Rev. Fr. Dr. Cherian Puthiyottil was born on May 26, 1946, in Kerala, India. After the completion of pre-university graduation, he attended the Orthodox Theological College in India from where he graduated in 1967. He received his B.A. degree from Kerala State University of India in 1970. From 1980 to 1981, he did special studies in Germany, Britain, and in the United States in the areas of pastoral counseling, writings of Syrian fathers in their original languages, patristic, and liturgy. He was awarded a D.Min degree in 1988. Rev. Fr. Dr. Cherian Puthiyottil is one of the few international scholars in the Aramaic language.
He was an active and important member of the Orthodox church in India. From 1970 to 1980, he served as assistant to the bishop of the Orthodox church of India in Kottayam, India. While serving in this capacity, he also assumed other duties in the church. For example, he was the general secretary and director of the Christian Student Movement of India from 1971 to 1980, chaplain of the Kottayam Medical College, staff of the Orthodox Theological College, and vicar and administrator of the Thazhathangadi Church. He also served as editor and publisher of a youth magazine and of liturgical and theological books for Orthodox Christian publishers in India. In 1981 he became the vicar and pastoral Counselor of the St. Gregorios Orthodox church in London, England.
In 1982 Rev. Fr. Dr. Cherian Puthiyottil joined as staff of Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota and in 1990 he was ordained as an ELCA Pastor. His primary responsibility was social ministry and neighborhood development. During his tenure at Central Lutheran Church, he became the founder and spiritual director of the skyway connection ministries in Minneapolis, part of the Urban Community Association of Minneapolis and served numerous other community and church - related committees, task forces, associations and boards in addition to starting four business corporations. Further, he authored in 1991 a book, Welcoming Strangers to a New Land: A Model for Successful Refugee Sponsorship, and in 2001 he authored the book, Our Neighbors: An Introduction to Cultural Diversity and World Religions.
On January 6, 2000, Rev. Fr. Dr. Cherian Puthiyottil was installed as pastor- director of the Multicultural Mission Center, an AGORA (marketplace) ministry of the Minneapolis Area Synod, intended to strengthen the ministries of existing white and ethnic congregations.
Rev. Fr. Dr. Cherian Puthiyottil was an integral part of the ecumenical community - Kerala Christian Congregation, and served the spiritual needs of the Kerala Syrian Orthodox families in Minnesota for the last 2 decades.
