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THRISSUR DIOCESE OF MALANKARA ORTHODOX SYRIAN CHURCH

Thrissur diocese was formed during the time of the unfortunate division of the Malankara Church (1970-2002) in 1982 as part of the patriarch faction with Churches in Thrissur and Palakkad districts. Initially H.B. Baselius Paulose II, Catholicos of the Patriarch faction was in charge of the diocese. During his time a property of 1.5 acres was purchased in Peechi for the diocesan headquarter. Later then metropolitan of Angamali diocese H.G. Thomas Mar Dionysius was given additional charge of the diocese. He got the present plot where the diocese headquarters of the diocese is built at Mannuthy in exchange of the land in Peechi. At the time of the formation of the diocese there were 32 parishes and 26 priests. After few years then metropolitan of Kochi diocese of the patriarch faction, H.G. Thomas Mar Osthatheos was given additional charge of the diocese in the place of Mar Dionysius. In 1990 November, the diocesan general body elected Rev. Fr. Rajan John Murimakil, a priest of Kandanadu diocese who was studying at Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago as the metropolitan candidate. He was consecrated in December 23rd in Damascus by H.H. Ignatius Zaka I patriarch of Antioch. The first ever metropolitan with independent charge of the diocese assumed the office on 26th of December, 1990. There was only a small building with one room for the metropolitan and a small chapel as the diocesan headquarters. The present diocesan headquarters was completed in 1995. It is worth mentioning that the final verdict of the Hon. Supreme Court was pronounced when the first Priests’ Meeting was held in the new chapel on June 20, 1995. The consecration of the headquarters was done on ……

On receiving the details of the Court Order, the General Body of the diocese was summoned and it was unanimously decided that the diocese should accept the decision of the court and a request to H.H. the Patriarch be sent that a bull be issued for the unity of the Church. The bull was received on August 1, 1995 asking the leadership to work towards the unity of the Church and if, required, the patriarch was willing to relinquish his position and leave for wilderness. How ever, a group in the leadership was not willing to abide by the order. The bull of the patriarch was not published in Angamali diocese. A committee was formed with H.G. Thomas Mar Dionysius Metropolitan to work with Orthodox faction and formulate details of the unification of two factions. After five sittings, and when the draft document was almost ready H. G. Thomas Mar Dionysius walked out of the meeting without any explanation given. Then the patriarch sent another bull asking the leaders to make sure that the unity was established before February 28, 1997. But nothing happened. The Patriarch invited all the bishops of the patriarch faction to Damascus for discussion. Only three bishops attended the meeting. In the meantime the diocesan general body again met and reiterated the earlier decision for the unity of the Church. The Priests and all the spiritual organizations also met independently and appealed to the patriarch to execute the decision of the Supreme Court. But hurdles were made by some of the leaders and the unity was delayed. Again and again clarification questions were filed in the Supreme Court by some of the leaders to prolong the execution of the process of unity. As the court was committed to the cause of unity, it gave its final order to conduct a joint Malankara Association with representatives of both parties with the retired Supreme Court Judge Mr. Malimath. The meeting was held at Parumala and more than one hundred parished from the erstwhile Patriarch faction and all of the former Catholicos faction participated in the meeting. The Association declared all the participating bishops as the bishops of the Malankara Orthodox Church and H.H. Baselius Marthoma Mathews II, the Catholicos of the East as the lawful Malankara Metropolitan. The patriarch faction conducted a parallel meeting at Puthencruz near Ernakulam and formed a new Church called Jacobite Syrian Christian Association Church with H.G. Thomas Mar Dionysius as its head. The Supreme Court of India accepted the report of the observer and declared the Association Meeting held at Parumala as the leagal association of the united Church and as the association envisaged by the court in its order in 1995. The Managing Committee elected by the association later met and recommended to the Catholicos to distribute the dioceses. Yuhanon Mor Meletius was given the charge of Thrissur diocese with 42 Churches in the diocese. After the association meeting the new Church took over by force many of the Churches that were in the list of Thrissur dicoese as their Churches. New cases were initiated to get these Churches back to the Orthodox Church and few orders were issued by various courts to this effect. Elanadu St. Mary's and Peechi St. George were completely released by the court and other cases are pending. Later the Synod of the Church entrusted him with several other responisbilites. One among them was, president of the Orthodox Christian Youth Movement of the East which was held for 7 years from 2002 to 2009. The diocese has one Upper Primary School at Valkulambu in Palakkadu district and a Study centre at Chuvannamannu, near Thrissur. The diocese runs a community developmenet project called "Anveshi, Thrissru" which helps people to help themselves. The diocese has a mission in Burbank, near Los Angles, CA in USA with 300+ familes of Mediteranian region origin. For the last several years the diocese has been in continuous struggle to make the unity of the Church happen. The headquarters of the diocese is at Mannuthy. Address: Gedseemon Orthodox Bishop's Hourse, Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala, INDIA. 680651. Tel. +4872371039. The house was built by help from people of the Church at various parts of the world by Yuhanon Mor Meletius Metropolitan. There is a Chapel adjacent to this. The chappel is named "St. Mary's Unity Chapel". It symbolizes the Church unity effortes of the diocese.