Paurastya Vidyapitham

The Paurastya Vidyāpīṭham (PVP), also known as the Pontifical Oriental Institute of Religious Studies, is an autonomous faculty specializing in ecclesiastical sciences, located at the St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary in Kottayam, Kerala, India. It was established by the Congregation for Catholic Education on July 3, 1982, to promote studies in Eastern religious traditions.

PVP consists of the Faculty of Theology, the Institute of Eastern Canon Law, and the Institute of Philosophy, with provisions for future faculties or institutes. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church, which delegates its authority through a Synodal Commission.

The institute traces its origins to 1973 when the Theology Department of St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary was affiliated with the Faculty of Oriental Ecclesiastical Sciences at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. Recognizing its growth, the Congregation for Catholic Education later elevated it to an independent theological faculty authorized to confer degrees such as Baccalaureate in Theology (B.Th.), Licentiate in Theology (L.Th.), and Doctorate in Theology (D.Th.).

The Institute of Eastern Canon Law was formally established at PVP on December 12, 2016, and aggregated to the Faculty of Oriental Canon Law at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. Additionally, the Philosophy Department was authorized to confer the Baccalaureate in Philosophy (B.Ph.) on August 15, 1985. On December 12, 2022, the Dicastery for Culture and Education further recognized the department as the Autonomous Institute of Cycle I of Philosophy (Prot. N. 912/2022).