Kottayam is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. It was one of the main centres of literature and hence was called Akshara Nagari or Land of Letters. Many of the first Malayalam dailies like Deepika, Malayala Manorama, Mangalam were started and are headquartered in Kottayam. It is the administrative capital of Kottayam district and is located in south-west Kerala with a town population of 129,894 and UA population of 55,374 according to the 2011 census. It is 157 km south of Kunnamkulam, the center of Kerala and is located almost 30 km west from the center of district. During the British period, various missionaries, the Christian churches and St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara himself established many schools, colleges and other educational institutuions in and around the town. Kottayam town is also known as Chuvarchithra Nagari. The Headquarters of the Indian Orthodox Church is the Catholicate Palace located at Devalokam, Kottayam. It is the official headquarters of the Malankara Metropolitan and the Catholicos Of The East who reigns on the Supreme Throne of St.Thomas the Apostle.