List of leaders of the Syro-Malabar Church

Major Archbishop of
the Syro-Malabar Church

*ܪܒܝ ܡܝܛܪܵܦܘܿܠܝܼܛܵܐܹ ܕܥܸܕܬܵܐ ܕܣܘܼܕܝܵܝܹܐ ܡܲܠܲܒܵܪܵܝܹܐ*
Major Archbishop of ; the Syro-Malabar Church; ܪܒܝ ܡܝܛܪܵܦܘܿܠܝܼܛܵܐܹ ܕܥܸܕܬܵܐ ܕܣܘܼܕܝܵܝܹܐ ܡܲܠܲܒܵܪܵܝܹܐ
Bishopric
	Incumbent:; Raphael Thattil; 11 January 2024
Style	Mar
Location
Country	India
Headquarters	Mount Saint Thomas, Kakkanad
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Sui iuris church	Syro-Malabar Church
Rite	East Syriac
Archdiocese	Ernakulam-Angamaly
Cathedral	St. Mary's Syro-Malabar Cathedral Basilica, Ernakulam
Co-cathedral	Mar Hormizd Syro-Malabar Cathedral, Angamaly
Website
	syromalabarchurch.in

The Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern Catholic Church within the Catholic Church, is led by a major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly in Kerala, India.

Cardinal's of Syro-Malabar Church

Sl.No	Name	Term	Date and Place of Birth	Age at start/end of Term
1	Joseph Parecattil	1969 - 1987	1 Apr 1912 Kidangoor, Ernakulam	57/75 (†75)
2	Antony Padiyara	1988 - 2000	11 February 1921 Manimala, Travancore	64 / 75 (†79)
3	Varkey Vithayathil	2001 - 2011	29 May 1927 North Parur, Travancore	70 / 83 (†83)
4	George Alencherry	2012- present	19 April 1945 (age 79) Thuruthy, Travancore	67/
5	George Jacob Koovakad	2024 - present	11 Aug 1973 Chethipuzha, Changanacherry	51/

Major Archbishops of Ernakulam-Angamaly


No.	Term	Name	Date and Place of Birth	Age at start/end of Term	Notes
1	16 December 1992 – 11 November 1996	Cardinal Antony Padiyara	11 February 1921 Manimala, Travancore	64 / 75 (†79)	First Major Archbishop of the Syro Malabar Church. Established the Syro Malabar Synod of Bishops.
2	6 January 1997 – 1 April 2011	Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil	29 May 1927 North Parur, Travancore	70 / 83 (†83)	Appointed by Pope John Paul II as the Apostolic Administrator before becoming the Full Time Major Archbishop in 1999. Helped Established the Eparchy of St. Thomas of Chicago along with other dioceses.
3	24 May 2011 _ 7 December 2023	Cardinal George Alencherry	(1945-04-19) 19 April 1945 (age 79) Thuruthy, Travancore	67 / 78	First Major Archbishop elected by the Synod of Bishops. Established All India Jurisdiction by the establishment of Eparchy of Shamshabad and Eparchy of Hosur. Also established the Eparchy of Mississauga,Eparchy of Melbourne, Eparchy of Great Britain, along with the Apostolic Visitation to Europe.
4	9 January 2024 _ Present	Raphael Thattil	(1956-04-21) 21 April 1956 (age 68) Trichur, Kerala	67	Thattil had previously served as the apostolic visitor of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church for Syro-Malabar resident "outside their proper territory" in India and as bishop of the Eparchy of Shamshabad since 2017.^[1]

Brief History

The Vicariate was established in 1896, when the first archbishop was appointed. The Syro-Malabar's current hierarchical structure was established in 1923, and Ernakulam elevated as an archdiocese. In 1993, when Syro-Malabar Catholic Church was raised to major archiepiscopal church, Ernakulam became the seat of the major archbishop.

Chaldean Metropolitans of India

Joseph Sulaqa (1558-1567)
Abraham (Archbishop of Angamaly, 1565-1597)^[2]

Bishop of Angamaly

Through the Synod of Diamper, the Latin Catholic Padroado missionaries abolished the All India jurisdiction and erected the Diocese of Angamaly, suffragan to the Padroado Primatal See of Goa, in place of the Metropolitanate of All India.^[3]

Francisco Ros (1599-1610)

Archbishops of Cranganore

Francisco Ros (1610-1624)
Stephen Brito, S.J. (18 Feb 1624 - 2 Dec 1641 Died)
Francisco Garcia Mendes, S.J. (2 Dec 1641 - 3 Jan 1653) Garcia was overthrown through the Coonan Cross Oath.^{[citation needed]} However he remained archbishop of Cranganore for a small minority of Latin Christians until his death in 1659.^{[citation needed]}
- Joseph Maria Sebastiani (1656–1663) - intrusus as the Vicar apostolic of Malabar
Palliveettil Chandy (Alexandre de Campo) (1663-1687)^[4]
- Shemon of Ada (1700 – 1720) - sent by Patriarch Eliah IX Yohannan Augen, he was arrested by Latin missionaries. Hoping to get freed, he consecrated Angelo Francisco, the Carmelite Vicar Apostolic of Verapoly in 1701. But was imprisoned in Pondicherry where he was found dead in a well.
- Gabriel of Azerbaijan (1705–1730)- sent by Patriarch Eliah X Augen, he maintained considerable support among both factions of Saint Thomas Christians.
Kariattil Iousep (1783– 1787)
- Paremakkal Thoma (1787–1799) - never been consecrated as bishop, but appointed as Gobernador (Administrator)
- Abraham Paulose Pandari (1796–1799) - consecrated by Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Yohannan VIII Hormizd, briefly recognised by Dionysius I and Paremmakkal Thoma in 1799, but never recognised by the Pope.
- Thoma Rokkos - consecrated by Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Joseph VI Audo, achieved limited recognition from a section of Saint Thomas Christians of both factions, received by the Jacobite Metropolitan in Angamaly, however excommunicated by the Pope.^[5]
- Yohannan Elia Mellus (1874 – 1882) - sent by Patriarch Joseph VI Audo, consolidated strong support among the Catholic Saint Thomas Christians, but excommunicated by the pope. He led the movement which led to the formation of the Chaldean Syrian Church and the erection of separate Syro-Malabar hierarchy.^[3]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[5]

Vicariates of Syro-Malabar Church

Following the schism, the pope having abandoned the latinisation policy, separated St. Thomas Christians in 1887 from the Vicariate of Verapoly, the local Latin Catholic hierarchy.^[5] Initially they were organized under two vicariates, Thrissur and Kottayam. Later in 1896, Ernakulam vicariate was formed by bifurcating southern parts of Thrissur and northern parts of Changanacherry. During the same time native prelates were also appointed for all three vicariates. In 1911 a fourth vicariate was established in Kottayam for southists exclusively.