His Holiness Pope John Paul II established St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago on March 13, 2001. Mar Jacob Angadiath is appointed as its first bishop and his Episcopal Ordination was held in Chicago, together with the inauguration of the diocese, on July 1, 2001.
The Syro-Malabar Church is the second largest Church among the Eastern Catholic Churches. St. Thomas the Apostle founded the Syro-Malabar Church, otherwise called the Church of St. Thomas Christians, in South India. The present Kerala State is the home of this Church. For centuries, St. Thomas Christians lived in the kingdoms of Travancore and Cochin.
The first step of migration of our people was to the Malabar region to the north and High Ranges to the East. Since the faithful were mostly farmers, they were looking for farm land and wherever they settled, they built Churches and established their own faith communities. The first diocese established for the migrants was Tellicherry in 1953 with Bishop Mar Sebastian Valloppilly. Then in 1956, the diocese of Kothamangalam was established for those who were in High Ranges with Bishop Mar Mathew Pothanamuzhy. Tellicherry has become Archdiocese with four suffragan dioceses and Kothamayalam has been bifurcated to form Idukki diocese. The second step of migration was to different cities of India, like Bombay, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Calcutta. In 1988, Kalyan Diocese was established in Bombay for our Syro-Malabar faithful, with Bishop Mar Paul Chittilappally. This diocese is growing fast now under the leadership of present bishop Mar Thomas Elavanal, MCBS. Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi are eagerly waiting to be established as dioceses.
The third step of migration was to Europe and United States of America. In late nineteen sixties and seventies there were large flow of people to United States in search of better opportunities. Professionals of our Church found better prospects in this new world. Among the professionals, nurses outranked every other group. They came in great numbers, as there was shortage of nurses in USA. They settled in major metropolitan cities and they brought their family members. Wherever our faithful settled they were eager to have Syro-Malabar liturgy whenever it was possible with the help of visiting priests or student priests from our Church. Small communities were formed in this fashion.
Since Malayalam was the language of people from Kerala, at first it was called “Malayalam Qurbana” (Mass) for all the Catholics from Kerala. The people in various cities, comprising of Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankera, and Latin Church members from Kerala and Knanaya Catholics, organized several Kerala Catholic Associations. Kerala Catholic fellowship of Chicago, and India Catholic Association of New York were such organizations. These Associations arranged Holy Qurbana (Mass) once a month in various locations and special celebrations were arranged for Christmas and Easter. “Onam” celebrations and picnics were other occasions of cultural gatherings.
The Syro-Malabar community of Chicago under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Antony Kurialacherry, approached His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, the Archbishop of Chicago and requested for St. Chrysostom Church, 5000 St. Charles Road, Bellwood, for the use of our Syro-Malabar Community. In 1987 this Church was given to our community freely and formally the Syro-Malabar Mission was inaugurated at the new Church. Mar Joseph Pallikaparampil, Bishop of Palai, who was in charge of the overseas Syro-Malabar faithful at that time, officially announced the change of name of St. Chrysostom Catholic Church into Mar Thoma Sleeha Syro-Malabar Church. Rev. Antony Kurialacherry returned to Kerala and Rev. Fr. Zacharias Elappunkal was appointed to Chicago to serve the Mission. As the community was growing Rev. Fr. Mathew Panthalany from the diocese of Palai, was sent here to minister to the community. He came in 1989 and had his residence at St. John Vianney Church, Northlake. In 1990 he moved to the Rectory of the Church and thus with the resident priest, full-time ministry was initiated.
The growth of the Syro-Malabar Community under the leadership of Rev. Fr. Mathew Panthalany was remarkable. Regular Holy Qurbana on Sundays and weekdays, Novena of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Holy Hour every Friday, Catechism for Children, Malayalam language school, prayer meetings, and various organizations for people of different interests were organized and guided by him. Thus a parish structure in every respect was given to this community in Chicago. The Knanaya Catholic Community in Chicago had their own Spiritual Director and they were meeting regularly at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Chicago as a separate mission.
The Syro-Malabar Mission in Dallas was growing steadily. In 1992 they were able to purchase a Baptist Church and it was consecrated on July 25, 1992 and St. Thomas Indian Catholic Church – a new Syro-Malabar parish was established. With limited facility, catechism was started for children. The growth of the community was very surprising and so arrangement had to be made for one Holy Qurbana in Malayalam and another in English. To make the parish self-sufficient, a house was purchased for the purpose of Rectory for the priest. In Detroit, Rev. Fr. John Melepuram replaced Rev. Fr. Joseph Nagaroor. Rev. Fr. James Parappally was ministering to our faithful in Miami, Florida. In Toronto, Canada, the CMI Congregation was looking after the Syro-Malabar faithful.
In 1996 His Excellency Mar Gregory Karotemprel, CMI, the chairman of the Commission for the pastoral care for the migrants and apostolic visitor to USA and Canada, came here and made personal effort to visit as many places as possible to meet with the priests and people of Syro-Malabar Church. This formal visit enabled him to make a thorough study of the spiritual care of the faithful and formulate a detailed report to be submitted to the Holy Father and the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. In his report, he requested for the establishment of a diocese for the Syro-Malabar faithful in USA and Canada. Enormous work done by Mar Gregory Karotemprel, CMI, for the formation of a diocese of the Syro-Malabar Church in USA/Canada has to be acknowledged and appreciated.
Again, His Beatitude Mar Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil, C.Ss.R. present Major Archbishop but then Administrator of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church, in 1998 made an extensive visit to main cities of USA/Canada where the Syro-Malabar faithful were in considerable numbers. Having visited the people and realizing the need for better spiritual care for our people, the Major Archbishop also recommended to Rome the need of a hierarchical arrangement here.
In 1999 August a North American Syro-Malabar Catholic Convention was held in Philadelphia. The initial step was taken by lay-leaders of our Church in consultation with the then Directors of Syro-Malabar Missions in different places. The organizers worked hard to make this first Syro-Malabar Convention a great success. The presence of His Beatitude Mar Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil and other dignitaries of our Church made the Convention successful and it enhanced the need of hierarchical setting here in USA/Canada.
Through a transfer of priests, new leadership was given to the formal Syro-Malabar Missions: Fr. Jacob Angadiath in Chicago; Fr. John Melepuram in Dallas; Fr. Joy Chakian in Detroit; For the Knanaya community Fr. Jos Kandathikudy in New York and New Jersey; and Fr. Antony Nirappel in Houston. Fr. Philip Thodukayil in Chicago and Fr. Michael Nedumthuruthil in Brooklyn, New York, Fr. Joseph Manappuram in Houston were in charge of the ministry.
The announcement of the establishment of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago was a surprise to everyone. Rev. Fr. Jacob Angadiath, the Director of Syro-Malabar Mission in Chicago was appointed as the first bishop of this newly formed diocese. The area of this diocese (Eparchy) comprised the whole USA and Bishop Jacob Angadiath was appointed as the Permanent Apostolic Visitator to Canada also. The Episcopal consecration of Mar Jacob Angadiath and the inauguration of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago took place here in Chicago on July 1, 2001 at Hyatt Regency Hotel, during the Second North American Syro-Malabar Convention.
Chicago and Dallas were the two parishes at the beginning. Existing Syro-Malabar and Knanaya Missions with formally appointed priests were acknowledged as formal missions. Then a list of other places where Syro-Malabar Holy Qurbana used to be celebrated at least once a month was formulated and all of them were recognized as missions of the diocese. Rev. Fr. Antony Thundathil, MST was the first priest to work in the diocese and then came Rev. Fr. Zacharias Thottuvelil from the diocese of Palai to serve in this diocese. The first curia-chancery – was set up with the following appointments:
Protosyncelllus: Rev. Dr. George Madathiparampil
Syncellus: Rev. Fr. Abraham Mutholath – (Knanaya Community)
Chancellor: Rev. Fr. Zacharias Thottuvelil
Procurator: Rev, Fr. Antony Thundathil, MST
Cathedral Vicar: Rev. Fr. Antony Thundathil, MST
When in 2003, Rev. Fr. Roy Joseph Kaduppil and Rev. Fr. Antony Perumanoor arrived to serve in our diocese; they were given the positions of Chancellor and procurator respectively. Later when Fr. Antony Perumanoor, MST returned to India, the Finance office is now entrusted to Rev. Fr. Vinod Madathiparambil.
In the beginning, the Bishop, the Vicar of Cathedral and the Chancellor lived together at the limited Cathedral facility. In 2002, the residence and office of the bishop were moved to 717 Eastland, Elmhurst, IL 60126 and again they moved their residence to 3009 S. 49th Avenue, Cicero, Illinois 60804 in April 2003. Since this was a rented facility, a permanent place was highly needed. Thus the new residence was purchased and the bishop and the chancery personnel moved to the new house at 372 S. Prairie Avenue, Elmhurst, Illinois 60126-4020 in March 2007.
(See links for parishes and missions. Since the history is incomplete, any suggestion or additional note is welcome.)
The Syro-Malabar Church
St. Thomas the Apostle, one of the twelve apostles of Our Lord Jesus Christ, came to India in A.D. 52 and preached the Gospel and established ecclesial communities. Seven of such communities are well known in the Malabar coast of South India: They are Kodungalloor, Niranam, Kollam, Chayal, Kottakkavu, Kokkamangalam and Palayoor in the present state of Kerala. It is good to remember that there were some Jewish settlements in South India at that time due to the commercial relationship between India and Mesopotamia. After his preaching in Malabar Coast he traveled to East coast and there he suffered Martyrdom in 72 A.D. July 3 is observed as a Holy Day of Obligation by the Syro-Malabar Church. His tomb is located at Mylapore in Tamilnadu. The early Christians of India were known as St. Thomas Christians or “Nazrani Mappila”. The head of the Church in India was called the “Metropolitan of the whole of India”.
Due to the commercial relationship between Persia and South India, East Syrian language was introduced to the early Christians. The St. Thomas Christians of India accepted the liturgy developed by the disciples of St. Thomas in Mesopotamia known as Ss. Adai and Mari. The Chaldean Church of Iraq uses the present anaphora –Eucharistic prayer – of the Syro-Malabar Church, known as Anaphora of Ss. Adai and Mari. These two Churches have common East Syrian liturgical tradition. But St. Thomas Christians – Syro-Malabar Church – had different style of administration, customs and practices. The historian of our Church, Rev. Fr. Placid Podipara, CMI, has rightly put it: “The Syro-Malabar Church is Christian in faith, oriental in worship and Indian in culture”.
Around A.D. 345 Thomas of Cana and 72 families from Syria came to India and settled in Kodungalloor. It is believed that there was a bishop and priest with them. The descendents of this group are known as Sudhists or Knananites, keeping a separate identity among St. Thomas Christians. Since that period, the bishop of the Syro-Malabar Church used to be from Persia of East Syrian tradition. He was the spiritual leader of the community, while a local priest, called Archdeacon, administered the temporal affairs. St. Thomas Christians indulged in military service, agriculture and commerce. They were given special recognition by the local kings.
It was in 1498, the Portuguese navigator Vasco de Gama reached Kodungalloor. Following him, western missionaries also came to India. The St. Thomas Christians welcomed them cordially. Since the Syrian liturgy and local customs were unknown to the missionaries, they wanted to latinize our liturgy and practices. This caused disagreements and dissensions. The Synod held at Udayamperoor in 1599 (Known as Synod of Diamper) was an enforcement for latinization. No more Syrian bishop was welcome; the administration was taken over by the latin (Western) bishops. The resentment between the St. Thomas Christians and missionaries continued and following the event of Coonan Cross Oath in 1653, real division took place among the St. Thomas Christians. The majority of St. Thomas Christians remained faithful to the Catholic Church under the Latin bishop while others accepted the Syrian Jacobitism. Then the former group came to be known as old party (Pazhayakur) and the latter group called New party (Puthenkur). The old party is the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and the new party is the Orthodox Church. Both have St. Thomas Christian tradition.
Since the coming of Latin – Western – Missionaries, Latin Church was established in India and mass conversions to Christianity happened in various parts of India. The Syrian Christians were separated from the Latin administration in 1887 by the establishment of two Vicariates to them, namely, Trissur and Kottayam. The Vicar Apostolic of Kottayam, moved the office to Changanacherry. In 1896, the long desired dream of administration of the Syro-Malabar by the Syro-Malabar bishops was materialized. Three Vicariates were formed – Ernakulam, Trissur and Changanacherry and three Syro-Malabar priests were appointed as Vicars Apostolic for our faithful. In 1911 a separate Vicariate was established for Sudhists – Knananites – at Kottayam. In 1923 the Syro-Malabar Hierarchy was established, with Ernakulam as the Metropolitan Archdiocese and Trichur, Changanacherry and Kottayam, as suffragan dioceses. Diocese of Palai was formed in 1950 and diocese of Thalassery was established in 1953. Then the diocese of Changanacherry was elevated as Metropolitan Archdiocese in 1956. Thus the Syro-Malabar Church came under two Metropolitan Archbishops, without a unifying head of the particular Church.
Since the division among the St. Thomas Christians immediately after the Coonan Cross Oath in 1653, there have been several movements towards reunion. For a long while, nothing worked out. But in 1930, a large group of Syrian Jacobites, under the leadership of Metropolitan Mar Ivanios and Metropolitan Mar Theophilos, reunited with the Catholic Church. They were allowed to continue their Antiochean liturgical tradition. This reunited group is recognized as Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in Catholic Communion. They have also the same St. Thomas Christian tradition.
With the opening of the Chanada Mission in 1962, there was a new spirit in the Syro-Malabar Church. Second Vatican Council enabled the bishops, priests and people to have a better understanding of ecclesiology and missiology. The role of Eastern Churches in Catholic Communion was better illustrated. New dioceses were formed in the proper territory and mission dioceses were given to the Syro-Malabar Church in North India. Vocations to priesthood and religious life abounded. In 1993, the Syro-Malabar Church was elevated as a “Sui Juris” Major Archiepiscopal Church. It is named: Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church of Ernakulam – Angamaly. The title of the head of the Church is Major Archbishop.
Another major event, in the history of Syro-Malabar Church, was the establishment of St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago, in USA, in 2001. Its bishop is also permanent Apostolic Visitator to Canada. The Syro-Malabar Church, which was limited between Bharatapuzha and Pampanadi, was extended to the north of India and now it is extended to the western world, and thus the Syro-Malabar Church is now universal in full sense. Now what we are waiting for is the elevation of this Church to a Patriarchal Church.