Missionary and migrant: A glimpse of the Syro-Malabar Church

By Christopher Wells

With almost five million faithful, the Syro-Malabar Church is the second-largest Eastern Church in full union with Rome. Tracing its origins to the Apostle Saint Thomas, the Church takes its name from its use of the East Syriac Liturgy (The Divine Liturgy of Addai and Mari) and its use of a Syrian dialect as its liturgical language, and from its origins in “Malabar”, now the Indian state of Kerala.

Earlier this week, the Syro-Malabar Synod of Bishops elected a new Major Archbishop, Raphael Thattil, who, with the Pope’s confirmation, became “Father and Head” of the self-governing (“sui iuris”) Church.

“The head is one who leads the people… the father is one who cares and shares and prays,” says Father Clement Padathiparambil, the Co-Ordinator General of the Syro-Malabar faithful in Europe, who came to the offices of Vatican Radio to tell us more about his Church.

“The Syro-Malabar Church is a sui iuris Church,” he explains. “It is an autonomous Church with its own history, its own liturgy, its own spirituality, tradition, theology; and, of course, in communion with all the oriental Churches, we have the canonical discipline.”

Newly-elected Major Archbishop Mar Raphael Thattil

A migrant Church

Father Clement goes on to say that the Syro-Malabar Church is a missionary Church. “And it is also a migrant Church, because one-third of the Syro-Malabar Catholics are outside of Kerala.” He notes that there are more Eparchies (or Dioceses) outside of Kerala than there are in the state, mentioning communities in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and continental Europe.

He notes the “huge” influx of migrants to places such as Italy, Ireland, and Germany, as well as Eastern European countries including Latvia, Georgia, and Armenia.

“It is a great, tough task for the Syro-Malabar Church to care for the migrant Church,” says Fr Clement.

A missionary Church

However, he continues, it is also a missionary Church. “Regarding what I said about the missionary Church outside of Kerala, especially in north India, we have a lot of migrant people” working in different parts of the country.

Father Clement, notes, too, that, like the Latin Church, the Syro-Malabar Church has “a lot” of missionaries who “have gone to different parts of the world, working in Latin congregations, Latin religious institutes as religious brothers and sisters.”

So, he says, “I am very proud of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, which has its origin back in 52 AD when St Thomas preached Good News to us.”

Read the full interview with Father Clement Padathiparambil, Co-ordinator General of Syro-Malabar faithful in Europe:

My name is Clement, Father Clement Padathiparambil. Presently I am the Co-ordinator General of the Syro-Malabar faithful in Europe. We have an apostolic visitation and the apostolic visitator is Bishop Stephen Chirappanath and I am his Co-ordinator General.

We have more than 150 communities all over in Europe, and in fact the Syro-Malabar Church [spread throughout the world] is the second largest Eastern sui iuris Church in union with the Holy Father.

Just recently, in the past few days, the Synod of Bishops elected a new Major Archbishop, the Head and Father of your Church. The election was confirmed by our Holy Father Pope Francis. However, a lot of people may not know a great deal about the Syro-Malabar Church. So could you tell us just a little bit about what's distinctive about your church and community?

The Syro-Malabar Church is a sui iuris Church; it is an autonomous Church that has its own history, its own liturgy, its own spirituality, tradition, theology, and, of course, with communion with all the oriental churches we have the canonical discipline.

And it is a Church, it is a missionary church.

And also it is a migrant church because one-third of the Syro-Malabar Catholics are outside Kerala, where it originated because of the preachings of Saint Thomas the Apostle.

And according to recent statistics, almost 5 million Catholics are there in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.

We have more Eparchies, or Dioceses, outside Kerala and even outside India.

You can see very well in Chicago, in the USA; in the UK, Great Britain; and we have [eparchies] in Canada Mississauga; then in Australia, we have [one] in Melbourne; and presently in Europe, we have an apostolic visitation, so it is in the process of growth to an autonomous situation or what to say to have an ecclesiastical circumscription So we are expecting that.

And we have a recent good glad tidings of a new Major Archbishop, Mar Raphael Thattil.

His Eminence Cardinal George Alencherry was the past Major Archbishop, [now] the Major Archbishop emeritus, and there has been great progress during his ministry for the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.

And before that was Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil. He also has made marvelous contributions to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.

Before that, we have Cardinal Anthony Padiyara with Pontifical delegate, Mar Abraham Kattumana. And it was a great flourishing community since the erection of the Syro-Malabar Church as a sui iuris major archiepiscopal church.

Can you talk to us a little bit about some of the hopes that you have for the church and some of the challenges that are facing the church in this moment in history?

Of course, we have a lot of things to say, because wherever I go – I was in Ireland for the last five years, presently for the past year I have been here in Italy, moving to different places, especially in Germany – there is a huge influx of migrants, and even to Ireland and even the Eastern European countries, where we have a lot of students coming to Latvia, Georgia, Armenia, and all these places.

Of course, there were students in Ukraine and during the war, they all got back to India.

So personally there is a huge influx of migrants, especially the students who want to do their higher studies.

Actually, it is a great, a tough task for the Syro-Malabar Church to care for the migrant church.

And regarding what I said about the missionary church: outside Kerala, especially in the north of India, we have a lot of migrant people as well as we have a lot of missionaries working in different parts of India.

And even a lot of missionaries from our Church, like the Latin Church, have gone to different parts of the world, working in Latin congregations, Latin religious institutes as religious sisters and brothers and priests.

So I'm very proud of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, which has its origin back in 52 AD when Saint Thomas preached Good News to us.

And on that note, can you talk a little bit about the relationship between the Syro-Malabar Church and the other Catholic Churches and the Latin Church?

Of course, in Kerala, we have a communion of different churches. We have Latin Dioceses and we have Syro-Malankara Dioceses.

So these churches grow in communion.

We have a Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council. They have meetings on different occasions and they gather for different common issues, if there are [any], and also they have periodical meetings.

Same with the Catholic Bishops Conference of India also. There also we gather, the bishops gather, and also we have different departments. As we have the Dicasteries in the Vatican, we also have different departments for the sake of evangelization, for faith, for charity, for media, everything.

So we can see in India itself, the community of different churches, especially the Latin churches, the Syro-Malankara Church, which was re-joined in 1930 under the presidency or under the leadership of Mar Ivanus [ed. Ivanios Givergis Thomas Panikervitis (Panickerveetil)].

Now it is also a major archbishopal Church which has its head, Basilius Mar Cleemis, His Eminence or His Beatitude.

So we know and we feel the presence of communion of Churches in Kerala itself.

And that historical arena or realm has inspired our missionaries to go to any place at any time; irrespective of the place, caste, creed, or religion, they can move.

That is what I see in the missionaries of Syro-Malabar people, also Syro-Malabar priests and religious especially.

Thank you so much. Is there anything else you'd like to add this morning?

With regard to the recent election of the Major Archbishop, the Head and Father of our Syro-Malabar Church, Mar Raphael Thattil: He is the Head; the head is the one who leads the people and [deals with] the people.

And I think we have elected, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the Synodal Fathers, this great personality.

And He is the Father of the Church. The Father is one who cares and who shares and who prays. And I am very happy that he will do that thing.

He has got vast ecclesial experience as a priest, as a bishop, because I know he was an assistant parish priest in one of the parishes.

Later he was in the minor seminary as vice rector and procurator and prefect and so on. And he was rector of a major seminary. He was an ecclesiastical advisor of the Jesus Youth Movement. He was the manager of a college, St. Thomas College.

He was vice chancellor, chancellor, adjutant judicial vicar, syncellus, proto-syncllus, auxiliary bishop.

He has gone to the various stages of the church offices.

He was an auxiliary bishop and he was a bishop to a missionary diocese of Shamshabad.

So with this vast ecclesial experience, he can guide the Syro-Malabar Church amidst all the trials and tribulations, the pains and panics and fret and frustrations.

And I'm very happy that he is coming from the Archdiocese of Trichur.

And I belong to the diocese of Irinjalkuda.

And Saint Thomas landed in Kodungallur; the cradle of the Christian faith is in the metropolitan province of Trichur and he is from that place, Trichur, and I'm very happy that we have a good Father and Head.

And his name is Raphael – Raphael, you know, [whose name means "healing of God"]. He can heal the wounds of the people.

He is a person who moves according to Pope Francis’ way, the synodal way, communion, participation, and mission.

He is a person of listening, a man of patient listening. A patient listening is a perfect perfume of communication.

And he enjoys going to meet the people, meet the priests, meet the religious, meet the sick, meet the poor.

He’s a good orator, he’s a good preacher. He has, in fact, given a retreat to me when I was in the second year of my seminary. I still remember that.

So I'm very happy that Bishop Thattil is the head and father of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.

And this Church has a lot of things to do for the Universal Church, especially in the ministry of mission, in the ministry of migration.

And hope everything will be clear in the fullness of time as God wishes.

And I pray for him and I pray for the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, and I pray for the whole Universal Church, especially for Pope Francis, to guide our Church in communion and fellowship.

He has asked Bishop Thattil to be very connected to the poor and those who are in need. So we see the heart of a pastor in Pope Francis, and I think Bishop Raphael Thattil is also a person who can take care of the poor and the needy and who can heal the wounds of the people.

That is my observation and experience about Bishop, Mar, Raphael Thattil.

He has visited almost all the migrant communities all over the world of [the] Syro-Malabar Church already.

And also the missionary places in India also.

So he has a lot of experience in the field of migration, in the field of mission, and in the field of the Church of origin, where we are, Kerala.

The transcript of this interview was edited for length and clarity.