Visit to His Holiness Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Mathews III

On Tuesday, 12 December 2023, as part of their visit to Kerala for the dialogues with the Malankara Orthodox Churches, Bishop Brian Farrell, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and Revd Fr. Hyacinthe Destivelle, Official in charge of the relations with the Oriental Orthodox Churches, paid a courtesy visit to His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, Catholicos of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, at his headquarters in Kottayam.

The meeting, during which Bishop Farrell presented His Holiness Mathews III with a gift on behalf of the Holy Father, was an opportunity to thank the Catholicos for his recent visit to Rome, which included a meeting with Pope Francis on September 11.

The visit also provided an opportunity to update the Catholicos on the recent Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church, which was attended by a Fraternal Delegate of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, as well as to exchange information regarding the local and international ecumenical situation.

Rev. Philip Nelpuraparampil, pastor of the Syro-Malabar Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Kottayam, also attended the meeting.