• About Kodungallur
• Archdiocese of Verapoly, the Mother
• Diocese of Kottapuram

The Diocese of Kottapuram lies in the civil districts of Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram and Palakkad of Kerala State in India. It has its head-quarters at Kottapuram near the ancient city of Kodungallur and  it has a population of about 90000 Latin Catholics.

About Cranganore (Kodungallur)

From the very ancient days Cranganore (Kodungallur) was a famous and prosperous sea-port of the East. In olden days, it was known as Muziris to the Greek and also in the West. Cranganore is described as the

"Thriving town of Muchiri where the beautiful large ships of Yavanas, bringing gold come, splashing the white foam on the waters of Periyar in the Chera Kingdom and return laden with pepper".

This became also the earliest Christian centre of Malabar, since, according to the common tradition, it was here that St. Thomas, the Apostle landed first in the year AD 52 and preached the gospel of Christ in the early years of the first century of the Christian area. It was to this capital of Chera Kingdom that Thomas of Cana came from Syria with his followers and settled down. We can still see here the monument built in the memory of Thomas of Cana. The existence of a thriving Christian Community here attracted the attention of others and the Bishops who came from Persia chose this place for their residence. Having continued to be a prosperous and very important centre of trade and Christian life till the middle of the 14th century, it has since fallen into complete ruin and decay. The very foundation of Cranganore became insecure, the entrance of her harbor became choked up and the remorseless monsoon washed away her bulwarks.

As all the natural calamities tolled to death knell of the commercial prosperity of Cranganore so also the glory of the Malabar Church was lost either because of the little contact with the Roman Church or because of the lack of good and dedicated leaders. The Christian spirit lay dormant for a long time and has to pass through a long night of spiritual interregnum. From this slumber of ages the Malabar Church was suddenly awakened by the arrival of the Portuguese and especially by the Second Apostle of India, St. Francis Xavier on the Malabar coast. Wherever in Malabar the Portuguese established themselves, communities of St. Thomas Christians who embraced the Latin Rite, arose and flourished. So at present the Catholic population of the Diocese of Kottapuram consists mostly of the descendants of those ancient St. Thomas Christians of Malabar who embraced the Latin Rite during the Portuguese regime in the 16th and 17th centuries, augmented by conversions chiefly from the ranks of Hinduism, as in the case of almost all the dioceses of Kerala.

Archdiocese the Mother:

The Archdiocese of Verapoly was originally know as the Vicariate of Malabar.  It had its origin in 1657, with the arrival of Carmelite Missionaries, most prominent among whom was Fr. Joseph of St. Mary, better known as Joseph Sebastiani.  They had been deputed under Fr. Hyacint as Apostolic Commissar, by Pope Alexander VII to effect a reconciliation of St. Thomas Christians of the Syro-Chaldiac Rite, who had seceded from their Archbishop Francis Gracia SJ.  The majority of them had in 1653 revolted against the Archbishop and forsaking his authority by taking an oath for the purpose at the foot of a cross - thereafter called the Coonen Cross - situated in Mattanchery, in Cochin (now Kochi), had illegally made their Archdeacon the Archbishop by going through a farcical ceremony.  By the efforts of Sebestiani a large number of seceders were brought back to the true fold nevertheless, they refused to be under the authority of their lawful Archbishop or under any prelate of the Jesuit Order (called by them Paulists)

Rome, being informed of the situation by Sebestiani in person, decided to entrust the Carmelites with the spiritual care of the Syro-Chaldiac Rite.  For this purpose, the Vicariate of Malabar was erected by Pope Alexander VII on the 3rd of December, 1659.  Sebestiani was consecrated titular Bishop of Hierapolis on December 15, 1659, and sent back to Malabar with the title of Vicar Apostolic and Administrator of the Archbishopric of Cranganore.  The new Vicariate eventually established its head-quarters in the Island of Verapoly.

The conquest of Portuguese territories in Malabar by the Dutch and especially of Cochin in 1663, and the consequent expulsion of all European Catholic Missionaries from the Dutch territories and elsewhere threatened the very existence of the Malabar Vicariate.  Nevertheless, it survived under the Indian prelate Parambil Chandy (Alexander de Cambo) whom Sebestiani had consecrated as his successor before he left Malabar in 1663.  Ere long Carmelites were allowed to resume their ministration, which was now extended also to the Catholics of the Latin Rite who were under Portuguese protection. 

On the 13^th of March 1709 by a Brief of Pope Clement XI the Malabar Vicariate was suppressed and the Vicariate of Verapoly took its place with Bishop Angelo Francisco as its first Vicar Apostolic.

By the Brief "Multa Praeclara" of Pope Gregory XVI, dated 24th April 1838, the Sees of Cranganore and Cochin, which at that time included also Quilon, were annexed to the Vicariate of Verapoly which thus came to comprise the whole of Malabar. However in 1845, Quilon was severed from Verapoly as a Suffragan Vicariate

Then by the famous Apostolic Letter "Humanae Salutis Auctor" of Leo XIII dated September 1, 1886, the Hierarchy of India was established, the Vicariate of Verapoly was raised to the status of an Archdiocese with the Most Rev. Dr. Leonard Mellano of St. Louis O.C.D. as its first Archbishop who was the l7th in the line of the Vicars Apostolic.

Along with this in 1886 the Diocese of Cochin was resuscitated and reconstituted with 34 Latin Churches taken from the Archdiocese of Verapoly and the "Diocese of Quilon." 

On l9^th of March, 1887 the Catholics of the Syrian Rite were separated from those of the Latin Rite and placed under an Administrator Dr. Marcelino Bernard of St. Teresa OCD, who was consecrated Co-adjutor to Archbishop Mellano. By brief "Quod Jam Pridem" of Pope Leo XIII dated 20th of May 1.887, the Syrians were exempted from the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Verapoly and the two Vicariates of Trichur and Kottayam were erected with Dr. Adolpus E. Medlycott and Dr. Charles Lavigne as their Vicars Apostolic. Thus the Archdiocese of Verapoly came to consist exclusively of Latin Catholics.

On 14th of July 1930, by the bull, "Ad Christi Nomen" of Pope Pius XI the new Diocese of Vijayapuram was formed and dismembered from Verapoly and its administration was placed in the hands of Discalced Carmelites, who left Verapoly, which they had served for 273 years.  With this change the Archdiocese continuence of its had in the Person of the Archbishop the Most Rev. Dr. Angel Mary OCD.

The Indianization was completed when, on 29^th of November 1932, the Most Rev. Dr. Joseph Attippetty was nominated Co-adjutor to Archbishop.  Dr. Joseph Attippetty assumed the reins of administration on 21^st of December 1934 after the resignation of Archbishop Angel Mary, the last in the long line of European prelates to the Archdiocese.

On the demise of the Most Rev. Dr. Joseph Attippetty on 21^st of January 1970. the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Cornelius Elanjikal was elected Vicar Capituar on January 24, 1970.  He was nominated Bishop of Vijayapuram on February 15, 1971 and Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Kelanthara was nominated Archbishop of Verapoly on January 16, 1971.  He was ordained Bishop by the Most Rev. Dr. Simon Lourdusamy, then Joint-Secretary to the Congregation of the Propagation of Faith on April 4, 1971, became Ordinary on April 8, 1971.

Bishop Antony Thannikkot was nominated Titular Bishop of Tigillava and Auxiliary to the Archbishop of Verapoly on December 19, 1978.  He was ordained Bishop by His Grace the Most Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Kelanthara, Archbishop of Verapoly on March 11, 1979.  He died in Lourdes Hospital, Ernakulam, on February 24, 1984.

Read more about Verapoly Archdiocese's History