Diocese of Idukki

The Diocese of Idukki was established on 21 April 1982 from the eastern parishes of the Diocese of Kottayam, to serve the rural, hilly and forested terrain of Idukki district. Most of its members are poor farmers in remote mountain settlements. The diocese has lost many members over the years, as Malankara Catholic missionaries, offering economic assistance, persuaded many poor Orthodox faithful to join their churches.

Its early history is closely tied to its first Metropolitan, H.G. Mathews Mar Barnabas, who established its institutional presence by acquiring land at Chakkupallam for the bishop's residence, Gathseemon Aramana, and by founding the Idukki Orthodox Medical Centre Hospital. The scattered distribution of parishes over great distances created logistical and financial difficulties, but the diocese progressed under later leaders, notably H.G. Augen Mar Dionysios, who enlarged the Aramana and championed missions for impoverished children until his death in 2007. The diocese has since been governed by several Metropolitans, including periods of direct oversight by the Catholicos of the East, and is led by H.G. Zachariah Mar Severios, who assumed charge in late 2022.