The Eparchy of Shamshabad is an

eparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

of the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church The Syro-Malabar Church, also known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. It is a '' sui iuris'' (autonomous) particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Cathol ...

based in

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It was established by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

on 10 October 2017, and Mar

Raphael Thattil Raphael Thattil () (born 21 April 1956) is an Indian prelate who serves as the List of major archbishops of the Syro-Malabar Church, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, the largest Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Church, a ...

was appointed its first eparch. In a letter to the bishops of India, Francis cited India's decades of experience with "overlapping jurisdictions" of different ''

sui iuris ''Sui iuris'' (), also spelled ''sui juris'', is a Latin phrase that literally means "of one's own right". It is used in both the Catholic Church's canon law and secular law. The term church ''sui iuris'' is used in the Catholic ''Code of Canon ...

'' churches. He wrote: "With the growth of spiritual friendship and mutual assistance, any tension or apprehension should be swiftly overcome. May this extension of the pastoral area of the Syro-Malabar Church in no way be perceived as a growth in power and domination, but as a call to deeper communion, which should never be perceived as uniformity." The new jurisdiction was inaugurated with Mar Thattil's installation on 7 January 2018. The cathedral is the St. Alphonsa Syro-Malabar Catholic Church at

Kukatpally Kukatpally is a suburb in northwestern Hyderabad in the Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of Balanagar Prashu Singh mandal in the Malkajgiri revenue division of the Medchal–Malkajgiri district. Kukatpally was a municipality be ...

, in Greater

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. There are 130,000 Catholics in the Shamshabad diocese with eleven functional churches and seven under construction.

Regional administration

The eparchy is divided into several regions that are headed by regional superiors, often from missions of religious congregations, for better administration. The two Auxiliary Eparchs are given charge of two of the prominent mission regions of the eparchy. Mar Joseph Kollamparambil heads the Gujarat mission region and Mar

Thomas Padiyath Thomas Padiyath (born 14 January 1969) is an Indian Catholic prelate of the Syro-Malabar Church in India, currently serving as an auxiliary bishop in the Eparchy of Shamshabad. Biography Early life and studies Padiyath was born in Ettumano ...

heads the Etawah-Jaipur mission region.

Etawah-Jaipur region

The Etawah-Jaipur Mission region comprises the former missions of Etawah (Agra Mission) and Jaipur of the Archeparchy of Changanassery. The Etawah mission, was established in 1975 using the guildlines of the 1974 CBCI Calcutta chapter, and of dialogues between the Archdioceses of

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

and

Changanacherry Changanassery, () formerly Changanacherry, is a municipality in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district headquarters in Kottayam and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 I ...

. The mission spreads across several Latin dioceses of the

Agra Province Agra Province was a part of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh of British India during the closing decades of the British Raj, from 1904 until 1947; it corresponded (under Section 4(4) of United Provinces Act 1, 1904) to the former regions, ...

. It was a result of the collaboration between the then Archbishops Dominic Athaide of Agra and Mar

Antony Padiyara Antony Padiyara (11 February 1921 – 23 March 2000) was a Syro-Malabar Catholic cardinal and the first Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly. Before serving as Major Archbishop from 1985 to 1996, he previously served as Bishop of Ootacamund ...

of Changanassery. The mission worked across all fields fulfilling the needs of the community and beyond. When the Eparchy of Shamshabad was erected in 2017, the mission region came under its territorial jurisdiction, and as part of the agreement signed in 2018 February between the Eparchy of Shamshabad and Archeparchy of Changanassery, the Etawah-Jaipur mission would be granted administrative, pastoral and missionary autonomy hitherto enjoyed under the Archdiocese of Agra. With a clause added that the regions under the mission, may in time raised to the dignity of an Eparchy or Exarchate in due course of time. The Jaipur mission (St. Mary's mission) was setup in 2015 as an initiative of Mar Joseph Perumthottam, and in wake of the all India jurisdiction of the church and rising needs of pastoral care in the state of Rajastan. With collaboration between the Eparch of Shamshabad, even before its formation, this mission that spread across 12 districts of Rajasthan worked extensively. And later entered into a similar agreement like that of Etawah mission, with the newly formed eparchy. In the 30th Synod of the Syro-Malabar, 2022. Mar

was made Auxiliary eparch of Shamshabad with a special charge of the Etawah-Jaipur region.

Sabarmati (Gujarat) region

Since 2009, the Missionary Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (MCSB), through its Emmaus Province, worked in the Gujarat mission, to tend to the pastoral needs of the Syro-Malabar faithful in the dioceses of Ahmedabad and Baroda. Following the 30th Synod, Mar Joseph Kollamparambil was made Auxiliary eparch of Shamshabad with special charge of the Sabarmati mission, which encompasses the remaining districts of the State of Gujarat (removing those under eparchy of Rajkot), and the Union territory of Daman Diu Dadar and Nagar Haveli.

Ordinaries

Bishops

Auxiliary Bishops

Notes

References

External links

*
Eparchy of Shamshabad profile (Syro-Malabar)
at

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private pro ...

Syro-Malabar Diocese of Shamshabad profile
a
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{{coord missing, Telangana Eastern Catholic dioceses in India Syro-Malabar Catholic dioceses 2017 establishments in Telangana Christian organizations established in 2017