History of the church

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light; I Peter 2:9

In the 1930s, Marthomites came to Mumbai (then Bombay) from various parts of Kerala in search of work, As they settled in Mumbai, they formed small prayer groups.In 1940 the first worship service was held in Parel CNI Church and in 1942 the worship service was shifted to the Holy Redeemer Church in Dadar.

In due time the Marthoma congregation increased in number and a plot of land was purchased in Santacruz, Mumbai and subsequently the St. Thomas Marthoma Church, Santacruz was built and worship service commenced in this Church from the year 1961.Worship services also commenced in Chembur in 1961 and the Chembur parish was formed in 1968.

Thereafter the Marthomites residing in Navi Mumbai, got together and started a worship service in Vashi under the guidance of Chembur parish.In the year 1989 an independent parish was formed in the name of St Paul’s MTC, Vashi and thus commenced the worship service at Vashi.

Then in 1996, for the benefit of Marthomites spread across Nerul and neighboring areas, a worship service was started once a month at the Jacobite Syrian Church, Nerul.Later In 2000, the worship services were shifted to St Augustine school, Nerul until 2004.From 2004, our worship services were held at Kerala Samajam, Nerul and worship services were held every Sunday.From June 2006 we shifted our worship service to Ryan international School, Sector 19, Nerul.

An independent parish was the dream of the prayer groups in and around Nerul. The members of these prayer groups came together and passed a resolution for the formation of an independent parish. This resolution was submitted to the diocesan Episcopa for the approval of the Hon. Synod by the general body of the Vashi, St. Paul’s Mar Thoma Church.The honorary Episcopal Synod which met on 20th & 21st Feb 2007 accepted the request. As per the circular of the Mar Thoma Metropolitan His Grace Philipose Mar Chrysostom, the Vashi St. Paul’s Mar Thoma Church prayer groups at Nerul (Nerul A, Nerul B, Nerul C, Nerul D and Seawoods areas) were elevated to the status of a parish in the name of “Immanuel Mar Thoma Syrian Church” Nerul, from 1st May, 2007. On June 3rd 2007 our then Diocesan Bishop, His GraceS, Rt. Rev. Joseph Mar Barnabas inaugurated the parish and appointed Rev. K. Jameson as the first vicar of our Parish.

The church conducted worship services every Sunday at Ryan International School, Sector 19A , Nerul at 9.00 AM from June 2007 to 11th March 2018. With the cooperation and support of Navjeevan and IMTC, a plot of land was purchased for building the extension office of navjeevan and a worship place for IMTC, Nerul. When the construction of the building was completed and necessary permission obtained, our diocesan Episcopa permitted us to start the worship services at the newly constructed building of Navjeevan centre on the first floor from 14th March 2018.

The consecration of our new church was held on Saturday the 16th March 2019 by our metropolitan most Rev. Dr. Joseph Mathoma along with our diocesan bishop Rt. Rev Dr. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius episcipa in the presence of our achens and the members of the diocese. This was another milestone in the history of our Church to become a Landmark in Nerul.

Vision of our Church

1. To be the source of divine doctrines revealed by Jesus Christ and proclaimed by His Apostles.
2. To promote the spiritual life of its members through the administration of seven sacraments and by the ministry of the WORD

Mission of our Church

We members of Nerul Immanuel Mar Thoma Church through the functioning of the various sub-organisations like the Sevika Sanghom, the Edavaka Mission, the Elders Forum, the Yuvajana Sakhyam, Young Couple Fellowship, Choir and the Sunday School will work towards extending Pastoral care and guidance to children of God and work for their betterment through charitable means in Nerul and neighboring places.

Milestones

As a Parish we have grown and achieved several significant milestones in this journey of 14 years. Nerul Immanuel Mar Thoma Church has come a long way from being a fledging assembly to a grown institution. Starting out with 83 families Nerul Immanuel Mar Thoma Church has grown to 122 families and it is still growing….

• The Church got its Parsonage within 6 months of its formation.
• Our Sunday school attained with the best Sunday school award in the center in the year 2008.
• Our Sevika Sanghom got the overall championship in the talent competition held in the year 2016.
• Our yuvajana Sakhyam got the overall championship in the centre
• Our Sunday School won the overall championship in Navi Mumbai Centre in the past 5 years continuously.
• Our church attained the Sampoorna Tharaka award in the year 2017 & 2018
• Our new church was consecrated and the worship services commenced at our own place from March 2019.

Our Mission Field

As a Parish, we are providing financial support to our missionary Evangelist Suresh Durve in Kothari mission field, Vidharbha district of Maharashtra, which is about 178 kms away from Nagpur. The Chandrapur Mission field comprises of 10 villages spread across the district and is under the leadership of the missionary Achen Rev. Christy V. Varghese and mission coordinator Mr. Pradeep David & family, the mission activities are going on well over there.

The following Achens were severed as the vicars of the parish

We express our sincere thanks to all the former Vicars who served in our parish and nurtured and guided us spiritually in the past and a special thanks to our Vicar Rev. Aji John for his Leadership & guidance.

Immanuel Mar Thoma Church, Nerul wishes to place on record its sincere gratitude to our His Grace The Most Rev. Dr. Theodosius Mar Thoma Metropolitan, our diocesan bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Euyakim Mar Coorilos Suffragan Metropolitan, our former diocesan bishops Rt. Rev. Joseph Mar Barnabas Suffragan Metropolitan and Rt. Rev. Dr. Thomas Mar Theethos for their blessings and guidance. We also express our sincere thanks to the vicar & members of St. Paul’s MTC, Vashi for their motherly care. We also remember the office bearers, managing committee members of our church who served the office untiringly from time to time.

I conclude this report with a grateful heart and joyful mind to our God almighty for his guidance throughout this time.

For Immanuel Mar Thoma Church, Nerul.

Ciril Abraham

(Secretary)