Members of the Syro-Malankara Church are euphoric after the Vatican elevated the India-based Oriental rite to a major archiepiscopal Church. On 10 February 2005, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church was raised to the status of a major archiepiscopal Church by the papal document Ab ipso Sancto Thoma, and as such possesses a high level of autonomy under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.
Apostolic Nuncio to India Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana announced the elevation at St. Mary’s Cathedral of Trivandrum Syro-Malankara archdiocese. Pedro López Quintana, the Apostolic Nuncio in India, read the official declaration at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram. The nuncio also announced the elevation of Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios of Trivandrum as the Malankara Church´s first major archbishop. The Hierarchical Head of the Church became a Major Archbishop who exercises patriarchal powers and governs the Church assisted by the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Church.
According to Father John Kochuthundiyil, chancellor of the archdiocese, the elevation is a “joy for all our members.”
It is, for Pushpa Augustine, “the highest honor” the Vatican has conferred on “our Church.” The laywoman, secretary of the archdiocesan pastoral council, told that, with the new status, the Church has attained “full autonomy in all matters of internal governance.”
Pastoral council member Mary Mathew said the new status would help the Church keep “our identity” and encourage Malankara Catholics´ “more active” participation in evangelization.
Speaking on the occasion Archbishop Baselios said he is “very happy” over the “historic moment for the Malankara Church.” He pointed out that the announcement came as the Church is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its union with the Catholic Church.
Major archbishops of the rite would henceforth be titled “Catholicos of Malankara,” following its tradition in Kerala, Church people said.
The 69-year-old major archbishop is a former president of the Catholic Bishop´s Conference of India. He was ordained bishop in 1978 for Bathery diocese in northern Kerala. In 1995 he was transferred to Trivandrum as its metropolitan archbishop and head of the Church that traces its faith to Saint Thomas the Apostle.
The majority of the Malankara Church´s 325,000 members are spread across Kerala. Besides Trivandrum archdiocese, the Church has three dioceses in Kerala and one in Tamil Nadu.
Among the Eastern Catholic Churches, only the Ukrainian, Syro-Malabar and, now, Syro-Malankara Church have been raised to major archiepiscopal status since the new Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches took effect in 1991.
The Malankara Church follows the liturgical tradition of the Antiochean Church, with which it had centuries-old links.
Church officials said the major archbishop would soon convene the Malankara bishops´ synod to discuss administrative and hierarchical amendments needed for the Church´s new status.
Kerala Chief Minister Oomman Chandy was among those who congratulated the new major archbishop. Syro-Malabar Major Archbishop Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil and Latin-rite Archbishop Soosa Pakiam of Trivandrum Latin-rite archdiocese also congratulated Archbishop Baselios.
Both Oriental rites in India follow Syrian Church traditions, while the Latin rite follows the Roman liturgy, introduced by European missioners in the 15th century.
Among the 149 Catholic jurisdictions in India, 119 belong to the Latin rite, 25 to the Syro-Malabar and five to the Syro-Malankara.
Five other mainstream Churches in Kerala that are not in the Catholic fold also trace the origins of their faith to Saint Thomas the Apostle.
Pope John Paul II has appointed Father Joseph Konnath auxiliary bishop of Trivandrum Syro-Malankara archdiocese. Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios of Trivandrum, head of the Syro-Malankara Church, announced the appointment Jan. 5 from the archdiocesan headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala state, the Churchs base. Bishop-designate Konnath was born in 1952, and ordained a priest in 1978. He will also work as the apostolic visitor of the Oriental Catholics in Europe and the United States.
Visit to India of His Excellency The Most Rev. Antonio Maria Vegliò, Secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Episcopal Consecration of His Grace Cyril Mar Baselios Malancharuvil, Metropolitan Archbishop of Trivandrum and Head of the Syro-Malankara Church His Excellency The Most Rev. Antonio Maria Vegliò, Secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, attended the recent celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the episcopal consecration of His Grace Cyril Mar Baselios Malancharuvil, Metropolitan Archbishop of Trivandrum and Head of the Syro-Malankara Church. The Syro-Malankara Catholic community had very much desired to have a representative of the Holy See in attendance on this important occasion. The presence of the Archbishop from Rome was at the same time a recognition that this Church and its Head and Pastor, the honored Mar Baselios, had rendered most admirable service, on the vast Indian sub-continent as well as in many parts of the world where Syro-Malankara faithful now live, to the Gospel of Christ. The Syro-Malankara Church Together with its close spiritual relative, the Syro-Malabar Church, the Syro-Malankara Church dates back to the preaching of St. Thomas the Apostle, and in the 4th century came into contact with the Chaldean Churches of Mesopotamia. From these the Thomas Christians of India, as they have been called from earliest times, adopted their liturgical traditions while maintaining their own administrative autonomy and ecclesial identity. All through the centuries the Church in India remained connected in various ways with Rome, and when the Portuguese missionaries arrived in India in the 16th century, they were greeted by the Malabarians as “fellow Christians and representatives of the ancient See of Rome”. But, fearing that the Latin presence would threaten their oriental heritage and identity, thousands of St. Thomas Christians established relations with the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. These were the beginnings of the Malankara Orthodox Church of India. Until the 20th century repeated formal attempts on both sides at reconciliation met with little success. Finally, in 1926 a group of Malankara Orthodox Syrian bishops, who were opposed to the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Patriarch in India, began negotiations with Rome under the leadership of Geevarghese Mar Ivanios. In 1930 two bishops and a small group of faithful rejoined the “Catholic Communion” and in 1932 Mar Ivanios made his official visit to the Holy See of Rome, where Pope Pius XI invested him with the sacred pallium. In the same year the Roman Pontiff established the Syro-Malankara Catholic Hierarchy consisting of the eparchies of Trivandrum and Tiruvalla. Later, more Malankara Orthodox prelates followed and prompted a significant movement of faithful into the new Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, which by 1950 counted some 65,000 faithful, in 1960 over 100,000 and in 1970 almost twice that number. Since then the Syro-Malankara Church, which is named after one of the earliest Christian settlements in Malayankara near Cranganore on the Malabar coast, has grown in a most remarkable way. Presently, the Church counts around 400,000 faithful worldwide, most of whom reside in the five Syro-Malankara eparchies of Trivandrum, Tiruvalla, Bathery, Marthandom and Muvattupuzha, covering Kerala State and parts of Karnatake and Tamil Nadu. Over 6200 Syro-Malankara families live in other parts of India where spiritual, catechetical and sacramental services are provided in their own rite in cooperation with local Latin rite bishops and priests. Many more faithful emigrated and receive pastoral care in Syro-Malankara mission centers such as in the United States (about 300 families), in Canada (nearly 40 families), in Germany (about 300 families) and in the Gulf States. The remarkable vitality of the Church is most clearly seen in the enormous number of vocations to the priesthood and to the religious life. A total of about 600 priests, eparchial and religious, are presently serving the needs of the Syro-Malankara population, and the number of seminarians in minor and major seminaries for Eparchies and different religious Congregations amounts to an impressive total of close to 500. In addition, nearly 2000 sisters in about 16 different religious institutes represent an extraordinary resource of spiritual wealth and apostolic activity. The Syro-Malankara Church can lay claim to operating about 480 charitable agencies and almost as many educational institutions. Mar Baselios, Metropolitan of Trivandrum The tremendous vitality of this oriental Church needs to be in part attributed to the spiritual leadership of Mar Baselios, who was appointed in 1995 to the Metropolitan See of Trivandrum after serving as Bishop of Bathery from 1978. Born on August 16, 1935, in Kerala, Mar Baselios entered the “Order of the Imitation of Christ” (O.I.C.) in 1951. He was ordained a priest in 1960, received a licentiate in Philosophy and Theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum in Pune, India, and a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He became professor of Dogmatic Theology at St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary in Kottayam and at the Pontifical Institute of Theology and Philosophy in Alwaye, and served as Superior General of his religious Congregation. In 1996 he was elected Chairman of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Conference, and in 1998 President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (C.B.C.I.). The visit in Kerala of the Archbishop Secretary As His Excellency The Most Rev. Vegliò arrived in Trivandrum on Friday afternoon October 24th, after a brief stopover in Bombay and a visit to the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Kalyan, he was received with great joy and respect, according to local traditions, by Mar Baselios and representatives of the Archeparchy. The festivities began at about 8:00 a.m. on Saturday October 25th with a spectacular reception on the grounds of St. Mary’s Cathedral in the presence of thousands of faithful. Mar Baselios was the main celebrant of the Holy Qurbano, the Divine Liturgy of the Syro-Malankara Rite, which was concelebrated by about 20 bishops of all rites, Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara, and a large number of priests. The congratulatory letter, which the Holy Father had addressed to the honoree, was read in malayalam, the local language of Kerala, and was greeted with warm applause. Song and ceremony of the liturgy on this joyous occasion conveyed, not only the sense of the divine presence, but also a sense of the deep-felt gratitude of those present for the person, life, and loving commitment of their Head and Father, Mar Baselios. Following the Divine Liturgy, a public reception was held for the honoree across from the Cathedral in St. Mary’s Auditorium. The congratulatory message of His Beatitude Ignace Cardinal Moussa I Daoud, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, was read, followed by the Inaugural Address delivered by Archbishop Vegliò. Also in attendance, among the many prelates of the Church, were His Eminence Ivan Cardinal Dias, Archbishop of Bombay, Their Excellencies Mar Joseph Powathil, Syro-Malabar Archbishop of Changanacherry, Most Rev. Vincent M. Concessao, Archbishop of Delhi and Vice-President of C.B.C.I., Most Rev. Soosa Pakiam, Latin Bishop of Trivandrum and homilist at the Divine Liturgy, and Joshua Mar Ignathios, Syro-Malankara Auxiliary Bishop of Trivandrum. Mar Baselios’ impact also on many areas of civil society was made evident by the presence of various Ministers from the State and the Federal Government of India, all of whom expressed their best wishes and their gratitude for the contribution Mar Baselios had made, especially in the areas of education and inter-religious dialogue. In fact, education and inter-religious dialogue were the focus of his words of thanks addressed to all present. For the remainder of his time in Trivandrum, Sunday Oct. 26th and Monday Oct. 27th, Archbishop Vegliò was invited to visit seminaries, schools, convents and mission centers of the Archeparchy: he celebrated a Latin rite Liturgy for the close to 70 seminarians of St. Aloysius Minor Seminary; he was shown a hospice for the poor and the sick and encountered the patients of a nearby leprosarium; he visited St. Mary’s High School, a complex of several buildings, housing a total of 12,000 mostly Hindu students (the largest of its kind in southern Asia and recognized for its quality education); he was given a private tour of the impressive campus of Mar Ivanios College at Trivandrum, an area of 100 hectares accommodating high schools, colleges for engineering and technology, for English and education, for economy, arts and sciences, with an enrolment of well over 3,000 students of whom only about 5% profess the Catholic faith; and he blessed, together with Mar Baselios, a new Marian shrine located near a major highway outside the city. One of the unexpected occasions was the visit to the mission center at Chemboor at quite some distance from Trivandrum, where faithful from 103 mission stations of the area had gathered (an area with about 75,000 Syro-Malankara Catholics). Introducing the visitor as co-worker with the Holy Father at the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, Mar Baselios, in his address to those present, spoke again of the need for education for all sections of the community. Education has truly been one of the priorities of his episcopal ministry, which includes the founding of well over 40 academic institutions. The concluding item on the agenda was reserved for a visit to the Archeparchial Major Seminary of St. Mary, Mother of the Church, with close to 200 seminarians and their educators. Present for this occasion were also Officials of the eparchial Curia and Superiors of religious Congregations. Archbishop Vegliò invited Mar Baselios and those present to join him in thanking God for so much good accomplished in the Syro-Malankara Church today, and upon it he invoked God’s many blessings for a most promising future. After praising the Syro-Malankara community for its fidelity to the Holy Father and to the Universal Church, he called upon the faithful to “trust in God’s love”, as the episcopal motto of Mar Baselios suggests. Together with Rev. Norbert Glasmacher, Official at the Congregation, who accompanied him, Archbishop Vegliò acknowledged with gratitude the unique gift of his first ever visit to the Syro-Malankara Church.
Pope John Paul II has commended the Syro-Malankara Church as “one of the fastest growing Catholic communities in the world.”
That Church, youngest among the Catholic Church´s 21 Oriental groups, began on Sept. 20, 1930, when the Catholic Church received two bishops, a priest, a deacon and a layman from the Orthodox Syrian Church. The Vatican allowed them to retain their Antiochean liturgy and canonical traditions.
The Syro-Malankara Church has 325,000 members in India, spread over Bathery, Marthandam, Moovattupuzha and Tiruvalla dioceses, and Trivandrum archdiocese.
It now also has a “large number of vocations to the priesthood and Religious life” and “many educational and welfare institutions,” the pope said on May 13 when he met Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios of Trivandrum, head of the Church, and seven other bishops at the Vatican as they ended their five-yearly “ad limina” visit. Earlier, the pope met them individually, and had lunch and Mass with them together.
The Bishops visited various Vatican offices, including the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Congregation for Oriental Churches. The Rome visit coincided with the “ad limina” visit of Syro-Malabar bishops.
The Catholic Church in India comprises the Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara rites. The Latin Church follows the Roman liturgy, introduced by European missioners in the 15th century, while the other two, both based in the southern state of Kerala, follow Oriental liturgies and customs, and trace their origins to Saint Thomas the Apostle.
While meeting with the Syro-Malankara bishops, the pope noted anniversaries associated with the Church. He said that Pope Pius XI welcomed the Syro-Malankara Church into full union with Rome 70 years ago, after 350 years of separation, and that Archbishop Geevarghese Mar Ivanios, “a tireless apostle of unity” who led them into the Catholic Church, died 50 years ago.
The pope also noted that Indians take pride in a rich cultural and spiritual heritage, expressed through contemplation, simplicity, harmony, detachment, non-violence, discipline, frugal living and the thirst for learning and philosophical enquiry. “These traits,” the pope said, permeate the Syro-Malankara community and enable it to communicate the Gospel “in a way that is faithful both to her own traditions and to the Asian soul.”
The Holy Father said that “the mystical heritage” of India was expressed “in the spiritual life” of Syro-Malankara Catholics, in their “time-honored rites” and in their liturgical tradition.
He urged the bishops to remind their people about the need for “an ever deeper reflection on moral and social issues,” especially at this time of “growing secularism” and “blatant disregard for the sanctity of human life.”
The pope also said that the Church´s education and social services give it “an excellent position” to prepare people to face the issues “in a truly human manner.” He said all Christians must oppose “the current crisis of values” and “remind others of the universal truths which must manifest in daily living.”
Underscoring the “inculturation of Christian ethics at all levels of human society,” he added that the Oriental Church´s “long experience as a small community of Christians in a predominantly non-Christian land” had prepared it well to become “a fitting instrument” to transform society.
He urged Syro-Malankara Catholics to make sure that the inculturation of Christ´s saving message “is never diluted or altered in an attempt to make it more culturally or socially acceptable.”
He then asked the bishops to work closely with their priests and “encourage young people” to answer God´s call to priesthood and Religious life. He said he also wants them to ascertain that their seminaries “are always models of formation” and their priests and Religious properly trained for their mission.
Pope John Paul II has created two new Eastern-rite dioceses in southern India to help the Catholic Church in India fulfill its evangelizing mission.
On Jan. 15, Pope John Paul created the Syro-Malabar diocese of Idukki and Syro-Malankara diocese of Moovattupuzha. The new jurisdictions in Kerala state were carved out of Kothamangalam and Tiruvalla dioceses respectively. On the same day, the pope appointed Kothamangalam diocese´s Father Mathew Anikuzhikattil, 61, as bishop of Idukki, and 44-year-old Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Mar Koorilos of Tiruvalla as bishop of Moovattupuzha.
Idukki is about 120 kilometers southeast of Kochi, Kerala´s commercial capital, which is some 2,595 kilometers south of New Delhi. Moovattupuzha is 40 kilometers east of Kochi.
Idukki has become the 25th diocese of the Syro-Malabar Church in India, while Moovattupuzha is the fifth Syro-Malankara diocese. Including those two new sees, the Catholic Church in India now has 148 dioceses.
Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios of Trivandrum, president of the Catholic Bishops´ Conference of India (CBCI) and head of the Syro-Malankara Church, told that the creation of the new dioceses “will bring the people closer to the Church in Kerala.”
At a ceremony announcing the creation of Moovattupuzha diocese, Archbishop Baselios thanked the pope for “gifting” a new diocese to the Malankara Church. He explained that “there was indeed an urgent need” for a new diocese because Tiruvalla diocese was so “spread out” across central Kerala.
Nearly half of some 45,000 Malankara-rite people in Tiruvalla diocese will belong to 62 parishes in the new diocese, the CBCI president said after the ceremony in Tiruvalla, some 2,730 kilometers south of New Delhi.
Bishop-designate Mar Koorilos became a priest in 1985 and auxiliary bishop in 1997. Details on the installation of the new prelates are yet to be announced.
The new apostolic visitator for the Syro-Malankara Catholic diaspora in North America and Europe will work for Church unity, and to spread the Oriental rite abroad.
“Unity in love is my missionary slogan for the new and challenging assignment that God has given me,” said Auxiliary Bishop Isaac Thottunkal of Trivandrum, who was consecrated Aug. 15 in Kerala, southern India.
Pope John Paul II named Bishop Thottunkal June 18 as apostolic visitor for more than 600 Syro-Malankara Catholic families living in Canada, Europe and the United States.
He served as the vicar general of Bathery diocese of the Syro-Malankara Church, the youngest among the Catholic Church´s 22 Oriental rites.
The Church has 12 parishes in North America and five in Germany.
Syro-Malankara Church leaders view Bishop Thottunkal´s appointment as a prelude to the formation of a new diocese in the United States.
The Syro-Malabar Church, the other Oriental Catholic Church in India, opened its first overseas diocese based in Chicago, United States, last March.
“I am sure that Bishop Thottunkal´s appointment as an apostolic visitor is a precursor to the possibility of a new diocese for the Syro-Malankara Church outside India,” Archbishop Cyril Baselios of Trivandrum.
Archbishop Baselios, head of the Syro-Malankara Church and president of the Catholic Bishops´ Conference of India, led Bishop Thottunkal´s episcopal ordination ceremony at Tiruvalla, some 2,730 kilometers from New Delhi.
Those present included Syro-Malabar Archbishop Joseph Powathil of Changanacherry, Jacobite Orthodox Church Bishop Thomas Dionysius, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church head Baseliyos Marthomma Mathews II and other bishops.
Bishop Thottunkal told that his main aim is to unite all Malankara parishes scattered across North America and Europe and give the Church a proper direction.
“I will spend the next few months studying and assessing the Church´s present activities and prepare my future course of action,” he added.
The new bishop said he spent the past two months visiting the Church´s four dioceses in India to seek people´s prayers and wishes. Since June 18, he has kept contact with Church members abroad through e-mail, he added.
Bishop Thottunkal says his “biggest responsibility” is to attract to the Church the new generation of Indians settled abroad. “I will ensure that the culture and spirituality in which our Church grew and developed will continue in the foreign mission also,” he said.
According to Bishop Mar Cleemis, a major challenge for the Church in India these days is to bring back the new generation that has left the faith and Church life.
Spirituality is not limited to regular attendance at Sunday Mass, he said, explaining that “Our Christian values and spirituality should not remain within the four walls of churches.”
According to Father Wilson Thattarathundil, secretary to Archbishop Baselios, more than 500 Syro-Malankara families now live in North America and Canada and some 100 are in Germany.
Father Thattarathundil told that they have not conducted a formal survey of the overseas Church members. However, he added, “now that Auxiliary Bishop Thottunkal is in charge of our mission abroad, a survey will be done.”
With the installation of Bishop Yoohanon Mar Chrysostom (Cor-episcopo John Kalloor) as the ordinary of Marthandom Syro-Malankara diocese in Tamil Nadu state July 1, public unrest subsided among Catholics who demanded that a “son of the soil” should lead their diocese.
Bishop Kalloor, 53, a native of neighboring Kerala state, said that while there was some resentment over the appointment of a non-local as bishop, “since I came here, I haven´t seen any. It just vanished.”
Some lay leaders say that although the diocese was created after considering the region´s cultural and language differences, the Church administration ignored the local people´s aspirations.
People have accepted the new bishop, but Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios of Trivandrum said he would continue working with the people for a native bishop, said diocesan administrator Father V. Maria Arputam, 48, a native priest.
The Vatican´s April 16 appointment of Bishop Kalloor “was a shock to the laity and priests here,” according to S. Jerome, 25, vice-president of the Malankara Catholic Youth Movement in Marthandom.
Some laypeople wrote to all bishops in India on April 24, complaining that their pleas to the pronuncio and other Church officials for a native son had gone unheeded.
However, the laity refrained from a more public protest so as to avoid public scandal, said Attoor parish treasurer S. Thomas.
In 1997 Marthandom was carved out of Trivandrum, the mother diocese of the Syro-Malankara Church in the southernmost district of Kanniyakumari.
Its first ordinary, Bishop Lawrence Mar Ephraem, died less than three months after he took charge in January 1997. Catholics in this first Malankara diocese outside of Kerala, speak Tamil and use it in the liturgy.
However, Syro-Malankara Catholics traditionally use Kerala´s Malayalam in the liturgy and trace their faith to Saint Thomas the Apostle.
The Malankara Marthandom Church mission was set up 68 years ago. Bishop Ephraem worked for more than 20 years for the socio-economic development of the local people, who are considered lower in caste than Kerala Malankarites.
Bishop Kalloor said the diocese now has “absolutely no caste or class” discrimination, since “once we are Catholics, we are one in faith.”
Consecrated June 29 in Trivandrum, Bishop Kalloor said that language is not a problem for him and that he knows the region´s culture well, as he studied in Tamil Nadu and worked near the Marthandom area.
The work Bishop Ephraem left behind is “thrilling, and we have a lot to do as the diocese is still in the initial stages,”.
Basic education of children, employment and higher education for youth are Bishop Kalloor´s priorities for the region, which he said needs further “socio-economic uplift.”
The new bishop said about two-thirds of some 25 priests in the diocese´s 65 parishes and mission stations are native clergy, and he has been meeting with them and with lay leaders recently to plan diocesan programs.
Bishop Lawrence Mar Ephraem of Marthandom died of brain hemorrhage on April 8, less than three months after being installed as ordinary of the newly formed Syro-Malankara diocese. He was 69.
Bishop Ephraem, former secretary general of the Catholic Bishops´ Conference of India (CBCI), slipped into a coma a week after his installation on Jan. 23.
Marthandom, in Tamil Nadu state, is the first Syro-Malankara diocese outside the adjoining southern state of Kerala, the Oriental Church´s base. The diocese is in Kanniyakumari district at India´s southernmost tip.
The late prelate had been auxiliary bishop of Trivandrum Syro-Malankara archdiocese since 1980 and was made bishop of Marthandom when it was carved out of the Malankara Church´s only metropolitan see in December 1996.
Bishop Ephraem was an “unchallenged leader of the oppressed and poor,” said Father John Vallamattom, CBCI public relations officer.
During his two terms as CBCI secretary general from 1990-1994, Bishop Ephraem “always spoke for the dalits (of low-caste ancestry), neglected women, and unorganized people,” Father Vallamattom told UCA News.
Rajendra Babu, a lay leader in Marthandom, said the bishop´s “death is a great loss and disappointment” for Catholics in the new diocese that suffers from socio-economic underdevelopment.
Most Catholics in Marthandom are from the Nadar community, one of the lower sub-castes in Hinduism. Bishop Ephraem worked in the region for more than 20 years implementing several development projects.
“He was a pastorally concerned bishop with much humanitarian concern,” said Father Maria Arputham, a diocesan priest.
Latin Rite Bishop Leon A. Tharmaraj of Kottar, with which Marthandom shares its territory, said Bishop Ephraem “always prioritized communal and religious harmony” in the communally sensitive Kanniyakumari region.
CBCI deputy secretary general Father George Pereira said Bishop Ephraem´s being always “a soft but wise man” stood him well as secretary general.
“He was a far-sighted man, who did things with ultimate accuracy, keeping in mind the good of the Church and welfare of the nation,” Father Pereira said.
Several socio-political leaders in Kerala and Tamil Nadu attended the three-hour funeral service April 9 in Marthandom.
Following Malankara Church custom, the body was seated on a chair and taken around the town in a symbolical farewell to his people and territory.
After the procession, the body was brought to a prepared crypt inside the cathedral and the main celebrant bid farewell to the cathedral and its people on behalf of Bishop Ephraem.
The bishop was entombed in the seated posture, a tradition symbolizing Jesus´ promise that the Apostles, whose successors are the bishops, will sit on the throne of judgment at the end of time, according to Church sources.
Many laypeople, Religious and clergy from Trivandrum attended the funeral.
Bishop Lawrence Mar Ephraem was installed Jan. 23 as bishop of Marthandom Syro-Malankara diocese in southern Tamil Nadu state, marking the growth of India´s youngest Oriental Church.
Marthandom is the fourth Malankara diocese and the first outside Kerala, the base of the Oriental Church that came into the Catholic fold in 1930.
Pope John Paul II announced the establishment of the Eparchy of Marthandom and the new Syro-Malabar diocese of Thakala at the same time as he made 11 episcopal appointments Dec. 18 for the Indian Church, nine of them concerning the two Oriental Churches.
Marthandom was created from Trivandrum Syro-Malankara archdiocese after growth of its mission in neighboring Tamil Nadu state necessitated creation of a separate diocese, Bishop Ephraem told UCA News.
The five-decade-old mission grew to be a diocese serving some 46,300 Catholics in 48 parishes and 13 mission centers, with 40 educational institutions, three hospitals and all necessary infrastructure, the former Trivandrum auxiliary bishop said.
He added that he expects more Trivandrum priests to join the new diocese in Kanniyakumari, India´s southernmost district, which must face socio-economic and educational issues including a history of Hindu-Christian rivalry.
Having spent more than 15 years there, Bishop Ephraem credited Marthandom Catholics with “strong faith” and a “hard-working nature,” but observed that half of them are economically poor and few have earned university degrees.
The pope´s message on forgiveness for the 1997 World Peace Day (Jan. 1) can help heal the wounds of communal animosity in the diocese, the bishop added.
Father Peter Ananth, a missionary in Marthandom, said the local people have demanded a separate diocese for the past 20 years, because their Tamil culture and language are not the same as those of Kerala.
The liturgy was in Malayalam, Kerala´s language, not Tamil, and priests from Kerala had difficulty understanding their Tamil parishioners, he said.
While Syro-Malankara Catholics in Kerala trace their faith to Saint Thomas the Apostle and claim upper-caste lineage, most in Kanniyakumari are converts from the Nadar community, considered a backward Hindu subcaste.
The Tamil Nadu mission was started in 1934 by Archbishop Mar Ivanios, leader of the Jacobite group that had become the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church four years earlier.
They used the Malayalam version of their Antiochean liturgy. A Tamil translation was made in the 1970s, but was not widely used at first.
Nonetheless, the mission encouraged local vocations and the new diocese has 15 Tamil priests, an achievement hailed by Father A. Joachim of Kottar Latin Rite diocese, with which Marthandom and Thakala dioceses now overlap.
Bishop Leon Tharmaraj of Kottar preached the homily at Bishop Ephraem´s installation Jan. 23. He called for encouraging participatory structures such as Basic Christian Communities and parish councils to share power with laity.
Some Latin Rite Church people in the region, though, see problems with the new jurisdictional arrangement.
“Kanniyakumari now has three rites and three dioceses, but the people are of the same culture, language and socio-economic background,” said Father R. Mary John, secretary to the Kottar bishop, stressing working together for people.
Another Church official, who requested anonymity, criticized the Vatican for creating new Oriental sees within existing Latin dioceses without proper consultation with the local Latin Rite hierarchy.
Kottar diocese, founded in 1930, has 407,516 Catholics, 193 priests and 323 parishes and subparishes in Kanniyakumari, which has 1.76 million people.
The 1,665-square-kilometer diocese is populous and “should have been bifurcated long ago,” said A. Philip, a Tamil teacher of Kottar diocese.
1. At the conclusion of your “ad Limina” visit, I wish to assure you again of the heartfelt affection and fraternal esteem in which I hold the venerable Oriental Catholic Churches present in India, the Syro-Malabar Church and the Syro-Malankara Church. Your common origins go back to the very beginnings of Christianity, to the preaching of the glorious Apostle Thomas. Today, the dynamic nature of your communities bears witness to the continual presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of each particular Church founded on and sustained by the apostolic tradition. “We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren loved bу the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved, through sanctification bу the Spirit and belief in the truth” (2Thess. 2, 13). With affection in the Lord I congratulate Cardinal Antony Padiyara, the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, who in December celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
I extend a special welcome to Cyril Mar Baselios, recently appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankara Church. In your person I greet the whole Syro-Malankara Church, which so effectively blends fidelity to its Oriental tradition with a vigorous commitment to the apostolate. Present in our thoughts at this happy moment are the figures of twо unforgettable Pastors, Mar Ivanios, who led you on the path of rediscovered full communion with the See of Peter, and Mar Gregorios, who so wisely directed the development of your Church. I am confident that you will follow in their footsteps, guiding your Church “fortiter et suaviter“.
2. In his wisdom the Lord has granted to your Churches many signs of his benevolence. Among these we must count the abundant vocations to the priesthood and religious life which he continues to raise up in your families and communities. This gift constitutes a fundamental challenge and responsibility for you as Pastors. It calls for judicious selection of candidates, careful attention to their training, in harmony with your oriental tradition and in accordance with the guidelines issued in recent years bу the competent Congregations of the Holy See. Priestly formation should be a precious time of prayer in a peaceful atmosphere of study, reflection and fraternal charity. In such surroundings a vocation flourishes and progresses daily in freedom marked by complete self-giving in response to God’s constant fidelity. I exhort you to guard these vocations with great care, never allowing conflicts within a community to affect the integrity of the formation process. I appreciate the fact that an important point has been reached in the Syro-Malabar Synod, which has just taken place, namely, agreement on the need to give special care, solemnity and completeness to the liturgy in your seminaries, with a view to the homogeneous and consistent formation of the clergy.
3. I have followed with keen interest the work of the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church. You have examined the Synod procedure it-self and the all-important question of the nature of communion among its members. An enhanced understanding of the “organic” nature of hierarchical communion, which demands a juridical form and is simultaneously animated by charity (Cfr.Lumen Gentium, Nota Praevia), is the proper context in which to address the difficulties which present themselves along the path of your Church’s growth and development.
There is one result of your Synod which I have noted with particular joy and for which I give you my full support: the unanimous agreement of all the Bishops regarding the steps to bе taken bу all in order to foster greater unity in conceiving and celebrating the liturgy. I am grateful to you for the efforts you have made in order to reach this point, and I encourage you to do everything necessary to make this agreement a reality in all your Eparchies.
4. You have also reached further consensus regarding missionary activity and the pastoral care of the faithful in other parts of India and elsewhere in the world. My Letter to the Bishops of India of 28 May 1987 had already given certain indications in this regard. At that time, the dicasteries involved worked with common accord, and concrete results were achieved. It is now necessary to continue that work, in constant dialogue with the Latin-rite Bishops of India. Great openness and mutual understanding are required on the part of all concerned, in the knowledge that the salvation of souls — salus animarum — is the supreme law of pastoral action.
5. Today marks the beginning of this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Your Churches themselves are living proof of the fact that “legitimate diversity is in no way opposed to the Church’s unity, but rather enhances her splendour and contributes greatly to the fulfilment of her mission” (Ioannis Pauli PP. II Ut Unum Sint, 50). I encourage you to persevere in the dialogue of love and the theological dialogue with your brethren not in full communion with us. In the end, the unity of all Christ’s followers is a grace which we must ardently pray for and which we must strive to merit through humble and generous fidelity to the Gospel.
6. During your “ad Limina” visit you have made present, at the tombs of the Princes of thе Apostles, Peter and Paul, and to the heart of the Successor of Peter, the achievements, the hopes and the generous commitment of the priests, religious and lay faithful of the Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara Churches. As you return to your Eparchiеs and seek, through the generous fulfilment of your spiritual and pastoral mission, to strengthen the Christian lifе of your communities, I exhort you to put all your trust in the Lord: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain”(Ps. 127 (126), 1). Let us never forget that the Holy Spirit is the principal architect of the Church’s lifе amid the vicissitudes of history and the events of every day. Perhaps it is not superfluous to recall that thе solution of many problems affecting the Church in every time and place lies in listening intently to the voice of the Holy Spirit as he guides us to the whole truth (Cfr. Io. 16, 13). He makes known that truth to thе simple of heart, whose eyes of faith see that which remains hidden to thе “wise and understanding” (Cfr. Matth. 11, 25).
May the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, strengthen you and all the faithful for the important work that still lies before you. May the Lord sustain you “in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Fаther of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 15, 5-6).
