1912 Malankara Church divided into two, one under the leadership of Malankara Metropolitan Vatteseril Dionysius (bishop's party) and one under Anthiochan Jacobite Patriarch (Bava Party). Geevarghese was belonging to Bishop's party. Professorship in Serampore In 1912 Vattasseril Dionysius received an invitation to attend a conference at Calcutta. Dionysius selected Geevarghese to accompany him to Calcutta to attend the conference. At the conference, they met Dr. Howels the principal of Serampore College who requested the Metropolitan to avail the service of Geevarghese as the professor of the College. The metropolitan permitted Geevarghese to take up the task. He made use of this opportunity to educate the Malankara Youth. About 20 young people from Kerala reached Calcutta for higher education. At Serampore, Geevarghese got more time for prayer and contemplation. He came across the writings of Basil of Caesarea on monasticism. The Basilian monastic vision had a great influence on him. Besides the visits to the Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi and Santiniketan of Rabindranath Tagore gave him a new vision of Indian Sanyasa (monasticism). These experiences made him to reflect upon starting an order of missionaries to carry out the task of evangelization in India. Slowly the residence of Geevarghese and his followers at Serampore became an Ashram (Monastery), and they began to live a sort of religious life according to the monastic rules of St. Basil, adapting them to Indian culture. As he accepted this as his way of life, he resigned from the Serampore College. Foundation of the Bethany Ashram On his return from Calcutta, Geevarghese looked for a location to establish an ashram. One of his friends E. John Vakeel donated of land at Mundanmala, Ranni-Perunadu, Kerala at the meeting place of the rivers Pampa and Kakkatt. The place was thickly filled with thorny bushes and herbs. Geevarghese and his followers built a small thatched hut made out of the branches of trees and bamboo. This turned to be the first ashram in Malankara on 15 August 1919. He prayerfully searched for a name for the ashram and opened the Bible and he got the word "Bethany". He meditated upon it and came to the conclusion that it was an apt name for a religious order which upholds both contemplation and action. Eventually the Bethany Ashram became a place of pilgrimage and spiritual experience. Spiritual retreats and discourses were given by Geevarghese especially in Passion Week. Geevarghese envisioned