Marth mariam Vanitha Samajam (MMVS) is one of the major spiritual organizations in the Malankara Orthodox Church. In 1920 it started as a woman’s prayer group, and as it grew it began meeting in various parishes, scattered all over the Malankara Orthodox Church in India.
In 1928 under the patronage of very Rev: M. C. Kuriakose Ramban and the leadership of K. M. Annamma and colleagues, the entire parish-based woman’s prayer groups were brought under one umbrella, and named Marth Mariam Vanitha Samajam, Marth is the feminine form of Mar, which means Saint in Syriac, so it is named after, “Saint Mary”.
The Samajam mainly aimed at the spiritual growth of women, and the patron Mother Mary, set the perfect example. As we all know, she grew up in the temple, which meant that she had a complete knowledge of the scriptures, and a great faith in God. We can see in the Bible, she continued to follow her Son, Jesus, in His ministry, she was there in Cana, where Jesus did His first miracle. She was also there at the crucifixion of her Son, she did not get discouraged or stop there, but continued the ministry with the disciples and other women, in the upper room in constant prayers, until the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit poured out on all of them. Acts 1:13-2: 4.
From the beginning, the motto of the Samajam has been, “Pray, Act and Illumine”, for Jesus taught us to pray, He asked us to help the needy and He called us to be the “The Light of the World”. The visionary lady behind this was Mrs. K.M. Annamma (Kandathil family), she was the first secretary of this association, and worked very hard for 36 years to help it grow into a viable woman’s wing of the church, up to the point where the constitution of this organization was recognized by the Holy Apostolic Synod in 1964.
The Association’s first President was, very Rev: M.C. Kuriakose Ramban (1928-1931). Thereafter for the next 20 years, Puthancave GeeVarghese Mar Philexinose (1931- 1951). The current President is H. G. Yuhanon Mar Theodoros. Currently the General Secretary is Mrs. Mary Mathew. It’s headquartered in Kottayam and all the women in the Malankara Orthodox Church belong to this organization and there are now over 100,000 members.