The Archeparchy of Changanacherry which comprises the civil districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottayam in Kerala, is one of the four metropolitan provinces in the Syro Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church. It is one of the first two Vicariates and the second Metropolitan Archeparchy of the Syro-Malabar Church, after the establishment of the Syro-Malabar hierarchy which was the prelude to the restoration of the identity of the Church in 1992 as Sui Iuris Church. Pope Leo XIII by his Bull ?Quod Jam Pridem? dated May 20, 1887 established two Vicariates Apostolic - Kottayam and Thrissur- exclusively for the Syro-Malabarians. The Vicariate of Kottayam was renamed Changanacherry, since this town had been the centre of Catholic activity and hence its headquarters had been shifted to Changanacherry in 1891. The Vicariate of Changanacherry together with others was raised to the status of an Eparchy in 1923 and an Archeparchy in 1956. The Eparchy of Changanacherry was bifurcated into three eparchies ie. Palai, Kanjirappally and Thakalai in course of her advancement. In 1975 the missionary work of three (now five) civil districts inside the territory of the Archdiocese of Agra in the State of Uttar Pradesh was taken up completely by the Archeparchy of Changanacherry. The eminent spiritual leaderships of Most Rev Dr Charles Lavigne, Mar Mathew Makkil, Venerable Mar Thomas Kurialachery, Mar James Kalachery, Servant of God Mar Mathew Kavukattu, Mar Antony Padiyara and Mar Joseph Powathil had made remarkable contributions in the spiritual, social and cultural milieu of the Archeparchy. Now the Archeparchy, headed by Mar Joseph Perumthottam, shares the joy of the jubilee year (125) of the establishment of its Vicariate.