Archbishop
Mar George Valiamattam
 

The Diocese of Tellicherry, erected by the Bull "Ad Christi Ecclesiam Regendam" dated 31^st December 1953 of His Holiness Pope Pius XII as a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam, is for the Catholics of the Syro-Malabar Church who migrated to Malabar from the old Syro-Malabar Dioceses of eastwhile Travancore and Cochin States. The boundaries of the new Diocese were  the same  as those of the Latin Diocese of Calicut. But later as Catholics of the Syro-Malabar Church migrated even to the state of Karnataka and Tamilnadu, the boundaries were extended to the present Latin Diocese of Mangalore, Chickmangalur, Mysore, Shimoga and Ootacamund by a decree of the Holy See dated 29^th April 1955.

The Diocese was bifurcated and the new Diocese of Mananthavady was formed on 1^st March 1973 by the Papal Bull "Quanta Gloria Orientales Ecclesiae". The territory of the new Diocese extends to the districts of Wynad, Shimoga, Chickmangalur, Hassan, Mandya, Mysore and Nilgiris.

When the new Diocese of Palghat was erected on 20^th June 1974 those parishes of Tellicherry which fell in the district of Palghat were entrusted to the new Diocese.

Ten parishes of the Diocese of Tellicherry were handed over to the Diocese of Mananthavady on 31^st of December 1975 by a decree of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches dated 4^th December 1975.

By the Papal Bull "Constant non modo eparchiam Tellicheriensis" the Diocese was again bifurcated on 28^th April 1986 and the new Diocese of Thamarasserry  was formed separating the districts of Calicut and Malappuram.

By the Papal Bull "Spirituali bono Chrisifidelium" dated May 18, 1995, Pope John Paul II raised the Diocese of Tellicherry to the status of Metropolitan Archdiocese.

By the Papal bull, 'Ad perpetuam rei memoriam,' the Archdiocese was again bifurcated on 24th April 1999 and the new diocese of Belthangady was ereceted, separating the districts of Dakshina kannada, Uduppi and Kodagu in Karnataka.

At present the Archdiocese of Tellicherry spreads over the districts of Kannur and Kasargod only.

On 31st December 1953, Mar Sebastian Vallopilly was nominated Apostolic Administrator of Tellicherry. He was appointed first bishop of Tellicherry on 16th October 1955 and consecrated on 8th January1956. On his retirement on 18 February 1989, Mar George Valiamattam was appointed his successor. He was appointed the first archbishop of Tellicherry on 18th May 1995 and enthroned on 24th July 1995.