Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

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Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

Founder St. Thomas the Apostle
Independence Apostolic Era
Recognition Eastern Catholic
Primate His Eminence Moran Mor Clemmis Baselios
Headquarters Thiruvanthpuram (Trivandrum), Kerala, India
Territory Republic of India
Possessions United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Kuwait, Malaysia, Germany, and Singapore
Language Malayalam, English, Hindi, Tamil, Syriac
Population 500,000 Worldwide
Website Syro Malankara Catholic Church

The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is a Major Archiepiscopal sui iuris Eastern Catholic Church in communion with the Roman Catholic Church, with historical links to the Syrian Catholic Church. It is one of several groups of Saint Thomas Christians tracing their origins to St. Thomas the Apostle who came to India in AD 52 according to tradition.

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[edit] History

The church was formed when two bishops, a priest, a deacon, and a layman of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church left the church and joined in communion with the Bishop of Rome on September 20, 1930. Soon after, two more bishops from the rival Orthodox jurisdiction and one from the Independent Thozhiyoor church also joined. The new church grew quickly, being organized as a sui iuris metropolitan church by Pope Pius XI in 1932, consisting of an archdiocese and a suffragan diocese in Kerala, India. The church reported over 400,000 members in 2006, organized into a major archdiocese, an archdiocese, and three suffragan dioceses.

  • The liturgy of this church is West Syrian in character.
  • The Bethany order male and feminine religious works in the Syro-Malankara church.

On February 10, 2005, the Archdiocese of Trivandrum was elevated by Pope John Paul II to a Major Archdiocese, elevating the Archbishop to Major Archbishop (called Catholicos by Syro-Malankara Catholics). As a major archiepiscopal church, the Syro-Malankaras are granted the greatest level of self-government under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, governed by the major archbishop and the general synod of all bishops of the church, subject to papal oversight.

[edit] Administration

The current Major Archbishop and Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is Isaac Mar Cleemis (Thottunkal), who was elected by the Holy Synod as the successor of the late servant of God Cyril Mar Baselious on 8 February 2007, and was confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI on 10 February 2007.

[edit] Dioceses

  • Archdiocese of Tiruvalla
    • Diocese of Bathery
    • Diocese of Muvattupuzha

[edit] See also

Diocese of Mavelikara

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links

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