CV NEWS FEED // The Major Archbishop of the Catholic Syro-Malabar Church in India has been officiated in a ceremony on Thursday after being elected by the Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church and confirmed by Pope Francis.
The Syro-Malabar Church, which has the canonical permission to elect its own bishops autonomously with the Pope’s approval, elevated Bishop Raphael Thattil to Major Archbishop following the resignation of his predecessor, Cardinal George Alencherry in early December.
“The election was formally announced simultaneously at the Vatican and Major Archiepiscopal Curia at Mount St. Thomas at Kakkanad,” the Church said on Wednesday in a statement.
Thattil had been serving as the bishop of the Eparchy of Shamshabad in southern India. According to local reports, “a secret voting was held among the bishops at the Synod on Tuesday and Thattil, would turn 68 this April, got majority votes.”
“I request for all of the people to pray for me because I have taken up a big cross,” he said in his first interview since the appointment.
Thattil’s appointment comes in wake of a major liturgical conflict and divide in the Syro-Malabar Church, which has resulted in many priests and laypeople risking being declared outside of communion with the Church, as the Holy Father said in a video message addressing the controversy:
“Please do not continue to wound the Body of Christ!” the Pope told those who have taken issue with the liturgical reform imposed by the Syro-Malabar Synod of Bishops.
He continued:
Do not separate yourselves from it! And even though there have been some grievances against you, forgive them with generosity. May the Eucharist be the model of your unity. Do not shatter the Body of Christ which is the Church, so as not to eat and drink judgment upon yourselves.
The central issue, according to local reports, regards which direction the celebrant faces during the Consecration.
When asked about the liturgical and linguistic divide across his archdiocese, Thattil stressed the importance of making the Syro-Malabar Church a “cosmopolitan” and “worldwide” Church that breaks through language barriers.
When asked about how he planned to handle the recent “ambiguities of the Church,” Thattil responded that his policy would be “to go after the lost sheep.”
“I may not be able to give so much to the people who already stand with me, because they already stand with us,” he said, adding that he planned to channel his efforts into outreach for those who had “grievances” with the Church.
Pope Francis approved the decision of the Syro-Malabar Church to elect Thattil on Tuesday, writing in a letter to Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly:
Please know that I willingly grant the confirmation you have requested and express my fraternal good wishes in Jesus Christ, our Lord and God. I pray that, after the example of your venerable predecessors, you may strive to offer a generous and fruitful pastoral ministry to the flock now entrusted to your care.
I likewise urge you especially to remember the poor and those most in need. May the Holy Spirit foster the unity, fidelity and mission of the Syro-Malabar Church, so that it may grow and flourish under your paternal guidance.
“Every crisis is a horizon; it’s not the end. I believe there will be a sunrise from every crisis,” Thattil told reporters after his appointment was announced. The newly installed Major Archbishop told local news outlets at the time that he would “listen to everyone,” emphasizing that “it is not right to make a judgment without listening to all.”
Thattil also said he would look into reopening St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in the south-Indian city of Ernakulam, which had been closed since November 2022 due to unrest over the Synod of Bishops’ attempt to introduce a uniform way of offering Mass. St. Mary’s is one of the oldest churches in the archdiocese.
“Nothing should remain closed,” he said.
There are 65 bishops in the Kerala-based Church; 53 of which are under 80 and currently possess voting rights.
