We are Bethanians, the members of Bethany Ashram. Bethany Ashram, formally called the Order of the Imitation of Christ (OIC), is the first indigenous religious congregation started in the Malankara Church. Founded by the late Archbishop Servant of God Geevarghese Mar Ivanios on 15th August 1919 at Perunadu in Kerala, Bethany blends beautifully the spirit of both Oriental monastic tradition and Indian sanyasa.
As the very name indicates, Bethany Ashram has been a ‘house of consolation’ for all those who entered its threshold. Bethany was instrumental in the spiritual revival of the Malankara church at a time when it was infested by tumultuous litigations and the in-fight for dominance inside the church. Later it became the ‘cradle of the Reunion Movement’ when Mar Ivanios and others embraced the unity of the true Catholic communion thus giving rise to the Malankara Catholic Church on 20th September 1930.