Remembering A Prophet Of Liberation: Bishop Paulose Mar Paulose In Our Times – OpEd

At a time when religion is increasingly circumscribed by ritualism, sectarian divides, and institutional rigidity, the imperative for morally grounded and reformative religious leadership is ever more critical. In a world marked by rights violations, rising militarism, climate crises, deepening inequalities, an unjust global economic order, and worsening interfaith relations, religion must reclaim its ethical and liberative purpose. Religious leaders who epitomize resistance, compassion, and solidarity with the oppressed offer not only spiritual insight but also moral courage in confronting the prevailing injustices of our time. It is in this wider moral and political canvas that we must remember Bishop Dr. Paulose Mar Paulose (1941–1998)—a radical voice from Kerala whose life continues to remain as a symbol of liberating faith.

His legacy is especially instructive today, when religion is increasingly reduced to narrow identity politics and interfaith animosities are on the rise—even in Kerala, once celebrated for its pluralistic ethos. Against such currents, Bishop Paulose’s life was a proof of a different vision: one of dialogue, resistance, and radical hope. He was not a Bishop confined to ceremonial duties or ecclesiastical hierarchy. He was a theologian-activist, a cultural critic, a thinker of moral clarity, and a committed companion of the working people.

Born in Thrissur, Bishop Paulose’s intellectual journey spread through institutions like Serampore, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. The turmoil of the 1960s—the civil rights movement, anti-war protests, student activism—shaped his theological and political outlook. His engagement with Bonhoeffer’s theology and Marxist humanism was not abstract. His doctoral thesis, A Bonhoefferian Corrective of Karl Marx’s Critique of Religion, was a rare intellectual attempt to forge a dialogue between Christian theology and Marxist critique, seeing them not as antagonistic but complementary frameworks for human liberation and ethical transformation. 

For Bishop Paulose, theology could not be confined to texts or institutions. In his thought, ‘God is Freedom’—a powerful reversal of the idea that religion demands passive obedience. He believed resistance, under oppressive conditions, was itself an act of divine obedience. His theology echoed the liberationist ethics of Gustavo Gutiérrez, insisting that spirituality meant concrete solidarity with the exploited and participation in their struggles. The spiritual, for him, was political, and the ethical was practical. 

As Bishop of the Chaldean Syrian Church—a small but distinct East Syriac Christian community rooted in Thrissur—he brought this theology to life. His Church, tracing its lineage to the ancient Church of the East and maintaining the liturgical heritage of Addai and Mari, found in him a leader who could link tradition to transformation. Despite external pressures and internal schisms, the community under his leadership retained its identity and spiritual integrity. In a time of division within the Church, Bishop Paulose’s leadership, alongside Bishop Mar Aprem, helped direct the community through one of its most defining transitions. Consecrated by Mar Thoma Darmo in 1968, he stood for continuity and reformation, helping pave the way for the reunification of the Old Calendarist and New Calendarist factions in 1995. The Chaldean Syrian Church, despite being a minority—around 30,000 members—remains a living testimony to faith rooted in social commitment.

Yet his impact extended far beyond ecclesiastical boundaries. In Kerala’s socio-political terrain, Bishop Paulose was a dissenting voice and moral interlocutor. His support for head-load workers in Thrissur, his defence of artistic freedom against religious censorship (notably in the case of P.M. Antony’s controversial play), his resistance to the Tribal Land Bill, and his critique of state repression and global capitalism marked him as a theological dissenter and political activist with rare courage. He was one of the few religious leaders who stood not with institutions of power but with those on the margins of society. 

He exposed the hidden violence of economic systems and called out the dangers of IMF-World Bank induced economic reforms, warning that these would spell disaster for the poor and disenfranchised. He denounced the arms race, nuclear proliferation, and the growing militarization of global politics. He saw the so-called ‘New World Order,’ spearheaded by U.S. imperialism, as a mask for hegemony and exploitation of the Global South. In response, he called for a counter-order—a ‘globalization of solidarity’ rooted in justice, cooperation, and collective liberation.

Even in his final days, Bishop Paulose remained restless in thought and eager for deeper engagements. He yearned for dialogue between Christianity and Marxism, faith and political ideology, spirituality and social science. His efforts to meet E.M.S. Namboodiripad, Kerala’s towering Marxist figure, signified his deep desire to bridge worldviews. It remains symbolic of a larger historical project: the synthesis of prophetic religion and emancipatory politics. His last days, shadowed by the death of EMS and followed soon by his own, were laden with unfinished questions—questions we are still called to answer. 

His words—“Obedience to God can mean resistance to Man”—continue to reverberate as a moral imperative. He believed that “the humanism of Karl Marx and the ideals of Christianity shorn of the religious garb” could coalesce into a radical mission of liberation. His critique was not merely directed at oppressive regimes or external forces and it was also a penetrating inward critique of religious formalism, clerical complacency, and conservative dogmatism.

Even within his own community, Bishop Paulose challenged entrenched norms and hierarchies. He demanded that the Church rediscover its prophetic role—not as a fortress of privilege but as a sanctuary for the struggling. He emphasized that true Christian life is participation in the suffering of God in the world, not a preoccupation with rituals or self-righteous sanctity. For him, faith was not withdrawal but engagement, not retreat but radical action.

As Bishop Yuhanon Mar Meletius rightly observed, Bishop Paulose was “politically more active than many a party worker” because he understood that humans are inherently political beings. Political engagement, for him, was not an ideological choice but an existential necessity for a just society. He urged that believers must join with all who struggle for liberation, regardless of their religious or ideological background. He believed that liberation from bondage is a shared human project.

In the face of worsening interfaith relations in Kerala, where mutual suspicion and communal tensions are being normalized, Bishop Paulose’s life becomes a powerful counterpoint. He did not view dialogue as appeasement but as a courageous act of truth-telling. He believed that dialogue was not a strategy but a spiritual vocation—an invitation to deeper understanding and shared humanity. His voice, more than ever, is needed in a context where religion is reduced to boundaries rather than bridges.

His commitment to art, culture, and free expression also adds another dimension to his legacy. By defending creative expression and standing against censorship, he emphasized that faith must breathe in an atmosphere of critical thinking and cultural freedom. He resisted the instrumentalization of religion for political gain and challenged the notion that religious communities must remain silent in the face of oppression.

As we remember him nearly three decades later, Bishop Paulose Mar Paulose’s life continues to summon us—to live justly, to speak truth to power, and to build communities where dignity is not a privilege but a promise. His was not a life seeking applause or ecclesiastical promotion, but a witness to the deeper meaning of Christian discipleship in our times. He is not merely a figure of memory, but a compass pointing to a more just and humane world. Bishop Paulose Mar Paulose’s life was a theological act, a political testimony, and a deeply human narrative of hope and resistance. His unfinished mission—of dialogue across faiths and ideologies, of solidarity with the oppressed, and of reclaiming religion as a space of liberation—remains with us.