India’s Catholic Syro Malabar Church

It’s one of the Catholic Church’s eastern rites and no, it’s not just found in the East. In the age of international travel and migration, you’ll find a Syro Malabar church just about anywhere – perhaps even just down the street.

Originally founded by St. Thomas himself about two thousand years ago in his travels to India, the Syro Malabar Church today counts some four million Catholics around the globe.

Tracey McClure asked the Major Archbishop of the Syro Malabar Church, Archbishop Mar George Alencherry to tell us more about this eastern rite, the Catholic Church’s second-biggest oriental tradition.

In the interview, the Archbishop explains that the Syro Malabar Church is one of three Catholic churches in India; the Latin rite and the Syro Malankara rite are the other two. During early colonial times, missionaries introduced the Latin rite in the country and Archbishop Alencherry says his Syro Malabar Church’s rites have maintained a mix of Latin and eastern traditions.

In a big change from the past where the Major Archbishop was appointed by the Pope in Rome, Archbishop Alencherry is the first Syro Malabar Church leader to be elected by a Synod of Bishops. The event was an important milestone for the Syro Malabar Church which Pope John Paul II raised to “sui iuris” or autonomous status in communion with the Church in Rome.

Like many faithful from eastern rite churches in the Diaspora, many Syro Malabar Catholics find themselves married or raising children in a different Catholic rite. Archbishop Alencherry speaks of the challenges this situation poses to the faithful and to the bishops of eastern rite churches who are keen to keep ancient eastern traditions alive. In doing so, he urges cooperation from all sides, including from Latin rite Church leaders, and expresses his hope that the upcoming Post-Synodal Document from last October’s Synod of Bishops for the Middle East will address these issues.
Listen to Tracey McClure’s interview with Major Archbishop Alencherry: