The Diocese of Madras is one of the 30
dioceses of the
Indian Orthodox Church with its headquarters at
Chennai .
History
H.G Kayalath Dr. Stephanos Mar Theodosius was the first Diocesan
Metropolitan
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a typ ...
. He became the Metropolitan of the newly formed Calcutta diocese in 1979 which was bifurcated from the diocese.
Today
The present diocese was formed on 1979 and the Diocesan
Metropolitan
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a typ ...
was the late H.G. Zachariah Mar Dionysius. Diocese of Madras includes the territorial area of
Tamil Nadu, and
Andaman islands
The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...
in
India,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
New Zealand,
Malaysia,
Singapore and churches in other countries.
Since the demise of H.G. Mar Dionysius in 1997, H.G. Dr. Yakob Mar Irenaios
Metropolitan
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a typ ...
led the diocese. The Diocese celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 2004 and launched several charitable and social development programmes. Territorial and institutional growth caused the Diocese to be divided into three Madras, Bangalore and Brahmavar Dioceses. The diocese has 64 independent
parishes and many more congregations including 9
cathedrals. Sixty-five priests serve the parishioners, including 6 Cor-episcopas, 1 Cor-episcopa ramban, 4 rambans, and 4 retirees.
The diocese has a charitable institution called Snehabhavan, which is a guidance centre for patients undergoing treatment in Christian Medical College, Vellore.
Mercy Home is a home for physically challenged children in Eluru,
Andhra Pradesh. Almost all parishes operate elementary and higher secondary schools. One degree college operates in Narasimharajapuram, South canara, and two colleges run under control of the parishes. They are St.Mary’s college,
Brahmavar and St. Thomas College, Koyambedu,
Chennai.
This diocese includes non-Malayalee communities consisting of Konkani Christians with Konkani Priests, worshiping in
Konkani language in
Brahmavar. Another community of
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
inhabits Eluru with Telugu Evangelists. The diocese also runs 2 guesthouses in
Chennai city for youngsters who came to study as well as work.
Diocesan Metropolitan
List of parishes in India
* St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Port Blair, Andamans, India
* St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Bettapur, Andamans, India
* St. Mary's Orthodox Church, Diglipur, Andamans, India
* St. Gregorios Orthodox Church, Mannarghat, Andamans, India
* St. George Orthodox Church, Mayabunder, Andamans, India
* St. Gregorios Orthodox Church, Rangat, Andamans, India
* St. Dionysius Orthodox Church, Kadamthala, Andamans, India
* St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Coimbatore, India
* St. Mary's Orthodox Church, Coonoor, India
* St. George Orthodox Church, Avadi, Chennai, India
* St. George Orthodox Church, Ramalingapuram, Chennai, India
* St. Thomas Orthodox Cathedral, Broadway, Chennai, India
* St. Mary's Orthodox Church, Chetpet, Chennai, India
* St. Mary's Orthodox Church, Injambakkam, Chennai, India
* St. Peter's & St. Paul's Orthodox Church, Koyembedu, Chennai, India
* St. George Orthodox Church, Padi, Chennai, India
* St. Gregorios Orthodox Church, Perambur, Chennai, India
* St. Thomas Mount Orthodox Church, Puzhuthivakkam, Chennai, India
* Mar Gregorios Orthodox Church, Tambaram, Chennai, India
* St. Mary's Orthodox Church, Tiruvottiyur, Chennai, India
* St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Madurai, India
* St. Gregorios Orthodox Church, Mettupalayam, India
* St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Neyveli, India
* St. Mary's Orthodox Church, Pollachi, India
* St. Antony's Orthodox Church, Pondichery, India
* St. Gregorios Orthodox Church, Salem, India
* St. Mary's Orthodox Church, Tirupur, India
* St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Tiruchirapalli, India
* St. Mary's Orthodox Church, Thiruvarambur, India
* St. Gregorios Orthodox Church, Tuticorin, India
* St. Peter's Orthodox Church, Valparai, India
* St. Luke's Orthodox Church, Vellore, India
List of parishes outside India
* St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (First Church Outside India)*
* St.Thomas Orthodox Syrian Cathedral, Singapore, Singapore
* St. Dionysius Indian Orthodox Church, Auckland, New Zealand
* St. Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church, Hamilton, New Zealand
* St. Mary's Indian Orthodox Cathedral, Melbourne, Australia https://www.stmarysioc.org.au/
* St. Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church, Melbourne, Australia https://web.sgiocmelbourne.org.au/
* St. George Indian Orthodox Church, Perth, Australia
* St. Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church, Adelaide, Australia
* St. Thomas Indian Orthodox Cathedral, Sydney, Australia
* St. George Indian Orthodox Church, Brisbane, Australia
* St.Peter’s and St.Paul’s Indian Orthodox Church,Brisbane,Australia
* St. Mary's Indian Orthodox Church, Sydney, Australia http://smioc.org.au/
* St. Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church, Canberra, Australia
External links
Official website of Malankara Orthodox ChurchOfficial website of Madras Diocese{{Dioceses of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church dioceses
1979 establishments in Tamil Nadu