The Paurastya Vidyāpīṭham (PVP) otherwise known as the Pontifical Oriental Institute of Religious Studies, is an autonomous Faculty of Ecclesiastical Sciences, erected at the St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Kottayam.
Paurastya Vidyāpīṭham is the Indian name of the Pontifical Oriental Institute of Religious Studies erected by the Congregation for Catholic Education (Prot. N. 679/75/78) on 3 July 1982 for Eastern Religious studies at the St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Vadavathoor, Kottayam, Kerala, India. It comprises of the Faculty of Theology, the Institute of Eastern Canon Law and the Institute of Philosophy together with all other Faculties/Institutes that may be erected at it in the future. It is subject to the authority of the Synod of Bishops of the Syro–Malabar Church, which exercises its authority through a Synodal Commission.
On 21 February 1973 the Department of Theology at St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary was affiliated to the Faculty of Oriental Ecclesiastical Sciences at the Pontifical Oriental Institute Rome. Considering the steady growth of the Department the Congregation for Catholic Education erected its as an independent Theological Faculty with right to confer the degrees of Baccalaureate in Theology (B. Th.), Licentiate in Theology (L. Th.) and Doctorate in Theology (D. Th.).
On 12 December 2016, the Institute of Eastern Canon Law, aggregated to the Faculty of Oriental Canon Law at Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome was erected at PVP by the same Congregation.
On 15 August 1985 the Department of Philosophy was given the power to confer the degree of Baccalaureate in Philosophy (B. Ph.). On 12 December 2022, the Autonomous Institute of Cycle I of Philosophy (Prot. N. 912/2022) was erected at PVP by the Dicastery for Culture and Education.