The Vatican has appointed Archbishop Andrews Thazhath as the apostolic administrator of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church in the place of Archbishop Antony Kariyil who resigned recently.
A declaration was made at St. Thomas Mount in Kakkanad, the headquarters of the Church, and at the headquarters of the archdiocese in Kochi city at 3.30 p.m. on Saturday. Archbishop Thazhath will continue to be the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Thrissur archdiocese. The appointment order clearly speaks of the responsibilities and rights of the apostolic administrator, says a release issued by Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Curia.
The order includes references to the unified system of celebrating the Mass and temporary exemptions for a specified time span. A doctorate holder in church laws, Archbishop Thazhath was ordained a priest in 1977. He went on to hold many posts, including that of the auxiliary bishop of Thrissur.
