The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order for men and women. Historical records about its origin remain uncertain, but it was probably founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel in the Crusader States. Berthold of Calabria, as well as Albert of Vercelli, have traditionally been associated with the founding of the order, but few clear records of early Carmelite history have survived. The order of Carmelite nuns was formalised in 1452.
The Syro-Malabar Church, also known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic Church based in Kerala, India. It is a sui iuris (autonomous) particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO). The major archbishop presides over the entire church. The incumbent Major Archbishop is Raphael Thattil, serving since January 2024. The Syro-Malabar Synod of Bishops canonically convoked and presided over by the major archbishop constitutes the supreme authority of the church. The Major Archiepiscopal Curia of the church is based in Kakkanad, Kochi. Syro-Malabar is a prefix reflecting the church's use of the East Syriac Rite liturgy and origins in Malabar. The name has been in usage in official Vatican documents since the nineteenth century.
The term third order signifies, in general, lay members of Christian religious orders, who do not necessarily live in a religious community such as a monastery or a nunnery, and yet can claim to wear the religious habit and participate in the good works of a great order. Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism all recognize third orders.
The Third Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, also known as the Lay Carmelites, is a third order of the Carmelite Order of the Ancient Observance, established in 1476 by a bull of Pope Sixtus IV. It is an association of people who choose to live the Gospel in the spirit of the Carmelite Order and under its guidance. Its members are mainly lay people.
The Major Archeparchy of Ernakulam–Angamaly is the major archeparchy and the see of the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. It has been the major archeparchy since 1992 when the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church was elevated to the status of a major archiepiscopal church with Ernakulam-Angamaly as the primatal see. The major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly is the main bishop of the jurisdiction, at the same time the head of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. The eparchies of Kothamangalam and Idukki are the two suffragan eparchies of the major archeparchy.
The Carmelites of Mary Immaculate abbreviated CMI, formerly also known as the Servants of Mary Immaculate, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, and is the largest such congregation in the Syro-Malabar Church.
The Sisters of the Apostolic Carmel are members of a Carmelite religious institute dedicated to female education. It was founded in the latter part of the 19th century by Mother Veronica of the Passion, OCD, under the guidance of her mentor, Bishop Marie Ephrem of the Sacred Heart, OCD, who had envisioned the birth of "a Carmel for the missions" in India, devoted to teaching and education.
Veronica of the Passion was a Roman Catholic nun who founded the Sisters of the Apostolic Carmel, a religious congregation for women based in India.
A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and designed to prepare boys both academically and spiritually for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. They emerged in cultures and societies where literacy was not universal, and the minor seminary was seen as a means to prepare younger boys in literacy for later entry into the major seminary.
Ochanthuruth is one of the villages in Vypin, an island in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. It is on the southern part of Vypin.
The Archdiocese of Verapoly (Verapolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church, composed of Latin Catholics of Malabar and headquartered at the city of Cochin, in the south Indian state of Kerala. The archdiocese has administrative control over the suffragan dioceses of Calicut, Cochin, Kannur, Kottapuram, Sultanpet and Vijayapuram. The headquarters is located in Kochi along the Malabar Coast in India. It was originally formed as the Vicariate Apostolic of Malabar in 1657 and became a metropolitan see in 1886. Verapoly is the anglicised name of Varapuzha.
Daniel Acharuparambil was a Roman Catholic Indian Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly in Kerala. Ordained to the priesthood on 14 March 1966, he was named Archbishop and was consecrated on 3 November 1996.
The Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (C.M.C.) is a Syro-Malabar Catholic centralized religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women founded in 1866. It was the first native congregation for women in that church.
St. Philomena's Forane Church, popularly known as Koonammavu Church is situated in Koonammavu, a northern suburban town of Kochi City of Kerala state, India. This is one of the oldest Roman Catholic churches in India, built in 1837 AD. Even though the church is dedicated to the Virgin Philomena, Saint Chavara Achan's feast is celebrated in every year as the annual festival, a nine-day festival lasting from 26 December to 3 January along with Holy Christmas and the New Year. The church is also popular among non-Christians as a pilgrimage centre and this seventh Forane of Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Verapoly serves as the Catholic Forane Church of 12 churches listed below.
- Church of Our Lady of Velankanni, Chariyamthuruth
- Christ the King Church-Christnagar, Varapuzha
- St. Antony's Church, Kongorpilly, Koonammavu.
- Church of Our Lady of Rosary, Maloth, Koonammavu
- Church of Our Lady of Nativity, Muttinakam, Varapuzha
- St. Joseph's Church, Neerikode, Alangad.
- Little Flower Church, Panayikulam
- Sacred Heart Church, Thevarkad, Varapuzha.
- Infant Jesus Church, Thundathumkadavu, Varapuzha.
- Amalolbhavamatha Church, Valluvally, Koonammavu
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Joseph's Minor Basilica, Varapuzha
- St. Antony's Church, Chennur, Varapuzha.
Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church, popularly known as Manjummel Palli, is a parish church coming under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly. It is situated along the Eloor - Muttar Road, about 8 km from Kalamassery at Manjummel, in Kochi, Kerala. It was blessed on 4 December 1892 and is one of the century-old churches in Kerala.
Teresa of St. Rose of Lima was the founder of the Institute of the Carmelite Sisters of Saint Teresa in Kerala, India.
The Basilica of Our lady of Mount Carmel & St Joseph, popularly known as Varapuzha Basilica, is in Varapuzha, a northern suburban town of Kochi City in the Ernakulam district of Kerala state, India. It was built in 1673. The basilica is dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Joseph. The solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady is celebrated as an annual sixteen-day confraternity festival, from 31 July to 15 August. The basilica is also famous as a pilgrimage centre in the southern part of India. It serves as the mother church for 14 churches.
Carmel School Madhupur is a private english medium convent school located in the town of Madhupur in the Deoghar district of Jharkhand, India. It is a fully-fledged co-educational, day school affiliated to Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), New Delhi and offers education to students from Grade LKG to Grade X. The medium of instruction for all classes is English. The school provides a hostel for girls. The boys attend the school as day scholars. The students of Carmel School are referred to as Carmelites.
Eliswa Vakayil TOCD, religious name Eliswa of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the foundress of the first indigenous Carmelite congregation for women in India. She was the first religious sister from Kerala, the southern most state of India; she established the first convent school, boarding house and orphanage for girls in Kerala.
The Latin Catholics of Malabar Coast, aka Latin Christians of Kerala or Malabar Latin Catholics are a multi-ethnic religious group who constitute the ecclesiastical provinces of Verapoly and Trivandrum, which follow the Roman Rite liturgical practices of the Latin Church, on the Malabar Coast, the southwestern coast of India. They are predominantly Malayali people and speak the Malayalam language, though a subgroup of Luso-Indians speaks the Cochin Portuguese Creole. They trace their origins to the evangelization of Malabar Coast by the Dominican, Franciscan, Jesuit and Carmelite missionaries, mainly French and Portuguese.
