Funeral Service Of Rev. Pr. Jose Anathanam (79)

Pastor Jose Anathanam
4 January 1943 - 3 November 2022
General in God's Army
Popularly known just as Jose Anathanam without the appellation Pastor he used to say he was the most unlikely candidate to be a preacher. Born into the affluent Anathanam (Kanjirapally) family, he lived an indolent life of a rubber baron for the first 36 years of his life.
Chackochen, his father and his mother Panjiamma (Kadamapuzha, Kanjirapally) brought him up with his three brothers and six sisters following the strict tenets of their Catholic faith. At the age of 10, he was sent to a boarding school in Bangalore and later started studying for his engineering degree. He married Lalitha ( daughter of KS Scaria, Pottamkullam) relatively early, when he was just 23.
Pastor Jose had an unusual and rather painful spiritual encounter with the Lord when he accidentally scalded himself while using steaming hot water during inhalation. He heard God's voice, "It is I." This prompted him to attend a charismatic retreat as urged by his mother and wife. He often said in amusement during the hundreds of retreats he conducted, that as they drove through the gates of the retreat centre, he told his wife, "This will be my first and last retreat!"
It was there that Pastor Jose had a life changing experience with his Lord Jesus when he forgave someone. There was no looking back from then. He kept receiving revelation after revelation from the Bible.
Preaching initially only to his family and small charismatic prayer groups, the Lord revealed to him the need to be baptized in 2001which led to his ouster from the Catholic church.
Pastor Jose founded the Covenant People Ministries which has two retreat centers, the Upper Room in Kanjirapally and Solomon's Portico in Kottayam. He is one of the earliest TV evangelists in India, the author of books in English and Malayalam notably Daivathinte Swantha Jannam, In Christ & Choose Life. His messages entitled The Story, The Bride & The Truth are being telecasted through Harvest TV. He has written gospel music, writing the lyrics and setting it to music.
Following a cardiac arrest in Bangalore on 3rd November, Pastor Jose went home to his beloved Jesus. He is survived by his wife Lalitha, son Chackochen (Founder and Senior Pastor Petra Ministries, Bangalore), Chackochen's wife Deepthi (Jeeragathil), daughter Gina and husband Peter (Ramapuram), Gita and husband Thomas (Ramapuram), grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Pastor Jose has drawn people to Jesus for more than 40 years and his messages on social media will continue to bring salvation to the world