Syro-Malabar Church

"Syro-Malabar" redirects here. For other uses, see Syro-Malabar (disambiguation).

This article is about the church. For the people, see Syrian Catholics of Malabar.

Not to be confused with Syro-Malankara Catholic Church or Syriac Catholic Church.

The Syro-Malabar Church, also known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church,^[b] is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. It is a sui iuris (autonomous) particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO).^[16][17][18] The major archbishop presides over the entire church. The incumbent Major Archbishop is Raphael Thattil, serving since January 2024.^[19] It is the largest Syriac Christian church and the largest Eastern Catholic church.^[20] Syro-Malabar is a prefix reflecting the church's use of the East Syriac liturgy and origins in Malabar (modern Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu). The name has been in usage in official Vatican documents since the nineteenth century.^[21]

Syro-Malabar Church ܥܸܕܬܵܐ ܕܡܲܠܲܒܵܪ ܣܘܼܪܝܵܝܵܐ‎ സീറോ മലബാർ സഭ
Seal of the Syro-Malabar Church
Abbreviation	SMC
Type	Particular church (sui iuris)
Classification	Christian
Orientation	Eastern Catholic Syriac
Scripture	Holy Bible Peshitta (Syriac)[1] Malayalam POC Bible (Malayalam)
Theology	East Syriac theology[2] Catholic theology
Polity	Episcopal polity
Governance	Holy Episcopal Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church
Pope	Leo XIV
Major Archbishop	Raphael Thattil
Administration	Major Archiepiscopal Curia[3]
Parishes	3,224
Region	India and Nasrani Malayali diaspora[4]
Language	Liturgical Syriac Malayalam Tamil Syro-Malabarica English Kannada Hindi and most other Indian languages
Liturgy	East Syriac Rite – Syro-Malabaric Rite[a]
Headquarters	Mount Saint Thomas, Kakkanad, Kochi, Kerala, India
Territory	India (with diaspora in Canada, USA, Europe, UK, Australasia and the Middle East)
Founder	Saint Thomas the Apostle by tradition[6]
Origin	c. 50 AD (Saint Thomas Christianity, by tradition), 1552 (origin of Eastern Catholicism in the Church of the East),[7] 1887 (modern foundation)[8] Malabar, India
Separated from	Church of the East[9]
Branched from	Saint Thomas Christians[10][11][12][13]
Members	5.5 million worldwide, as per 2023 Annuario Pontificio[14] 2.35 million in Kerala, per 2011 Kerala state census[15]
Clergy	Bishops: 66 Priests: 9,121
Publications	syromalabarvision.com
Official website	syromalabarchurch.in
Official News Portal	syromalabarnews.com

The Syro-Malabar Church is primarily based in India; with five metropolitan archeparchies and ten suffragan eparchies in Kerala, there are 17 eparchies in other parts of India, and four eparchies outside India. 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.^[22] It is the largest among Saint Thomas Christians communities, with a population of 2.35 million in Kerala as per the 2011 Kerala state census^[15] and 4.53 million worldwide as estimated in the 2023 Annuario Pontificio. It is the second largest sui juris church within the communion of the Catholic Church after the Latin Church.^[23]

The Syro-Malabar Church traces its origins to Thomas the Apostle's evangelization efforts in 1st-century AD India.^{[24][25][26][27]} The earliest recorded organised Christian presence in India dates to the 4th century, when Persian missionaries of the East Syriac Rite tradition, members of what later became the Church of the East, established themselves in modern-day Kerala and Sri Lanka.^{[28][29][30][31]} The Church of the East shared communion with the Roman Imperial Church, within Nicene Christianity, until the Council of Ephesus in the 5th century, separating primarily over differences in Christology and for political reasons. The Syro-Malabar Church uses a variant of the East Syriac Rite, which dates back to 3rd century Edessa, Upper Mesopotamia.^[32] As such it is a part of Syriac Christianity by liturgy and heritage.^[33]

After the schism of 1552, a portion of the Church of the East entered communion with the Holy See of Rome, forming what became the modern-day Chaldean Catholic Church. Throughout the later half of the 16th century, the Malabar Church was under Chaldean Catholic jurisdiction as the Archdiocese of Angamaly. Through the Synod of Diamper of 1599, the Chaldean jurisdiction was abolished and the Malabar Church was reorganized as the Archdiocese of Cranganore and made subject to the Padroado Latin Catholic Primatal Archbishopric of Goa. In 1653, after a half-century of administration of the Padroado missionaries, the local Christians revolted and took the Coonan Cross Oath. In response, Pope Alexander VII, with the help of Carmelite missionaries, was by 1662 able to reconcile the majority of dissidents with the Latin Catholic Church under Bishop Parambil Chandy, the native Apostolic vicar of Malabar.^[34][35] During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Archdiocese of Cranganore remained under the Syro-Malabar, but it was later suppressed and integrated into the modern day Latin Archdiocese of Verapoly.

After more than two centuries under the hegemony of the Latin Church, in 1887 Pope Leo XIII fully emancipated the Syro-Malabars, though the Archdiocese of Verapoly remained as the jurisdiction for Latin Catholics. He established two Apostolic Vicariates for Syro-Malabar, Thrissur and Changanassery (originally named Kottayam), and in 1896, the Vicariate of Ernakulam was erected as well, governed by indigenous Syro-Malabar bishops. In 1923, the Syro-Malabar hierarchy was organized and unified under Ernakulam as the Metropolitan See, with Augustine Kandathil as the first head and archbishop.^[36] As such, the Syro-Malabar Church became an autonomous sui iuris Eastern Catholic Church.^[37]

The Syro-Malabars are unique among Catholics in their inculturation with traditional Indian customs through Saint Thomas Christian heritage. The Saint Thomas Christian community has been described as "Indian in culture, Christian in faith and Syriac in liturgy".^[38][39] The Church is predominantly of the Malayali ethnic group who speak Malayalam, although there are a minority of Tamils, Telugus, and North Indians from the various eparchies outside Kerala. Following emigration of the Church's members, eparchies have been established in other parts of India and in other countries to serve especially the diaspora living in the Western world. There are four eparchies outside of India, located in English-speaking countries: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and United States. Saint Alphonsa is the Church's first canonized saint, followed by Saint Kuriakose Chavara, Saint Euphrasia, and Saint Mariam Thresia. The Syro-Malabar Church is one of the two Eastern Catholic Churches in India, the other being the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, which represents the faction of the Puthenkoor that returned to full communion with the Holy See in 1930.^[40]

History

Main article: Saint Thomas Christians

Main article: Timeline of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

Pre-Coonan Cross Oath

Main article: India (East Syriac ecclesiastical province)

It is believed that the Saint Thomas Christians in Malabar came into contact with the Persian Church of the East in the middle of the 4th century. Saint Thomas Christians looked to Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East for ecclesiastical authority.^[41] Although the bishops from the Middle East were the spiritual rulers of the Church, the general administration of the Church of Kerala was governed by the indigenous Archdeacon.^[42] The Archdeacon was the head of Saint Thomas Christians.^[43] Even when there were more than one foreign bishop, there was only one Archdeacon for the entire community.^[43]

The Church of the East Patriarch Shemon VII Ishoyahb's unpopularity led to the schism of 1552, due to the patriarchal succession being hereditary, normally from uncle to nephew. Opponents appointed the monk Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa as a rival patriarch. Sulaqa's subsequent consecration by Pope Julius III (1550–1555) saw a permanent split in the Church of the East; and the reunion with Catholic Church resulted in the formation of the modern-day Chaldean Catholic Church of Iraq.^[44][45]

Thus, parallel to the "traditionalist" (often referred as Nestorian) Patriarchate of the East, the "Chaldean" Patriarchate in communion with Rome came into existence. Following the schism, both traditionalist and Chaldean factions began sending their bishops to Malabar. Abraham of Angamaly was one among them. He first came to India in 1556 from the traditionalist patriarchate. Deposed from his position in 1558, he was taken to Lisbon by the Portuguese, escaped at Mozambique and left for his mother church in Mesopotamia, entered into communion with the Chaldean patriarchate and Rome in 1565, received his episcopal ordination again from the Latin patriarch of Venice as arranged by the Pope Pius IV (1559–1565) in Rome. Subsequently, Abraham was appointed by Pope as Archbishop of Angamaly, with letters to the Archbishop of Goa and the Bishop of Cochin.^[46]

In 1597, Abraham of Angamaly died. The Catholic Portuguese padroado Archbishop of Goa, Aleixo de Menezes, downgraded the Angamaly Archdiocese into a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Goa and appointed the Jesuit Francisco Ros as Bishop of Angamaly. Menezes held the Synod of Diamper in 1599 to bring the Saint Thomas Christians under the complete authority of the Latin Church.^[34]

Coonan Cross Oath

Main article: Coonan Cross Oath

The oppressive rule of the Portuguese padroado eventually led to a revolt in 1653, known as the Coonan Cross Oath.^[47] The Thomas Christians including their native priests assembled in the church of Our Lady at Mattancherry near Cochin, formally stood before a crucifix and lighted candles and solemnly swore an oath upon the Gospel that they never again accept another European prelate.^[48][49] The exact wording used in Coonan Cross Oath is disputed. There are various versions about the wording of oath, one version being that the oath was directed against the Portuguese, another that it was directed against Jesuits, yet another version that it was directed against the authority of Latin Catholics.^[50]

Post-Coonan Cross Oath

After the Coonan Cross Oath, the leaders of Saint Thomas Christians assembled at Edappally, where four senior priests Anjilimoottil Itty Thommen Kathanar of Kallisseri, Palliveettil Chandy Kathanar of Kuravilangad, Kadavil Chandy Kathanar of Kaduthuruthy and Vengoor Geevarghese Kathanar of Angamaly were appointed as advisors of the Archdeacon. On 22 May 1653, at a general meeting held in Alangad, twelve priests laid hands on Archdeacon Thoma, proclaiming him bishop.^[51] After the consecration of Thoma I, The information about this consecration was then communicated to all the churches. The vast majority of churches accepted Thoma I as their bishop.^[52]

At this point of time, Portuguese authorities requested direct intervention of Rome and hence Pope sent Carmelite Missionaries in two groups from the Propagation of the Faith to Malabar headed by Fr. Sebastiani and Fr. Hyacinth. Fr. Sebastiani arrived first in 1655 and began to speak directly with the Thoma I. Fr. Sebastiani, with the help of Portuguese, gained the support of many, especially with the support of Palliveettil Chandy, Kadavil Chandy Kathanar and Vengoor Geevarghese Kathanar. These were the three of the four counselors of Thoma I, who had defected with Francisco Garcia Mendes, Archbishop of Cranganore, before the arrival of Sebastaini, according to Jesuit reports.^[49]

The Carmelite missionaries succeeded in convincing a group of St.Thomas Christians that the consecration of Archdeacon as bishop was not legitimate and Thoma I started losing his followers. In the meantime, Sebastiani returned to Rome and was ordained as bishop by Pope on 15 December 1659. Between 1661 and 1662, out of the 116 churches, the Carmelites claimed 84 churches, leaving the native archdeacon Thoma I with 32 churches. The 84 churches and their congregations were the body from which the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church has descended.^[53]

The other 32 churches and their congregations represented the nucleus from which the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church), the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Malabar Independent Syrian Church, the Marthoma Syrian Church, and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church have originated.^[53] In 1663, with the conquest of Cochin by the Dutch, the control of the Portuguese on the Malabar coast was lost. The Dutch declared that all the Portuguese missionaries had to leave Kerala. Before leaving Kerala, on 1 February 1663 Sebastiani consecrated Palliveettil Chandy as the Metran of the Catholic St. Thomas Christians.^{[citation needed]}

Thoma I, meanwhile sent requests to various Oriental Churches to receive canonical consecration as bishop. In 1665 Gregorios Abdal Jaleel, a bishop sent by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, arrived in India. The independent group under the leadership of Thoma I which resisted the authority of the Portuguese padroado welcomed him.^[54] Abdal Jaleel consecrated Thoma I canonically as a bishop and regularised his episcopal succession. This led to the first lasting formal schism in the Saint Thomas Christian community.^[55]

Thereafter, the faction affiliated with the Catholic Church under Bishop Palliveettil Chandy came to be known as Pazhayakuttukar (or "Old Allegiance"), and the branch affiliated with Thoma I came to be known as Puthenkūttukār (or "New Allegiance"). They were also known as Jacobite Syrians^[56] and they organized themselves as independent Malankara Church.^[55] The visits of prelates from the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch continued since then and this led to gradual replacement of the East Syriac Rite liturgy with the West Syriac Rite and the Puthenkūttukār affiliated to the Miaphysite Christology of the Oriental Orthodox Communion.^{[citation needed]}

The Pazhayakuttukar faction remained in communion with the Catholic and preserved the traditional East Syriac (Persian) liturgy and Dyophysite Christology. They were also known as Romo-Syrians^[56] or Syrian Catholics. They also used the title Malankara Church initially.^[c] Following the death of Palliveettil Chandy in 1687, the Syrian Catholics of the Malabar coast came under the parallel double jurisdiction of Vicariate Apostolic of Malabar under Roman Catholic Carmelites and Archdiocese of Cranganore under the Padroado. Thus many priests and laymen attempted to persuade the Pope to restore their Chaldean Catholic rite and hierarchy of the local church, and for the appointment of bishops from local priests. To represent their position, Kerala's Syrian Catholics Joseph Kariattil and Paremmakkal Thomma Kathanar went to Rome in 1778. While they were in Europe, Kariatty Joseph Kathanar was installed in Portugal as the Archbishop of Kodungalloor Archdiocese.^[58]

While journeying home, they stayed in Goa where Kariattil died before he could formally take charge. Before he died, Kariattil appointed Kathanar as the Administrator of Kodungalloor Archdiocese after him. The new administrator ran the affairs of the church, establishing his headquarters at Angamaly. In 1790, the headquarters of the Archdiocese was shifted to Vadayar, dodging the invasion of Tippu Sultan. In the last four years of his life, Thomma Kathanar managed church administration from his own parish, Ramapuram.^[58]

Angamaly Padiyola, a declaration of the Pazhayakūr gave the history of Saint Thomas Christians up to 1787 and advocated for the appointment of a native bishop that adhered to the local traditions.^[59]

Latin Catholic Carmelite clergy from Europe served as bishops, and the Church along with the Latin Catholics was under the Apostolic Vicariate of Malabar (modern-day Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly). In 1887, the Holy See established two Apostolic Vicariates, Thrissur and Kottayam (later Changanassery) under the guidance of indigenous Syro-Malabar bishops, and named the Church as "The Syro-Malabar Church" to distinguish them from the Latins.^[37] The Holy See re-organized the Apostolic Vicariates in 1896 into three Apostolic Vicariates (Thrissur, Ernakulam, and Changanassery). A fourth Apostolic Vicariate (Kottayam) was established in 1911 for Knanaya Catholics.^{[citation needed]}

Restoration of the Syro-Malabar hierarchy

In 1923, Pope Pius XI (1922–1939) set up a full-fledged Syro-Malabar hierarchy with Ernakulam-Angamaly as the Metropolitan See and Augustine Kandathil as the first Head and Archbishop of the Church. In 1992, Pope John Paul II (1978–2005) raised the Syro-Malabar Church to Major Archepiscopal rank and appointed Cardinal Antony Padiyara of Ernakulam as the first Major Archbishop.^[60]

The Syro-Malabar Church shares the same liturgy with the Chaldean Catholic Church based in Iraq and the independent Assyrian Church of the East based in Iraq, including its archdiocese the Chaldean Syrian Church of India. The Syro-Malabar Church is the third-largest particular church (sui juris) in the Catholic Church, after the Latin Church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.^[61]

The Catholic Saint Thomas Christians (Pazhayakūttukār) came to be known as the Syro Malabar Catholics from 1932 onwards to differentiate them from the Syro-Malankara Catholics in Kerala. The Indian East Syriac Catholic hierarchy was restored on 21 December 1923 with Augustine Kandathil as the first Metropolitan and Head of the Church with the name Syro-Malabar.^[62]

2020s

In 2021, the Syro Malabar Synod of Bishops announced that the celebration of the Qurbana according to the Second Vatican Council reform: the liturgy of the word would be celebrated coram populo, while the rest of the Qurbana would be celebrated facing the altar. After hearing this announcement, many priests of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Major Archeparchy of Ernakulam–Angamaly announced that they would continue their public facing Qurbana. Pope Francis appointed Cyril Vasiľ as the Pontifical Delegate and Andrews Thazhath as Apostolic Administrator for the Archdiocese in matters of solving the crisis but was unsuccessful. On 7 December 2023, Pope Francis wrote in a letter to George Alencherry accepting his resignation as Major Archbishop of Ernakulam–Angamaly. He also accepted the resignation of Andrews Thazhath as the Apostolic Administrator and appointed Bosco Puthur, due to Thazhath being the Archbishop of Trichur and President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India. Pope Francis then made a video message to the people of Ernakulam-Angamaly asking them to only do the Uniform Mass starting Christmas and saying there will be punishment for those who do not. When Christmas came, only 290 Churches of 328 Churches held the Uniform Mass. The Vatican is now currently discussing further action.^[63][64][65]

On 9 January 2024, Raphael Thattil was elected as major archbishop by the Syro-Malabar Synod of Bishops. Pope Francis confirmed the election, with Thattil now heading the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.^[19]

Liturgy

Main article: Syro-Malabaric Rite

Altar of a Syro Malabar Catholic Church

The East Syriac Eucharistic Liturgy, which is called Holy Qurbana in East Syriac Aramaic and means "Eucharist", is celebrated in its solemn form on Sundays and special occasions. During the celebration of the Qurbana, priests and deacons put on elaborate vestments which are unique to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. The most solemn form of Holy Mass (Holy Qurbana) is Rāsa, literally which means "Mystery".

Rite of Renewal of Holy Leaven (Malka)

Forced liturgical latinization

The liturgy of the Syro-Malabar Church was in a heavily latinized state when the church was finally emancipated in 1896 after 300 years of Latin administration inflicted by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The history of latinization in the Syro-Malabar Church stems from the colonial Synod of Diamper in 1599, which among other things, declared the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch a Nestorian heretic. The successive Jesuit and Carmelite administration indulged in further latinizations in the Syro-Malabar Church.^[66][67]

Liturgical latinisation was furthered in 1896 by Ladislaus Zaleski, the Apostolic Delegate to India, who requested permission to translate the Roman Pontifical into Syriac. This was the choice of some Malabar prelates, who chose it over the East Syriac Rite and West Syriac Rite pontificals. A large number of Syro-Malabarians had schismed and joined with Assyrians at that time and various delayed the approval of this translation, until in 1934 Pope Pius XI stated that latinization was to no longer be encouraged.^[68] He initiated a process of liturgical reform that sought to restore the oriental nature of the Latinized Syro-Malabar rite.^[69]

Restoration of East Syriac liturgy

The Mystery of Crowning during a Syro-Malabar wedding

East Syriac liturgy has three anaphorae: those of the Holy Apostles (Saints Mar Addai and Mar Mari), Mar Theodore Mpašqana, and Mar Nestorius. The first is the most popularly and extensively used. The second is used (except when the third is ordered) from Advent to Palm Sunday. The third was traditionally used on the Epiphany and the feasts of St. John the Baptist and of the Greek Doctors, both of which occur in Epiphany-tide on the Wednesday of the Rogation of the Ninevites, and on Maundy Thursday. The same pro-anaphoral part (Liturgy of the Word) serves for all three.^[70]

In the second half of the 20th century, there was a movement for better understanding of the liturgical rites. A restored Eucharistic liturgy, drawing on the original East Syriac sources, was approved by Pope Pius XII in 1957, and for the first time on the feast of St. Thomas on 3 July 1962 the vernacular, Malayalam, was introduced for the celebration of the Syro-Malabar Qurbana.^[71]

In 2021, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church adopted a uniformed manner of celebration liturgies, removing the practice of facing versus populum during the Liturgy of Eucharist. Following this, there has been sustained dissent by some clergy and laity in the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly.^{[72][73][74][75]}

Liturgy dispute

The question of liturgical identity was the main obstacle the newly formed hierarchy had to solve and there was difference of opinion among the bishops about the direction of liturgical reform.^[66][76] The Pazhayakoottukar were using a heavily latinised form of the East Syriac liturgy which they had inherited from the period that immediately followed the Synod of Diamper.^[77][78] The Carmelite missionaries imposed further latinization in this rite.^[79] The opinion of the bishops were divided with some aspiring for a return to genuine East Syriac Rite while others opting for retaining the latinized rite or a new process of inculturation copying the North Indian Brahminical rites.^[66] In 1934, Rome decided for the re-establishment of the genuine East Syriac rite, and in 1962 the Chaldean Pontifical was reintroduced. But many Latin rite priests and bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church opposed these decisions and identified those who supported the reintroduced liturgy as 'Chaldean traditionalists' (Kaldāyavādikal).^[76] The reforms of the 2nd Council of Vatican encouraged the recovery of lost Eastern Catholic liturgical traditions and in 1986 Pope John Paul II inaugurated the reintroduced liturgy personally in Kottayam, during his visit to India, in an attempt to resolve the confusion in liturgy.^[66][76] However following the introduction of versus populum liturgy in the Latin Rite, those who oppose the reintroduced liturgy began practicing it among themselves. Newer liturgical innovations based on inculturation, such as the Bāratīyapūja also emerged during this period. This led to a new conflict within the Syro-Malabar hierarchy.^[80] In response, the unauthorised liturgical forms were strictly forbidden by Rome.^[81] However the differences in the direction of the priest during the liturgy, namely ad orientem and versus populum, continued. Following the elevation of the Syro-Malabar Church to major archiepiscopal rank in 1992, the church initiated discussions on the resolution of differences and in 1999, they decided on a uniform mode of liturgical practice combining both styles.^[82] However this was met with widespread protests among the clergy and many bishops temporarily paused its implementation. In 2020, the church leadership resumed this process and implemented it in all eparchies except the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly, where it continue to face fierce protests by the local clergy which demands complete versus populum liturgy.^[83]

Hierarchy

List of ecclesiastical Heads

Main article: List of major archbishops of the Syro-Malabar Church

Varkey Vithayathil, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church from 1999 until his death in 2011

George Cardinal Alencherry, Major Archbishop Emeritus

Chaldean Metropolitans of India

• Joseph Sulaqa (1558)
• Abraham (1565)

Native bishops after Coonan Cross Oath

• Palliveettil Chandy (1663, Vicar apostolic of Malabar)
• Kariattil Iousep (1783, Archbishop of Cranganore)

Heads of the restored Syro-Malabar hierarchy

• Augustine Kandathil (1923, Metropolitan Archbishop of Ernakulam)
• Joseph Parecattil (1956-1987, first Cardinal of the Syro-Malabar Church)

Major archbishops

• Antony Padiyara (1992–1997)
• Varkey Vithayathil (1997–2011)
• George Alencherry (2011–2023)
• Raphael Thattil (since 2024)^[84]

Syro-Malabar major archiepiscopal curia

Syriac inscription at Syro-Malabar Catholic Major Archbishop's House, Ernakulam

The curia of the Syro-Malabar Church began to function in March 1993 at the archbishop's house of Ernakulam-Angamaly. In May 1995, it was shifted to new premises at Mount St. Thomas near Kakkanad, Kochi. The newly constructed curial building was opened in July 1998.

The administration of the Syro-Malabar Church has executive and judicial roles. The major archbishop, officials, various commissions, committees, and the permanent synod form the executive part. The permanent synod and other offices are formed in accordance with the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO). The officials include the chancellor, vice-chancellor, and other officers. Various commissions are appointed by the major archbishop: Liturgy, Pastoral Care of the Migrant and Evangelisation, Particular Law, Catechism, Ecumenism, Catholic Doctrine, Clergy and Institutes of Consecrated Life, and Societies of Apostolic Life.^[85]

The members of the commissions are ordinarily bishops, but include priests. For judicial activities there is the major archiepiscopal ordinary tribunal formed in accordance with CCEO which has a statutes and sufficient personnel, with a president as its head. At present, Rev. Dr. Jose Chiramel is the president. The Major archiepiscopal curia functions in the curial building in Kerala, India. They have prepared the particular law for their Church and promulgated it part by part in Synodal News, the official Bulletin of this Church. There are statutes for the permanent synod and for the superior and ordinary tribunals. CCEO c. 122 § 2 is specific in the particular law, that the term of the office shall be five years and the same person shall not be appointed for more than two terms consecutively.^[85]

Syro-Malabar bishops at the Generalate of Sisters of the Destitute

Jurisdictions

Dioceses of the Syro-Malabar Church in India as of 2017

There are 35 eparchies (dioceses). Five of them are archeparchies (each administered by a Metropolitan Archbishop) leading the ecclesiastical provinces of the church at present, all in Kerala: Ernakulam-Angamaly, Changanacherry, Trichur, Tellicherry, and Kottayam. Archeparchy of Kottayam enjoys personal jurisdiction over the Southist (Knanaya) Syro-Malabar catholics whereas the remaining four are with mutually exclusive territories.

These have another 13 suffragan eparchies: Bhadravathi, Belthangady, Irinjalakuda, Kanjirapally, Kothamangalam, Idukki, Mananthavady, Mandya, Palai, Palghat, Ramanathapuram, Thamarassery, and Thuckalay within the existing provinces of the church.

There are 13 further eparchies within the canonical territory of the Major Archiepiscopal Church of which Adilabad, Bijnor, Chanda, Gorakhpur, Jagdalpur, Rajkot, Sagar, Satna, and Ujjain in India are with exclusive jurisdiction within Latin provinces and Kalyan, Faridabad, Hosur and Shamshabad are with personal jurisdiction over Syro-Malabar catholics in India. The St. Thomas Eparchy of Chicago in the United States, St. Thomas the Apostle Eparchy of Melbourne in Australia, Eparchy of Great Britain, and Eparchy of Mississauga, Canada enjoy personal jurisdiction.^[24]

Proper Ecclesiastical provinces

Most believers of this church are organized under five metropolitan archeparchies (archdioceses), all in Kerala, and their suffragan eparchies.

Main article: List of Syro-Malabar Catholic eparchies

• Major Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly
  • Metropolitan Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly
    • Eparchy of Idukki
    • Eparchy of Kothamangalam
    • Eparchy of Faridabad, near Delhi, also serves entire Haryana, (Indian) Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and western part of Uttar Pradesh
    • Eparchy of Hosur, centered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, with personal jurisdiction over Syro-Malabar catholics in northern Tamil Nadu.^[86]
    • Eparchy of Shamshabad, includes the entire territory of India not included in the existing eparchies, with personal jurisdiction over Syro-Malabar catholics where Latin dioceses exist^[86]
  • Metropolitan Archeparchy of Changanassery
    • Eparchy of Kanjirappally
    • Eparchy of Palai
    • Eparchy of Thuckalay, with personal jurisdiction in southern Tamil Nadu
  • Metropolitan Archeparchy of Thrissur
    • Eparchy of Irinjalakuda
    • Eparchy of Palghat
    • Eparchy of Ramanathapuram
  • Metropolitan Archeparchy of Tellicherry
    • Eparchy of Belthangady
    • Eparchy of Bhadravathi
    • Eparchy of Mananthavady
    • Eparchy of Mandya
    • Eparchy of Thamarassery
  • Metropolitan Archeparchy of Kottayam (Exclusively for the Southist (Knanaya) Catholic faithful), personal jurisdiction within the territorial bounds of the existing provinces

Exclusive jurisdictions suffragan to Latin provinces

• Eparchy of Bijnor
• Eparchy of Gorakhpur
• Eparchy of Sagar
• Eparchy of Satna
• Eparchy of Ujjain
• Eparchy of Rajkot
• Eparchy of Adilabad
• Eparchy of Chanda
• Eparchy of Jagdalpur

Personal jurisdiction suffragan to Latin province

• Eparchy of Kalyan, serves Mumbai and western Maharashtra, suffragan to the Roman catholic Archdiocese of Bombay

Personal jurisdictions outside India

• Eparchy of Mississauga, for Canada
• Eparchy of Melbourne, for Australia and New Zealand
• Eparchy of Chicago, for the USA
• Eparchy of Great Britain in Preston, England for England, Wales & Scotland
• Apostolic Visitation of Europe, based in Rome.
• As of 2024, the pope has extended the jurisdiction of the church to the Persian Gulf but its exact nature or structure remains unclear.^[87][88]

Religious Congregations

Main article: Syro Malabar Church Religious Congregations

A Syro Malabar monastery in Kuravilangad

The Religious congregations are divided in the Eastern Catholic Church Law (Code of Canons of the Oriental Churches; CCEO) as Monasteries, Hermitages, Orders, Congregations, Societies of Common Life in the Manner of Religious, Secular Institutes, and Societies of Apostolic Life.

Active are:

• Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (C. M. I.)
• Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (C. M. C.)
• Little Flower Congregation (L. F. C.)
• Missionary Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (M. C. B. S.)
• Missionary Society of Saint Thomas the Apostle (M. S. T.)
• Sisters of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (Adoration Congregation) (S. A. B. S.)
• Sisters of the Destitute (S. D.)
• Nazareth Sisters (N. S.)
• Vincentian Congregation (V. C.)

Latin Religious Congregations with Syro-Malabar provinces

• Franciscan Clarist Congregation (F. C. C.)

Major archiepiscopal churches

• St. Mary's Syro-Malabar Archdeacon Church Kuravilangad, Eparchy of Palai
• St. Mary's Knanaya Forane Church, Kaduthuruthy (Valiya palli), Kottayam Archdiocese
• Holy Cross Forane Church Nadavayal, Eparchy of Manathavady
• St. Mary's Forane Church Kudamaloor, Archeparchy of Changanassery
• St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church Palayoor, Archeparchy of Thrissur
• St. Sebastian Church Thazhekad, Eparchy of Irinjalakuda
• St. Mary's Church (Akkarappally) Kanjirappally, Eparchy of Kanjirappally
• St. Mary's Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church, Arakuzha, Muvattupuzha, Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Kothamangalam
• St.Joseph Major Archiepiscopal Church, Peravoor (Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Tellicherry)
• St. Sebastian Major Archiepiscopal pilgrim Church, Nedumkandam - Idukki (Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Idukki)^[89][90]

Seminaries

Major seminaries

Seminaries of the Syro-Malabar Church are under the general supervision of the Roman Congregation for the Eastern Churches and share the Major archbishop as their common Chancellor.^[91] Saint Joseph's Seminary in Mangalapuzha, established by Syrian Catholics in 1865, is the oldest of the extant seminaries of the church.^[92] However, the Saint Thomas Seminary in Vadavathoor is the first seminary to be established under the Syro-Malabar hierarchy.^[93]

Major archiepiscopal major seminaries

1. St. Joseph's Seminary, Mangalapuzha
2. St. Thomas' Seminary, Vadavathoor
3. Good Shepherd Seminary, Kunnoth
4. St. Ephrem's Seminary, Satna

Archeparchial major seminary

1. Mary Matha Seminary, Thrissur (Archeparchy of Trichur)

Religious major seminaries

1. Little Flower Seminary, Aluva (CST)
2. Ruhalaya Seminary, Ujjain (MST)
3. St. Vincent DePaul Seminary, Bangalore (VC)
4. Sanathana Seminary, Thamarasssery (MCBS)
5. Jeevalaya Seminary, Bangalore (MCBS)
6. Darsana Seminary, Wardha (CMI)
7. Samanvaya Seminary, Bhopal (CMI)
8. Dharmaram Seminary, Bangalore (CMI)

Statistics

The number of Syro Malabar Church institutions and personnel^[94]

Institutions	#
Parishes	3,224
Quasi-parishes	539
Missions	490
Institutes of consecrated life – men & women	53
Major & minor seminary	71
Regular, technical & other colleges	691
Teachers' training institutes	24
Engineering colleges Higher Secondary & Primary Schools	29 2,981
Kindergartens	1,685
Non-formal & adult education	503
Special schools	4,021
Health care institutions	700
Nurse's training schools	44
Hospitals, dispensaries & health centers Medical colleges	670 5
Specialized health care centers, incurables & leprosy care centers	54
Old age homes	211
Children's homes	185
Orphanages	230
Rehabilitation centers and other institutions	1,616
Total	13,805
Personnel
Religious sisters	35,000
Religious brothers	6,836
Seminarians	2,907
Diocesan and religious priests	9,121
Bishops	56
Major archbishop	1
Total	51,097

According to the 2023 Annuario Pontificio pontifical yearbook, there were about 4,537,342 members in the Syro-Malabar Church making them the largest Eastern Catholic Church.^[23][14] According to the 2011 census of India, Syro-Malabar Catholics in Kerala makes up around 2.35 million and thus they are the largest Christian body in the state.^[15]

List of prominent Syro-Malabar Catholics

Main article: List of Syro-Malabar Catholics

Prominent Syro-Malabar leaders

• Kadavil Chandy, Syriacist, poet, and church leader.
• Joseph Kariattil, the first Indian native Metropolitan Archbishop
• Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar, administrator of the Archdiocese of Cranganore-Angamaly and author of Varthamanappusthakam, the first travelogue in an Indian language
• Thachil Matthoo Tharakan, lay leader and Minister of Travancore
• Nidhiry Mani Kathanar, church leader and founder of Deepika, the first Malayalam daily
• Palackal Thoma, scholar and founder of C.M.I.
• Placid J. Podipara, Saint Thomas Christian historian
• Joseph Parecattil, the first Cardinal from the Syro-Malabar Church
• Joseph Powathil, Archbishop of Changanacherry and proponent of Syro-Malabar identity and traditions
• Emmanuel Thelly, orientalist and Syriacist, author of several books including a Syriac lexicon
• Koonammakkal Thomas, expert in Syro-Malabar history and Suriyani Malayalam

Saints, Blesseds, Venerables and Servants of God

St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Monastery Church, Mannanam, where the mortal remains of Kuriakose Elias Chavara are kept

Saints

• Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception – religious sister of FCC congregation
• Kuriakose Elias Chavara – priest and one of the founding members of CMI
• Euphrasia Eluvathingal – religious sister of CMC congregation
• Mariam Thresia Chiramel– religious sister and founder of Holy Family congregation

Beatified people

• Augustine Thevarparambil (Kunjachan) – priest
• Rani Maria (1954–1995) – religious sister of FCC congregation

Venerables

• Payyappilly Varghese Kathanar – priest and founder of Sisters of the Destitute (1876–1929)
• Thomas Kurialachery – first bishop of Archeparchy of Changanassery (1872–1925)
• Kadalikkattil Mathai Kathanar – priest (1872–1935)
• Joseph Vithayathil – priest and co-founder of Holy Family congregation (1865–1964)
• Augustine John Ukken – priest and Congregation of Sisters of Charity (CSC) (1880–1956)

Servants of God

• Tommiyachan Poothathil^[95] (1871–1943)
• Mary Celine Payyappilly (1906–1993)
• Joseph C. Panjikaran (1888–1949)
• Antony Thachuparambil (1894–1963)
• Mathew Kavukattu (1904–1969)
• Thommachen Puthenparampil^[96] (1871–1943)
• Canisius Thekkekara (1914–1998)
• Varkey Kattarath
• Armond Madavath OFM Cap

Candidates for canonization

• Fr. Emilian Vettath CMI

See also

• Liturgical calendar of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
• Sisters of the Destitute
• Carmelites of Mary Immaculate
• Congregation of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
• All India Catholic Union
• Catholic Church in India

Notes

1. Liturgy of Mar Addai and Mar Mari, Qudasha of Mar Theodore and Qudasha of Mar Nestorius^[5]
2. Syriac: ܥܸܕܬܵܐ ܩܵܬܘܿܠܝܼܩܝܼ ܕܡܲܠܲܒܵܪ ܣܘܼܪܝܵܝܵܐ (or ܥܸܕܬܵܐ ܕܡܲܠܲܒܵܪ ܣܘܼܪܝܵܝܵܐ); Malayalam: സീറോ മലബാർ സഭ
3. "In the travelogue Varthamanappusthakam (dated to 1790) written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar, the author uses the terms Malankara Pallikkar,Malankara Idavaka,Malankara Sabha etc. to refer the Syrian Catholic community.^[57]