Consecration Following the sudden demise of
Pulikkottil Joseph Mar Dionysious I, on 24 November 1816, the British resident called a meeting of the Diwan (prime minister) of
Travancore and elders of the church at Ernakulam. This meeting decided to appoint
Geevarghese Mar Philexenos (Kidangan) (1811–29) of the
Malabar Independent Syrian Church, who consecrated Pulikottil Joseph Mar Dionysius in 1816, to be the Acting Malankara Metropolitan. This was accepted and Maharajahas of both
Travancore and Cochin issued royal proclamations to confirm this.
Geevarghese Mar Philexenos II did not want to take over the Malankara church. He convened a general assembly of the representatives of the parishes and they selected Punnathara Kurien Kathanar as the next Metropolitan. Kurien Kathanar handed over the responsibilities of Kallumkathra parish to Kaithayil Geevarghese Malpan. Punnathra Kurien Ramban was ordained by
Mar Philexenos (Kidangan) of the
Malabar Independent Syrian Church on 19 October 1817.
Mavelikkara assembly Punnathra Mar Dionysius was pressurised by Angilican missionaries who wanted to reform the Malankara Church. A meeting was held on 3 December 1818 at
Mavelikkara to study the changes that can be implemented with the missionaries present. To suggest improvements to be made in the church, a six-member committee was appointed. Palakunnathu
Abraham Malpan, Konattu Varghese Malpan, and Kaithayil Geevarghese Malpan were among them.
English missionaries Anglican missionaries began to arrive in
Kerala. Rev. Thomas Norton arrived in
Kochi on 8 May 1816, and began to open schools in and around
Alappuzha. Rev. Benjamin Baily arrived in October 1816 and established a printing press at the Syrian Seminary in
Kottayam. He also began to translate the Bible into
Malayalam. During the time of Punnathara Mar Dionysious Rev. Joseph Fenn arrived in 1818 October and was made the principal. Rev. Henry Baker arrived in 1819 April went round the parishes establishing schools near the churches. The Anglican missionaries maintained cordial relations with the Malankara Church during the reign of Mar Dionysius III, assisting in the theological education at the Seminary without interfering in the faith and administration of the Church.
The letter to the C.M.S. An apologetic version of the Coonan Cross Oath in the letter of Dionysious Punnathara to the head of the Anglican
Church Missionary Society from a translation of it out of the Syriac original: Here, the oath is presented as an opposition to the Pope himself. ==Relation with Travancore==