- Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in North America
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The Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in North America is a non-profit religious organization in the United States, incorporated in the State of New York. It is considered part of Indian Malankara Jacobite Syrian Christian Church.
However the Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in North America is under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, the Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church. This Archdiocese comprises the parishes all over the United States and Canada for the people predominantly from India who follow the Syriac tradition. The Church uses the Syriac language, a dialect of Aramaic spoken by Lord Jesus, as the Liturgical language along with English and Malayalam, a vernacular language of South India.
His Eminence Mor Titus Yeldho is the incumbent archbishop of the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in North America since 2004.
Contents
History
In the recent past, especially since the 1960s, a considerable number of people from India migrated and settled down in North America. Many of them were Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Christians. They followed the Syrian Orthodox faith, maintained their distinct identity and preserved the traditions of the Syrian Orthodox Church. With the approval and spiritual guidance of Archbishop Mor Athanasius Yeshue Samuel, the first Malankara Syrian Orthodox Parish in North America was formed in 1975 as Mar Gregorios Syrian Orthodox Church in Staten Island, New York. Subsequently more parishes and spiritual organizations such as Sunday School for children, Youth Association for the young adults and St. Mary’s Women’s League were formed for the spiritual nourishment of the faithful.
For the smooth functioning of the parishes under the ecclesiastical hierarchy, a Malankara Council was constituted and became fully operational in 1987. From that time onwards the Malankara Parishes conducted annual conferences in different parts of North America. As the number of people professing the Syrian Orthodox faith and their spiritual needs increased, The Delegates’ Meeting held in 1992 in New York, presided over by the Archbishop Mor Athanasius Yeshue Samuel, decided to request The Patriarch of Antioch and All The East for a Metropolitan from Malankara to assist Mor Athanasius in administering the affairs of the Malankara Parishes. The Delegates’ Meeting held on December 5, 1992 at the St. Mark’s Syrian Orthodox Cathedral, Hackensack, New Jersey, proposed the name Fr. P.G. Cherian and requested the Patriarch to consecrate him Metropolitan to assist Mor Athanasius Yeshue Samuel.
According to the decision of the Archdiocesan Council, an official delegation, consisting of three clergymen and one lay member from the Council had an audience with the Patriarch, in Damascus, Syria, in June 1993 to address the spiritual needs of the Malankara faithful. Thereafter, Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and the Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church, established an independent Archdiocese directly under the Holy Apostolic See of Antioch and All the East comprising all the Malankara (India) parishes in North America and named it "Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in North America". He consecrated and appointed P.G. Cherian as Archbishop Mor Nicholovos Zachariah on August 15, 1993 and appointed him as Archbishop to administer the affairs of the Archdiocese.
In December 2001, Nicholovos left the Holy Church and was excommunicated by Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas the Patriarch of Antioch and All The East. Subsequently Mor Julius Kuriakose and Mor Ivanios Mathews Metropolitans were appointed to this Archdiocese. The present Archbishop Mor Titus Yeldho was consecrated as Archbishop and Patriarchal Vicar of the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in North America on January 04, 2004.
Archbishops
- Mor Athansius Yeshue Samuel - Until August 1993
- Nicholovos Zachariah - August 1993 – December 2001 Excommunicated
- Mor Julius Kuriakose - December 22, 2001 – March 1, 2002
- Mor Ivanios Mathews - March 2, 2002 – January 3, 2004
- Mor Titus Yeldho - January 4, 2004 – Present - His Emminence the incumbent Archbishop of the Archdiocese
Organization of the Archdiocese
Churches
Church City, State St. Peter's Syrian Orthodox Church Scottsdale, Arizona St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church Whittier, California St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church Denver, Colorado Mar Gregorios Syrian Orthodox Church Tampa, Florida St. Mary's Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church Plantation, Florida St. Ignatius Elias III Syrian Orthodox Church Atlanta, Georgia St. Mary's Syriac Orthodox Church Lilburn, Georgia St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church Winder, Georgia St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church Augusta, Georgia St. George Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church Chicago, Illinois St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church Des Plaines, Illinois St. Peter’s Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church Chicago, Illinois St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church College Park, Maryland St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Church Uniontown, Maryland St. Mary’s Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church Southfield, Michigan St. George Syrian Orthodox Church Charlotte, North Carolina St. George's Syrian Orthodox Church Carteret, New Jersey St. James Syrian Orthodox Church Livingston, New Jersey St. Basil Syrian Orthodox Church Albuquerque, New Mexico Mar Gregorios Syrian Orthodox Church Staten Island, New York St. George Syrian Orthodox Church Spring Valley, New York St. George Syrian Orthodox Church New City, New York St. John's Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church Staten Island, New York St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church Lynbrook, New York St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church West Nyack, New York St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church White Plains, New York St. Peter's & St. Paul's Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church Westbury, New York St. George's Syrian Orthodox Church Bethany, Oklahoma St. George Syriac Orthodox Church Brampton, Ontario St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church Mississauga, Ontario St. Peter's Syriac Orthodox Church Mississauga, Ontario St. Paul's Jacobite Syrian Orhodox Church Philadelphia, Pennsylvania St. Peter's Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church Philadelphia, Pennsylvania St. Ignatius Malankara Jacobite Church Carrollton, Texas St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church Houston, Texas St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church Carrollton, Texas St. Peter's Syriac Orthodox Church Houston, Texas St. Thomas Syriac Orthodox Church Austin, Texas St. Mary's Syriac Orthodox Church San Francisco Mar. Gregorios Syriac Orthodox Church Mesquite, Texas Organizations
- Antiochean True Faith
- Archdiocesan Choir
- Clergy Association
- St. Paul's Fellowship
- Women's League
- MGSOSA - Mar Gregorios Syrian Orthodox Student Association
- Sunday School
External links
- Malankara Orthodox links
- Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in North America - Official Website]
- Shroro: The Syriac Orthodox Digest
- Ruho: Malankara Syriac Orthodox Youth Bible Study
- Syriac Music
- Malankara Syriac Christian Resources
- Mar Gregorios Syrian Orthodox Student Association
- Syriac Orthodox links
Categories:- Syriac Orthodox Church
- Members of the National Council of Churches
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