fbpx
Wikipedia

Syrian Catholics of Malabar

The Paḻayakūṟ (Pazhayakoor; English: "Old Allegiance"), also known as Romo-Syrians [1] or Syrian Catholics of Malabar, are the East Syriac denominations of the Saint Thomas Christian Church, which claim ultimate apostolic origin from the Indian mission of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century AD.


Syrian Catholics of Malabar
TypeEastern Christian
ClassificationEastern Catholic
TheologyDiophysitism
PolityEpiscopal
Metropolitan ArchbishopMetropolitan of Kodungallūr
RegionKerala, India
LanguageSuriyani Malayalam, Classical Syriac, Malayalam
LiturgyEast Syriac Rite- Liturgy of Addai and Mari
HeadquartersAngamaly
FounderThomas the Apostle as per tradition.
Origin52 AD (1st century as per tradition)
Branched fromSt. Thomas Christians
SeparationsSyro-Malabar Church,
Chaldean Syrian Church

The Saint Thomas Christians were in full communion with the Church of the East of Persia from whom they inherited the East Syriac liturgical rite. Through the Schism of 1552, a faction of the Church of the East enters the Catholic Church. Following the 1599 Synod of Diamper, the Latin Church Padroado missionaries took over the Thomas Christian jurisdiction of Angamaly.[2][3][a] The Paḻayakūṟ descends from the faction that remained within the Catholic fold and held fast to an East Syriac identity after the historic Coonan Cross Oath of 1653, while being part of the community that seceded from the Portuguese Padroado.[6]

The modern descendants of the Paḻayakūṟ are the Syro-Malabar Church and the Chaldean Syrian Church. Among these, the former is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See and the latter is an integral part of the Assyrian Church of the East, one of the traditionalist descendants of the Church of the East.[7]

History edit

Early history of Christianity in India edit

Traditionally, Thomas the Apostle is credited for the establishment of Christianity in India. He is believed to have come to Muziris on the Malabar coast, which is in Kerala, in AD 52.[8][9][10][11]

The Jewish community in India are known to have existed in Kerala in the 1st century AD,[12][13] and it was possible for an Aramaic-speaking Jew, such as St. Thomas from Galilee, to make a trip to Kerala then.[14] The earliest known source connecting the Apostle to India is the Acts of Thomas, likely written in the early 3rd century, perhaps in Edessa.[b] The tradition of origin of the Christians in Kerala is found in a version of the Songs of Thomas or Thomma Parvam,[19][20] in which, Thomas is described as arriving in or around Maliankara and founding Seven Churches, or Ezharapallikal: Kodungallur, Kottakavu , Palayoor, Kokkamangalam, Nilackal, Niranam and Kollam.[21] Some other churches, namely Thiruvithamcode Arappally (a "half church"),[22][23][24] Malayattoor and Aruvithura are often called Arappallikal.[25] The Thomma Parvam further narrates St Thomas's mission in the rest of South India and his martyrdom at Mylapore in present-day Chennai, Tamil Nadu.[15][26]

Church of the East in India edit

An organized Christian presence in India dates to the arrival of East Syriac settlers and missionaries from Persia, members of what would become the Church of the East, in around the 3rd century.[18] Saint Thomas Christians trace the further growth of their community to the arrival of Jewish-Christians from the region of Mesopotamia led by Knāi Thoma, which is said to have occurred in 345.[18] However, most experts believe that the arrival of Knai Thoma must have occurred in the ninth century.[27] The subgroup of the Saint Thomas Christians known as the Knanaya or Southists trace their lineage to Thomas of Cana, while the group known as the Northists claim descent from the early Christians evangelized by Thomas the Apostle.[27] Byzantine traveller Cosmas Indicopleustes wrote of Syrian Christians he met in India and Sri Lanka in the 6th century.[28]

Even in Taprobané [Sri Lanka], an island in Further India, where the Indian sea is, there is a Church of Christians, with clergy and a body of believers, but I know not whether there be any Christians in the parts beyond it. In the country. called Malé [Malabar],' where the pepper grows, there is also a church, and at another place called Calliana there is moreover a bishop, who is appointed from Persia.

Until the seventh century, the Saint Thomas Christians were included in the Metropolitanate of Persia. The metropolitan of Rev Ardashir, the head of the province, used to consecrated bishops for the Diocese of India. Patriarch Ishoyahb III (650-660) criticises Shemʿon, metropolitan of Rev Ardashir:

"As far as your province is concerned, from the time you showed recalcitrance against ecclesiastical canons, the episcopal succession has been interrupted in India, and this country has since sat in darkness, far from the light of divine teaching by means of rightful bishops: not only India that extends from the borders of the Persian empire, to the country which is called Kaleh, which is a distance of one thousand and two hundred parasangs, but even your own Persia."[29]

The port at Kollam, then known as Quilon, was founded in 825 by Maruvān Sapir Iso, a Persian Christian merchant, with sanction from Ayyanadikal Thiruvadikal, the king of the independent Venad or the State of Quilon, a feudatory under Sthanu Ravi Varma Perumal of the Chera kingdom.[27] Sapir Iso was the East Syriac Christian merchant who led the East Syriac bishops Mar Sabor and Mar Proth to the Christians of Malabar. The two bishops were instrumental in founding many Christian churches with Syrian liturgy along the Malabar coast and were venerated as Qandishangal (saints) since then by the Thomas Christians.[27] It was during this period that Christians disappeared from the Coromandel Coast.[27]


After the schism edit

Following the Synod of Diamper held in 1599 and organised by Aleixo de Menezes, the Primate of East Indies and Archbishop of Goa, many traditions and numerous Syriac books of the native Saint Thomas Christians were condemned. Although the Synod proposed a highly Latinised form of liturgy, it was resisted by most of them.[30] Francisco Ros, the Latin Jesuit bishop who was appointed to the now downgraded bishopric of Angamaly, openly renounced the Synod of Diamper and called for a new synod at Angamaly to substitute it.[31] This second Synod of Angamaly implemented a Latinised form of the Chaldean Rite among the Saint Thomas Christians.[31] Being, a highly skilled Syriacist, this new Syriac liturgy was introduced by Roz himself. The text of the new liturgy largely consisted of translations from the Latin and intended to re-place the original East Syriac (Chaldean) rite of the local Christians. After the Coonan Cross Oath, the Puthenkoor faction, led by Thoma I, allied with the Syriac Orthodox Church while resisting the Latin missionaries and thereby gradually shifted to West Syriac Rite and Miaphysitism. However, the majority among the Pazhayakoor also resisted the latinisation and a long struggle began for maintaining the Chaldaean rite and the contact with both the patriarchates of the Church of the East while identifying themselves Catholic in communion with the Holy See of Rome.[30]

Friction with the propaganda edit

Bishop Palliveettil Chandy tried to consecrate Thoma II, the leader of the Puthenkoor, as his successor, in an attempt to reunify both the Puthenkoor and the Pazhayakoor under a common Catholic hierarchy. However, this attempt was spoiled by the missionaries. Meanwhile, the missionaries assured Chandy that his successor will be a native. Hence, Chandy held his archdeacon as his rightful successor. But after Chandy's death, the missionaries appointed a half-Indian Portuguese, Raphael Figueredo (c. d. 1695) as the Vicar Apostolic of Malabar for Saint Thomas Christians.[32] This appointment shook the confidence they had in the propaganda Carmelites and quarrels started to escalate. Many churches protested against the move and some even joined Thoma II.[33] Soon, Bishop Raphael Figueredo also lost the favour of the Carmelites and he was replaced with Custodius de Pinho (c. d. 1697) as the Vicar Apostolic of Malabar. Chandy died in 1687 and with him the initial attempts for reunification of both factions also died out.[33]

Metropolitan Shemʿon and his mission in Malabar edit

During this time, Metropolitan Shemʿon of ʿAda (d. c. 1720)[34] arrived in India. He was originally sent by Patriarch Eliah IX Yohannan Augen of the 'Eliah' Patriarchate of the Church of the East and was previously his representative in Rome to discuss Church union.[35] He travelled to India in a Portuguese ship and reached Goa. However he was arrested and deported. Later he approached the 'Josephite' Patriarchate and made a Catholic profession of faith. He was consequently appointed as Metropolitan by Patriarch Joseph II for the faithful in India.[36] He travelled to India once again and reached Surat.[35] There, he was detained in a Capuchin monastery. He informed that he was a Catholic bishop sent from the Chaldean Patriarch.[35] Moreover, during the same time the Rome wanted to curtail the Padroado authority in India, through the propaganda administration.[35] Rome had appointed Angelo Francisco Vigliotti, a Carmelite missionary, to be the future bishop of Verapoly. This plan would enable Rome to surpass the Padroado administration in India. Fearing about these plans and reluctant to share authority, the Padroado declined the request to consecrate the newly appointed bishop-elect.[35] Therefore, the missionaries accepted Shemʿon's Catholic faith just in order to make him consecrate the Carmelite bishop. On 22 May 1701, Shemʿon was escorted to Alangad, where he was made to consecrate Angelo Francisco at midnight.[37][38][35] The Carmelites took every precaution so that he could not meet anyone from the Saint Thomas Christians. He was then secretly deported to Pondicherry.[35] There he lived in home custody until his death on 16 August 1720.[39][35] Although all these happened in utmost secrecy, a letter that he sent from the Capuchin monastery of Surat to the Saint Thomas Christians, was preserved and his memory was cherished by them. Shemʿon's dead body was found in a well near where he was detained in Pondicherry and thus the Saint Thomas Christians believed that he was murdered by the missionaries.[40] His tragedy inspired them and he was hailed as a martyr for the efforts to maintain the Church of the East's jurisdiction and East Syriac Rite among them.[40]

 
St. Mary's Syro-Malabar Church, Alangad

An excerpt from the letter of Metropolitan Shemʿon addressed to the Saint Thomas Christians in MS Mannanam Mal 14, 46r-45v folios:

After praying that you be in spiritual peace and enquiring about your condition I let it know to your graceful love that I came from Mar Eliah, Patriarch of the East; let his glorious see be fortified! Amen. First I went to Jerusalem and from there I went to the great Rome and to Spain and to the land of Portugal; from there I came to the land of India, to the city of Anjuna and asked about you and he [whom I asked] told me: “Those people are not here, the people whom you seek, but go to the city of Surat, there you will find them.” I went to Surat and did not see anybody from among you, but I saw a Jew and a book [letter] of yours was with him. I took it from him, kissed it and read, rejoiced very much and asked him: “Where would be these Christians?” - and he told me: “In the land of Kochi.”.....

Metropolitan Gabriel and his temporary success edit

 

By 1705, another East Syrian bishop was working in Southern Malabar, sent by the Catholicos of the East, Patriarch Eliah X Augen.[41][42][43] His mission was roughly coterminous with that of Shemʿon of ʿAda, however much more fruitful.[44] He was Gabriel of Ardishai, the Metropolitan of Azerbaijan.[41][45] Unlike Metropolitan Shem˓on, Gabriel neither explicitly claim to be Chaldean Catholic bishop nor was he interested in a friendship with the Latin missionaries.[46] However, he implicitly presented himself as a Catholic bishop sent from the Chaldean Patriarchate.[47] Previously he was in Rome and he had interactions with the Propaganda in an aim to get approval as the bishop for Saint Thomas Christians.[47] In 1704, he wrote profession faith to be examined. However it was rejected by the Propaganda as they found it unsound to Catholic doctrine. He was asked to make necessary corrections, which he did not and without getting Rome's approval, he made his journey to Malabar.[47]

However, in one of his two letters preserved in the Saint Joseph's Monastery at Mannanam, dated 1708, he makes a perfect Catholic confession of "the Lady Mary the Mother of God and Ever virgin Mary" and sent it to Angelo Francisco.[47] Gabriel then declares that he is the “Metropolitan of all India of the Syrians”. The second letter is written in 1712 and is entitled "Letter of Gabriel Metropolitan of all India". In it, Gabriel answers an inquiry from the Paḻayakūṟ faithful concerning his faith: “If you ask me about my faith, my faith is like the faith of the holy Lord Pope”.[47]

 
Changanassery church

Meanwhile, Giuseppe Sagribanti, Prefect of the Propaganda and writing in the name of Pope Innocent XIII, rejects his claims by saying that Gabriel has no authority from the Pope.[47] In 1712, the Propaganda sent him another letter, ordering him to retreat from Malabar to his flock in Azerbaijan.[47] Meanwhile, Gabriel ignored the letters of the Propaganda and instead of making a new confession of faith to be sent to Rome, he made the aforementioned confession of faith in a letter addressed to Angelo Francisco in order to make peace with him and with the Carmelites residing in Malabar.[48] Gabriel was then residing near the church in Changanassery. In the letter, it is also declared among others things that Gabriel was celebrating the Eucharist with unleavened bread.[49] However, it is clear that he used both leavened and unleavened bread opportunistically.[49] Meanwhile, Angelo Francisco received the letter of Giuseppe Sagribanti that alerted the Carmelites.[49] They were successful in persuading the natives and thereby ousting Gabriel from the Changanassery. Gabriel then found residence in Kottayam Minor church. This church was then used by both factions of Saint Thomas Christians.[50] Individuals and families belonging to both factions had close relationships and the allegiance to the faction to which one belonged often owed more to local reasons than to faith. Opposition and rivalries was more personal than theological.[50]

 
Kottayam Minor Church

During this period, the leader of the Puthenkur was Thoma IV (c. d. 1728).[50] Gabriel opposed him and was successful in winning back a number of churches and faithful from his faction.[50] Many churches from the Paḻayakūṟ also joined him. He claimed to have secured about 44 churches in his leadership.[51] Thoma IV was by this time a supporter of Miaphysitism, brought by the Syriac Orthodox prelates, and he regarded Gabriel as a Nestorian heretic.[50] In 1709, he wrote a letter to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch, pleading that bishops be sent to aid him in countering Gabriel's arguments.[50]

Gabriel strongly opposed the Portuguese but sought the support of the Dutch. His letter to Jacobus Canter Visscher, a Dutch chaplain at Kochi,[50] gives an apologetic detail of the history of Christianity in India and expresses staunch opposition to the Portuguese missionaries. Following is an excerpt from the letter, entitled "The antiquity of the Syrian Christians, and Historical events relating to them", addressed to Visscher:

And in the days of this persecution, the upright, God-fearing, justice-loving, and peaceable Dutch were sent to Malabar by the inspiration of Almighty God and by order of the East India Company, under the command of the noble Lord Admiral Ryklop van Goens, and like as the heathen were driven out of the land of Isso Biranon Kinan [Canaan] so have they driven the worse than heathen Portuguese out of Cochin and other cities and fortresses of Malabar; and through Divine Providence the Syrian christians have been from that time forward protected and defended from them, and their pastors have again visited this coun try without let or hindrance.[52]

Gabriel received certain amount of support and favour from the Dutch and he remained in India until his death in 1731.[50] Visscher gives the following account of Metropolitan Gabriel:

Mar Gabriel, a white man, and sent hither from Bagdad, is aged and venerable in appearance, and dresses nearly in the same fashion as the Jewish priests of old, wearing a cap fashioned like a turban, and a long white beard. He is courteous and God-fearing, and not at all addicted to extravagant pomp. Round his neck he wears a golden crucifix. He lives with the utmost sobriety, abstaining from all animal food ... He holds the Nestorian doctrine respecting the union of the two natures in our Saviour's person.[50]

Indigenous attempts for reunification edit

Following the arrival of West Syriac prelates in 1751, Thoma VI, the leader of the Puthenkūr was troubled by their increasing influence among his faction.[53] Therefore, in order to reunite his faction with the Paḻayakūṟ and thus to prevent the West Syriac prelates, he initiated efforts to submit to the Pope and profess the Catholic creed.[54] However, the Carmelite missionaries working among the Pazhayakūr were reluctant to reciprocate to his efforts fearing that the indigenous bishop would take away their authority and influence over the faction after the proposed reunification of the Saint Thomas Christians was fulfilled.[3] Baselios Shakrallah Qasabgi, the head of the Syriac Orthodox delegation, consecrated Kurian Kattumangat as Bishop Abraham Koorilose in 1764.[53] These West Syriac bishops were skeptical about the validity of Sacraments administered by Thoma VI.[3] They often re-ordained priests who were already ordained by him.[3] Very often they appointed their own candidates as priests without even consulting the native bishop. They were in a process of replacing the Latinised East Syriac Rite and traditions of the Putthenkūṟ with a separate West Syriac identity.[3] They insisted on removing from the churches of Putthenkur crucifixes and statues of saints and Mary, which were kept and venerated in these churches ever since the onset of Portuguese influence among them.[3] This led to frequent conflicts between the adherents of new rite and those following the old.[3] This led to eventual division of churches between Paḻayakūṟ and the Putthenkūṟ fractions of the St.Thomas Christians.[3] By 1770, the prelates forced Thoma VI to be reconsecrated as 'Dionysios I'.[55][53] Thoma VI had to receive all orders of priesthood from the tonsure to the episcopal consecration.[56] Thoma VI received support from Pazhayakūr leaders, who informed him of the ill-treatment and discrimination that they faced from the missionaries.[3] In 1773, the leaders and representatives of the Paḻayakūṟ community assembled at the Great church in Angamāly to discuss the church union. This general meeting at Angamaly was dominated by strong emotions against the colonial religious missionaries and the Padroado and Propaganda bishops working then in Kerala.[3] The representatives from the Edappally church narrated the way how the European missionaries put their parish priest to death.[3]

On the feast-day of Theresa of Avila there was a 40 hours adoration at Verapoly. Puthenpurackal Jacob Kathanar, the parish priest of Edappilly church also went for the adoration and returned to his parish church along with other people. The European Carmelite missionaries forgot to lock the church after dinner and on the next day the gold monstrance was found to be missing. Suspecting Jacob Kathanar to be the thief he was taken by force to Verapoly by the missionaries and was denied food for several days. He fell ill and died. His last request before death for receiving Holy Communion too was denied. He was also denied a church burial, as his body was wrapped up in a mat and buried near a pond.[57]

Consequently, they selected two priests: Kariattil Iousep and Paremmakkal Thoma to meet the Pope to convey the message of Thoma VI and to negotiate the union of the dissident Putthenkūṟ faction.[49][3] They also decided to meet the Portuguese monarch, who was in charge of the Padroado Real.[3] This movement was led by the instigation and the financial backing of a rich Christian merchant and the first Christian minister of the King of Travancore, Thachil Matthoo Tharakan.[58] Other members of the community contributed by selling or pawning their jewellery and property.[3] Kariattil was previously a student at the school of the Propaganda in Rome and had earned a doctoral degree there.[58] Kariyattil Iousep, accompanied by Paremmakkal Thoma and two other deacons, made the trip from Kerala in 1778.[3] Meanwhile, the Propaganda missionaries, who had already achieved the trust of the pope, managed to spoil the efforts at Rome.[3] But, the Portuguese Queen, who was impressed with Kariyattil Iousep for his sincere effort and knowledge, decided to bestow the title of Archbishop of Cranganore upon him using her Padroado rights.[3] He was thus consecrated as the Archbishop of Cranganore in 1782,[59] effectively making him the Metropolitan of the united Malankara Church.[58] However, Kariattil died in unclear circumstances in Goa.[3][58] Thus the efforts drastically failed and planned Church reunion could not be realised.[58][59][3] Following this, the Paḻayakūṟ was led by Thomas Paremmakkal who took charge as the administrator of the Archdiocese of Cranganore.[58] The Padroado authorities in Goa and the Propaganda missionaries in Malabar recognised his authority in the fear of protest from the Paḻayakūṟ Christians.[3] Following this in 1787, representatives from the eighty-four Pazhayakūr churches assembled at Angamaly and drew up the Angamāly Padiyōla against the colonial Latin hegemony, declaring their allegiance to the Paremmakkal Thoma and urged for the reinstatement of their native East Syriac hierarchy.[60][3] Varthamanappusthakam, written by Thoma Kathanar in 1785, provides the detail of this journey until the death of the archbishop.[59][3]

Thomas Paremmakkal, supported by Thachil Matthoo Tharakan, continued the negotiations with Dionysius I.[58] In 1796, they sent a delegation to the Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate.[58] The delegation was led by Paulose Pandari, a Paḻayakūṟ priest.[58] They met Patriarch Yohannan VII Hormizd at the Monastery of Rabban Hormizd and requested him to send East Syriac bishops to India.[58] The Patriarch consecrated Paulose Pandari as Metropolitan of Malabar under the episcopal name Mar Abraham and sent him to India.[58] It was symbolic gesture from the Chaldean Patriarchate presenting the Metropolitan as the episcopal successor of Abraham, the last East Syriac Metropolitan of the undivided Church of the East in India. In 1799, Dionysius I paid obedience at the Thathampally Church in Alappuzha.[58] However, Metropolitan Abraham Pandari soon became sick.[58] According to the diary of Kuriakose Elias Chavara, he grew mad and thus proved to be unable to administer the Church.[58] There were other attempts in 1799 to bring a new bishop to replace Pandari.[58] However, none of those attempts materialised. Thus this short lived reunion failed.[61]

An excerpt from the letter of Patriarch Yohannan VII Hormizd addressed to the faithful in Malabar gives a detail of the attempts for restoration of the East Syriac hierarchy.

After duly enquiring about your spiritual well-being and asking about your condition, we let it be known to your beloved kindness that from the day when we sent Priest Joseph and Priest Hormizd, there came to us no reply from you, until now. Now we have sent Reader Abdisho, who will go to your place of residence to find out about your condition and will come and let us know about your condition. He will let you know about our condition; he will let you know everything about our activity now that we are asking our Lord and are soliciting the abundant ocean of His mercy that He may bless you with all heavenly blessing and take away and make depart from you the sufferings and the affliction and that He may liberate you from the temptations and the rebellion and the evil scandals, by the prayer of the Apostles and the Fathers, so that during your lifetime you may remain healthy and be preserved in the sign of the living Cross of the Lord. Yes and Amen.

One of the reasons for weakening of their vigour was Thachil Matthu Tharakan's misfortune.[62] Thachil Matthoo Tharakan was troubled by Veluthampy Dalava's rising influence in the royal court of Travancore. His properties were confiscated and he was imprisoned.[63] Although the King later repented for the indiscriminate actions of the Dalava,[63] the church union movement had already lost its powerful economic backing.[62]

Notes edit

  1. ^ "In the travelogue Varthamanappusthakam (dated to 1790) written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar, the author uses the terms Malankara Pallikkar, Malankara Idavaka, Malankara Sabha etc. to refer the Syrian Catholic community.[4] In modern day ecclesiastic language “Malankara” denote the West Syriac rite of the “Malankra Orthodox”, “Malankara Jacobite”, “Malankara Mar Thoma” and “Syro Malankra”. The “ Malabar” denote the East Syriac rite of the “ Syro Malabar Church”.[5]
  2. ^ [15][16][17][18]

Sources edit

  1. ^ The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society. Vol.3. Mythic Society. 1911. p. 141. This incident marks an epoch in the history of the Syrian Church, and led to a separation of the community into parties, namely the Pazhayakuru (the Romo-Syrians) who adhered to the Church of Rome according to the Synod at Diamper; and the Puttankuru , the Jacobite Syrians , who after the oath of the Coonan Cross got Mar Gregory from Antioch, acknowledged the spiritual supremacy thereof. The former owed its foundation to the Archbishop Menezes and the Synod at Diamper in 1599 and its reconciliation after the revolt to the Carmelite Bishop Father Joseph of St.Mary whom the Pope appointed in 1659.
  2. ^ Koonammakkal (2013).
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Malekandathil (2013).
  4. ^ Thoma Kathanar, Paremmakkal (2014). Varthamanappusthakam (Translation of John Malieckal). Oriental Institute of Religious Studies India Publications, Vadavathoor. ISBN 978-93-82762-15-7.
  5. ^ ""THE VARTHAMANAPPUSTHAKAM" written by Cathanar Thomman Paremmakkal". nasrani.net. from the original on 27 April 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2010. The Author mostly uses the term 'Malankara' in Varthamanappusthakam to represent Catholics of those times. It has been rendered in translation as "Malabar". Both " Malankara" and "Malabar" stands for the same region. In today's ecclesiastic language " Malankara" denote the West Syriac rite of the "Malankra Orthodox", "Malankara Jacobite", "Malankara Mar Thoma" and "Syro Malankra". The " Malabar" denote the East Syriac rite of the " Syro Malabar Church".
  6. ^ Perczel (2013), p. 417.
  7. ^ Perczel (2013), p. 435-436.
  8. ^ Zacharia, Lynn Johnson,Paul. "The Surprisingly Early History of Christianity in India". Smithsonian Magazine.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ . 8 February 2011. Archived from the original on 8 February 2011.
  10. ^ Fahlbusch, Erwin; Bromiley, Geoffrey William; Lochman, Jan Milic (2008). The Encyclodedia of Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 285. ISBN 978-0-8028-2417-2.
  11. ^ "Search for India's ancient city". 11 June 2006.
  12. ^ Israel Museum (1995). The Jews of India: A Story of Three Communities. UPNE. p. 27. ISBN 978-965-278-179-6.
  13. ^ Bayly, Susan (2004). Saints, Goddesses and Kings: Muslims and Christians in South Indian Society, 1700–1900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 244. ISBN 9780521891035.
  14. ^ Puthiakunnel, Thomas (1973). "Jewish colonies of India paved the way for St. Thomas". In George Menachery (ed.). The Saint Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India. Vol. II. Trichur.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  15. ^ a b Frykenberg 2008, p. 99.
  16. ^ Klijn, Albertus Frederik Johannes (2003). The Acts of Thomas: Introduction, Text, and Commentary. BRILL. p. 15. ISBN 90-04-12937-5.
  17. ^ Childers, Jeff W. (2011). "Thomas, Acts of.". In Sebastian P. Brock; Aaron M. Butts; George A. Kiraz; Lucas Van Rompay (eds.). Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Gorgias Press. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  18. ^ a b c Medlycott (1912).
  19. ^ Frykenberg, Robert E. (2008). Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198263777.
  20. ^ "The Song of Thomas Ramban" in Menachery G (ed); (1998) "The Indian Church History Classics", Vol. I, The Nazranies, Ollur, 1998. ISBN 81-87133-05-8
  21. ^ Whitehouse, Thomas (1873). Lingerings of light in a dark land: Researches into the Syrian church of Malabar. William Brown and Co. pp. 23–42.
  22. ^ James Arampulickal (1994). The pastoral care of the Syro-Malabar Catholic migrants. Oriental Institute of Religious Studies, India Publications. p. 40.
  23. ^ Orientalia christiana periodica: Commentaril de re orientali ...: Volumes 17–18. Pontificium Institutum Orientalium Studiorum. 1951. p. 233.
  24. ^ Adrian Hastings (15 August 2000). A World History of Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-8028-4875-8.
  25. ^ Department of Tourism. "Seven and half Churches (Ezhara Pallikal)".
  26. ^ Mundadan & Thekkedath 1982, pp. 30–32.
  27. ^ a b c d e Perczel (2018).
  28. ^ Cosmas Indicopleustes (24 June 2010). J. W. McCrindle (ed.). The Christian Topography of Cosmas, an Egyptian Monk: Translated from the Greek, and Edited with Notes and Introduction (2010 ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 48, 119–120, 365–366. ISBN 978-1-108-01295-9. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  29. ^ Neill, Stephen (2004) [1984]. A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 45. ISBN 9780521548854.
  30. ^ a b Perczel (2013), p. 415.
  31. ^ a b (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  32. ^ "Division and rite of churches". 14 January 2007.
  33. ^ a b Mundadan (1984), p. 53.
  34. ^ "Archbishop Simon Dominicus [Catholic-hierarchy]".
  35. ^ a b c d e f g h Perczel (2013), p. 428.
  36. ^ Samir, K., ed. (1979). "La Relation du Voyage en Inde en 1701 du Métropolite chaldéen Simon (†16 Août 1720)". Parole de l'Orient (in French). IX: 277–303. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  37. ^ Neill (2002), p. 60.
  38. ^ "Bishop Angelo Vigliotti [Catholic-hierarchy]".
  39. ^ Samir 1979.
  40. ^ a b Perczel (2013), p. 428-429.
  41. ^ a b Perczel (2013), p. 429.
  42. ^ Brown, Leslie W. (1956). The Indian Christians of St Thomas: An Account of the Ancient Syrian Church of Malabar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 115–117.
  43. ^ Mooken 1977, p. 50-51.
  44. ^ Neill, Stephen (2002) [1985]. A History of Christianity in India: 1707-1858. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 62–65. ISBN 9780521893329.
  45. ^ Mooken 1983, p. 25-26.
  46. ^ Perczel (2013), p. 429-430.
  47. ^ a b c d e f g Perczel (2013), p. 430.
  48. ^ Perczel (2013), p. 430-431.
  49. ^ a b c d Perczel (2013), p. 431.
  50. ^ a b c d e f g h i Neill (2002), p. 62.
  51. ^ Visscher (1862), p. 109.
  52. ^ Visscher, Jacobus Canter [in Dutch] (1862). Heber Drury (ed.). "Letter XVI". Letters from Malabar, Tr.: To Which is Added an Account of Travancore, and Fra Bartolomeo's Travels in That Country. By H. Drury: 105–109.
  53. ^ a b c Fenwick, John R. K. (2011). "Malabar Independent Syrian Church". In Sebastian P. Brock; Aaron M. Butts; George A. Kiraz; Lucas Van Rompay (eds.). Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Gorgias Press. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  54. ^ Neill (2002), p. 68 – 69.
  55. ^ Joseph, Thomas (2011). "Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church". In Sebastian P. Brock; Aaron M. Butts; George A. Kiraz; Lucas Van Rompay (eds.). Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Gorgias Press. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  56. ^ Neill (2004), p. 67 – 68.
  57. ^ Paremmakkal, Thomas. Varthamanappusthakam.
  58. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Perczel (2013), p. 432.
  59. ^ a b c Brock, Sebastian P. (2011). "Malabar Catholic Church". In Sebastian P. Brock; Aaron M. Butts; George A. Kiraz; Lucas Van Rompay (eds.). Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Gorgias Press. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  60. ^ . St.George's Basilica, Angamāly. Archived from the original on 2012-07-23.
  61. ^ Perczel (2013), p. 432-433.
  62. ^ a b Perczel (2013), p. 433.
  63. ^ a b "Swarnacheviyude utama: Thachil Mathoo Tharakan". Deepika (in Malayalam).

See also edit

Bibliography edit

  • Koonammakkal, Thomas (2013). Peter Bruns; Heinz Otto Luthe (eds.). "Syro-Malabar History and Traditions". Orientalia Christiana: Festschrift für Hubert Kaufhold zum 70. Geburtstag; pp. 259-276. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 9783447068857.
  • Malekandathil, Pius (2013). "Nazrani History and Discourse on Early Nationalism in Varthamanapusthakam". NSC Network. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  • Medlycott, A (1912). "St. Thomas Christians". The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  • Menachery, George (2000). Thomapedia. Thomapedia. ISBN 81-87132-13-2. OCLC 56405161.
  • Mingana, Alphonse (1926). "The Early Spread of Christianity in India" (PDF). Bulletin of the John Rylands Library. 10 (2): 435–514. doi:10.7227/BJRL.10.2.7.
  • Mooken, Aprem (1975). Mar Abimalek Timotheus: A Biography. Trichur: Mar Narsai Press.
  • Mooken, Aprem (1977). The Chaldean Syrian Church in India. Trichur: Mar Narsai Press.
  • Mooken, Aprem (1983). The Chaldean Syrian Church of the East. Delhi: National Council of Churches in India.
  • Mooken, Aprem (1987). Mar Abdisho Thondanat: A Biography. Trichur: Mar Narsai Press.
  • Mundadan, Anthony Mathias; Thekkedath, Joseph (1982). History of Christianity in India. Vol. 2. Bangalore: Church History Association of India.
  • Mundadan, Anthony Mathias (1984). Indian Christians: Search for Identity and Struggle for Autonomy. Bangalore: Dharmaram College.
  • Perczel, István (2013). Peter Bruns; Heinz Otto Luthe (eds.). "Some New Documents on the Struggle of the Saint Thomas Christians to Maintain the Chaldaean Rite and Jurisdiction". Orientalia Christiana: Festschrift für Hubert Kaufhold zum 70. Geburtstag; pp. 415-436. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
  • Perczel, István (2018). Daniel King (ed.). Syriac Christianity in India. The Syriac World. Routledge. pp. 653–697. ISBN 9781317482116.

syrian, catholics, malabar, paḻayakūṟ, pazhayakoor, english, allegiance, also, known, romo, syrians, east, syriac, denominations, saint, thomas, christian, church, which, claim, ultimate, apostolic, origin, from, indian, mission, thomas, apostle, century, type. The Paḻayakuṟ Pazhayakoor English Old Allegiance also known as Romo Syrians 1 or Syrian Catholics of Malabar are the East Syriac denominations of the Saint Thomas Christian Church which claim ultimate apostolic origin from the Indian mission of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century AD Syrian Catholics of MalabarTypeEastern ChristianClassificationEastern CatholicTheologyDiophysitismPolityEpiscopalMetropolitan ArchbishopMetropolitan of KodungallurRegionKerala IndiaLanguageSuriyani Malayalam Classical Syriac MalayalamLiturgyEast Syriac Rite Liturgy of Addai and MariHeadquartersAngamalyFounderThomas the Apostle as per tradition Origin52 AD 1st century as per tradition Branched fromSt Thomas ChristiansSeparationsSyro Malabar Church Chaldean Syrian ChurchThe Saint Thomas Christians were in full communion with the Church of the East of Persia from whom they inherited the East Syriac liturgical rite Through the Schism of 1552 a faction of the Church of the East enters the Catholic Church Following the 1599 Synod of Diamper the Latin Church Padroado missionaries took over the Thomas Christian jurisdiction of Angamaly 2 3 a The Paḻayakuṟ descends from the faction that remained within the Catholic fold and held fast to an East Syriac identity after the historic Coonan Cross Oath of 1653 while being part of the community that seceded from the Portuguese Padroado 6 The modern descendants of the Paḻayakuṟ are the Syro Malabar Church and the Chaldean Syrian Church Among these the former is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See and the latter is an integral part of the Assyrian Church of the East one of the traditionalist descendants of the Church of the East 7 Contents 1 History 1 1 Early history of Christianity in India 1 2 Church of the East in India 2 After the schism 2 1 Friction with the propaganda 2 2 Metropolitan Shemʿon and his mission in Malabar 2 3 Metropolitan Gabriel and his temporary success 3 Indigenous attempts for reunification 4 Notes 5 Sources 6 See also 7 BibliographyHistory editEarly history of Christianity in India edit Traditionally Thomas the Apostle is credited for the establishment of Christianity in India He is believed to have come to Muziris on the Malabar coast which is in Kerala in AD 52 8 9 10 11 The Jewish community in India are known to have existed in Kerala in the 1st century AD 12 13 and it was possible for an Aramaic speaking Jew such as St Thomas from Galilee to make a trip to Kerala then 14 The earliest known source connecting the Apostle to India is the Acts of Thomas likely written in the early 3rd century perhaps in Edessa b The tradition of origin of the Christians in Kerala is found in a version of the Songs of Thomas or Thomma Parvam 19 20 in which Thomas is described as arriving in or around Maliankara and founding Seven Churches or Ezharapallikal Kodungallur Kottakavu Palayoor Kokkamangalam Nilackal Niranam and Kollam 21 Some other churches namely Thiruvithamcode Arappally a half church 22 23 24 Malayattoor and Aruvithura are often called Arappallikal 25 The Thomma Parvam further narrates St Thomas s mission in the rest of South India and his martyrdom at Mylapore in present day Chennai Tamil Nadu 15 26 Church of the East in India edit An organized Christian presence in India dates to the arrival of East Syriac settlers and missionaries from Persia members of what would become the Church of the East in around the 3rd century 18 Saint Thomas Christians trace the further growth of their community to the arrival of Jewish Christians from the region of Mesopotamia led by Knai Thoma which is said to have occurred in 345 18 However most experts believe that the arrival of Knai Thoma must have occurred in the ninth century 27 The subgroup of the Saint Thomas Christians known as the Knanaya or Southists trace their lineage to Thomas of Cana while the group known as the Northists claim descent from the early Christians evangelized by Thomas the Apostle 27 Byzantine traveller Cosmas Indicopleustes wrote of Syrian Christians he met in India and Sri Lanka in the 6th century 28 Even in Taprobane Sri Lanka an island in Further India where the Indian sea is there is a Church of Christians with clergy and a body of believers but I know not whether there be any Christians in the parts beyond it In the country called Male Malabar where the pepper grows there is also a church and at another place called Calliana there is moreover a bishop who is appointed from Persia Until the seventh century the Saint Thomas Christians were included in the Metropolitanate of Persia The metropolitan of Rev Ardashir the head of the province used to consecrated bishops for the Diocese of India Patriarch Ishoyahb III 650 660 criticises Shemʿon metropolitan of Rev Ardashir As far as your province is concerned from the time you showed recalcitrance against ecclesiastical canons the episcopal succession has been interrupted in India and this country has since sat in darkness far from the light of divine teaching by means of rightful bishops not only India that extends from the borders of the Persian empire to the country which is called Kaleh which is a distance of one thousand and two hundred parasangs but even your own Persia 29 The port at Kollam then known as Quilon was founded in 825 by Maruvan Sapir Iso a Persian Christian merchant with sanction from Ayyanadikal Thiruvadikal the king of the independent Venad or the State of Quilon a feudatory under Sthanu Ravi Varma Perumal of the Chera kingdom 27 Sapir Iso was the East Syriac Christian merchant who led the East Syriac bishops Mar Sabor and Mar Proth to the Christians of Malabar The two bishops were instrumental in founding many Christian churches with Syrian liturgy along the Malabar coast and were venerated as Qandishangal saints since then by the Thomas Christians 27 It was during this period that Christians disappeared from the Coromandel Coast 27 After the schism editFollowing the Synod of Diamper held in 1599 and organised by Aleixo de Menezes the Primate of East Indies and Archbishop of Goa many traditions and numerous Syriac books of the native Saint Thomas Christians were condemned Although the Synod proposed a highly Latinised form of liturgy it was resisted by most of them 30 Francisco Ros the Latin Jesuit bishop who was appointed to the now downgraded bishopric of Angamaly openly renounced the Synod of Diamper and called for a new synod at Angamaly to substitute it 31 This second Synod of Angamaly implemented a Latinised form of the Chaldean Rite among the Saint Thomas Christians 31 Being a highly skilled Syriacist this new Syriac liturgy was introduced by Roz himself The text of the new liturgy largely consisted of translations from the Latin and intended to re place the original East Syriac Chaldean rite of the local Christians After the Coonan Cross Oath the Puthenkoor faction led by Thoma I allied with the Syriac Orthodox Church while resisting the Latin missionaries and thereby gradually shifted to West Syriac Rite and Miaphysitism However the majority among the Pazhayakoor also resisted the latinisation and a long struggle began for maintaining the Chaldaean rite and the contact with both the patriarchates of the Church of the East while identifying themselves Catholic in communion with the Holy See of Rome 30 Friction with the propaganda edit Bishop Palliveettil Chandy tried to consecrate Thoma II the leader of the Puthenkoor as his successor in an attempt to reunify both the Puthenkoor and the Pazhayakoor under a common Catholic hierarchy However this attempt was spoiled by the missionaries Meanwhile the missionaries assured Chandy that his successor will be a native Hence Chandy held his archdeacon as his rightful successor But after Chandy s death the missionaries appointed a half Indian Portuguese Raphael Figueredo c d 1695 as the Vicar Apostolic of Malabar for Saint Thomas Christians 32 This appointment shook the confidence they had in the propaganda Carmelites and quarrels started to escalate Many churches protested against the move and some even joined Thoma II 33 Soon Bishop Raphael Figueredo also lost the favour of the Carmelites and he was replaced with Custodius de Pinho c d 1697 as the Vicar Apostolic of Malabar Chandy died in 1687 and with him the initial attempts for reunification of both factions also died out 33 Metropolitan Shemʿon and his mission in Malabar edit During this time Metropolitan Shemʿon of ʿAda d c 1720 34 arrived in India He was originally sent by Patriarch Eliah IX Yohannan Augen of the Eliah Patriarchate of the Church of the East and was previously his representative in Rome to discuss Church union 35 He travelled to India in a Portuguese ship and reached Goa However he was arrested and deported Later he approached the Josephite Patriarchate and made a Catholic profession of faith He was consequently appointed as Metropolitan by Patriarch Joseph II for the faithful in India 36 He travelled to India once again and reached Surat 35 There he was detained in a Capuchin monastery He informed that he was a Catholic bishop sent from the Chaldean Patriarch 35 Moreover during the same time the Rome wanted to curtail the Padroado authority in India through the propaganda administration 35 Rome had appointed Angelo Francisco Vigliotti a Carmelite missionary to be the future bishop of Verapoly This plan would enable Rome to surpass the Padroado administration in India Fearing about these plans and reluctant to share authority the Padroado declined the request to consecrate the newly appointed bishop elect 35 Therefore the missionaries accepted Shemʿon s Catholic faith just in order to make him consecrate the Carmelite bishop On 22 May 1701 Shemʿon was escorted to Alangad where he was made to consecrate Angelo Francisco at midnight 37 38 35 The Carmelites took every precaution so that he could not meet anyone from the Saint Thomas Christians He was then secretly deported to Pondicherry 35 There he lived in home custody until his death on 16 August 1720 39 35 Although all these happened in utmost secrecy a letter that he sent from the Capuchin monastery of Surat to the Saint Thomas Christians was preserved and his memory was cherished by them Shemʿon s dead body was found in a well near where he was detained in Pondicherry and thus the Saint Thomas Christians believed that he was murdered by the missionaries 40 His tragedy inspired them and he was hailed as a martyr for the efforts to maintain the Church of the East s jurisdiction and East Syriac Rite among them 40 nbsp St Mary s Syro Malabar Church AlangadAn excerpt from the letter of Metropolitan Shemʿon addressed to the Saint Thomas Christians in MS Mannanam Mal 14 46r 45v folios After praying that you be in spiritual peace and enquiring about your condition I let it know to your graceful love that I came from Mar Eliah Patriarch of the East let his glorious see be fortified Amen First I went to Jerusalem and from there I went to the great Rome and to Spain and to the land of Portugal from there I came to the land of India to the city of Anjuna and asked about you and he whom I asked told me Those people are not here the people whom you seek but go to the city of Surat there you will find them I went to Surat and did not see anybody from among you but I saw a Jew and a book letter of yours was with him I took it from him kissed it and read rejoiced very much and asked him Where would be these Christians and he told me In the land of Kochi Metropolitan Gabriel and his temporary success edit nbsp By 1705 another East Syrian bishop was working in Southern Malabar sent by the Catholicos of the East Patriarch Eliah X Augen 41 42 43 His mission was roughly coterminous with that of Shemʿon of ʿAda however much more fruitful 44 He was Gabriel of Ardishai the Metropolitan of Azerbaijan 41 45 Unlike Metropolitan Shem on Gabriel neither explicitly claim to be Chaldean Catholic bishop nor was he interested in a friendship with the Latin missionaries 46 However he implicitly presented himself as a Catholic bishop sent from the Chaldean Patriarchate 47 Previously he was in Rome and he had interactions with the Propaganda in an aim to get approval as the bishop for Saint Thomas Christians 47 In 1704 he wrote profession faith to be examined However it was rejected by the Propaganda as they found it unsound to Catholic doctrine He was asked to make necessary corrections which he did not and without getting Rome s approval he made his journey to Malabar 47 However in one of his two letters preserved in the Saint Joseph s Monastery at Mannanam dated 1708 he makes a perfect Catholic confession of the Lady Mary the Mother of God and Ever virgin Mary and sent it to Angelo Francisco 47 Gabriel then declares that he is the Metropolitan of all India of the Syrians The second letter is written in 1712 and is entitled Letter of Gabriel Metropolitan of all India In it Gabriel answers an inquiry from the Paḻayakuṟ faithful concerning his faith If you ask me about my faith my faith is like the faith of the holy Lord Pope 47 nbsp Changanassery churchMeanwhile Giuseppe Sagribanti Prefect of the Propaganda and writing in the name of Pope Innocent XIII rejects his claims by saying that Gabriel has no authority from the Pope 47 In 1712 the Propaganda sent him another letter ordering him to retreat from Malabar to his flock in Azerbaijan 47 Meanwhile Gabriel ignored the letters of the Propaganda and instead of making a new confession of faith to be sent to Rome he made the aforementioned confession of faith in a letter addressed to Angelo Francisco in order to make peace with him and with the Carmelites residing in Malabar 48 Gabriel was then residing near the church in Changanassery In the letter it is also declared among others things that Gabriel was celebrating the Eucharist with unleavened bread 49 However it is clear that he used both leavened and unleavened bread opportunistically 49 Meanwhile Angelo Francisco received the letter of Giuseppe Sagribanti that alerted the Carmelites 49 They were successful in persuading the natives and thereby ousting Gabriel from the Changanassery Gabriel then found residence in Kottayam Minor church This church was then used by both factions of Saint Thomas Christians 50 Individuals and families belonging to both factions had close relationships and the allegiance to the faction to which one belonged often owed more to local reasons than to faith Opposition and rivalries was more personal than theological 50 nbsp Kottayam Minor ChurchDuring this period the leader of the Puthenkur was Thoma IV c d 1728 50 Gabriel opposed him and was successful in winning back a number of churches and faithful from his faction 50 Many churches from the Paḻayakuṟ also joined him He claimed to have secured about 44 churches in his leadership 51 Thoma IV was by this time a supporter of Miaphysitism brought by the Syriac Orthodox prelates and he regarded Gabriel as a Nestorian heretic 50 In 1709 he wrote a letter to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch pleading that bishops be sent to aid him in countering Gabriel s arguments 50 Gabriel strongly opposed the Portuguese but sought the support of the Dutch His letter to Jacobus Canter Visscher a Dutch chaplain at Kochi 50 gives an apologetic detail of the history of Christianity in India and expresses staunch opposition to the Portuguese missionaries Following is an excerpt from the letter entitled The antiquity of the Syrian Christians and Historical events relating to them addressed to Visscher And in the days of this persecution the upright God fearing justice loving and peaceable Dutch were sent to Malabar by the inspiration of Almighty God and by order of the East India Company under the command of the noble Lord Admiral Ryklop van Goens and like as the heathen were driven out of the land of Isso Biranon Kinan Canaan so have they driven the worse than heathen Portuguese out of Cochin and other cities and fortresses of Malabar and through Divine Providence the Syrian christians have been from that time forward protected and defended from them and their pastors have again visited this coun try without let or hindrance 52 Gabriel received certain amount of support and favour from the Dutch and he remained in India until his death in 1731 50 Visscher gives the following account of Metropolitan Gabriel Mar Gabriel a white man and sent hither from Bagdad is aged and venerable in appearance and dresses nearly in the same fashion as the Jewish priests of old wearing a cap fashioned like a turban and a long white beard He is courteous and God fearing and not at all addicted to extravagant pomp Round his neck he wears a golden crucifix He lives with the utmost sobriety abstaining from all animal food He holds the Nestorian doctrine respecting the union of the two natures in our Saviour s person 50 Indigenous attempts for reunification editFollowing the arrival of West Syriac prelates in 1751 Thoma VI the leader of the Puthenkur was troubled by their increasing influence among his faction 53 Therefore in order to reunite his faction with the Paḻayakuṟ and thus to prevent the West Syriac prelates he initiated efforts to submit to the Pope and profess the Catholic creed 54 However the Carmelite missionaries working among the Pazhayakur were reluctant to reciprocate to his efforts fearing that the indigenous bishop would take away their authority and influence over the faction after the proposed reunification of the Saint Thomas Christians was fulfilled 3 Baselios Shakrallah Qasabgi the head of the Syriac Orthodox delegation consecrated Kurian Kattumangat as Bishop Abraham Koorilose in 1764 53 These West Syriac bishops were skeptical about the validity of Sacraments administered by Thoma VI 3 They often re ordained priests who were already ordained by him 3 Very often they appointed their own candidates as priests without even consulting the native bishop They were in a process of replacing the Latinised East Syriac Rite and traditions of the Putthenkuṟ with a separate West Syriac identity 3 They insisted on removing from the churches of Putthenkur crucifixes and statues of saints and Mary which were kept and venerated in these churches ever since the onset of Portuguese influence among them 3 This led to frequent conflicts between the adherents of new rite and those following the old 3 This led to eventual division of churches between Paḻayakuṟ and the Putthenkuṟ fractions of the St Thomas Christians 3 By 1770 the prelates forced Thoma VI to be reconsecrated as Dionysios I 55 53 Thoma VI had to receive all orders of priesthood from the tonsure to the episcopal consecration 56 Thoma VI received support from Pazhayakur leaders who informed him of the ill treatment and discrimination that they faced from the missionaries 3 In 1773 the leaders and representatives of the Paḻayakuṟ community assembled at the Great church in Angamaly to discuss the church union This general meeting at Angamaly was dominated by strong emotions against the colonial religious missionaries and the Padroado and Propaganda bishops working then in Kerala 3 The representatives from the Edappally church narrated the way how the European missionaries put their parish priest to death 3 On the feast day of Theresa of Avila there was a 40 hours adoration at Verapoly Puthenpurackal Jacob Kathanar the parish priest of Edappilly church also went for the adoration and returned to his parish church along with other people The European Carmelite missionaries forgot to lock the church after dinner and on the next day the gold monstrance was found to be missing Suspecting Jacob Kathanar to be the thief he was taken by force to Verapoly by the missionaries and was denied food for several days He fell ill and died His last request before death for receiving Holy Communion too was denied He was also denied a church burial as his body was wrapped up in a mat and buried near a pond 57 Consequently they selected two priests Kariattil Iousep and Paremmakkal Thoma to meet the Pope to convey the message of Thoma VI and to negotiate the union of the dissident Putthenkuṟ faction 49 3 They also decided to meet the Portuguese monarch who was in charge of the Padroado Real 3 This movement was led by the instigation and the financial backing of a rich Christian merchant and the first Christian minister of the King of Travancore Thachil Matthoo Tharakan 58 Other members of the community contributed by selling or pawning their jewellery and property 3 Kariattil was previously a student at the school of the Propaganda in Rome and had earned a doctoral degree there 58 Kariyattil Iousep accompanied by Paremmakkal Thoma and two other deacons made the trip from Kerala in 1778 3 Meanwhile the Propaganda missionaries who had already achieved the trust of the pope managed to spoil the efforts at Rome 3 But the Portuguese Queen who was impressed with Kariyattil Iousep for his sincere effort and knowledge decided to bestow the title of Archbishop of Cranganore upon him using her Padroado rights 3 He was thus consecrated as the Archbishop of Cranganore in 1782 59 effectively making him the Metropolitan of the united Malankara Church 58 However Kariattil died in unclear circumstances in Goa 3 58 Thus the efforts drastically failed and planned Church reunion could not be realised 58 59 3 Following this the Paḻayakuṟ was led by Thomas Paremmakkal who took charge as the administrator of the Archdiocese of Cranganore 58 The Padroado authorities in Goa and the Propaganda missionaries in Malabar recognised his authority in the fear of protest from the Paḻayakuṟ Christians 3 Following this in 1787 representatives from the eighty four Pazhayakur churches assembled at Angamaly and drew up the Angamaly Padiyōla against the colonial Latin hegemony declaring their allegiance to the Paremmakkal Thoma and urged for the reinstatement of their native East Syriac hierarchy 60 3 Varthamanappusthakam written by Thoma Kathanar in 1785 provides the detail of this journey until the death of the archbishop 59 3 Thomas Paremmakkal supported by Thachil Matthoo Tharakan continued the negotiations with Dionysius I 58 In 1796 they sent a delegation to the Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate 58 The delegation was led by Paulose Pandari a Paḻayakuṟ priest 58 They met Patriarch Yohannan VII Hormizd at the Monastery of Rabban Hormizd and requested him to send East Syriac bishops to India 58 The Patriarch consecrated Paulose Pandari as Metropolitan of Malabar under the episcopal name Mar Abraham and sent him to India 58 It was symbolic gesture from the Chaldean Patriarchate presenting the Metropolitan as the episcopal successor of Abraham the last East Syriac Metropolitan of the undivided Church of the East in India In 1799 Dionysius I paid obedience at the Thathampally Church in Alappuzha 58 However Metropolitan Abraham Pandari soon became sick 58 According to the diary of Kuriakose Elias Chavara he grew mad and thus proved to be unable to administer the Church 58 There were other attempts in 1799 to bring a new bishop to replace Pandari 58 However none of those attempts materialised Thus this short lived reunion failed 61 An excerpt from the letter of Patriarch Yohannan VII Hormizd addressed to the faithful in Malabar gives a detail of the attempts for restoration of the East Syriac hierarchy After duly enquiring about your spiritual well being and asking about your condition we let it be known to your beloved kindness that from the day when we sent Priest Joseph and Priest Hormizd there came to us no reply from you until now Now we have sent Reader Abdisho who will go to your place of residence to find out about your condition and will come and let us know about your condition He will let you know about our condition he will let you know everything about our activity now that we are asking our Lord and are soliciting the abundant ocean of His mercy that He may bless you with all heavenly blessing and take away and make depart from you the sufferings and the affliction and that He may liberate you from the temptations and the rebellion and the evil scandals by the prayer of the Apostles and the Fathers so that during your lifetime you may remain healthy and be preserved in the sign of the living Cross of the Lord Yes and Amen One of the reasons for weakening of their vigour was Thachil Matthu Tharakan s misfortune 62 Thachil Matthoo Tharakan was troubled by Veluthampy Dalava s rising influence in the royal court of Travancore His properties were confiscated and he was imprisoned 63 Although the King later repented for the indiscriminate actions of the Dalava 63 the church union movement had already lost its powerful economic backing 62 Notes edit In the travelogue Varthamanappusthakam dated to 1790 written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar the author uses the terms Malankara Pallikkar Malankara Idavaka Malankara Sabha etc to refer the Syrian Catholic community 4 In modern day ecclesiastic language Malankara denote the West Syriac rite of the Malankra Orthodox Malankara Jacobite Malankara Mar Thoma and Syro Malankra The Malabar denote the East Syriac rite of the Syro Malabar Church 5 15 16 17 18 Sources edit The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society Vol 3 Mythic Society 1911 p 141 This incident marks an epoch in the history of the Syrian Church and led to a separation of the community into parties namely the Pazhayakuru the Romo Syrians who adhered to the Church of Rome according to the Synod at Diamper and the Puttankuru the Jacobite Syrians who after the oath of the Coonan Cross got Mar Gregory from Antioch acknowledged the spiritual supremacy thereof The former owed its foundation to the Archbishop Menezes and the Synod at Diamper in 1599 and its reconciliation after the revolt to the Carmelite Bishop Father Joseph of St Mary whom the Pope appointed in 1659 Koonammakkal 2013 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Malekandathil 2013 Thoma Kathanar Paremmakkal 2014 Varthamanappusthakam Translation of John Malieckal Oriental Institute of Religious Studies India Publications Vadavathoor ISBN 978 93 82762 15 7 THE VARTHAMANAPPUSTHAKAM written by Cathanar Thomman Paremmakkal nasrani net Archived from the original on 27 April 2013 Retrieved 23 August 2010 The Author mostly uses the term Malankara in Varthamanappusthakam to represent Catholics of those times It has been rendered in translation as Malabar Both Malankara and Malabar stands for the same region In today s ecclesiastic language Malankara denote the West Syriac rite of the Malankra Orthodox Malankara Jacobite Malankara Mar Thoma and Syro Malankra The Malabar denote the East Syriac rite of the Syro Malabar Church Perczel 2013 p 417 Perczel 2013 p 435 436 Zacharia Lynn Johnson Paul The Surprisingly Early History of Christianity in India Smithsonian Magazine a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Thomas The Apostole 8 February 2011 Archived from the original on 8 February 2011 Fahlbusch Erwin Bromiley Geoffrey William Lochman Jan Milic 2008 The Encyclodedia of Christianity Wm B Eerdmans Publishing p 285 ISBN 978 0 8028 2417 2 Search for India s ancient city 11 June 2006 Israel Museum 1995 The Jews of India A Story of Three Communities UPNE p 27 ISBN 978 965 278 179 6 Bayly Susan 2004 Saints Goddesses and Kings Muslims and Christians in South Indian Society 1700 1900 Cambridge Cambridge University Press p 244 ISBN 9780521891035 Puthiakunnel Thomas 1973 Jewish colonies of India paved the way for St Thomas In George Menachery ed The Saint Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India Vol II Trichur a href Template Cite encyclopedia html title Template Cite encyclopedia cite encyclopedia a CS1 maint location missing publisher link a b Frykenberg 2008 p 99 Klijn Albertus Frederik Johannes 2003 The Acts of Thomas Introduction Text and Commentary BRILL p 15 ISBN 90 04 12937 5 Childers Jeff W 2011 Thomas Acts of In Sebastian P Brock Aaron M Butts George A Kiraz Lucas Van Rompay eds Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage Electronic Edition Gorgias Press Retrieved 22 September 2016 a b c Medlycott 1912 Frykenberg Robert E 2008 Christianity in India From Beginnings to the Present Oxford Oxford University Press ISBN 9780198263777 The Song of Thomas Ramban in Menachery G ed 1998 The Indian Church History Classics Vol I The Nazranies Ollur 1998 ISBN 81 87133 05 8 Whitehouse Thomas 1873 Lingerings of light in a dark land Researches into the Syrian church of Malabar William Brown and Co pp 23 42 James Arampulickal 1994 The pastoral care of the Syro Malabar Catholic migrants Oriental Institute of Religious Studies India Publications p 40 Orientalia christiana periodica Commentaril de re orientali Volumes 17 18 Pontificium Institutum Orientalium Studiorum 1951 p 233 Adrian Hastings 15 August 2000 A World History of Christianity Wm B Eerdmans p 149 ISBN 978 0 8028 4875 8 Department of Tourism Seven and half Churches Ezhara Pallikal Mundadan amp Thekkedath 1982 pp 30 32 a b c d e Perczel 2018 Cosmas Indicopleustes 24 June 2010 J W McCrindle ed The Christian Topography of Cosmas an Egyptian Monk Translated from the Greek and Edited with Notes and Introduction 2010 ed Cambridge University Press pp 48 119 120 365 366 ISBN 978 1 108 01295 9 Retrieved 3 November 2012 Neill Stephen 2004 1984 A History of Christianity in India The Beginnings to AD 1707 Cambridge Cambridge University Press p 45 ISBN 9780521548854 a b Perczel 2013 p 415 a b മര ച ച ല മര ക ക ത ത മ ർ അബ രഹ IN Sunday Shalom in Malayalam Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 24 October 2015 Division and rite of churches 14 January 2007 a b Mundadan 1984 p 53 Archbishop Simon Dominicus Catholic hierarchy a b c d e f g h Perczel 2013 p 428 Samir K ed 1979 La Relation du Voyage en Inde en 1701 du Metropolite chaldeen Simon 16 Aout 1720 Parole de l Orient in French IX 277 303 Retrieved 2010 11 24 Neill 2002 p 60 Bishop Angelo Vigliotti Catholic hierarchy Samir 1979 a b Perczel 2013 p 428 429 a b Perczel 2013 p 429 Brown Leslie W 1956 The Indian Christians of St Thomas An Account of the Ancient Syrian Church of Malabar Cambridge Cambridge University Press pp 115 117 Mooken 1977 p 50 51 Neill Stephen 2002 1985 A History of Christianity in India 1707 1858 Cambridge Cambridge University Press pp 62 65 ISBN 9780521893329 Mooken 1983 p 25 26 Perczel 2013 p 429 430 a b c d e f g Perczel 2013 p 430 Perczel 2013 p 430 431 a b c d Perczel 2013 p 431 a b c d e f g h i Neill 2002 p 62 Visscher 1862 p 109 Visscher Jacobus Canter in Dutch 1862 Heber Drury ed Letter XVI Letters from Malabar Tr To Which is Added an Account of Travancore and Fra Bartolomeo s Travels in That Country By H Drury 105 109 a b c Fenwick John R K 2011 Malabar Independent Syrian Church In Sebastian P Brock Aaron M Butts George A Kiraz Lucas Van Rompay eds Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage Electronic Edition Gorgias Press Retrieved 22 September 2016 Neill 2002 p 68 69 Joseph Thomas 2011 Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church In Sebastian P Brock Aaron M Butts George A Kiraz Lucas Van Rompay eds Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage Electronic Edition Gorgias Press Retrieved 22 September 2016 Neill 2004 p 67 68 Paremmakkal Thomas Varthamanappusthakam a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Perczel 2013 p 432 a b c Brock Sebastian P 2011 Malabar Catholic Church In Sebastian P Brock Aaron M Butts George A Kiraz Lucas Van Rompay eds Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage Electronic Edition Gorgias Press Retrieved 22 September 2016 Padiyola St George s Basilica Angamaly Archived from the original on 2012 07 23 Perczel 2013 p 432 433 a b Perczel 2013 p 433 a b Swarnacheviyude utama Thachil Mathoo Tharakan Deepika in Malayalam See also editLatin Catholics of MalabarBibliography editKoonammakkal Thomas 2013 Peter Bruns Heinz Otto Luthe eds Syro Malabar History and Traditions Orientalia Christiana Festschrift fur Hubert Kaufhold zum 70 Geburtstag pp 259 276 Wiesbaden Harrassowitz Verlag ISBN 9783447068857 Malekandathil Pius 2013 Nazrani History and Discourse on Early Nationalism in Varthamanapusthakam NSC Network Retrieved 28 January 2013 Medlycott A 1912 St Thomas Christians The Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company Retrieved 4 July 2021 Menachery George 2000 Thomapedia Thomapedia ISBN 81 87132 13 2 OCLC 56405161 Mingana Alphonse 1926 The Early Spread of Christianity in India PDF Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 10 2 435 514 doi 10 7227 BJRL 10 2 7 Mooken Aprem 1975 Mar Abimalek Timotheus A Biography Trichur Mar Narsai Press Mooken Aprem 1977 The Chaldean Syrian Church in India Trichur Mar Narsai Press Mooken Aprem 1983 The Chaldean Syrian Church of the East Delhi National Council of Churches in India Mooken Aprem 1987 Mar Abdisho Thondanat A Biography Trichur Mar Narsai Press Mundadan Anthony Mathias Thekkedath Joseph 1982 History of Christianity in India Vol 2 Bangalore Church History Association of India Mundadan Anthony Mathias 1984 Indian Christians Search for Identity and Struggle for Autonomy Bangalore Dharmaram College Perczel Istvan 2013 Peter Bruns Heinz Otto Luthe eds Some New Documents on the Struggle of the Saint Thomas Christians to Maintain the Chaldaean Rite and Jurisdiction Orientalia Christiana Festschrift fur Hubert Kaufhold zum 70 Geburtstag pp 415 436 Wiesbaden Harrassowitz Verlag Perczel Istvan 2018 Daniel King ed Syriac Christianity in India The Syriac World Routledge pp 653 697 ISBN 9781317482116 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Syrian Catholics of Malabar amp oldid 1214802296, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.