Syro-Malabar Church Erects Four New Provinces: Faridabad, Ujjain, Shamshabad, Kalyan in India
New Delhi, 28 August 2025: The Eastern Rite Syro-Malabar Church has elevated four dioceses in India to archdioceses and appointed two new bishops, calling it a move for “the greater good of the Church and better pastoral care for the faithful.”
Archbishop Raphael Thattil, who heads the Church, announced the new developments at St Thomas Mount, the headquarters of the Church based in southern Kerala, on Aug. 28. He said the changes will “eventually help strengthen the Church.”
The Eastern Church is one among 23 Oriental Churches in full communion with the Holy See.
This move, according to Thattil, “will help the Church to further give new vitality to its missionary aspirations” as a sui juris (self-governing) Church which has approval from the Vatican to spread its wings across the globe.
The dioceses of Faridabad, Ujjain, Kalyan, and Shamshabad have been elevated to archdioceses with Bishops Kuriakose Bharanikulangara, Sebastian Vadakkel, Sebastian Vaniyapurakkal, and Prince Antony Panengadan as their new archbishops, respectively, according to an official statement issued on Aug. 28.
Except Panengadan, the others have been heading their respective dioceses as bishops.
The new archdioceses and the appointments were made with prior clearance from the Vatican. They were finalized at the 33rd meeting of the Synod of Bishops, the top decision-making body of the Church, held at the Church headquarters from August 18 to 29.
The synod also approved the reorganization of the boundaries of 12 mission dioceses outside Kerala, the Church's main base. This “aims to enhance the administrative and pastoral efficiency of the Church” in India, according to the Aug. 28 statement.
The synod also named Claretian Father James Patteril as bishop of Belthangadi, and Carmelite of Mary Immaculate Father Joseph Thachaparampath as bishop of Adilabad.
The new arrangements, according to the statement, “are expected to boost the Church's missionary endeavors”.
“They demonstrate the Church's appreciation for the witness and service of missionaries, underscoring its commitment to missionary work,” it added.
Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplani, the synod secretary, called the changes a watershed in the history of the Church.
Four new archdioceses were erected after 30 years in the Church, and this should be recorded in “golden letters,” he said. Trichur was the last diocese to become an archdiocese in 1995.
Pamplani recalled that Pope Leo XIII had established two vicariates for the Syro-Malabar Church in 1887, specifically the vicariates of Kottayam and Trichur, which were later divided in 1896 into the vicariates of Trichur, Ernakulam, and Changanacherry.
Now, Pope Leo XIV has granted permission for the elevation of four dioceses to archdioceses, he added.