic of a medical mission center. Transferred to another mission field in 1970. There I received the license from the collector of the district as a homeopathic doctor. During four years of service, treated 10,000 patients. Out of this, 500 non-Christians were benefited because of their miraculous healing through the gospel, medical mission; there, I got a transfer with promotion to another district, Pathanamthitta, to start a new medical mission, a monastery, a charitable society, a trust, under which a retreat and a counseling center was started in 1979. Then I was ordained as a missionary priest. In 1997, I was promoted to the post of director of the counseling center in Mylapra.

I was selected to take the perfect vow of celibacy at the age of 53. From that day onwards, I wear a cloth on my head symbolizing the vow of Nazirite, mentioned in Numbers 6:1-5, and the thorny crown worn by Jesus on the day of his crucifixion. From June 21, 1997, I received the license to be known as Remban Paul and the license to conduct retreats as a retreat father.

Achievements

A. Awards- Dec 1985: Conducted Youth conference as Dean of the conference, "Jesus sets free to serve" in Singapore, were chief presenter and moderator at the conference. Presented practical and theoretical sessions in Christian Yoga. Printed notes were given to participants. I received the credit certificate from the parish priest of Singapore and Malaysia.

B. Activities - Present: Director, Mylapra Retreat Center, Mar Kuriakose Ashram, INDIA

C. Activities include retreat on Fridays and Sundays (avg. attendance of 600 persons) counseling on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Interdenominational fellowship highlighting unity and salvation through Jesus Christ. Aid to poor patients, Educational help to poor students, Support all the needs of volunteer workers, Building homes for the needy. Proposed projects include: building a convent for volunteers who offer their services, Training Center for Gospel, Retreat and Counseling under the order of St. Anthony's Missions to practice the Monastic way of life balanced with action and contemplation. Building the Remban Matthew's Memorial Hospital and Printing Press and Book Store to print and sell books on retreat and gospel, and other periodic publications.

D. Publications- Published articles on devotional topics through Church Weekly, from 1965 onwards. The title was "The Spiritual Factory of Transformation and Glorification of Human Souls in the Mission Field." Those articles are written in Malayalam and are not yet translated. Other articles on church history have been translated from English to Malayalam. Another book, "Rigdevic Soteriology": A comparative study of Christ and Myth of Prajapathi in Rigveda- Christ has been compared to the Hindu Myth of Prajapathi. Prajapathi is an ancient Hindu mythological character who is presented in the Rig-Veda comparable to the Prophecy of Jesus Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection in the old Testament. Another article recently published, "The Oil of our Lamp of Spirit," a message given to the youth recently in July 1999. A poem was composed and tuned for VBS students at St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Detroit, U.S.A, August 12, 1999 of which the title, "Who is child of God deserving refuge in the bosom of God? Many other poems and new songs have been composed in Malayalam for worship and used in the retreat center.

Employment Background: Past 20-year frame

A. Mar Kuriakose Orthodox Church Mylapra P.O, Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India 689671. Served as the vicar and president of the church from 1979 to 1984. Assistant vicar of St. Gregorios Church Mysore from 1984- June 1986. Vicar in-charge for one month of St. Gregorios Church in Queens, New York in August 1986. Appointed vicar of St. Thomas Orthodox Church in Rajasthan, India in 1989 to 1991, combined with duties in Lucknow, Dehradun, Haridwar, Ajmer, Kethady Nagar, Bikaner, New Delhi, and West Bengal. I was then appointed vicar of St. Anthony's Church in Thannithodu, Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India in 1992.

B. From 1993 to 1995 I was appointed vicar of St. Mary's Orthodox Church in Thaloor, Vyanad, Kerala, together with study in Mysore as a research scholar and visiting missionary priest in different churches there.

C. From 1995 to 2002, I have been appointed by the head of the church as director of retreat center and supervisor of training center in Mylapra, Pathanamthitta, Kerala.