the Church in 1992 as a Sui Iuris Church. Pope Leo XIII of happy memory by his Bull ‘Quod Iam Pridem’ dated 20 May 1887 established two Vicariates Apostolic - Kottayam and Thrissur; exclusively for the Syro-Malabarians. Dr. Charles Lavigne for Kottayam and Dr. Adolph Medlycott for Trichur respectively were appointed the Vicars Apostolic. The same Pope reorganised the existing Vicariates by the Bull ‘Quae Rei Sacrae’ dated 28 July 1896 establishing a new Vicariate, Ernakulam, with territories carved out from the two existing Vicariates (1) Pallippuram, Alappuzha, 2) Edappally and 3) Arakuzha divisions from Kottayam Vicariate). Indigenous bishops were appointed Vicars Apostolic in the new Sees. They included Mar Mathew Makil for Changanacherry, Mar Louis Pazheparambil (from Changanacherry Vicariate) for Ernakulam and Mar John Menacherry (from Ernakulam Vicariate) for Thrissur. A new Vicariate of Kottayam was constituted in 1911 exclusively for the Southists and Mar Mathew Makil was transferred to Kottayam as the Vicar Apostolic of Southists and Mar Thomas Kurialacherry was appointed the Vicar Apostolic of Changanacherry. With the establishment of the Syro-Malabar Hierarchy on 21 December 1923 by the Bull ‘Romani Pontifices’ of Pope Pius XI, the Diocese of Thrissur, Changanacherry and Kottayam became suffragans of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam thereby constituting the first Modern Syro-Malabar Province. On 25 July 1950 the Diocese of Changanacherry was bifurcated by the Bull ‘Quo Ecclesiarum’ of Pope Pius XII and the new Diocese of Palai was created. The Holy See being impressed by the wonderful progress achieved by the Syro-Malabarians, extended the hitherto held boundaries of Changanacherry to the areas south of river Pamba, up to (including) Kanyakumari, by the Bull ‘Multorum Fidelium’ of Pope Pius XII, dated 29 April 1955. Changanacherry was raised to the status of an archdiocese on 26 July 1956 by Pope Pius XII constituting the second province in the Syro-Malabar Church and Kottayam and Pala became its suffragans. The Apostolic Constitution ‘Regnum Caelorum’ of 26 November 1959 of Pope John XXIII gave effect to this decision of Pope Pius XII. In 1975 the missionary work of three (now five) civil districts of the Archdiocese of Agra in the State of Uttar Pradesh was taken up completely by the Archeparchy of Changanacherry. The Archdiocese was again divided on 26 February 1977 by the Bull ‘Nos Beati Petri’ of Pope Paul VI and the new Eparchy of Kanjirappilly was set up comprising parts of the Civil districts