Malankara_Orthodox_Diocese_of_Southwest_America
The Malankara Orthodox Diocese of Southwest America, sometimes referred to as the Southwest Diocese or DS-WA is a diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. The diocesan headquarters are located in unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas, with a postal address of Beasley,[2] a suburban city in Texas 40 miles from downtown Houston. The southwest diocese covers several churches in the U.S. states, and Canada.[5]
 |
| Malankara Orthodox Diocese of Southwest America | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | DS-WA |
| Primate | Mathews III |
| Metropolitan | Thomas Mar Ivanios[1] |
| Language | Malayalam, English, Syriac, Hindi, Greek, Latin |
| Liturgy | Malankara Rite |
| Headquarters | Fort Bend County, Texas (Beasley postal address)[2] |
| Territory | South West America |
| Origin | April 1, 2009.[3] |
| Recognition | Indian Orthodox Church |
| Branched from | American Diocese |
| Places of worship | 63 |
| Tax status | [501(c)(3)][4] |
| Official website | http://www.ds-wa.org/ |
| Slogan | "Let your deeds glorify your Father in Heaven" |
 | |
American diocese
The American diocese was established in 1979 by Thomas Makarios. In 1991, after the death of Makarios, Mathews Barnabas was enthroned as metropolitan in 1993. In 2002, Zachariah Nicholovos was appointed as the assistant metropolitan.
Formation of the Southwest Diocese
The Diocese was formed by order number 145/2009 signed by the Catholicos of the Apostolic Throne of St. Thomas and Malankara Metropolitan, Didymus I on 1 April 2009.[6][7] Barnabas and Nicholovos were appointed to the Northeast American Diocese and Alexios Eusebius was appointed the Southwest Diocese.
According to order number 01/2017,[8] Eusebius was transferred to the Diocese of Mavelikkara. Subsequently the Malankara Metropolitan assumed control over the diocese and Zacharias Aprem was appointed as the assistant metropolitan to the diocese. In October 2022, Thomas Ivanios was appointed as the permanent Diocesan Metropolitan bringing an end to the temporary administrative set up that lasted for over five years.
Today
As of April 2020, there are 63 churches in the southwest diocese.[9]
Assistant metropolitan
| List of Diocesan Metropolitan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Start | End | Notes |
| American Diocese Formed | |||
| Thomas Makarios | 1979 | 1991 | Founder and first Metropolitan of American Diocese |
| Mathews Barnabas | 1993 | 2011 | Enthroned as the Second metropolitan of the American Diocese. The American Diocese split into the Northeast American Diocese and Southwest American Diocese in 2009 |
| Southwest Diocese Formed | |||
| Alexios Eusebius | 2009 | 2017 | First Metropolitan of the current Southwest American Diocese. Relinquished duties in 2017. |
| Zacharias Aprem | 2017 | 2022 | Assistant Metropolitan from 20 September 2017 - October 31 2022[10] |
| Thomas Ivanios | 2022 | Present | |
- "His Grace Thomas Mar Ivanios Metropolitan". Archived from the original on 28 October 2022.
- "Home". Malankara Orthodox Diocese of Southwest America. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church,Diocese of South-West America, 3101 Hopkins Rd Beasley, TX 77417
- Compare to the Beasley city limits (rotate the map until it points north, and compare with the location of the headquarters) - Also see map from the U.S. Census Bureau. Note that the city of Houston stated in 1996 that: "The U.S. Postal Service establishes ZIP codes and mailing addresses in order to maximize the efficiency of their system, not to recognize jurisdictional boundaries." - "Diocesan Admin". www.ds-wa.org.
- Schwencke, Ken; Tigas, Mike; Wei, Sisi; Glassford, Alec; Suozzo, Andrea; Roberts, Brandon (9 May 2013). "Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Diocese Of South West America - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica.
- "Diocese of South West America |". mosc.in. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- Mar Aprem, Zacharias (28 September 2017). "Kalpana No.01/2017" (PDF). DS-WA.org. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
Shehimo: Book of Common Prayer. (n.d.). (n.p.): Liturgical Resource Development.
Konat, J. A. (n.d.). Service Book of the Holy Qurbono: English with Commentary & Malayalam with Transliteration. (n.p.): Malankara Orthodox Church Publications.
Y. M. A., Irenaios, Y. M. (2017). A Study of the Experience of the Unspeakable and Its Manifestations in Selected Mystic Saints and Holy Persons in the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. India: SFS Publications.
The Book of Common Prayer of the Syrian Church. (2005). United States: Gorgias Press.
Krikorian, M. K. (2010). Christology of the Oriental Orthodox Churches: Christology in the Tradition of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Austria: Peter Lang.
