Sunthroniso of Bp. Thomas Mar Antonios as the first bishop of Pune-Khadki tomorrow

Bishop Thomas Mar Antonios will be installed as the first bishop (Sunthroniso) of the newly created exarchate of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church at St Mary’s Cathedral, Bhau Patil Road in Khadki on Saturday, May 30 morning.

The formal installation of the bishop will be attended by Major Archbishop Catholicas Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, who is also the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), the Vatican’s ambassador in India Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, Pune Bishop Thomas Dabre and some bishops from other dioceses in the country.

Pope Francis had established the new exarchate of St Ephrem of Khadki on March 26, this year, for the Malayalam-speaking members of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

Roman Catholic Church recognises 21 rites worldwide and three of them are in India, namely Latin rite, Syro-Malabar rite and Syro-Malankara rite.

Fr Mathew Varikkattu, general convener of the exarchate installation, has said that some special events are planned to mark this momentous milestone in the history of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. Hectic preparations are on at St Mary’s Cathedral in Khadki, which will be the headquarters of the newly created exarchate or diocese of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church having six districts in south India under its jurisdiction.

The exarchate covers Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, together with parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Till now, there was no Syro-Malankara ecclesial circumscription in south India.

CEREMONY
The ceremony to install Thomas Mar Antonios as the first bishop of Khadki exarchate will commence with reception to the special guests at 8.30 am, followed by concelebrated holy qurbono with liturgy of Sunthroniso (installation). There will be a public meeting at 11.30 am, followed by agape (community meal).

Credits: Sakaal Times