Deidre67J44 at 14:21, 6 January 2026

2026-01-06T14:21:48Z

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{{Short description|Eastern Catholic Archeparchy in Madhya Pradesh, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox diocese
|jurisdiction = Archeparchy
|name = Ujjain
|local = ܐܪܟܝܕܝܘܩܝܐ ܕܐܘܼܝܸܝܢ
|country = {{flag|India}}
| territory. =
|metropolitan =
|province =
|rite = [[East Syriac rite]]
|area_km2 = 18,225
|population = 4,396,000
|population_as_of = 2010
|catholics = 3,398
|catholics_percent= 0.1
|cathedral = St. Mary’s Cathedral in [[Ujjain]]
|patron = [[Paul the Apostle|Saint Paul]]
|pope = Mar {{Incumbent pope}} 
| patriarch =
| major_archbishop = Mar [[Raphael Thattil]]
|metro_archbishop = Mar [[Sebastian Vadakel]] MST
|emeritus_bishops =
| suffragans = [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Sagar|Eparchy of Sagar]]<br/>[[Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Satna|Eparchy of Satna]]<br/>[[Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Jagdalpur|Eparchy of Jagdalpur]]
|website = [http://www.ujjaindiocese.org/ Website of the Diocese]
|map =
}}

The '''Archeparchy of Ujjain''' is an ecclesiastical district of the [[Syro-Malabar Church]], an [[Eastern Catholic Church]] of the [[East Syriac Rite]] in India. Its [[cathedral]] episcopal see is St. Mary's Cathedral, in [[Ujjain]], [[Madhya Pradesh]] in Central India.

In August 2025, Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil elevated it as an [[archeparchy]] and appointed Mar [[Sebastian Vadakel]] the bishop of the Ujjain as its first Metropolitan Archbishop. The archeparchy leads the church's [[ecclesiastical province]] that serves most of [[Central India]].

== Statistics ==
As per 2014, it pastorally served 4,602 Eastern Catholics (0.1% of 6,253,649 total) on 18,441 km<sup>2</sup> in 41 parishes and a mission with 93 priests (41 diocesan, 52 religious), 433 lay religious (120 brothers, 313 sisters) and 9 seminarians.

== History ==
* It was created on 29 July 1968 as '''[[Apostolic Exarchate]] of Ujjain''', on territory split off from the (Latin) [[Diocese of Indore]].
* On 26 February 1977 the Apostolic Exarchate was elevated to '''Diocese of Ujjain'''.
* On 28 August 2025, eparchy received territory from the [[Archeparchy of Shamshabad|Eparchy of Shamshabad]]. The ecclesiastical province of Ujjain was established by elevating the Eparchy of Ujjain as a metropolitan archeparchy and constituting [[Eparchy of Sagar|Sagar]], [[Eparchy of Satna|Satna]] and [[Eparchy of Jagdalpur|Jagadalpur]] as suffragan eparchies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ujjain (Syro-Malabar Archeparchy) [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dujsm.html |access-date=2025-10-03 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref>

== Suffragan Diocese ==
*[[Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Sagar| Eparchy ofSagar ]]
*[[Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Satna| Eparchy of Satna ]]
*[[Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Jagdalpur | Eparchy of Jagdalpur]]

== Prelates ==
'''Apostolic Exarch of Ujjain'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Sl.No
! Ordinary
! Designation
! Year of appointment
! Last year of service
|-
| 1
| Father [[John Perumattam]] [[Missionary Society of St Thomas]] (M.S.T.)
| align="center" | Apostolic Exarch
| align="center" | 29 July 1968
| align="center" | 26 February 1977
|}

'''Bishops'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Sl.No
! Ordinary
! Designation
! Year of appointment
! Last year of service
|-
| 1
| [[John Perumattam]] [[Missionary Society of St Thomas]] (M.S.T.)
| align="center" | Bishop
| align="center" | 26 February 1977
| align="center" | 4 April 1998
|-
| 2
| [[Sebastian Vadakel]] [[Missionary Society of St Thomas]] (M.S.T.)
| align="center" | Bishop
| align="center" | 4 April 1998
| align="center" | 28 August 2025
|}
'''ArchBishop'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Sl.No
! Ordinary
! Designation
! Year of appointment
! Last year of service
|-
| 1
| [[Sebastian Vadakel]] [[Missionary Society of St Thomas]] (M.S.T.)
| align="center" | ArchBishop
| align="center" | 28th August 2025
| align="center" | ''Present''
|}

==Ecclesiastical Province of Ujjain==

With the prior consent of the [[Pope Leo XIV]], and the unanimous decision of the synod of bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church, the Major Archbishop [[Raphael Thattil]] raised the Eparchy of Ujjain to an archeparchy and made it [[Metropolis (religious jurisdiction)|metropolitan see]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2025/08/28/0597/01033.html|title=Bolletino Vaticano|publisher=vatican.va |date= |accessdate=2025-08-28}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of Catholic dioceses in India]]

== Sources and external links ==
* [http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/ujja0.htm GCatholic, with Google satellite photo - data for all sections]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dujsm.html Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Ujjain on Catholic-Hierarchy]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Hierarchy}}

{{coord missing|Madhya Pradesh}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ujjain, Syro-Malabar Catholic diocese}}
[[Category:Eastern Catholic dioceses in India]]
[[Category:Syro-Malabar Catholic dioceses]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1977|Religious organizations established in 1977]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century]]
[[Category:Christianity in Madhya Pradesh|Christianity in Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:1977 establishments in Madhya Pradesh|1977 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Ujjain|Ujjain]]
[[Category:History of Ujjain|History of Ujjain]]

{{SyroMalabar-diocese-stub}}

Archeparchy of Ujjain - Revision history

Deidre67J44 at 14:21, 6 January 2026