Leadership
Our Spiritual Leaders
From our parish Vicar to the Holy Apostolic Throne of Antioch, the Cathedral stands within an unbroken line of apostolic ministry.
The Cathedral Vicar
Fr. Siby Baby Thekkekudiyil
Our Vicar shepherds the daily life of the parish — leading the Holy Qurbana, the cycle of prayer, and the pastoral care of the faithful at Queens Road. He also serves as President of the Cathedral's Board of Trustees.
Read the Vicar's messageThe Apostolic Hierarchy
Under the See of Antioch
His Holiness
Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II
Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church
His Beatitude
Aboon Mor Baselius Thomas I
Catholicos of the East and Metropolitan Trustee of the Jacobite Syrian Church in India
His Eminence
Mor Gregorios Joseph
Malankara Metropolitan of the Syriac Orthodox Church
His Grace
Issac Mor Osthatheos
Metropolitan of the Bangalore Diocese & Mylapore Diocese; Patriarchal Vicar for the United Kingdom
The Church of Antioch
One of the earliest apostolic churches
Few Christian denominations can claim the antiquity of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, whose foundations can be traced back to the very dawn of Christianity. It was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians, as the New Testament tells us: "The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch" (Acts 11:26).
According to ecclesiastical tradition, the Church of Antioch is the second established church in Christendom after Jerusalem. The church historian Eusebius of Caesarea tells us that St Peter the Apostle established a bishopric in Antioch and became its first bishop. Since 1293, the patriarchs of Antioch have adopted the name Ignatius, after Ignatius the Illuminator.
Syriac Christianity has had a long history in India. According to tradition, Christianity in India was established by St Thomas, who arrived in Malankara (Kerala) from Edessa in A.D. 52. The church in Malankara today is an integral part of the Syriac Orthodox Church, with the Patriarch of Antioch as its supreme spiritual head.