Syro-Malabar_Catholic_Eparchy_of_Melbourne
Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Melbourne
Syro-Malabar Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Australia
The St. Thomas the Apostle Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Melbourne is a Syro-Malabar Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in Australia. The eparchy was erected by Pope Francis on 11 January 2014. This is the second eparchy of the Syro-Malabar Church outside India, after the Eparchy of Chicago, and it has jurisdiction over Syro-Malabar Catholics in the entirety of Australia.[1]
It is not part of any ecclesiastical province, but immediately subject to the Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly and depends on the Roman Congregation for the Oriental Churches. In 2021 its territory was extended to include New Zealand and Oceania.[2] Its future cathedral is the Cathedral of St. Alphonsa in the episcopal see of Melbourne, Victoria.