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The high priest,
Our Lord prayed: Father “all who believe in me may be one so that the
world may believe that You have sent me.” (Jn.17/22-23). The Reunion
Movement of the Malankara Catholic Church came as a natural
consequence of this prayer of the Saviour. The Church in Kerala traces
its origin to the preaching of St. Thomas, the Apostle. However, due
to the various historical vicissitudes, the community came to be
divided into many denominations and fractions. The only solution to
regain the vigour and vitality of the Church was to enter into the
communion with the Holy See of Rome to which the Church in Kerala had
loyalty and hierarchical communion. The Late Archbishop Geevarghese
Mar Ivanios, out of historical reasons and Biblical foundations,
whole-heartedly accepted the communion of the Catholic Church. Since
then the Malankara Catholic Church has been growing steadily and
extending its mission spirit to the various areas of this land. It
always remains as a symbol of unity in the Church.
It was absolutely out of the ardent mission
zeal, that the Malankara Catholic Church wished for a new Eparchy in
the central part of Kerala. Though much has been done to lay the
foundation for the unity of Churches, there still remains a large area
untouched as far as the mission of the Church is concerned. Hence it
was the need of the time to have a new diocese to facilitate the
ecumenical vision of the Church.
It was in this context that His Excellency Most
Rev. Geevarghese Mar Timotheos, the then Metropolitan of Tiruvalla,
out of his far-reaching vision of the mission of the Church and for
the overall development of the northern side of the Eparchy, took
initiatives to divide the Eparchy of Tiruvalla and to erect the new
eparchy of Muvattupuzha. The proposal was accepted by the Holy Father,
Pope John Paul II, and made canonical provision for the establishment
of the Eparchy of Muvattupuzha on 15 January 2003. The Holy Father
appointed His Excellency Rt. Rev. Dr. Thomas Mar Koorilos as its first
Metropolitan. The installation took place on 6 February 2003 at
Vazhappilly, Muvattupuzha.
The vision of the new Eparchy is to make steady
progress in the field of ecumenism and the re-integration of the
Churches as well as the holistic development of the society. The
Eparchy dreams of the day when the various factions of the Malankara
Church called Puthenkoottukar rally round the same altar of the Lord
to worship him and adore him. The vitality of these communities can be
truly utilized for the all round development of the human race and
society. The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church believes that it has a
God-given responsibility to witness to the great values of the
Oriental Christian tradition in the Catholic Communion and to enrich
the Malankara Church with the universal character by being in
communion to the successor of St. Peter. Our vision includes the
development of society as a whole. To this vision we are committed and
all our activities are geared towards this great goal. The 76th
anniversary of the Reunion Movement was held at Vazhappilly on 20 and
21 of September 2006.
Address:
Catholic Bishop's
House, , Mudavoor P.O.,Vazhappilly, Muvattupuzha - 686 669,
Ernakulam Dist.,
Kerala, India
Tel: +91 485 - 2812650,Fax: +91 485 - 2812650
Website :
http://www.muvattupuzhadiocese.com |
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