History
The Apostolic Church of St. Thomas Christians has its origin from St. Thomas, the apostle, who arrived on the Kerala Coast in A.D. 52. The Metropolitan of “The See of St. Thomas” was “Metropolitan and Gate of all India”. In the course of history this Church entered into good relationship with the East Syrian Church . The Archdeacon of all India did the full administration.
The Portuguese missionaries who arrived in the 15th century could not decipher the liturgical traditions and the mode of governance of this Church. They Latinized the ancient liturgical texts and forced to convert existing Syrian Christians or Nasranis to present Roman Catholic Church under the Pope. When the domination of the Portuguese missionaries became unbearable, a section of this community broke away from the western supremacy in 1653 and accepted Antiochian West Syrian belief. But a good number returned to the Roman Catholic through unification efforts in 1930. Those who did not return constitute the present Malankara Churches. The others maintained and regained loyalty to the Apostolic See of Rome This relationship started only in 1599 through Udayamperur sunnahadose.
The Archdiocese of Changanacherry is one of the first two Vicariates and the second Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church, after the establishment of the Syro-Malabar hierarchy which was the prelude to the restoration of the identity of the Church in 1992 as Sui luris Church. Pope Leo XIII of happy memory by his Bull ‘Quod Jam Pridem’ dated May 20, 1887 established two Vicariates Apostolic - Kottayam and Thrissur; exclusively for the Syro-Malabarians and Dr. Charles Lavigne and Dr. Adolph Medlycott respectively were appointed the Vicars Apostolic.
The same Pope reorganised the existing Vicariates by the Bull ‘Quae Rei Sacrae’ dated July 28, 1896 establishing a new Vicariate, Ernakulam, with territories carved out from the two existing Vicariates(Pallippuram, Edappally and Arakuzha divisions from Kottayam Vicariate).
The Vicariate of Kottayam was renamed Changanacherry, since this town had been the centre of Catholic activity, (e.g.: the Convocation of the Changanacherry Synod in 1888) and hence its headquarters had been shifted to Changanacherry in 1891. Indigenous bishops were appointed Vicars Apostolic to the new Sees. They included Mar Mathew Makil for Changanacherry, Mar Louis Pazheparambil (from Changanacherry Vicariate) for Ernakulam and Mar John Menacherry for Thrissur.
A new Vicariate of Kottayam was constituted in 1911 exclusively for the Suddists and Mar Mathew Makil was transferred to Kottayam as the Vicar Apostolic of Suddists and Mar Thomas Kurialacherry was appointed the Vicar Apostolic of Changanacherry. With the establishment of the Syro-Malabar Hierarchy on December 21, 1923 by the Bull ‘Romani Pontifices’ of Pope Pius XI, the Diocese of Thrissur, Changanacherry and Kottayam became suffragans of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam thereby constituting the first Syro-Malabar Province.
On July 25, 1950 the Diocese of Changanacherry was bifurcated by the Bull ‘Quo Ecclesiarum’ of Pope Pius XII and the new Diocese of Palai was created.The Holy See being impressed by the wonderful progress achieved by the Syro-Malabarians, extended the hitherto held boundaries of Changanacherry to the areas south of river Pamba, up to (including) Kanyakumari, by the Bull ‘Multorum Fidelium’ of Pope Pius XII, dated April 29, 1955. Changanacherry was raised to the status of an Archdiocese on July 26, 1956 by Pope Pius XII constituting the second province in the Syro-Malabar Church and Kottayam and Pala became its suffragans. The Apostolic Constitution ‘Regnum Caelorum’ of November 26, 1959 of Pope John XXIII gave effect to this decision of Pope Pius XII.
In 1975 the missionary work of three (now five) civil districts of the Archdiocese of Agra in the State of Uttar Pradesh was taken up completely by the Archdiocese of Changanacherry. The Archdiocese was again divided on 26 February 1977 by the Bull ‘Nos Beati Petri’ of Pope Paul VI and the new Diocese of Kanjirappilly was set up comprising parts of the Civil districts of Kottayam and Idukki. The Archdiocese was divided a fourth time when its Kanyakumari Mission was elevated to the status of a new diocese by the Bull Apud Indorum Gentes of John Paul II, dated December 18, 1996. The formal inauguration of the new diocese of Thuckalay and the Episcopal Ordination of Mar George Alencherry as its first Bishop took place on February 2, 1997.
The Archdiocese of Changanacherry now comprises the civil districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottayam in Kerala and Palai, Kanjirapally and Thuckalay as its suffragans. Archbishop Mar Joseph Powathil assumed the office of the Archbishop of Changanacherry on 17 January 1986 and resigned in 2007. Mar Joseph Perumthottam was appointed on 20 January 2007 as the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Changanacherry and was installed on 19 March 2007.
Read more about this topic: Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese Of Changanassery
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The custard is setting; meanwhile
I not only have my own history to worry about
But am forced to fret over insufficient details related to large
Unfinished concepts that can never bring themselves to the point
Of being, with or without my help, if any were forthcoming.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“Boys forget what their country means by just reading “the land of the free” in history books. Then they get to be men, they forget even more. Liberty’s too precious a thing to be buried in books.”
—Sidney Buchman (1902–1975)
“In nature, all is useful, all is beautiful. It is therefore beautiful, because it is alive, moving, reproductive; it is therefore useful, because it is symmetrical and fair. Beauty will not come at the call of a legislature, nor will it repeat in England or America its history in Greece. It will come, as always, unannounced, and spring up between the feet of brave and earnest men.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)