List of major archbishops of the Syro-Malabar Church

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Major Archbishop of
the Syro-Malabar Church

ܪܒܝ ܡܝܛܪܵܦܘܿܠܝܼܛܵܐܹ ܕܥܸܕܬܵܐ ܕܣܘܼܕܝܵܝܹܐ ܡܲܠܲܒܵܪܵܝܹܐ
Bishopric
Incumbent:
Raphael Thattil
11 January 2024
Style Mar
Location
CountryIndia
HeadquartersMount Saint Thomas, Kakkanad
Information
First holder Antony Padiyara
Denomination Catholic Church
Sui iuris church Syro-Malabar Church
Rite East Syriac
ArchdioceseErnakulam-Angamaly
Cathedral St. Mary's Syro-Malabar Cathedral Basilica, Ernakulam
Co-cathedral Mar Hormizd Syro-Malabar Cathedral, Angamaly
Website
syromalabarchurch.in

The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church within the Catholic Church, is led by a major archbishop and the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamalay in Kerala, India.

Contents

Major Archbishops of Ernakulam-Angamaly

No.TermPortraitNameDate and Place of BirthAge at start/end of TermNotes
1
23 April 1985
11 November 1996
11 February 1921

Manimala, Travancore

64 / 75 (†79)First Major Archbishop of the Syro Malabar Church. Established the Syro Malabar Synod of Bishops.
2
6 January 1997
1 April 2011
Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil.jpg 29 May 1927

North Parur, Travancore

70 / 83 (†83)Appointed by Pope John Paul II as the Apostolic Administrator before becoming the Full Time Major Archbishop in 1999. Helped Established the Eparchy of St. Thomas of Chicago along with other dioceses.
3
24 May 2011
7 December 2023
Cardinal George Alencherry, archeveque majeur de Emakulam-Angamaly en visite a l'OEuvre d 'Orient le 5 octobre 2 015.jpg 19 April 1945 (age 78)

Thuruthy, Travancore

67 / 78First Major Archbishop elected by the Synod of Bishops. Established All India Jurisdiction by the establishment of Eparchy of Shamshabad and Eparchy of Hosur. Also established the Eparchy of Mississauga,Eparchy of Melbourne, Eparchy of Great Britain, along with the Apostolic Visitation to Europe.
4
9 January 2024
present
21 April 1956 (age 67)

Trichur, Kerala

67Thattil had previously served as the apostolic visitor of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church for Syro-Malabar resident "outside their proper territory" in India and as bishop of the Eparchy of Shamshabad since 2017. [1]

Brief History

The Vicariate was established in 1896, when the first archbishop was appointed. The Syro-Malabar's current hierarchical structure was established in 1923, and Ernakulam elevated as an archdiocese. In 1993, when Syro-Malabar Catholic Church was raised to major archiepiscopal church, Ernakulam became the seat of the major archbishop.

Chaldean Metropolitans of India

Bishop of Angamaly

Through the Synod of Diamper, the Latin Catholic Padroado missionaries abolished the All India jurisdiction and erected the Diocese of Angamaly, suffragan to the Padroado Primatal See of Goa, in place of the Metropolitanate of All India. [3]

Archbishops of Cranganore

Vicar Apostolics of Kottayam, Thrissur, Ernakulam and Southists

Following the schism, the pope having abandoned the latinisation policy, separated St. Thomas Christians in 1887 from the Vicariate of Verapoly, the local Latin Catholic hierarchy. [5] Initially they were organized under two vicariates, Thrissur and Kottayam. Later in 1896, Ernakulam vicariate was formed by bifurcating southern parts of Thrissur and northern parts of Changanacherry. During the same time native prelates were also appointed for all three vicariates. In 1911 a fourth vicariate was established in Kottayam for southists exclusively. I

Archbishop of Ernakulam

Archbishops of Ernakulam and Changanacherry

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References

  1. "Pope Francis confirms election of head of Syro-Malabar Church". Vatican News. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  2. "Syro-Malabar Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ernakulam–Angamaly | India". gcatholic.org.
  3. 1 2 Eugène Tisserant: Eastern Christianity in India. Longmans, Green and Co., London 1957, 112-119
  4. "Divisions and Rite of the Churches- Syro Malabar Church, Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church, Malankara Orthodox Syriac Church, Thozhiyur Church, Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Syro Malankara Church, Chaldean Syrian Church". nasrani.net. 14 January 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2022. Bishop Sebastaini, then consecrated Alexander Parampil as the Bishop.
  5. 1 2 3 Perczel, István (2013). Peter Bruns; Heinz Otto Luthe (eds.). "Some New Documents on the Struggle of the Saint Thomas Christians to Maintain the Chaldaean Rite and Jurisdiction". Orientalia Christiana: Festschrift für Hubert Kaufhold zum 70. Geburtstag; pp. 415-436. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
  6. Georg Graf: History of Christian Arabic literature. 4th Bd Apost Bibl. Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 1951, 112f
  7. Joseph Habbi: Les Chaldéens et les Malabar au 19e siècle.In: Oriens Christianus 64 (1980) 82-107.
  8. Wilmshurst, David (2000). The Ecclesiastical Organisation of the Church of the East, 1318–1913. Louvain: Peeters Publishers. ISBN   9789042908765.