The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. The Syro-Malabar Church is an 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 Archeparchy of Changanacherry is a Syro-Malabar Catholic archeparchy with an area of 24,595 km2 comprising the districts of Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, and also Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the largest Catholic dioceses in India in terms of area. Joseph Perumthottam is the current Metropolitan Archbishop, serving since 2007. Thomas Tharayil has been the auxiliary bishop since 2017. Suffragan eparchies of the Changanassery archeparchy includes Palai, Kanjirappally-Nilackal, and Thuckalay-Thiruvithancode.
Mar Joseph Powathil was an Indian prelate of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. He was the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Changanassery, serving from 1985 until 2007. He was also the first bishop of Kanjirappally, having served from 1977 to 1985. He served as the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) from 1994 to 1998. Powathil was one of the youngest bishops in India, having been ordained bishop at the age of 41 and Pope Paul VI was his principal consecrator. A scholar in theology, Mar Powathil is known for his stringent stance in matters related to the Syro-Malabar Church's liturgy and restoration of eastern traditions. His stringent stance on the fee structure of self-financing colleges had once put the state government in a fix.
The Major Archeparchy of Ernakulam–Angamaly is the major archeparchy and the See of the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church. Mar Cardinal George Alencherry is the present Major Archbishop, and until July 2022 Archbishop Mar Antony Kariyil CMI was the Vicar of Major Archbishop, responsible for the administration of the major archeparchy. Currently Mar Andrews Thazath, Archbishop of Thrissur Archeparchy, was appointed by the Holy Father Pope Francis as the apostolic administrator of the same, replacing Mar Antony Kariyil. The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church was elevated to the status of a major archiepiscopal church in 1992 with Ernakulam-Angamaly as the primatal see.
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.
Bishop Charles Lavigne, S.J. was a Roman Catholic Latin Rite bishop from France who was appointed as the first Vicar Apostolic in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Vicariate of Kottayam on 20 May 1887. After shifting the seat of Kottayam Vicariate to Changanacherry on 16 September 1890, his term ended on 28 July 1896. He later served as the first Bishop of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka from 27 August 1898 until his death at Marvejols in France on 11 July 1913.
Mathew Makil was the second Vicar Apostolic and the first indigenous Vicar Apostolic of the Vicariate of Kottayam (Changanacherry), which is the Syro Malabar Archeparchy of Changanacherry today. Mathew Makil was also the first Vicar Apostolic of the Vicariate of Kottayam, which is the Knanaya Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam today. In 1896, he became the Vicar Apostolic of the Vicariate of Changanacherry, and in 1911, when a new Vicariate Apostolic of Kottayam was constituted exclusively for the Knanaya Catholics, Mathew Makil was transferred to Kottayam as its first Vicar Apostolic. He died at Kottayam on 26 January 1914 and he was declared as Servant of God on 26 January 2009.
The Knanaya Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam is a metropolitan Archeparchy of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India. The Archeparchy is exclusively for Knanaya faithful who are the descendants of Syriac Judeo-Christians who migrated from South Mesopotamia to Kodungallur (Muziris) in South India in 345 AD.
Kuriakose Kunnassery was a Syro-Malabar Catholic hierarch. He was the fourth bishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam and the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kottayam. He served as priest in the Diocese of Kottayam for 13 years from December 21, 1955 to February 24, 1968. Then he was bishop for 49 years from February 24, 1968 to June 14, 2017. Kunnacherry was head of the Diocese of Kottayam for 31 years from May 5, 1974 to December 19, 2005. He was elevated as Archbishop on May 19, 2005.
This is a timeline of the history of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India.
Mar Joseph Perumthottam is a prelate of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Since 2007 he as served as the Archbishop of Changanassery.
Joseph Kallarangatt is an Indian Catholic prelate and theologian, who is the 3rd Bishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Palai. He was ordained as a priest in 1982, later received a doctorate in theology (ThD) from the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy and was appointed as the Bishop of Palai after the resignation of Bishop Joseph Pallikaparambil in 2004. He was initially an assistant parish priest and became a theologian and seminary teacher after his ThD. Following his appointment as a bishop he was able to gain considerable influence within the hierarchy of the Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern Catholic church within the Catholic Church, and has been regularly selected to participate in various high-profile ecclesiastical ceremonies and duties of the Syro-Malabar Church. He was also appointed to head the doctrinal commission for determining of the Catholic Church's stance towards yoga, which concluded that the practice was incompatible with the Christian faith.
George Alencherry is the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and also a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was elected by the Holy Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church in 2011 to succeed Varkey Vithayathil (1999–2011). He was created a cardinal on 18 February 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. He was the first bishop of Thuckalay from 1997 to 2011 before his enthronement as the major archbishop.
The Missionary Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (MCBS) is an indigenous clerical congregation of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in southern India.
Champakulam Kalloorkadu St. Mary's Basilica is an ancient Christian Church in Kerala. It belongs to the Syro-Malabar Church under the Archeparchy of Changanacherry. It is a Forane church, with several parishes under it.
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.
Mar Mathew Arackal is a bishop of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church and an active champion in issues of the environment and society. He served as Head of the Eparchy of Kanjirappally from 9 February 2001 to 2 February 2020. He was also the Chairman of the Syro-Malabar Church Commission for the Laity.
The Eparchy of Palai is a Syro-Malabar Catholic ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church with an area of 1166 km2 comprising the Meenachil taluk and a few villages of the neighbouring taluks in Kottayam, Ernakulam, and Idukki districts of central Kerala in South India. The faithful of this eparchy, numbering 326,742, belong to the ancient St. Thomas Christian community. The seat of the bishop is the St. Thomas Cathedral based in the town of Palai. The current bishop is Mar Joseph Kallarangatt, serving since March 2004. Mar Jacob Muricken has been auxiliary bishop since 2012.
Mar Tony Neelankavil is a Syro-Malabar catholic bishop and titular bishop of Masuccaba. He is the third and the present Auxiliary Bishop of Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur from November 2017. He was nominated as the Auxiliary Bishop on 1 September 2017 and was ordained to the office on 18 November 2017 by Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath assisted by Mar Jacob Thoomkuzhy and Mar Raphael Thattil.
