The Eparchy of Palai is a Syro-Malabar Catholic 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 the ...

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 ...

with an area of 1166 km² comprising the

Meenachil Meenachil is the north-eastern region of Kottayam district in Kerala, south India. The name originates from Meenakshi, the Hindu Goddess. Pala is the main city in Meenachil. The arterial river of the district is also named Meenachil. Geogra ...

taluk and a few villages of the neighbouring taluks in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south- ...

, Ernakulam, and Idukki districts of central

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 ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

. The faithful of this eparchy, numbering 326,742, belong to the ancient St. Thomas Christian community. The seat of the bishop is the St. Thomas Cathedral based in the town of

Palai Pallai ( ta, பளை, si, පල්ලෙයි), also spelt Palai, is a small town in the Kilinochchi District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is located near the coast on the northern peninsula, approximately south-east of Jaffna. ...

. The current bishop is Mar Joseph Kallarangatt, serving since March 2004. Mar Jacob Muricken has been auxiliary bishop since 2012. Pope Pius XII established the eparchy bifurcating then Eparchy of Changanacherry, and out of the territory covered by the then foranes of Palai, Muttuchira, Kuravilangad, Anakkallu and Ramapuram on 25 July 1950. Initially, the eparchy was erected as a suffragan of the Acheparchy of Ernakulam. The then apostolic nuncio to India, Archbishop Leo P. Kierkels, installed Mar Sebastian Vayalil as the first bishop of the new eparchy. Eparchy of Changanacherry was elevated to the status of Archeparchy and constituted the new ecclesiastical province of Changanacherry on 22 August 1956. Thus, the eparchy of Palai became one of its suffragans.

History

Pope Pius XII, by the Bull "Quo Ecclesiarum", issued on 25 July 1950, bifurcated the eparchy of Changanacherry and out of the territory covered by the then Foranes of Palai, Muttuchira, Kuravilangad, Anakkallu and Ramapuram erected the eparchy of Palai as a suffragan of the Archeparchy of Ernakulam. Leo P. Kierkels, the Apostolic Internuncio in India, published the Bull in the St. Thomas Cathedral Palai on 4 January 1951 and installed Sebastian Vayalil as the first bishop of the new eparchy. On 22 August 1956 when the Holy See by the Ap. Const. ‘Regnum Coelorum’ raised the eparchy of Changanacherry to the status of an archeparchy and constituted the new ecclesiastical province of Changanacherry, the eparchy of Palai became one of its suffragans. Joseph Kallarangatt is the current bishop of the eparchy.

Jacob Muricken Jacob Muricken is an Indian Catholic prelate and theologian, who is the former auxiliary bishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Palai. He was ordained as a priest by Joseph Pallikaparampil on 27 December 1993. He served as an assistant ...

was appointed as auxiliary bishop in 2012. In 2022, he received approval from Synod of Syro-Malabar Bishops to leave the position of auxiliary bishop and live as a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

Mar Joseph Kallarangatt

Joseph Kallarangatt, the third bishop of the Eparchy of Palai since 2004, was born on 27 January 1956 at Kayyoor. As the delegate of Syro-Malabar Synod, he attended XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Family held at Rome from 04-25 October 2015.

Saints and causes for canonisation

Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception or Saint Alphonsa, christened at birth as Anna Muttathupadathu (19 August 1910– 28 July 1946), was a nun and an educator by vocation (profession). She was also known for being a victim soul, visionary a ...

* Thevarparambil Kunjachan (born Augustine) *

Mathew Kadalikkattil Kadalikkattil Mathai Kathanar was the founder of Sacred Heart Congregation. He was born on 25 April 1872 in Palai, Kerala, India. He was a Syro- Malabar Catholic Priest of the Carmelite Congregation. He was Ordained a priest on 17 February 1901. ...

Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar (1736–1799) is the author of ''Varthamanappusthakam'' (1790), the first ever travelogue in an Indian language. Also known as ''Roma Yatraa Varthamanapusthakam'', it postulates that the foundation of Indian nationali ...

(1736–1799)

References

External links

Pala Eparchy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palai, Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanassery Syro-Malabar Catholic dioceses Christian organizations established in 1950 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Dioceses in Kerala 1950 establishments in India Pala, Kerala