GabrielaPreiss at 11:30, 14 April 2026

2026-04-14T11:30:00Z

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{{Short description|Syro-Malabar Eparchy }}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}}
{{Infobox diocese

| jurisdiction = Eparchy
| name = Mananthavady
| local = 
| image =Mananthavady_diocese.png
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| caption =

| country = [[India]]
| territory =
| province = [[Archeparchy of Tellicherry]]
| metropolitan =
| archdeaconries =
| deaneries =
| subdivisions =
| coordinates =
| parishes =
| churches = 
| congregations = 
| schools = 
| members = 

| denomination = [[Catholic Church]]
| sui_iuris_church = [[Syro-Malabar Church]]
| rite = [[East Syriac Rite]]
| established =
| cathedral =
| cocathedral =
| patron = 
| patron_title = 
| priests =

| pope = Mar {{Incumbent pope}} 
| patriarch =
| major_archbishop = Mar [[Raphael Thattil]]
| bishop = Mar [[Jose Porunnedom]]
| bishop_title =
| auxiliary_bishops = Mar [[Alex Tharamangalam]]
| metro_archbishop = Mar [[Joseph Pamplany]]
| coadjutor =
| suffragans = 
| apostolic_admin =
| vicar_general =
| episcopal_vicar =
| archdeacons = 
| emeritus_bishops = 

| map =
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|headquarters=}}

The '''Eparchy of Mananthavady''' is an [[Eastern Catholic]] [[eparchy]] in [[India]], under the [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Church]]. It was established in 1973 by [[Pope Paul VI]].It Is under the [[Archeparchy of Tellicherry]], and governed by the [[Major Archbishop of Erankulam-Angamaly]] and the [[synod]] of all bishops of the [[Sui iuris Church|''sui iuris'' Church]], both within and outside India.The Current Bishop Is [[Jose Porunnedom]].

==History==
The eparchy of [[Mananthavady]] was erected by Pope Paul VI, by the Bull Quanta Gloria of 1 March 1973 bifurcating the vast diocese of Tellicherry. The diocese of Tellicherry and Mananthavady were erected for the [[Malabar Migration|migrated peoples]] from the central Kerala. Population explosion and the shortage of food during the post-war period (1945-1960) induced them to migrate to the uninhabited fertile lands of northern Kerala and to some isolated pockets of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka States. These places were filled with thick forests and under the threat of malaria and other diseases. The migrated people, being agrarian, risking their own life cleared the forests and settled themselves cultivating paddy, rubber, coconut, coffee, cashew, pepper etc...

The eparchy of Mananthavady comprises the civil districts of Wayanad and parts of the civil districts of Malapuram and Kannur in Kerala, the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu and the districts of Chickmangalore, Hassan, Mandya, Mysore, and Chamarajnagar in Karnataka. Of these, the district of Mandya is entrusted to the pastoral care of the Missionary Society of St. Thomas (MST), the district of Hassan to the Congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) and the district of Chickmangalore to the Norbertine Fathers (O.Pream). The Catholic population is mainly concentrated in Kerala, while Karnataka and Tamil Nadu regions are considered Diaspora. The eparchy has an area of approximately 37, 697 km<sup>2</sup> and a population of 1,65,100 Syrian Catholics. At present there are 143 parishes, 17 independent stations and 37 mission stations.

[[Jacob Thoomkuzhy]], later Archbishop of Thrissur, was consecrated as the first bishop of Mananthavady on 1 May 1973. After 22 years of able guidance, on 7 June 1995 he was transferred to the diocese of Thamarassery. The then Protosyncellus Msgr. Joseph Kaniamattam was appointed by the Major Archbishop as the Administrator of the eparchy on 27 July 1995. On 26 January 1997 Bishop [[Emmanuel Giles Pothanamuzhi|Emmanuel Pothanamuzhy]] CMI was consecrated the second bishop of the eparchy. After the demise of Bishop Pothanamuzhy on 6 April 2003, Proto-syncellus Msgr. George Njaralakkatt was appointed the administrator of the eparchy. The present bishop, Jose Porunnedom, was appointed on 18 March 2004 and was consecrated the third bishop of Mananthavady on 15 May 2004 and took charge of the office on the same day.

The Eparchy of Mananthavady was bifurcated and new diocese, the [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Bhadravathi|Eparchy of Bhadravathi]], was erected on 21 August 2007. The bishop of the diocese of Bhadravathi is Joseph Arumachadath MCBS.

The diocese of Mananthavady was again bifurcated and a new diocese, the [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Mandya|Eparchy of Mandya]], was erected on 18 January 2010. The first bishop of the newly erected diocese Mandya was [[George Njaralakatt]], the later archbishop of Tellicherry.

==Ordinaries==
===Bishops===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Sl.No
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Ordinary
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Designation
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Year of appointment
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Last year of service
|-
| 1
| [[Jacob Thoomkuzhy]]
| align="center" | Bishop
| align="center" | 1973
| align="center" | 1995
|-
| 2
| [[Emmanuel Giles Pothanamuzhi]]
| align="center" | Bishop
| align="center" | 1996
| align="center" | 2003
|-
| 3
| [[Jose Porunnedom]]
| align="center" | Bishop
| align="center" | 2004
| align="center" | ''present''
|}

===Auxiliary Bishops===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Sl.No
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Ordinary
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Designation
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Year of appointment
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Last year of service
|-
| 1
| [[Alex Tharamangalam]]
| align="center" | Auxiliary Bishop
| align="center" | 2022
| align="center" | ''present''
|}

===Prelates Hailing From The Diocese===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Sl.No
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Ordinary
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Designation
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Year of appointment
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Last year of service
|-
| 1
| [[John Moolachira]]
| align="center" | Archbishop - Guwahati
| align="center" | 2011
| align="center" | ''present''
|-
| 2
| [[Sebastian Kallupura]]
| align="center" | Archbishop - Patna
| align="center" | 2020
| align="center" | ''present''
|-
| 3
| [[George Njaralakatt]]
| align="center" | Former Archbishop - Tellicherry
| align="center" | 2014
| align="center" | 2022
|-
| 4
| [[Augustine Madathikunnel]]
| align="center" | Bishop - Khandwa
| align="center" | 2024
| align="center" | ''present''
|}

==Saints and causes for canonisation==
* Fr. Armond Madhavath<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ofmcap.org/en/notizie/item/3416-the-meeting-of-ccmsi|title=The meeting of CCMSI|last=|first=|last2=|first2=|date=|website=www.ofmcap.org|language=en-gb|url-status=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-09-25}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.diocesemdy.org/ Diocese of Mananthavady]
*[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dmasm.html Catholic-Hierarchy entry]

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

{{Coord missing|Kerala}}

[[Category:Eastern Catholic dioceses in India|Mananthavady]]
[[Category:Archdiocese of Tellicherry]]
[[Category:Syro-Malabar Catholic dioceses|Mananthavady]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1973]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century]]
[[Category:Dioceses in Kerala]]
[[Category:1973 establishments in India]]

Eparchy of Mananthavady - Revision history

GabrielaPreiss at 11:30, 14 April 2026