| Archdiocese of Changanassery Archidioecesis Changanacherrensis |
|
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | India |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 24,595 km2 (9,496 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2004) 9,300,000 382,000 (4.1%) |
| Information | |
| Rite | Syro-Malabar Rite |
| Cathedral | St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral |
| Current leadership | |
| Bishop | Joseph Perumthottam |
Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Changanassery is a Catholic Archdiocese in India, under the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Currently, it is the largest Catholic Diocese in India. It is one of the first two Vicariates and the second Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Syro - Malabar Hierarchy which can be considered as a prelude to the restoration of the identity of the Church in 1992 as a Sui Juris Church.
It covers 13 Forane churches and more than 300 other churches in the Keralite districts of Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu. It also manages a lot of Hospitals, Colleges, Schools - both general and those for the physically/mentally challenged, Orphanages, De-addiction centers and Old-age homes.
Mar Joseph Perumthottam is the current Archeparch.
Contents |
For centuries, the district of Kottayam, hosted a large Nazrani population. Since then, the Taluk of Changanassery was predominantly Catholic and other factions of Christians were notably less.
Pope Leo XIII, by his Bull Quod Jam Pridem dated 20 May 1887 established the two Apostolic vicariates - Kottayam and Trichur exclusively for the Syro Malabarians. Then the same Pope, by the Bull Quae Rei Sacrae dated 28 July 1896 established a new Vicariate - Ernakulam, with territories carved out from the two existing Vicariates. The territories moved from Kottayam Viacriate were Pallippuram, Edappally and Arakuzha.
Eventually, the Vicariate of Kottayam was renamed Changanassery, since this town had been the centre of Catholic activity {eg. the Changanassery Synod in 1888} and hence its headquarters was shifted to Changanassery in 1890. Later, a new Vicariate - Kottayam - was constituted in 1911 to mainly constitute churches from the taluk of Kottayam.
Further growth of the Diocese of Changanassery resulted in getting raised to the status of an Archdiocese by Pope Pius XII on 26 July 1956.
TRINITARIUM
The TRINITARIUM symbolizes the Triune God. It is more likely that when the Jews got converted to Christianity, they developed the Trinitarium to symbolize the Triune God. In this symbol, the Budded Cross symbolizes the Risen Christ, the Dove above the Budded Cross symbolizes the Holy Paraclete and the Bush on the Mount at the bottom of the Budded Cross symbolizes Yahweh, namely God the Father, who appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush on the Mount Horeb.(EX. 3: 1- 6). Further, the Budded Cross has its base on the Bush on the Mount, and the Dove, above the budded Cross, faces the Bush on the Mount. It means that Jesus and the Holy Paraclete proceed from God the Father, who is the source of life and goodness. The unity of the Trinity is well depicted in the Symbol. So in the Malabar Church the Trinitarium is placed, facing the Nave, at the center of the Main Wall of the Santuary as the Sanctuary symbolizes the heaven.
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