Dionysius I, Metropolitan of Malankara

Mar Thoma VI, also known as Mar Dionysius I, was the 6th Metropolitan of the Malankara Syrian Church, serving from 1765 until his demise on 7 April 1808.^[1] His original name was Iype, and he was born as the only son of Mathew (Mathan) Tharakan, the elder brother of Mar Thoma V,^[2] in the Pallippuram branch of the Pakalomattom Family(Andoor, Marangattupilly).^[3][4][5]

Thoma VI succeeded Mar Thoma V as Malankara Metropolitan in 1765, and unlike his predecessors, who were said by their opponents not to have been properly ordained as bishop, he received orders from Syriac Orthodox bishops in 1772, thus ending any controversy. Other events of his reign include the separation of the Thozhiyoor church (now the Malabar Independent Syrian Church), the arrival of English Protestant missionaries, and the first translation of the Bible from Syriac to Malayalam.