Eparchy of Great Britain | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | Great Britain |
Territory | England and Wales & Scotland |
Statistics | |
Area | 229,848 km2 (88,745 sq mi) |
Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2013) 60,003,000 38,000 |
Information | |
Denomination | Catholic Church |
Sui iuris church | Syro-Malabar Catholic Church |
Rite | East Syriac Rite |
Established | 28 July 2016 |
Cathedral | Syro-Malabar Cathedral of St Alphonsa in Preston |
Secular priests | 23 |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Major Archbishop | Metropolitan and Gate of all India Mar George Cardinal Alencherry |
Eparch | Mar Joseph Srampickal [1] |
Website | |
www.eparchyofgreatbritain.org |
The Eparchy of Great Britain is the sole Syro-Malabar Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in Great Britain. Its cathedral is Syro-Malabar Cathedral of St Alphonsa in the episcopal see of Preston, Lancashire. [2] This eparchy is exempt, that is, not part of any ecclesiastical province in the Latin Catholic Church, but immediately subject to the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, under the supervision of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. It has jurisdiction over Syro-Malabar Catholics in the entirety of Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales (the United Kingdom minus Northern Ireland). Most of the faithful of this eparchy are British Indians with heritage in Kerala, where the Syro-Malabar Church is historically based.
The British eparchy, established in 2016, is the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church's fourth diocesan jurisdiction outside India, after the eparchies of Mississauga (Canada), Chicago (United States) and Melbourne (Australia). The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church also has an Apostolic Visitor for Europe based in Rome, Bishop Mar Stephen Chirapanath, who oversees and ensures liaison between the pastoral missions and Mass centres in other parts of Europe, including Northern Ireland.
The eparchy has chaplains (mostly Indian) in territory that overlaps geographically the territories of the 30 Latin Catholic dioceses of Great Britain, namely, the 22 dioceses of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and the 8 dioceses of the Catholic Church in Scotland but has status that is canonically independent of them. Its internal organization features a national coordination council and eight diocesan departments: Liturgy, Finance, Catechism, Faith Formation, Lay Association, Resolution Committee and Youth Association. Its first and present eparch is Mar Joseph Srampickal. [3]
The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, also known as the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic sui iuris particular church in full communion with the worldwide Catholic Church possessing self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. It is one of the major archiepiscopal churches of the Catholic Church. It is headed by Major Archbishop Baselios Cardinal Cleemis Catholicos of the Major Archdiocese of Trivandrum based in Kerala, India.
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church based in Kerala, India. It is sui iuris (autonomous) particular Church in full communion with the Pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, including the Latin Church and the 22 other Eastern Catholic Churches, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO). The Church is headed by the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar, currently George Alencherry. 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 Eparchy of St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic of Chicago, also known as the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Diocese of Chicago, is a Syro-Malabar Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its episcopal seat is the Mar Thoma Sleeha Cathedral in the episcopal see of Chicago in Illinois state.
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The Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Kalyan is an Eastern Catholic eparchy in India within the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, based in Kalyan, India. The eparchy was established to cater the spiritual needs of the Syro Malabar Christians based in the Indian State of Maharashtra including the metropolitan cities of Mumbai, Pune and Nasik. Its first bishop was Mar Paul Chittilapilly. The current bishop is Mar Thomas Elavanal. The Eparchy celebrated its silver jubilee in the year 2013.
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Irinjalakuda-Kodungallur is a suffragan eparchy in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Thrissur in Kerala state's Thrissur District, southern India.It is part of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.
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St. Thomas Cathedral is the Syro Malabar Catholic cathedral of the eparchy of Irinjalakuda in India. It presently exists under the nomenclature and the Canonical Status as Cathedral in the Wake of the Origin of the New Eparchy, effected by the amalgamation of the two independent and important parishes of the locality, namely, St. George’s Forane Church and St. Mary’s church, which were amicably situated side by side for about a century.
Mar Raphael Thattil is an Indian Catholic prelate of the Syro-Malabar Church. He has been a bishop since 2010 and the first bishop of the Eparchy (Diocese) of Shamshabad since 2018. The Diocese of Shamshabad is headquartered in Telangana and has jurisdiction over Syro-Malabar Catholics in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, North India, Central India, and Northeast India. As per Pope Francis's October 2017 letter, through the creation of the Shamshabad Diocese, ‘all India jurisdiction’ of the Syro-Malabar Church has been restored.
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The St. Thomas the Apostle Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Melbourne is a Syro-Malabar Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in Australia. The eparchy was erected by Pope Francis on 11 January 2014. This is the second eparchy of the Syro-Malabar Church outside India, after the Eparchy of Chicago, and it has jurisdiction over Syro-Malabar Catholics in the entirety of Australia.
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