The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) is the permanent association of the

Catholic 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 ...

bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of India. It was established in September 1944, in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. The CBCI Secretariat was located in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

until 1962, when it was shifted to the national capital,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

. The CBCI is a member of the

Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences The Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) is an association of episcopal conferences of Catholic Church in South, Southeast, East and Central Asia. The federation fosters solidarity and joint responsibility for the welfare of the Church a ...

Status and relation to the episcopal bodies of the three rites

The CBCI is technically not an

episcopal conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

as prescribed in canon 447 of the

1983 Code of Canon Law The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current com ...

; that role is fulfilled by the

Conference of Catholic Bishops of India The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India or CCBI, is the national episcopal conference of the bishops of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in India, functioning in accordance with canon 447. There are 132 Latin Catholic dioceses in the ...

. Rather, the CBCI is similar to the 'assembly of bishops' described in 322§2 of the

Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches The ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' (CCEC; la, Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, abbreviated CCEO) is the title of the 1990 codification of the common portions of the canon law for the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in the Catholic ...

. Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in a letter in 1987 directed the three rites to set up their own bishops' conferences. Nevertheless, the CBCI is the face of the Catholic Church in India and addresses the Church's "questions of common concern and of a national and supra-ritual character", while the episcopal body that heads each rite deals with internal issues. The statutes of the CBCI were approved by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

on 21 April 1976. The statutes were revised in 1996 by the CBCI.

Members

The ordinary members of the CBCI comprises all diocesan and eparchial bishops in India and those considered equal to them by canon law, as well as co-adjutor and auxiliary Bishops, and other titular Bishops performing a special work in India entrusted to them by the Apostolic See or by the Conference. Retired bishops and other titular bishops, not ordinary members of the Conference, and residing in India, are honorary members of the Conference. As of February 2014, the CBCI had around 180 members and 59 honorary members and it serves 167 dioceses.

Objectives

The objectives of the CBCI are to facilitate coordinated study and discussion of questions affecting the Church, and adoption of a common policy and effective action in matters concerning the common interests of the Catholic Church in India. The CBCI reviews the position of the Church in India, and also undertakes a variety of activities covering, for example, the youth, health care and media. Another role of the CBCI is to foster the communion among the three sui juris Churches. The CBCI is the face of the Catholic Church in India promotes advocacy on national issues, makes representation to Government, liaises with the Government and networks with other Christian Churches, organizations, associations of civil society and people of other religions.

Related episcopal bodies of India

The CBCI is at the service of the different episcopal conferences of three rites and the 13 regional councils of bishops.

Episcopal bodies of the three rites

(CCBI) from

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...

* The Most Holy Episcopal Synod of

Syro-Malabar 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 ...

* The Most Holy Episcopal Synod from

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 ...

Regional bishops' councils

# The Agra Regional Bishops' Council (ARBC) consists of the Bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Agra and dioceses of the Oriental Rites in Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Rajasthan. # The Andhra Pradesh Bishops' Council (APBC) comprises all the Bishops of the ecclesiastical provinces of Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam and dioceses of Oriental Rites in Andhra Pradesh. # The Bengal Regional Bishops' Council (BRBC) consists of the Bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Calcutta. # The BIJHAN Regional Bishops' Council (BRBC) consists of the Bishops of the ecclesiastical provinces of Ranchi and Patna. # The Council of Bishops of Chhattisgarh (CBCG) consists of the Bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Raipur and diocese of Oriental Rite in Chhattisgarh. # The Karnataka Regional Catholic Bishops' Council (KRCBC) comprises all the Bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Bangalore and dioceses of Oriental Rites in Karnataka. # The

Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council The Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council is a permanent association of the Catholic bishops in Kerala. Headquartered in Kochi, it is an association of three rites of the Catholic Church - the Roman / Latin, the Syro Malabar and the Syro Malankara. ...

(KCBC) comprises all the Bishops of the ecclesiastical provinces of Trivandrum, Verapoly (Latin Rite), Changanacherry, Ernakulam-Angamaly, Kottayam, Trichur, Tellicherry (Syro-Malabar Rite) & Tiruvalla, Trivandrum (Syro-Malankara Rite). # The Council of Bishops of Madhya Pradesh (CBMP) consists of the Bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Bhopal and dioceses of Oriental Rites in Madhya Pradesh. # The Regional Bishops' Council of the North consists of the Bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Delhi. # The North Eastern Regional Council consists of the Bishops of the ecclesiastical provinces of Shillong, Guwahati and Imphal. # The Orissa Bishops' Regional Council (OBRC) consists of the Bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar. # The Tamil Nadu Bishops' Council (TNBC) comprises all the Bishops of ecclesiastical provinces of Madras-Mylapore, Madurai, Pondicherry-Cuddalore and dioceses of the Oriental Rites in Tamil Nadu. # The Western Regional Bishops' Council comprises all the Bishops of the ecclesiastical provinces of Bombay, Nagpur, Goa and Daman, Gandhinagar and dioceses of Oriental Rites in the Western Region.

Presidents

Valerian Gracias Valerian Gracias (23 October 1900 – 11 September 1978) was an Indian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Bombay from 1950 until his death and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1953 by Pope Pius XII. Biogr ...

(1958–1972) *

Mar Joseph Parecattil Joseph Parecattil (1 April 1912 – 20 February 1987) was an Indian prelate of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Ernakulam from 1956 to 1984, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969. Biography Joseph Parecattil w ...

(1972–1976) *

Lawrence Picachy Lawrence Trevor Picachy (7 August 1916 – 30 November 1992), was an Indian Jesuit priest, spiritual guide of Mother Teresa, and later Archbishop of Calcutta (1969 to 1992). He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1976. Biography Cardinal Pic ...

, S.J. (1976–1982) *

Simon Pimenta Simon Ignatius Pimenta (1 March 1920 – 19 July 2013) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop Emeritus of Bombay (now Mumbai). Early life Born on 1 March 1920 in the village of Marol, in Bombay to Joseph and Rosie Pimenta, the young ...

(1982–1988) * Aboon Mor

Benedict Gregorios Benedict Mor Gregorios (1 February 1916 – 10 October 1994) was the second metropolitan archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. Life Gregorios or "Thangalathil Thirumeni" was born and raised in the Malankara Orthodox Church in Kalloo ...

, O.I.C. (1988–1989) *

Alphonsus Mathias Alphonsus Mathias (born on June 22, 1928, in Pangala, India) is a retired Roman Catholic archbishop of the archdiocese of Bangalore. Biography He was ordained a priest on 24 August 1954 and was appointed as the bishop of the Diocese of Chikm ...

(1989 – 1994) *

Joseph Powathil Joseph Powathil (born 14 August 1929) is an Indian prelate of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. He is the Archbishop Emeritus of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanassery. Early life Powathil was born in the hamlet of Kurumbanadom ...

(1994–1998) *

Alan Basil de Lastic Alan Basil de Lastic (24 September 1929 – 20 June 2000) was a prominent Catholic (Latin Rite) clergyman in India who was installed as the fourth Archbishop of Delhi in November 1990. Birth and education Alan de Lastic was born in Maymyo, B ...

(1998 – 20 June 2000) * Moran Mor

Cyril Baselios Moran Mor Cyril Baselios Catholicos or, when referencing his title of Major Archbishop, Cyril Baselios Malancharuvil OIC (born ''James Malancharuvil'', 1935 – 2007) was the first major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. He was ...

, O.I.C. (2000–2004) *

Telesphore Toppo Telesphore Placidus Toppo (born 15 October 1939) is an Indian cardinal and was the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ranchi from 1984 until his resignation was accepted on 24 June 2018. A polyglot, Toppo speaks Sadri, Oraon ( ...

(12 January 2004 – 19 February 2008) *

Mar Varkey Vithayathil Varkey Vithayathil (29 May 19271 April 2011) was an Indian cardinal, served as Head and Father of Syro Malabar Church and Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly. He was also a religious priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. E ...

, C.Ss.R. (19 February 2008 – 3 March 2010) *

Oswald Gracias Oswald Gracias (born 24 December 1944) is an Indian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed Latin Church Archbishop of Bombay by Pope Benedict XVI on 14 October 2006 and was raised to the cardinalate in 2007. In 2008, he becam ...

(4 March 2010 – 10 February 2014) * Moran Mor

Baselios Cleemis Baselios Cleemis (born 15 June 1959) is the current major archbishop-catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. He was named to the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church by Pope Benedict XVI on 24 November 2012. At the moment of h ...

(11 February 2014 - 9 February 2018) *

(9 February 2018 – 10 November 2022) * Andrews Thazhath (10 November 2022 - present)

National centres

* Caritas India * St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences * National Biblical, Catechetical and Liturgical Centre (NBCLC) * National Vocation Service Centre (NVSC) * National Institute of Social Communications, Research and Training (NISCORT) * CBCI Society for Medical Education, North India

References

External links

CBCI
official website

at GCatholic.org
Caritas India
{{Authority control

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Catholic Church in India