St. Alphonsa SyroMalabar Church

The SyroMalabar Catholic Church is a Major Archiepiscopal Church in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.

The Church is headquartered in Ernakulam, Kerala, India. It follows the East Syrian Rite liturgy, traditionally attributed to Saints Addai and Mari, which dates back to 3rd century Edessa. It is one of the 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in the Catholic communion, and all the Eastern Catholic Churches along with the Latin Church make up the whole Catholic Church. It is the second largest Eastern Catholic Church in communion with the Bishop of Rome, second to the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

The Church is headed by Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, Cardinal George Alencherry. Saint Alphonsa is the first canonized saint from the Church. The members of the Church are known as Mar Thoma Nasranis or Syrian Catholics. It is the largest of the Nasrani denominations with around 4.6 million believers and traces its origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century.