Pope confirms new head of Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

(Feb. 10, 2007) Pope Benedict on Saturday confirmed the election of a new head of the eastern rite Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, based in the southern Indian state of Kerala. The post was left vacant after the death of Major Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios of Trivandrum on Jan. 18. The synod of bishops of the Syro Malankara Church, the eastern rite’s apex body, on Feb. 8 elected Archbishop Thottunkal of Tiruvalla as the major archbishop of Trivandrum, the head of the syro-malankara church. Major Archbishop Thottunkal was born in Mukkoor, Kerala, on June 15, 1959. He was ordained priest in 1986, and appointed auxiliary bishop of the syro-malankara archdiocese of Trivandrum in 2001. In 2003 he was appointed bishop of Tiruvalla which in 2006 was elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese. As a major archiepiscopal church, the Syro-Malankara church is granted the highest level of self-government under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, including electing its own bishops. The Pope merely confirms the elections. The Catholic church of India is composed of 3 rites – the Latin, which is the largest, and the Syro-Malankara and Syro-Malabar Churches.