The Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Rajkot is an

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of t ...

eparchy Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

under the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church lat, Ecclesia Syrorum-Malabarensium mal, മലബാറിലെ സുറിയാനി സഭ , native_name_lang=, image = St. Thomas' Cross (Chennai, St. Thomas Mount).jpg , caption = The Mar Thoma Nasrani Sl ...

. It was created by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

Bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

" De recta fidelium" in 1977, separating it from the

Diocese of Ahmedabad The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ahmedabad ( la, Ahmedabaden(sis)) is a Latin rite suffragan diocese in the Gujarati Ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan of Gandhinagar, yet depends on the Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peop ...

. Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Sacred Heart Syro-Malabar Cathedral, Rajkot The Sacred Heart Cathedral is a cathedral of the Syro-Malabar Catholic rite in Rajkot. It is also known as Prem Mandir, meaning 'temple of love' in Hindi language, Hindi and Gujarati language, Gujarati. The cathedral, which is dedicated to the S ...

History

On 16 July 2010,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

named Mar Jose Chittooparambil as the bishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic eparchy of Rajkot. The bishop-elect was born in 1954 in Neeleswaram, India, was ordained to the priesthood in 1985, and is currently Prior General of St. Xavier's Province in Rajkot. He succeeds bishop Mar Gregory Karotemprel, whose resignation the Pope accepted upon having reached the age limit. (All bishops of local churches, or dioceses, whose wider churches are in communion with the Pope, must submit their resignation for possible acceptance at age 75, though the resignations are usually only accepted later.)

Former bishops

* Mar Jonas Thaliath *

Mar Gregory Karotemprel Mar Gregory Karotemprel (born 1933) is an East Syriac Catholic bishop and theologian. He is Bishop Emeritus of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Rajkot. Life Mar Gregory Karotemprel was born on 6 May 1933 at Chemmalamattam in Kottayam distr ...

Schools

* St. Xavier's High School, Bhuj

External links

Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Rajkot Catholic-Hierarchy
Syro-Malabar Catholic dioceses Eastern Catholic dioceses in India Christian organizations established in 1977 Christianity in Gujarat 1977 establishments in Gujarat {{EasternCatholic-diocese-stub