Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Melbourne

The St. Thomas the Apostle Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Melbourne is a Syro-Malabar Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in Australia. The eparchy was erected by Pope Francis on 11 January 2014. This is the second eparchy of the Syro-Malabar Church outside India, after the Eparchy of Chicago, and it has jurisdiction over Syro-Malabar Catholics in the entirety of Australia.^[1]

Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Melbourne (Syro-Malabar)
Location
Country	Australia, New Zealand and Oceania
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Sui iuris church	Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
Rite	East Syriac Rite
Established	11 January 2014
Cathedral	Syro Malabar Cathedral of St Alphonsa
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Major Archbishop	Mar Raphael Thattil
Eparch	Mar John Panamthottathil
Bishops emeritus	Bosco Puthur
Website
http://syromalabar.org.au

It is not part of any ecclesiastical province, but immediately subject to the Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly and depends on the Roman Congregation for the Oriental Churches. In 2021 its territory was extended to include New Zealand and Oceania.^[2] Its future cathedral is the Cathedral of St. Alphonsa in the episcopal see of Melbourne, Victoria.

History

The eparchy was approved on 23 December 2013 as the Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Melbourne, on Australian territory previously without a formal jurisdiction of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.

Statistics

As of 2014^[update], it pastorally served 50,000 Catholics with 17 priests (5 diocesan, 12 religious), 12 lay religious (brothers).

Ordinaries

Eparchs (Bishops)

• Mar Bosco Puthur (11 January 2014 – 31 May 2023)^[3]
• Mar John Panamthottathil (31 May 2023 – present)^[4]

See also

• Catholicism portal
• Australia portal

• Roman Catholicism in Australia