It was founded in 1815 priest-monk Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop Ramban (later Mar Dionysius II) with help from Colonel John Munro to serve the Malankara Syrian Church and to invite CMS missionaries to teach theology.

[1] John Munro, the British Resident in the Kingdom of Travancore offered his unreserved support for the initiative and upon his insistence the Queen of Travancore granted 16 acres (65,000 m2) of tax-free land, Rs.20,000 and the necessary timber for the construction of the Seminary.

Some of the distinguished teachers include Abraham malpan, Gheevarghese Gregorios of Parumala, Geevarghese Dionysius of Vattasseril, Konat Mathan Corepiscopa, Skaria Cheriamadam, Skaria Elavinamannil, Alexander Mattakkal, Augen Mar Timotheos (later Baselios Augen I), V.K.Mathews (later Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews I), Philipose Theophilus and Paulos Gregorios.

A new generation of qualified professors of theology and biblical studies took responsibility for running the Seminary.

Patriarch Justinian of Romania, declared open the new building on 7 January 1969, during his visit to the Malankara Church.

[1] On 21 April 2015 a postage stamp commemorating the 200 years of the Orthodox Theological Seminary was released by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee.