Rev Dharmaraj Rasalam installed as CSI bishop

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rev A Dharmaraj Rasalam was installed as the sixth Bishop of the Church of South India (CSI) South Kerala Diocese here on Saturday.CSI Moderator Vasantha Kumar led the ceremony at the Mateer Memorial Church at the South Kerala Diocese headquarters, LMS Compound, at 9 a.m. preceded by a colourful procession. Rasalam hails from Kalluvettankuzhy, Vizhinjam, and succeeds Rev J W Gladstone as Bishop.In the afternoon, Speaker G Karthikeyan inaugurated a well-attended reception to the new Bishop. He urged community leaders in the state to constructively participate in the developments in the Kerala society. He recalled the contributions made by the Christian community to Kerala, especially in the field of education and agriculture. Karthikeyan said that settlements (in the high ranges by Christian communities in the past) and encroachments should be viewed distinctly. “Settlements should be seen as settlements and encroachments as encroachments. Now they are being clubbed together,” he said.CSI deputy moderator G Devakadaksham felicitated the new Bishop and said that a chapter has opened in the history of the diocese. He hoped that the church ‘will go from strength to strength and that people would enjoy the fullness of life.’Deputy Speaker N Shakthan, Transport Minister V S Sivakumar, Mayor K Chandrika, MPs Shashi Tharoor and A Sampath, MLAs, Sree Ramakrishna Mission president (Thiruvananthapuram) Swami Tatwaroopananda, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis, Latin Catholic Archbishop M Soosai Pakiam, T’Puram Bishop of the Malankara Orthodox Church Gabriel Mar Gregorios were among those present.