KOCHI: The first meeting of the 28th Synod of the Syro Malabar Church elected Mar Jose Pulikal as the Bishop of Kanjirappally and Fr Peter Kochupurackal as the Auxiliary Bishop of the diocese of Palakkad.
Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, head of the Syro Malabar Church, signed the declaration of the new appointments after receiving the authorisation from the Vatican.
The official proclamation of these appointments was done on Wednesday at Mount St Thomas, Kakkanad. These appointments were announced at the end of the Synod meeting, which began on January 10.
Fifty-eight bishops, priests, religious and laity members were present at the meeting when the announcement was made at the conclusion of the Synod session.
Chancellor Fr Vincent Cheruvathoor read out the proclamation of the new appointments. Fr Kochupurackal was vested with the insignia of the bishop by Major Archbishop Mar Jacob Manathodath, Bishop of Palakkad.
It was after Mar Mathew Arackal, Bishop of Kanjirappally, rendered his resignation after reaching the age of 75, the canonical age of retirement, Mar Jose Pulikal was elected the bishop of the eparchy after completing all canonical procedures.
Meanwhile, the new auxiliary bishop of Palakkad was chosen on a specific request of Mar Jacob Manathodath.
The dates of the installation of Mar Jose Pulikal as the bishop of Kanjirappally and the consecration of Fr Peter Kochupurkal as the auxiliary bishop will be intimated later.
Mar Jose Pulikal has worked as the director of Faith Formation, director of Mission League, Forane Vicar and later as the Syncellus for the Pathanamthitta region. He was appointed the auxiliary bishop of Kanjirappally on February 4, 2016.
Fr Peter Kochuparambil is working as the chancellor and syncellus in charge of the Religious and Seminarians. He is the first auxiliary bishop of Palakkad diocese, which was established in 1974.
Same liturgy
With the debate getting intensified over the two different styles of liturgy existing in the Syro Malabar Church, the Synod on Wednesday decided to use the same text throughout the Church. A revised text of the liturgy was approved by the Synod and has been sent to Rome for approval. According to the sources, on the basis of reviews received from various dioceses, the liturgy underwent only minor editing.