Inter Church Council for Education, Chairman of Inter Religious Fellowship, member of the Pro Oriente Foundation in Vienna, Austria (since 1993) and member of the Scientific Commission of International Publication ‘Oasis’ in Venice, Italy. Service He founded the Peerumedu Development Society (P.D.S) and the Malanadu Development Society (M. D. S) in 1977 while he was the bishop of Kanjirappaly. The Kuttanadu Vikasana Samithy (KVS) is another project of his. As the Patron of the Changanacherry Social Service Society (CHASS), he oversaw numerous developmental schemes. Many Scholarship schemes are established for the Dalit Christians in the Archdiocese and the poor and eligible students of the professional courses. In 1990, Powathil founded the I. C. Chacko award for cultural and literary excellence and it was awarded to Prof. P. C. Devasia, the author of Kristu Bhagavathom in Sanskrit language. The Centre for Indian Christian Archaeological Research (CICAR) is another initiative. In order to promote reading, Powathil established the Department of Book Apostolate, which organizes the Changanacherry Pusthaka Mela every year in October. He established the Diocesan Youth Movement called ‘Yuvadeepti’ in 1972. It eventually turned into the Kerala Catholic Youth Movement (KCYM). He was the first chairman of the KCBC Youth Commission. He started Apostolate for the senior citizens, apostolate for the emigrants and apostolate for the tourists in the Archdiocese. He led CANA, the Indian Section of the Pope John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, at Thuruthy with headquarters in Rome. References External links Articles by Archbishop Joseph Powathil Archdiocese Changanacherry-Official site Syro-Malabar Dioceses -- All 26 dioceses of the Syro-Malabar Church with photographs Archdiocese of Changanassery 1930 births Living people Christian clergy from Kottayam Syro-Malabar Catholics Archbishops of Changanassery 20th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops 21st-century Eastern Catholic archbishops