The Eparchy of Mavelikara is a

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, also known as the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the worldwide Catholic Church possessing self-governance under the Code of Ca ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is a suffragan eparchy in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

of the

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 ...

Archeparchy of Trivandrum. Its

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

Mavelikkara Mavelikkara is a taluk and municipality in the ''Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. Located in the southern part of the district on the banks of the Achankovil River. Etymology The name Mavelikara ...

, a

taluk 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 ...

and municipality in the southern part of Alappuzha district of the southwestern Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, on the banks of the

Achankovil River Achankovil is a 128 km long west flowing river in Kerala, India, which flows through Kollam, Pathanamthitta, and Alappuzha districts. The river drains vast tract of fertile plains of Upper Kuttanad in the Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta districts ...

. It is the 6th

of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, established on 2007.01.02 on territory formerly belonging to the Metropolitan archeparchies. It has 94

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es and 37,000 members. The first bishop of this eparchy is

Joshua Mar Ignathios Joshua Mar Ignathios (born 24 May 1950) is the Eparch of the Eparchy of Mavelikara of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in the state of Kerala, India. Family history and childhood He was born at Kottarakara, Kollam district as the son of Oo ...

. Patron saint is the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom the cathedral is also devoted.

External links

Diocese of Mavelikara Official Website

Syro-Malankara Catholic dioceses Dioceses in Kerala Dioceses established in the 21st century Christian organizations established in 2007 2007 establishments in Kerala Churches in Alappuzha district {{EasternCatholic-diocese-stub