About Us
The Mar Thoma Congregation Scotland is an Ecumenical Christian fellowship in Scotland under the Mar Thoma Syrian Church and its UK - Europe and Africa Diocese. The Holy Communion is held once in a month and the service is in Malayalam and follows the Mar Thoma Church liturgy. Area wise cottage prayer meetings is held once in a month at the residence of the members.
Rev Sham P Thomas
The first Holy Communion Service was held on 4th October 2003 with the permission of the Diocesan Bishop of the Mar Thoma Church, The Rt. Revd Dr Euyakim Mar Coorilos Episcopa. Revd. Dr Sham P Thomas (in the picture), who was then doing his Doctoral studies in Edinburgh University, started this Congregation as a small prayer group with a few families in October 2001 meeting on alternative Sundays in Edinburgh, which later developed into this Congregation.
The Diocesan Bishop formally approved the Congregation as the Mar Thoma Congregation Scotland from 1st July 2004 with Revd Dr Sham P. Thomas as our first Vicar Rev. Jacob K A is leading the Congregation at the moment and he is our seventh Vicar after Revd. Gigy Thomas, Revd. Shiby Abraham and Rev Varghese Mathew, Rev Sam John and Rev Ronnie Cherian.
We have members from all over Scotland and other Churches, and we are in the process of registering as a parish and charitable trust in the UK. The Congregation enjoys the loving support from St Mary's Church, Dalmahoy and Old Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh, and many other local parishes.
our vicar
Rev Merin Mathew
Rev. Merin Mathew is an ordained priest of the Mar Thoma Church. He is born and raised in Pune, Maharashtra and his home Parish is Immanuel Mar Thoma Church, Vishrantwadi, Pune. He has completed his Masters of Theology (M.Th.) from United Theological College, Bengaluru. He was a Faculty in the department of Theology and Ethics at the Dharmajyoti Vidyapeeth Seminary, Faridabad. Currently pursuing Phd from the University of Aberdeen. He is also the author of 4 books, out of which three are published by CSS, Tiruvalla. They are "Burning Bush", "Here Am I", and "Still Small Voice."
His life partner is Soji George. She is an IT professional.
About Mar thoma Church
The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian Church and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, is an autonomous Reformed Oriental church based in Kerala, India. While continuing many of the Syriac high church practices, the church is reformed in its theology and doctrines. It employs a reformed variant of the West Syriac Rite Divine Liturgy of Saint James, translated to Malayalam.
The Mar Thoma Church sees itself as continuation of the Saint Thomas Christians, a community traditionally believed to have been founded in the first century by Thomas the Apostle, who is known as Mar Thoma (Saint Thomas) in Syriac, and describes itself as "Apostolic in origin, Universal in nature, Biblical in faith, Evangelical in principle, Ecumenical in outlook, Oriental in worship, Democratic in function, and Episcopal in character".