The Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Trichur-Palayoor, in Thrissur District 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 ...

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 ...

, with nearly half a million Syro-Malabar Catholics now, used to be the largest Catholic diocese in India when it included the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Irinjalakuda The Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Irinjalakuda-Kodungallur is a suffragan eparchy (Eastern Catholic diocese) in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Thrissur in Kerala state's Thrissur District ...

until 1978 and

Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Palghat The Eparchy of Palghat is a diocese of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, centred on the town of Palakkad in the state of Kerala, in South India. It is a suffragan bishopric of the Archdiocese of Trichur. The current bishop is Peter Kochupuracka ...

until 1973.

, also located in Thrissur District, has over a quarter million Syro-Malabar Catholics now. Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palghat in Central

extends to some regions in the neighbouring state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. In 2010, the parts of

under the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palghat were separated to form another Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Ramanathapuram. '
Archeparchy of Trichur-Palayoor
'' founded on 20 May 1887 by Pope

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

by his Papal bull ''Quod Jam Pridem'' now covers an area of 2000 Sq.Km and has a Catholic population of about 460848. There are 16 Foranes under the Archeparchy of Trichur. The total number of parishes is 215. In addition, there are 36 stations in the archdiocese. Diocese of Ramanathapuram, Diocese of Irinjalakuda and Diocese of Palghat are the suffragan dioceses of the Archeparchy. Cardinal Mar George Alencherry is the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Mar Andrews Thazhath is the Metropolitan Archbishop, Mar Tony Neelankavil is the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese and Mar Jacob Thoomkuzhy is the Archbishop Emeritus.

History

The diocese was founded on 20 May 1887 by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

by his papal bull ''Quod iam pridem''. The boundaries of diocese were from

Periyar (river) Periyar, , (meaning: ''big river'') is the longest river and the river with the largest discharge potential in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the few perennial rivers in the region and provides drinking water for several major towns. ...

in Aluva to

Bharathappuzha Bharathappuzha ("River of Bhārata"), also known as the Nila or Ponnani River, is a river in India in the state of Kerala. With a length of 209 km, it is the second longest river that flows through Kerala after the Periyar. It flows throu ...

. Later it was extended to Palakkad district and extended to Coimbatore District in

and was the largest Catholic diocese in

Role in education

Rev. Medlycott has given a description about the state of facilities for education in the vicariate on his arrival in 1887 and on his return in 1896 as below:

Parishes and population

The total number of parishes is 215. In addition, there are 36 stations in the archdiocese. The population of Syro-Malabar Catholics in

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

Archdiocese is about 4,60,848. There are 16 foranes under

Archdiocese. They are:

Suffragan dioceses

* Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Ramanathapuram *

* Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palghat

Vicars Apostolic

* Mar Adolph Medlycott (1887 − 1896) * Mar John Menachery (1896 − 1919)

Bishops

* Mar Francis Vazhapilly (1919 − 1944) * Mar George Alapatt (1944 − 1970)

Archbishops

* Mar Joseph Kundukulam (1970 − 1997) *

Mar Jacob Thoomkuzhy Mar Jacob Thoomkuzhy (born 13 December 1930) is an East Syriac Catholic Archbishop Emeritus, First Bishop of Mananthavady diocese, Second bishop of Thamarassery diocese and the second Metropolitan Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdioc ...

(1997 − 2007) *

Mar Andrews Thazhath Mar Andrews Thazhath (born 13 December 1951) is an Indian Catholic prelate and Archeparch of Thissur in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Life He is the third and the present metropolitan archbishop of Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of T ...

(2007 −)

Saints and causes for canonisation

* St.

Euphrasia Eluvathingal ''Euphrasia'', or eyebright, is a genus of about 450 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae (formerly included in the Scrophulariaceae), with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are semi-parasitic on grasses and other ...

* St. Maria Theresa Chiramel * Ven.

Augustine John Ukken Augustine John Ukken was a Syrian Catholic (Syro-Malabar Catholic) priest from the Indian state of Kerala in Thrissur and the founder of the Congregation of Sisters of Charity (CSC). Early life Augustine John Ukken was born in Thoyyakkavu i ...

* Ven. Joseph Vithayathil * Servant of God Fr.

Antony Thachuparambil Antony Thachuparambil (8 December 1894 – 9 June 1963), popularly known as ''the Missionary of Chelakkara'' was an Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic priest and social reformer who worked in Chelakkara, Thrissur District, Kerala, India. A candidate f ...

* Servant of God Sr. Maria Celine Kannanaikal, UMI

References

External links

Archdiocese of Thrissur
{{coord missing, Kerala

Dioceses in Kerala Religious organizations established in 1887 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 19th century Organisations based in Thrissur 1887 establishments in British India Churches in Thrissur district