Eparchy of Great Britain | |
|---|---|
 Syro-Malabar Cathedral of Marth Alphonsa, Preston (formerly St. Ignatius Church) | |
 Logo of the eparchy | |
| Location | |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Territory | England and Wales &Scotland |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 229,848 km2 (88,745 sq mi) |
Population
|
|
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Sui iuris church | Syro-Malabar Catholic Church |
| Rite | East Syriac Rite |
| Established | 28 July 2016; 9 years ago (2016-07-28) |
| Cathedral | Syro-Malabar Cathedral of St Alphonsa inPreston |
| Secular priests | 23 |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Major Archbishop | MarRaphael Thattil |
| Eparch | MarJoseph Srampickal[1] |
| Website | |
| www.eparchyofgreatbritain.org | |
TheEparchy of Great Britain is the soleSyro-Malabar Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory oreparchy of theCatholic Church inGreat Britain. Itscathedral isSyro-Malabar Cathedral of St Alphonsa in theepiscopal see ofPreston, Lancashire.[2]This eparchy isexempt, that is, not part of anyecclesiastical province in the Latin Catholic Church, but immediately subject to theMajor Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, under the supervision of theCongregation for the Oriental Churches. It has jurisdiction over Syro-Malabar Catholics in the entirety of Great Britain:England,Scotland andWales (the United Kingdom minus Northern Ireland). Most of the faithful of this eparchy areBritish Indians with heritage inKerala, where the Syro-Malabar Church is historically based.
The British eparchy, established in 2016, is theSyro-Malabar Catholic Church's fourth diocesan jurisdiction outsideIndia, after the eparchies ofMississauga (Canada),Chicago (United States) andMelbourne (Australia). The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church also has anApostolic Visitor forEurope based inRome, Bishop Mar Stephen Chirapanath, who oversees and ensures liaison between the pastoral missions and Mass centres in other parts of Europe, includingNorthern Ireland.
The eparchy has chaplains (mostly Indian) in territory that overlaps geographically the territories of the 30Latin Catholic dioceses of Great Britain, namely, the 22 dioceses of theCatholic Church in England and Wales, and the 8 dioceses of theCatholic Church in Scotland but has status that is canonically independent of them. Its internal organization features a national coordination council and eight diocesan departments: Liturgy, Finance, Catechism, Faith Formation, Lay Association, Resolution Committee and Youth Association. Its first and presenteparch is MarJoseph Srampickal.[3]
| Sl.No | Ordinary | Designation | Year of appointment | Last year of service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MarJoseph Srampickal | Bishop | 9th October 2016 | Present |
Syro-Malabar Catholic Church hierarchy | |
|---|---|
Bold =Archeparchy | |
| Major Archiepiscopal province | |
| Metropolitan Provinces in India | |
| Personal Jurisdiction within proper territory | |
| Personal Jurisdictions (Eparchies) outside India | |
| Apostolic Visitations |
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| Province of Birmingham |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Province of Cardiff | ||
| Province of Liverpool | ||
| Province of Southwark | ||
| Province of Westminster | ||
| Other Latin jurisdictions | ||
| Eastern Catholic jurisdictions | ||
