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 the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church under the Holy See of Antioch.
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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 Aphrem II, 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. Mor Titus Yeldho is the archbishop of the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in North America since 2004.
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 City, 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 Zachariah left the Holy Church and was excommunicated and stripped of his Priestly authorities 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 4, 2004.