BeauTesterman at 09:58, 3 May 2026

2026-05-03T09:58:21Z

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{{Short description|Eastern Catholic eparchy in Kerala, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox diocese
| jurisdiction = Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy
| name = Irinjalakuda
| local = 
| image = Cathedral ijk.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| image_alt =
| caption =

| country = {{flag|India}}
| province = [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Thrissur|Thrissur]]
| territory = [[Thrissur district]]
| metropolitan =
| coordinates = 

| area_km2 = 
| population =
| population_as_of =
| catholics =  260000
| catholics_percent =
| parishes = 136
| churches = 152
| congregations = 
| schools = 
| members = 

| denomination = [[Catholic Church]]
| sui_iuris_church = [[Syro-Malabar Church]]
| rite = [[East Syriac Rite]]
| established = 1978
| cathedral = [[St Thomas Cathedral & Bishop House]]
| cocathedral =
| patron =
| priests = 

| pope = {{Incumbent pope}} 
| patriarch =
| major_archbishop = [[Raphael Thattil]]
| metro_archbishop = [[Andrews Thazhath]]
| bishop = Pauly Kannookadan, Bishop of Irinjalakuda
| coadjutor =
| auxiliary_bishops =
| vicar_general =
| emeritus_bishops =

| map =
| map_alt =
| map_caption =

| website = [http://www.irinjalakudadiocese.com/ irinjalakudadiocese.com]
| footnotes =
|coat=Irinjalakuda_diocese.png}}
The '''Eparchy of Irinjalakuda''' is a [[suffragan]] [[eparchy]] ([[Eastern Catholic]] diocese) in the [[ecclesiastical province]] of the metropolitan [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Thrissur]] in [[Kerala]] state's [[Thrissur District]], southern [[India]].It is part of the [[Syro-Malabar Church]].

Its [[cathedral]] episcopal see is [[St. Thomas Cathedral, Irinjalakuda|Saint Thomas Cathedral]], in [[Irinjalakuda]] city. Bishop Pauly Kannookkadan is the head of the diocese now
The former cathedral (of Arch diocese of Crangannore).

== Statistics ==
As per 2015, it pastorally served 269,867 Catholics (20.4% of 1,326,000 total) on 1,180 km<sup>2</sup> in 134 parishes and 20 missions with 301 priests (209 diocesan, 92 religious), 2,085 lay religious (168 brothers, 1,917 sisters) and 53 seminarians.

== History ==
The eparchy was created as Diocese of Irinjalakuda / Irinialakuden(sis) (Latin adjective) by [[Pope Paul VI]] in his [[Papal bull|bull]] ''Trichurensis Eparchiae'' of 22 June 1978, on territory split off from the then Eparchy (Diocese) of Trichur (now its Metropolitan). Now, diocese of Irinjalakuda is under this Thrissur Archdiocese.

=== Antecedents ===
[[Thomas the Apostle|St Thomas]], one of the apostles of Christ, after receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, set about the mission of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world. A review of the life of St Thomas will prove how he fulfilled this great mission in India.
According to [[Saint Thomas Christians|the tradition]], St Thomas came by sea and landed at [[Kodungalloor]] (Cranganore) the capital of the then [[Chera Empire]] in 52 AD. He baptised families in [[Kodungalloor]] and Palayur (Trichur). St Thomas preached the gospel wherever he went, and founded churches. According to Malabar tradition St Thomas founded seven churches, they are in Cranganore, Quilon, Chayal, Kokkamangalam, Niranam, Paravur and Palayur. From there he went to Coromandel and suffered martyrdom near the Little Mount in Tamil Nadu. His body was brought to the town of Mylapore and was buried in a holy shrine. According to "Ramban Songs", St Thomas converted 17,550 people. He ordained priests and consecrated bishops. The Apostle consecrated Kepa, a native, as Bishop of Kodungalloor and as the head of St Thomas Christians and Paul as the Bishop of Mylapore. It is worth mentioning that the Apostle gave his followers a way of worship suited to their clime, culture and customs. Since the 4th century, the Church in India started communication with the East Syriac Church and soon began to introduce liturgical books and share rites. Thus the Indian Church became a member of the Babylonian (also known as Assyrian & Syro-Chaldean) Patriarchate for practical purpose, not for doctrinal reasons.

The head of the Indian Church was called The Metropolitan and Gate of All India, and had jurisdiction over all of the country. When the Chaldean prelates came to India as the spiritual heads of the independent metropolitan provinces under the East Syriac Patriarch, the administration of the Indian Church was done by a native priest with the title Archdeacon of all India or Jathikkukarthavian. The residence of the Metropolitan was first at Kodungallur, then Angamaly etc. Because of the close association of the St Thomas Christians with the East Syriac Church, the Indian Church of St Thomas is classified in history under the Chaldean matrix of rites, as we read in [[Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches|CCEO]] C.28:2 As [[Pope Pius XII]] said "during the centuries that India was cut off from the west and despite many trying vicissitudes, the Christian communities formed by the Apostle conserved intact the legacy he left them, and as soon as the sea passage at the close of the 15th century offered a link with their fellow Christians of the west, the union with them was spontaneous" (''[[Acta Apostolicae Sedis|AAS]]'', XLV (1953) pp. 96 97). Thus the Syro-Malabar Church, as [[Pope John Paul II]] said, "Never severed from the communion with the Church of Rome, in a continuity that the enormous geographic distance has never been able to break". ("Insegnamenti Giovanni Paulo II". III/2. Rome, 1980, p. 513). In the 15th and 16th centuries the Metropolitans of the St Thomas Christians, who were then of East Syriac Rite, took [[Archdiocese of Angamaly|Angamaly]] as their residential see. (cf. Bulls of [[Pope Julius III]] dated 10 March 1553 and 4 May 1553 in [[Samuel Giamil|Giamil]], "Genuinae Relationes....." Rome 1902, PP. 17–18-24).

== Episcopal Ordinaries ==
(all [[Syro-Malabar Rite]] native Indians)

;Suffragan Eparchs (Bishops) of Irinjalakuda
* [[Mar (title)|Mar]] [[James Pazhayattil]] (1978.06.22 – retired 2010.01.18), died 2016
* Mar Pauly Kannookadan (2010.01.18 – ...).

==Saints and causes for canonisation==
* Birthplace of St. [[Maria Theresa Chiramel]]<ref name="CCBI">{{Cite web|url=http://ccbi.in/saints-blessed/|title=Saints & Blessed – CCBI|access-date=Oct 17, 2019|archive-date=18 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218103142/http://ccbi.in/saints-blessed/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Ven. [[Joseph Vithayathil]]<ref name="CCBI" />
* Servant of God Fr. [[Canisius Thekkekara]] (Canisius of Saint Teresa), CMI<ref name="CCBI" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links ==
* [http://www.thesyromalabarchurch.org/irinjalakkuda.htm Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Irinjalakuda]
* [http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/irin1.htm GCatholic, with Google map & - satellite HQ picture - data for most sections]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dirsm.html Catholic-Hierarchy entry]

{{Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Hierarchy}}
{{Christianity in Kerala}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irinjalakuda, Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy}}
[[Category:Eastern Catholic dioceses in India]]
[[Category:Archdiocese of Thrissur]]
[[Category:Syro-Malabar Catholic dioceses]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1978|Religious organizations established in 1978]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century]]
[[Category:Irinjalakuda]]
[[Category:1978 establishments in Kerala]]

Eparchy of Irinjalakuda - Revision history

BeauTesterman at 09:58, 3 May 2026