His Grace Dr. Stephanos Mar Theodosious
Metropolitan:	1979–2007
Predecessor	None
Successor	TBD
Born	2 October 1924 Pathamootom, Kottayam. District of Kerala
Died	November 5.2007

The Kolkata Diocese is a is one of the 22 diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

s of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.

History

This diocese was part of the Outside Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

(Bahyakerala) diocese till 1975. In 1975, it was included in the newly created Madras Diocese. In 1979 the present diocese of Calcutta came into existence. The Diocese celebrated its silver Jubilee

Silver Jubilee

A Silver Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, ruling anniversary or anything that has completed a 25 year mark...

 in 2004.

Organization

The Orthodox parishes in the North and North Eastern states of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

 in the Persian Gulf region are included in this diocese, viz. Chattisgarh, Madhyapradesh, parts of Maharastra, West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

, Bihar

Bihar

Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

, Jharkhand

Jharkhand

Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...

, Assam

Assam

Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

, Nagaland

Nagaland

Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...

, Mizoram

Mizoram

Mizoram is one of the Seven Sister States in North Eastern India, sharing borders with the states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur and with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Burma. Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on 20 February 1987. Its capital is Aizawl. Mizoram is located in the...

, Meghalaya

Meghalaya

Meghalaya is a state in north-eastern India. The word "Meghalaya" literally means the Abode of Clouds in Sanskrit and other Indic languages. Meghalaya is a hilly strip in the eastern part of the country about 300 km long and 100 km wide, with a total area of about 8,700 sq mi . The...

, Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...

, and Manipur

Manipur

Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...

. The Diocesan Head Quarters is in Bhilai

Bhilai

Bhilai or Bhilai Nagar is a city in the Durg district of Chhattisgarh, in eastern central India. As of 2001, it had a population of 753,837. The city is located west of the capital Raipur, on the main Howrah–Mumbai rail line, and National Highway 6...

, Chattisgarh state. This was consecrated by H.H. Mathews I, the Catholicose in 1986.

The founder Bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

, His Grace Dr. Stephanos Mar Theodosius, lives in St. Thomas Ashram, Kailash Nagar, Bhilai. The Diocesan Metropolitan

Metropolitan bishop

In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...

 is also the Director of St. Thomas Orthodox Church Mission, one of the pioneer missions outside Kerala. The Mission is mainly concerned with Education and Social Development. The diocese manages 25 schools, one Arts and Science Post Graduate & B.Ed. College and an Engineering College. It has village mission projects in numerous villages.

Statistics

• Total number of Priests: 42
• Ramban: 02
• Deacons: 04
• Seminary students: 10
• Parishes (In India): 38
• Parishes (In Middle East): 04
• Congregations: 14

External links

• http://malankaraorthodoxchurch.in
• http://www.orthodoxsyrianchurch.com
• http://www.icon.org.in/
• http://www.icbs.com/makodiya/