The Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Bijnor is a

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 ...

ecclesiastical territory or

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 ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

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 ...

. Its current

eparch 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 t ...

is the

Vincent Nellaiparambil Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...

, who was consecrated bishop on 1 November 2019. With an area of 30,664 square kilometers, this eparchy has 49 mission stations, 25 schools, 16 health centres and dispensaries and 5 boarding houses. Personnel include 61 priests, 212 religious sisters, and 28 diocesan brothers.

History

The eparchy of Bijnor was originally an

apostolic exarchate An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and e ...

, created on 23 March 1972 by the papal bull ''Beatorum Apostolorum'' of

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 ...

. Rev. Fr Gratian Mundadan CMI was appointed the apostolic exarch. The apostolic exarchate of Bijnor was bifurcated from the diocese of Meerut. It consisted of the civil districts of

Bijnor Bijnor is a city and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

'' of Dhampur), Pauri,

Tehri New Tehri is a city and a municipal board in Tehri Garhwal District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of Tehri Garhwal District. This urban municipality area has 11 wards, from Vidhi Vihar to Vishwakarma P ...

Uttarkashi Uttarkashi, meaning Kashi of the north, is a town located in Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand, India. Uttarkashi town is headquarters of the district. Uttarkashi is also known as Somya Kashi. Uttarkashi is a religious place for spiritual and ...

and

Chamoli Chamoli district is a district of the Uttarakhand state of India. It is bounded by the Tibet region to the north, and by the Uttarakhand districts of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar to the east, Almora to the south, Pauri Garhwal to the southwest, ...

of the then state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. Later the district of

Haridwar Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is situated on the righ ...

was created taking parts of Bijnor and Saharanpur, and the district of

Rudraprayag Rudraprayag is a town and a municipality in Rudraprayag district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Rudraprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River, the point of confluence of rivers Alaknanda and Mandakini. K ...

was created by dividing the district of Pauri. In 2000, when the new state of Uttarakhand was created, the districts of Pauri, Tehri, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, and Haridwar became part of the new state. At present the eparchy of Bijnor consists of a part of the district of Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh and districts of Pauri, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Tehri, Uttarkashi and a part of Haridwar in Uttarakhand. Pope Paul VI raised the apostolic exarchate of Bijnor to an eparchy by the papal bull ''Quae cum Romano'' on 26 February 1977, and Apostolic Exarch Gratian Mundadan CMI was appointed its first bishop.

Eparchy timeline

23 March 1972 – Erection of Apostolic Exarchate of Bijnor by the papal bull ''Beatorum Apostolorum'' of Pope Paul VI. Nomination of Fr Gratian Mundadan CMI as the Apostolic Exarch.
25 July 1972 – Fr Gratian Mundadan CMI took charge as the Apostolic Exarch of Bijnor.
26 February 1977 – Erection of the Diocese of Bijnor by the Papal Bull ''Quae Cum Romano'' of Pope Paul VI. Nomination of Apostolic Exarch Gratian Mundadan CMI as the first Bishop of Bijnor.
6 November 1977 – Episcopal Ordination of Most Rev. Gratian Mundadan CMI.
8 December 1977 – Enthronement of Most Rev. Gratian Mundadan CMI as the first Bishop of Bijnor.
18 May 1981 – Death of 10 Missionaries in road accident at Satpuli.
24 June 1984 – Inauguration of the Diocesan Minor Seminary.
19 April 1988 – Priestly ordination of Fr James Thekkekaithackal, the first diocesan priest.
26 January 1997 – Death of Fr Peter Moothedan in road accident at Nawada (Bijnor).
5 December 2001 – Foundation stone laid for St Joseph's Cathedral,

Kotdwar Kotdwar is a city, municipal corporation in Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, India. It's just 101 km from Pauri town , the district headquarter. It is the eighth-largest city in Uttarakhand. Its old name was "Khohdwar", which means the g ...

.
17 February 2002 – Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Diocese and the Episcopal ordination of Most Rev. Gratian Mundadan.
19 November 2002 – Blessing of UJALA: The Diocesan Pastoral Centre.
17 October 2006 – Death of Fr Mathew Parackal, the Protosyncellus of the Diocese, at Bijnor.
4 June 2008 – Priestly Ordination of Fr Francis Paul Masih, the first local priest of the diocese.
14 August 2009 – Nomination of Fr John Vadakel CMI as the second Bishop of Bijnor.
22 October 2009 – Episcopal ordination and enthronement of Most Rev. John Vadakel CMI.
30 August 2019 – Most Rev. John Vadakel CMI retired.
1 November 2019 – Episcopal consecration / ordination and enthronement of Most Rev. Vincent Nellaiparambil.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bijnor, SyroMalabar Catholic Diocese of Syro-Malabar Catholic dioceses

Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Bijnor The Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Bijnor is a Syro-Malabar Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in Uttarakhand, India. Its current eparch is the Vincent Nellaiparambil, who was consecrated bishop on 1 N ...

1972 establishments in Uttar Pradesh