Terraced green fields beneath a bright sky on the hills of Vagamon

Cistercian Monastery · Vagamon, Kerala

Kurisumala Ashram

Monastery of Our Lady of Kurisumala

A Cistercian abbey of the Syro-Malankara Church that follows the Oriental Christian tradition.

Our quest

A community of spiritual seekers

Kurisumala Ashram was established on November 3, 1957, by Zecharias Mar Athanasios, bishop of Tiruvalla in Kerala. It is an autonomous monastery of eparchial rank in the Syro-Malankara Church, and it has grown as a community of spiritual seekers.

Our quest is pursued in prayer and work. It is meant to lead the seeker to a higher consciousness, the realization of a threefold communion.

With the Lord, as He exhorted His disciples: “Abide in Me as I abide in you.”
With creation, as attested in the Psalms.
With each other, as in the early experience of the Church.

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The interior of the Ashram church with its wooden ceiling, brass lamp and stone arch behind the altar — The church, open round the clock.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

1 John 4:11–12

Three charisms

One life woven from three strands

Francis Acharya liked to call them the three charisms of Kurisumala.

Syrian Liturgy

An oriental and essentially poetic liturgy deeply rooted in the thought and language of the Bible, with a vivid sense of the resurrection.

Indian Monastic Lifestyle

Inculturated, simple, nature-oriented and austere.

III

Benedictine-Cistercian Spirituality

Based on the Rule of Saint Benedict, with its emphasis on community prayer, manual labour and lectio divina, the meditative, prayerful reading of Scripture.

Spiritual objectives →

Our founders

Two monks who walked from West to East

Fr. Francis Acharya OCSO

17.01.1912 – 31.01.2002

The Karmayogi of Kurisumala, a forerunner of the Christian Ashram Movement.

Fr. Bede Griffiths OSB

17.12.1906 – 13.05.1993

Monk and mystic, co-founder of Kurisumala and later superior of the Shantivanam community.

A day at the Ashram

Prayer and work through the hours

The day begins in the dark with the Night Vigil and closes with Compline and meditation. Between them lie the Bharatiya Pooja, spiritual reading and study, bread labour, shared meals and the evening Satsang.

3:45 a.m.Night Vigil and Meditation
6:00 a.m.Bharatiya Pooja
12:00 p.m.Mid-day Prayer and Lunch
6:30 p.m.Evening Prayer
8:00 p.m.Satsang

The full schedule

The church at night, lit only by lamps and a glowing cross

Fields of activity

A living shared with the hill and its people

The Ashram is not a clerical community. Its principal work is living the monastic charism, and its temporal needs are met by the dairy farm.

The dairy farmSupporting almost a hundred local families

A brother carrying fresh loaves from the bakery oven

Bakery and gardenBread and vegetables for the community

A brother serving a meal to guests seated on the refectory floor

HospitalityEvery visitor received as Christ Himself

Bougainvillea in bloom over the Ashram lawn

Books and publicationsReligious classics, Bibles and the Philokalia

Being receptive to the Word of God that comes to us through everyday events is real contemplation.

Fr. Francis Acharya · Words of Life

The hill, the church and the people

The nilavilakku before the altar, ringed with flowers

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Visit

Come and see

The Ashram stands above Vazhikkadavu, near Vagamon in Idukki and Kottayam districts of Kerala. The nearest airport is Kochi and the nearest railway station is Kottayam.

Map & directions

Write or call

Kurisumala Ashram Rd
Vagamon, Idukki / Kottayam
Kerala 685503, India

kurisumala1958@gmail.com
+91 95445 58077

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