Catholicos of India

For the historical office, see Maphrian. For list of holders, see List of maphrians.

Catholicos of the East

ܡܦܪܝܢܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ
Syriac Orthodox Church
Incumbent:
Vacant
since 31 October 2024
StyleAboon Mor
His Beatitude the Catholicos
Location
CountryIndia
HeadquartersPatriarch Ignatius Zaka I Iwas Centre, Kerala, India
Information
First holderSaint Ahudemmeh of Balad[1]
Augen I
DenominationOriental Orthodox
Sui iuris churchMalankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church
RiteWest Syriac Rite
Established559 – Maphrianate established
1964 – Moved to India[2]
DioceseCatholicate See[3]
Jacobite Syrian Christian Church
CathedralMar Athanasius Cathedral
Patron fatherSaint Thomas the Apostle
Parent churchSyriac Orthodox Church
Website
www.jacobitesyrianchurch.org
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The Catholicos of India,[4][5] also known as the Catholicos of the East, Metropolitan of Malankara[6] or Maphrian of the East,[7][2] is the head[8][3] of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, a maphrianate of the Syriac Orthodox Church, functioning within the Church at an ecclesiastical-rank second to the Patriarch of Antioch,[6] and his name is commemorated in liturgy throughout the Syriac Orthodox Archdioceses in India and its diaspora.[7] The position was renamed as Catholicos of India[5] in 2002, in accordance with its actual jurisdiction.[9]

Following the death of Baselios Thomas I on 31 October 2024, the Catholicate of the East is vacant.[10][11]

  1. ^ Fiey, Jean Maurice (2004). Lawrence Conrad (ed.). Saints Syriaques (in French). The Darwin Press.
  2. ^ a b Kiraz.
  3. ^ a b Constitution (1998).
  4. ^ "Jacobite Syrian Christian Church". JSC News- Official News Portal of the Church. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2021. In the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, the Patriarch of Antioch & all the East is the spiritual supreme, but the temporal powers of the local Church in India rests with an association, elected from among the representatives of Parishes of Malankara, and is to be administered under guidance from its Chief prelate, the Catholicos of India.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ a b "Patriarch Zakka I: The SOC At a Glance". syriacorthodoxresources.org. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  6. ^ a b SOC (1998). Syriac Orthodox Church Constitution. His Beatitude The Catholicos ranks second after the Patriarch within the Syrian Orthodox Church hierarchy. He is elected only by the Metropolitans under the jurisdiction of the Catholicate See. They must obey him, so must the priests, deacons and all the people within the Syrian Orthodox Archdioceses in India. At his ordination, he is proclaimed: Mor Baselius... (his personal name is added here). His name shall be proclaimed throughout the archdioceses in India during the Holy Mass and canonical prayers, after the name of the Patriarch and preceding the name of the Archdiocese Metropolitan. His name should be mentioned also at every Syrian church where he attends prayer. His title is: His Beatitude Mor Baselius... Catholicos of the East and Metropolitan of Malankara.
  7. ^ a b The Service Book of the Holy Qurbono. Malankara Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church in North America. 2017. p. 80.
  8. ^ "India – Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch". syrianorthodoxchurch.org. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Catholicate of the East". syriacchristianity.info. Retrieved 26 June 2021. In 2002 the office of the Maphrianate was renamed 'Catholicos of India' in accordance with its actual jurisdiction
  10. ^ "Catholicos Baselios Thomas I vests the new metropolitan trustee Joseph Mar Gregorios with the symbol of the post at Puthenkurisu on Wednesday. H. Vibhu". The Hindu. 28 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Catholicos Baselios Thomas I, head of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, passes away". 31 October 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.