The St. Thomas the Apostle Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Melbourne is a Syro-Malabar Catholic Church 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 ...

in Australia. The eparchy was erected by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

on 11 January 2014. This is the second eparchy of the Syro-Malabar Church outside

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 ...

, after the Eparchy of Chicago, and it has jurisdiction over Syro-Malabar Catholics in the entirety of Australia. It is not part of any

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

, but immediately subject to the

Major Archbishop In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch of an autonomous ('' sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarchal title". Major ar ...

of Ernakulam-Angamaly and depends on the

Roman Congregation for the Oriental Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches ( la, Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus), is a dicaste ...

. In 2021 its territory was extended to include

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and

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. Its future

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

is the Cathedral of St. Alphonsa in the episcopal see of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

History

The eparchy was approved on 23 December 2013 as the Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Melbourne, on Australian territory previously without a formal jurisdiction of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.

Statistics

, it pastorally served 50,000 Catholics with 17 priests (5 diocesan, 12 religious), 12 lay religious (brothers).

Ordinaries

; ''Eparchs (Bishops) *

Bosco Puthur Bosco Puthur (born 28 May 1946) is a Syro-Malabar Catholic bishop. He was born in Parappur, Kerala, India and is the Curia Bishop of the Syro Malabar Church. Previously, he has served as Rector of Mangalapuzha Seminary, St. Joseph's Pontifical ...

(11 January 2014 – present)

References

External links and sources

GCatholic

Syro Malabar Catholic Church Parramatta
{{authority control Syro-Malabar Catholic dioceses Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Melbourne Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Melbourne 2014 establishments in Australia Eastern Catholic dioceses in Oceania

History

Statistics

Ordinaries

See also

References

External links and sources