Dionysius IV of Cheppad
His Grace Mar Dionysius IV, Mar Thoma XII Malankara Metropolitan | |
|---|---|
| Malankara Church | |
| Installed | 27 August 1825 |
| Term ended | 1852 |
| Predecessor | Dionysius III |
| Successor | Mathews Athanasius |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 27 August 1825 by Geevarghese Mar Philexenos II |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cheppad Peelipose 1781 |
| Died | 9 October 1855 (aged 73–74) Cheppad, Kingdom of Travancore (present day Alappuzha, Kerala, India) |
| Buried | St. George Orthodox Church, Cheppad |
Dionysius IV, Mar Thoma XII (born Cheppad Peelipose (Aramaic and Malayalam: Piyliypaos, in English Philip) (1781 – 9 October 1855), was 12th Malankara Metropolitan from 27 August 1825, until he abdicated in 1852.
His tenure was a period of turmoil in the Malankara Church. When the Anglican Missionaries tried to interfere in the faith and administration of the Malankara church, the Church severed its relations with the Anglican missionaries through the historic Mavelikkara Synod of 1836. A negligible number of the members of the Church joined the C.M.S. Church. The remaining members were divided into two factions, one upholding the traditions that entered the Church, and the other in support of restoration based on principles propagated during the missionary activity of the Church Mission Society (CMS).