Mathews Athanasius

His Grace The Most Reverend Aboon Mathews Mar Athanasius Mar Thoma XIII Malankara Metropolitan
Of the Apostolic Throne of St Thomas
Church	Malankara Church,Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church[1]
Installed	1852
Term ended	1877
Predecessor	Dionysius IV
Successor	Mar Thoma XIV (Marthoma Faction) Dionysious V (Orthodox Faction)
Orders
Ordination	1831
Consecration	February 1842
Personal details
Born	Mathen 25 April 1818 Maramon
Died	16 July 1877 (1877-07-17) (aged 59) Maramon
Buried	Maramon church

Mathews Mar Athanasius Mar Thoma XIII (25 April 1818 – 16 July 1877) was the Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Church from 1852 until 1865.^[2][3] As a reformer, he spent most of his reign attempting to reform and heal rifts within the church. However in 1865, he was deposed by the traditionalist faction of the Malankara Church and Pulikkottil Joseph Dionysius became their leader.

Mathews started his career in the church in childhood, and was influenced by the Church Mission Society and his uncle Abraham Malpan, a priest who instituted reforms in Maramon parish in 1840. When Abraham's reforms led to conflict with the reigning Malankara Metropolitan Dionysius IV, Deacon Mathews traveled to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch, who consecrated him as Bishop Mathews Athanasius in 1841.^[3] After years of dispute over the church's leadership between Mathews and Dionysius, the issue was settled by the Travancore government in 1852, with Mathews being recognized as Metropolitan since he got the Royal decree from the Maharaja of Travancore. He worked to repair the rift in the church, but continuing unrest ultimately led to a permanent split. After the Synod of Mulanthurathy and the death of Athanasious the rift in Malankara Church became more visible. Following the Royal Court Verdict^[4] against Metropolitan Thomas Athanasius and the reform party, the independent Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church was formed in 1889 as the Independent Malankara Syrian Church. ^[5]