Archeparchy of Changanacherry
Changanacherren(sis)
Eastern metropolitan see · Syro-Malabar Church · Changanacherry, India
The Archeparchy of Changanacherry is a Syro-Malabar metropolitan archeparchy in Kerala, India, one of the two original Syro-Malabar vicariates created by Pope Leo XIII in 1887, made an eparchy in 1923 and an archeparchy on 29 July 1956. Its seat is St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral in Changanassery, and its suffragans are Palai, Kanjirappally and Thuckalay. Mar Thomas Tharayil has been metropolitan archbishop since 2024.
The see
- Rank
- Eastern metropolitan see
- Tradition
- Syro-Malabar Church
- Erected
- 1887
- Latin
- Changanacherren(sis)
- Patron
- Saint Joseph
- Annuario code
- 001001105
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 402,275
- Population
- 10,455,520
- Catholic shareof the people living within its bounds
- 3.8%
- Priests
- 508
- Catholics per priest
- 792
- Extent
- 8,450 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 48
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Archbishop
- Mar Thomas Tharayil
- Born
- 2 February 1972
- Birthplace
- Changanacherry
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral, Changanassery stands in Changanacherry, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Changanacherry
This see is the metropolitan of its province.
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
Covering 24,595 km2, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanacherry (Syriac: ܐܦܪܟܝܐ ܪܒܬܐ ܕܫܢܓܢܐܣܐܪܐ, romanized: Afarkaya Rabbta d-Shanganasara; Malayalam: ചങ്ങനാശ്ശേരി അതിരൂപത, romanized: Changanassery Atirūpata) is an archeparchy of the Syro-Malabar Church within the Catholic Church. Its territory takes in the Kerala districts of Kottayam (excluding Vaikom), Alappuzha (excluding Cherthala), Pathanamthitta, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram, together with Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu.
Catholic Intelligence
Get early access
We are indexing the whole visible Church: every diocese and parish on earth, searchable and mapped, with Mass times, clergy, and diocesan contacts. Launching soon. Sign up to be first in when it opens, starting with [object Object].
One email at launch. Nothing else.
Already have access? Sign inSources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
Compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. Corrections: hello@catholicintelligence.com.