JOINT-PASTORAL LETTER

BY ARCHBISHOP ANIL T. COUTO AND

ARCHBISHOP KURIAKOSE BHARANIKULANGARA
Introduction
TO: ALL THE PASTORAL CLERGY OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF DELHI AND THE
EPARCHY OF FARIDABAD
The much awaited joint Pastoral Letter regarding the inter-ritual relations
between the Archdiocese of Delhi and the Eparchy of Faridabad is now ready.
The initiative for this letter was taken by Archbishop Vincent M. Concessao,
Emeritus Archbishop of Delhi and Archbishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara,
Bishop of the Eparchy of Faridabad under the guidance of the Apostolic Nuncio
to India, Most Rev. Salvatore Pennachio with constant reference to the Sacred
Congregations for the Oriental Churches and for Evangelization of Peoples.
The initiative was continued by Archbishop Anil J.T. Couto after his
installation on January 20, 2013 as the Archbishop of Delhi and now it has
come fruition. This joint Pastoral Letter gives certain essential principles and a
broad frame work for the priests, religious and the lay faithful of the
Archdiocese of Delhi and the Eparchy of Faridabad to live in communion as
members of two sui iuris churches, within One Holy Catholic and Apostolic
Church, within the territory of the Archdiocese of Delhi.
It is our ardent hope and prayer that we will always live in a spirit of love,
mutual respect and cooperation eschewing from our life all feelings of conflict,
competition or rivalry and what is most important to our Christian life is our
common witness to the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ and to our unity in the
Church.
We request you to interpret this letter in the right spirit of Ecclesial
communion and explain it to the faithful in the same spirit.
Seeking Gods blessings upon each one of you,
Yours in the Lord,

+ Anil J. T. Couto
Bharanikulangara
Metropolitan Archbishop of Delhi
Eparchy
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+
Bishop

Kuriakose
of

Faridabad

23th October 2013

TO: All the Clergy, Religious and Lay Faithful in the Archdiocese of
Delhi and the Eparchy of Faridabad
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Introduction
It is a matter of great joy in the Holy Spirit that the Syro-Malabar Eparchy
of Faridabad has now been erected from March 2012 and the clergy and
faithful who were once entrusted to the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of
Delhi are now under the jurisdiction of the Eparchy. The creation of this
Eparchy is an expression of the pastoral solicitude of His Holiness Pope
emeritus Benedict XVI and the realization of a cherished dream of the SyroMalabar Church.
Since, apart from the creation of the Eparchy of Faridabad for the faithful
of Syro-Malabar Church with its territorial demarcation and the appointment of
its Bishop there was no other information given to the faithful, we, being your
shepherds, thought it opportune to share with you some information that you
need to keep in mind for the purpose of deepening our communion and to
help each other to be a witnessing community of the Lord in our respective
places. Especially, in this Year of Faith, it is intended that the faith that we
have received from our ancestors be strengthened and our common witness
of faith may be better manifested in the modern world. It is our ardent wish
that through ecclesial communion between different sui iuris Churches, we
may be able to render better witnessing to faith in our country.
Teachings of the Church
The Second Vatican Council of which we celebrated the 50 th anniversary
last year stressed the splendour of unity in diversity of the Catholic Church
recognizing the multiplicity of local churches and the catholicity of the
undivided Church (Lumen Gentium 23). It also emphasized the equality of the
various ecclesial traditions in the Catholic Church to be preserved and fostered
as the common heritage of the undivided Universal Church. Every faithful
therefore has an obligation to retain ones own rite and follow it to the best of
ones ability (Orientalium Ecclesiarum 4). The establishment of the Eparchy of
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Faridabad is another step to strengthen the unity and foster harmony between
different sui iuris Churches.
It is the mind of Holy Mother Church that each member of a sui iuris
Church should practice his/her own tradition and rite, when there is a
possibility for doing so. When there was no particular Oriental structure for the
Syro-Malabar faithful available in Delhi, the Archbishop of Delhi had been
looking after their spiritual and pastoral needs as envisaged in the Code of
Canon Law (CIC 3832). Now, the Holy See has established an Eparchy for the
Syro-Malabar Catholics who live in the northern part of the country, including
the area that comprises the Archdiocese of Delhi. Hence, the Syro-Malabar
Catholics have a right and duty to avail of the ministry of this new Eparchy for
all the sacraments, in particular for Baptism and Marriage. Nonetheless, the
faithful of any sui iuris Church are certainly welcome to participate actively in
the liturgical celebrations of any other sui iuris Church. Our faith must be
practiced in peace and serenity and without any tension.
Delhi Archdiocese extends a helping hand
You can well understand the many new challenges a new Eparchy faces
at its initial stages, not only in terms of human resources but also in terms of
financial resources and infrastructural facilities. In a spirit of solidarity and
cooperation we earnestly request all the parish priests and superiors of the
Religious Houses in the Archdiocese of Delhi to continue to allow the use of
their facilities wherever needed until hopefully sometime soon the SyroMalabar faithful of Faridabad Eparchy have their own. The same is applied in a
situation wherever the Archdiocese of Delhi has no infrastructure to hold its
activities while the Eparchy of Faridabad has its own infrastructure.
The organization of the parishes in the new Eparchy
It goes without saying that Personal Parishes and Mass Centres of
the Syro Malabar Church do not exist anymore under the Archdiocese of Delhi
with the creation of the new Eparchy of Faridabad. It is up to the bishop of
Faridabad to create, modify or re-organize the parishes in his Eparchy.
Accordingly at all the Mass Centres of the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Faridabad
functioning in the premises of the Archdiocese of Delhi, the parish priests of
the Syro-Malabar Eparchy
will take up the collections and make
announcements at their Masses. The Syro-Malabar Parish priests should
ensure under the supervision of their bishop that a reasonably agreed upon
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contribution be made to the Latin rite parish towards the use of its
infrastructural facilities. The same applies vice-versa. The Parish priest of the
host parish will have the authority to decide on the use of the church and its
premises in accordance with the pastoral needs of his parish as a primary
concern. An agreement to this effect may be locally drawn up with the
approval of the bishop of the host parish.
Entrusting the Syro-Malabar faithful to their Eparchy
From the day the Eparchy of Faridabad was created in 2012 all the SyroMalabar faithful once pastorally cared for by the Archdiocese of Delhi have
automatically become part of the Eparchy which has been exclusively created
for them. Basically, there is no choice in this matter. Consequently the
faithful of the Syro-Malabar Church cease to be members of the parishes of
the Archdiocese of Delhi; they can continue their participation in parish
related organizations (such as Catholic Association, St. Vincent de Paul
Society, Youth Movements, Charismatic Renewal) etc.) through a
corresponding group in their Syro-Malabar parish. Any exception to this norm
will have to be addressed to the bishop of the Eparchy of Faridabad who in
turn will apprise the Archbishop of Delhi on the appropriate course of action
according to pastoral exigencies.
Conclusion
We look forward to your generous co-operation in ensuring your witness
to the unity of the Church living in peace and harmony in the capital and its
environs.
This circular is to be read at all Masses, in Churches and public Chapels of the
Archdiocese of Delhi and the Eparchy of Faridabad on Sunday 10 November
2013 and explained if need be, in the appropriate vernacular.
Given in New Delhi on Friday, on 1 November 2013 on the Solemnity of
All Saints
With warm regards and God bless,
Yours sincerely in Christ,

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Archbishop Anil J. T. Couto

Bharanikulangara
Archbishop of Delhi

Archbishop Kuriakose
Bishop of Faridabad

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