Syro-Malankara Catholic Eparchy of Bathery

The Syro-Malankara Catholic Eparchy of Bathery is an eparchy of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in Sulthan Bathery, in Kerala, India. As of 2013^[update] Aboon Joseph Mar Thomas was the bishop. The seat of the eparchy is at St. Thomas Syro-Malankara Catholic Cathedral in Sulthan Bathery.

The Catholic diocese of Bathery was established in 1978 by Pope John Paul II and was formally inaugurated on 2 February 1979. During the papacy of Benedict XVI the diocese of Bathery was bifurcated and the new diocese of Puttur was erected. This was mainly due to the geographic vastness of the area. As of 2013^[update] there were nearly 25,000 Malankara Catholic faithful in 102 parishes and mission stations in the diocese of Bathery. Geevarghese Mar Divannasios was transferred to the diocese of Puttur and Joseph Mar Thomas appointed as the bishop of Bathery. The eparchy comprises the district of Nilgiris of Tamil Nadu State; Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Wayanad and Kasargod districts of Kerala State. The diocesan headquarters is situated in Sulthan Bathery in the district of Wayanad in Kerala.The eparchy of Bathery was erected in 1978. It is a suffragan eparchy of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Archeparchy of Tiruvalla.

In 1958 the Holy See extended the jurisdiction of the Eparchy of Tiruvalla further towards the North of Kerala and some districts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. After the extension Zacharias Mar Athanasios sent priests to the new regions. Parishes and mission centers were established in different places. Zacharias Mar Athanasios requested the Holy See to bifurcate the Diocese of Thiruvalla and to erect a new Diocese with Sulthan Bathery as its headquarters. Pope John Paul II erected the Eparchy of Bathery on 28 October 1978 and Cyril Malancheruvil was appointed as the first Bishop of Bathery.

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