Archeparchy of Tellicherry

The Archeparchy of Tellicherry (also anglicized as the Archdiocese of Thalassery) is a Syro-Malabar Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archeparchy of the Catholic Church in India. The boundaries of the Thalassery ecclesiastical province were extended to include Mangalore, Chickmangalore, Mysore, Shimoga and Ootty as there were settlers in the neighbouring States. The diocese covers an area of 18,000 km2 and a Catholic population of 273,826. Since 2022, Joseph Pamplany is the Metropolitan Archbishop.

The ecclesiastical province came into existence on 31 December 1953 through the papal bull Ad Christi Ecclesiam Regendam issued by Pope Pius XII. The boundaries of the new diocese were the same as those of the Latin Church Diocese of Calicut. Later, as Syro-Malabar Catholics migrated even to the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the boundaries were extended to the present Latin Diocese of Mangalore, Chickmangalur, Mysore, Shimoga, and Ootacamund by a decree of the Holy See on April 29. The Eparchies of Mananthavady, Thamarassery, Mandya, Bhadravathi, Belthangady are its Suffagran eparchies.

Malabar Migration The history of the Malabar Migration and that of the ecclesiastical province of Thalassery are closely connected. The Thalassery diocese took up the struggle of the settlers, who were mostly Syriac Rite Catholics not accustomed to Roman Rite ceremonies. Petitions were sent to the Holy See by the bishops of the settlers, who had migrated to the British Malabar since 1930, requesting for a diocese of their own. Cardinal Tisserant, the Prefect of the Oriental Congregation came to Malabar and personally saw the pitiable situation of the settlers. With the help of locals and priests, they started to make changes in the region.

Ordinaries Bishops and Archbishops Ordinary Designation Year of appointment Last year of service Sebastian Valloppilly Bishop 1956 1989 George Valiamattam Archbishop 1989 2014 George Njaralakatt Archbishop 2014 2022 Joseph Pamplany Archbishop 2022 present Auxiliary Bishops Ordinary Designation Year of appointment Last year of service Joseph Pamplany Auxiliary Bishop 2017 2022

Suffagran eparchies Source: GCatholic Eparchy of Belthangady Eparchy of Bhadravathi Eparchy of Mandya Eparchy of Mananthavady Eparchy of Thamarassery

Churches under Archdiocese of Thalassery The Archdiocese of Thalassery is home to 203 parishes divided under 19 foranes (proto-presbyteries). The Archdiocese contains several historic and spiritually significant churches, many of which are known as the "first migration churches of Malabar." These parishes served as the spiritual and social backbone for the early Syro-Malabar migrants who settled in the northern high ranges of Kerala during the mid-20th century.

Archeparchy of Tellicherry

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