Fr. P.T Geevarghese Panickaruveetil OIC( Abo Geevarghese. The late Archbishop His Grace Mar Ivanios OIC), the founder of Bethany Ashram was born on 21st September. 1882 at Mavelikkara. Born in the famous ’Mallitta’ Panikkar family, belonging to the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church, he assumed the baptismal name Geevarghese. Young Geevarghese, a brilliant student in his early school days, at the age of 15 joined M.D Seminary School for high school studies on April 20, 1898, he received Minor Orders and was sent to Madras Christian College for higher studies. There he obtained his Master's degree and thereafter he was known as “M.A Achen”. On Sept.15, 1908, Geevarghese was ordained a priest by His Grace Vattasseril Mar Divannsios  (Dionysius). Just after the ordination, Fr. P.T Geevargese was appointed principal of M.D. Seminary, Kottayam, Later the young principal moved to Calcutta, accepting an invitation to teach in the Serampore college.

During his stay at Kolkatta Fr. P.T Geevargese, concentrated on the foundation of the monastic community as an instrument of spiritual renewal within the Syrian Orthodox Church. In his attempt he was very well inspired by both the Christian and Hindu monastic traditions, He lived for a while in ‘Sabarmathi’ with Mahatma Gandhi and in ‘Shanthinikethan’ with Rabindranath Tagore and was so much taken up with the Indian spirituality that these great ones practiced. After making the necessary arrangements to begin such an austere life, he resigned his professorship at Serampore and started the first Christian religious community in the Malankara Church on August 15, 1919, at Mundanmala, Perunnad-Ranni, Kerala to which he gave the name Bethany Ashram, which is officially known as Order of the Imitation of Christ (OIC).