Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is an Oriental (Eastern Rite) Catholic Church based in Kerala, with a strength of about 4,00,000. The Syro-Malankara Church is in full communion with the Church of Rome.

The Syro-Malankara Church is a Major Archiepiscopal Church, the third individual Catholic Church to have attained this status, the other two being the Syro-Malabar Church and the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

Formation of the Syro-Malankara Church

St Thomas the Apostle, in AD 52, carried with him to India Jesus' message of building the Church. Kerala became the cradle of Christianity in India as early as the first century AD. Persian migrations in the 4th century refreshed the spirituality of these St Thomas Christians.

A crisis started with the arrival of European missionaries in the 16th century. St Thomas Christians were forced to follow the Latin rite. 1n 1599, St Thomas Christians were formally brought under the Catholic Church, although under the Latin rule and to the dismay of many of them.

In 1653, the unhappy St Thomas Christians revolted under the Latin rule. At a meeting known as the "Coonan Cross Oath", a section of them named their own indigenous bishop and separated from the Catholic Church. Those who remained under the Lain rule continued to be in the Catholic Church, and those who broke away embraced the Jacobite faith.

In 1897, Vatican created two Vicariates Apostolic of Trichur and Kottayam exclusively for St Thomas Christians, who began to be called Syro-Malabar Catholics. This heralded the beginning of the Syro-Malabar Church. In 1896, a third Vicariate Apostolic namely Ernakulam was established for Syro-Malabar Catholics, and the Syro-Malabar Church began to have indigenous bishops.

In 1930, a group of Jacobites under the leadership of Mar Ivanios reunited with the Catholic Church and the Vatican accommodated them as a separate rite. They are known as Syro-Malankara Catholics and they form the Syro-Malankara Rite or the Syro-Malankara Church.

The Syro-Malankara Church follows the Antiochean or West Syrian tradition of worship, and is an Oriental or Eastern Rite Catholic Church.

Developments in the Syro-Malankara Church

The Syro-Malankara Church was till recently a Metropolitan Church.

On February 10, 2005, the Vatican elevated the Syro-Malankara Church to the status of a Major Archiepiscopal Church. The Church's Metropolitan, Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios, was made the Major Archbishop.

Dioceses and Bishops of the Syro-Malankara Church

There are five dioceses in the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church:

1. Archdiocese of Trivandrum, Kerala
   • Major Archbishop: Cyril Mar Baselios
   • Aux. Bishop: Jushuah Mar Ignathios
2. Arch-Diocese of Thiruvalla, Kerala
   • Arch-bishop: Dr Isaac Mar Cleemis
3. Diocese of Bethery, Kerala
   • Bishop: Dr Geevarghese Mar Divannasios
4. Diocese of Marthandam, Tamilnadu
   • Bishop: Yoohanon Mar Chrysostom
5. Diocese of Muvattupuzha, Kerala
   • Bishop: Thomas Mar Koorilos

Platinum Jubilee

The year 2005 marked the Platinum Jubilee (75 years) of the historic re-union of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church with the Church of Rome. Various programmes were held in the dioceses to mark this occasion.

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