About Our Cathedral

The Marthamariyam Cathedral (St. Mary’s Cathedral) at Manarcad is internationally famous .The ancient practice of 8 day fast and the feast of Virgin Mary’s birth are celebrated between September 1st and 8th of every year at the Cathedral.
Manarcad Cathedral is the most important church among the ancient churches of Malankara. The stone inscriptions found at the church reveal that the church was built more than a 1000 years ago. Archeologists have found out that these stone inscriptions were memorial stones set up at the tombs in 910 A.D and 920 A.D and the writing on them are in Malayalam and Tamil scripts prevalent 600 years ago.
Afterwards , on several occasions ,the church was rebuilt and renewed .In the 16th century there was not a single church in the land which was not re-built in the Portugese style. It is believed that the Manarcad Cathedral also was re-built at that time in the model of the Kottayam small church.
The Manarcad Cathedral has been in existence right from its inspection till date under the leadership of the Holy Bava,the Patriarch of Antioch and of all East from the throne of St. Peter and the Blessed Catholic Bava and the Arch Bishop appointed by the Throne of Antioch.
Besides St. Mary’s Private I.T.I, the Cathedral has under its auspices a number of educational institutions including the St. Mary’s College, St. Mary’s, CBSE School, St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School, St. Mary’s Hospital, St. Mary’s School of Nursing, religious and social service institutions.