New diocese for Syro-Malabar Church in Faridabad

KOCHI: Adding yet another milestone to its history of growth, the Syro-Malabar Church established a new diocese in Faridabad on Tuesday. Pope Benedict XVI established the Faridabad diocese and Msgr Kuriakose Bharanikulangara was appointed the first bishop of the diocese. The Christ the King Church will be elevated as a cathedral. Faridabad is the 30th diocese of the Church.   Syro-Malabar Church Major Archbishop Cardinal Mar George Alencherry read out the Vatican’s order establishing the new diocese and the appointment of Msgr Bharanikulangara as its first bishop at a function held at Mount St Thomas, the headquarters of the Church, in Kochi on Tuesday. The announcement was made in the Vatican also at the same time.   The territory of the Syro-Malabar Church comprises the dioceses in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The diocese of Faridabad comprises the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and the districts of Gautambudhnagar and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. The diocese is spread over an area of 9.50 lakh square kilometres. The Bishop of Faridabad  will take care of around 1 lakh Syro-Malabar Catholics. More than 44 priests and 200 nuns are serving at different parishes in the region.   Msgr Bharanikulangara belongs to the Parish of Karippassery under the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly. Born to Bharanikulangara Antony and Aliya of Karippassery on February 9, 1950, Kuriakose Bharanikulangara was ordained a priest in 1983. He had served with the Vatican Diplomatic Representation in various countries.  At present he is serving at the Nunciature in Berlin. He had also served as an assistant priest at the St Mary’s Forane Church. A diploma holder in journalism and communication, he has served as the associate editor of Sathyadeepam weekly. He has secured a doctorate in Oriental Canon Law from the Pontifical Oriental Institute and completed post-doctoral studies in Jurisprudence from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome.  Varghese, Thomas, Kurian and Devassikutty (Federal Bank), Johny (BSNL) and Babu (Appollo Tyres) are his brothers and Sosannam his sister.