The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church - History & Complete Information
Read this article to know about the history of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. It is the oldest Christian church in Kerala which is also the 1st in India and perhaps in the Asia itself. This is also like the history of the Christian community of Kerala.
This is an ancient church in India, the first Church in Kerala, India and the Asia itself, is considered as old as any other ancient Christian communities elsewhere in the world. It is estimated that the church was in existence at least from A D 52. This was established by St Thomas, one of the Disciples of Jesus Christ. St Thomas came to India to spread Christianity in the Indian Sub Continent and in Asia. In those days, The Europeans and later the Muslims of the Arab regions had trading contacts with the South West Coast of India. During those days the only important port known to the outside world in India is the Kodungallur (Crangannore – Muziri) now a small town in the Thrissur District. At that time this was the capital of Kerala under the Cheraman Perumals who were the principle rulers of Kerala. Meaning of Malankara
Kerala at that time used to be the area between the Arabian Sea (known as the Eritherian Sea at that time) on the West, Western Ghats on the East Indian Ocean in the South and Gokarnam in the North. As per the legend of the formation of Kerala we are told that the Lord Parasurama threw his maze standing at Gokarna to the South as per the advice of the Varuna Lord (Lord of Water) for bringing up the land from under the sea. The maze fell at the end of Kanyakumari and the land thus came out of the Sea is supposed to be the Kerala. This area was referred as the Malankara (mala = mountain and Kara = land) mountainous region. Hence the name of the Church in this Coastal area was called Malankara Church.
The Christians of these regions were known as the St Thomas Christians or the Syrian Christians since the apostle St Thomas of Syria was instrumental in coordinating the Jews already present here and the conversions of the locals to Christianity and furthering the Christianity in the region since A D 52. This church is also known as the Indian Orthodox Church, Orthodox Church. This church had the status of the autocephalous (self headed or autonomous) church whose head has not to report any higher ranking bishop. However, this church maintains some connections with the Syriac Orthodox Church and its predecessor the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. Usually the churches will be hierarchical Christian churches. Thomas the Apostle
As indicated earlier Thomas Apostle (person sent on Mission – great moral reformer – highest ecclesiastical official) is considered as the founder or father of the Indian Churches came to the then port of Kerala, Kodungallur (Muziri) in 52 AD. He was a direct disciple of Jesus who took upon the mission of spreading christanism in India and around Asia. Those days, the contact of entire India and the Asia was through the port of the then Kodungallur (known at that time as Muziris) which was a very important international trade center having contact with the Europeans and the Arab world. This port of Kodungallur went into extinct due to the flood of 1341 AD which realigned the coast around this place and a new port the present Cochin came into existence. Traders from the above places used to come regularly for trade and gradually some of these outsiders started settling here and places around Kodungallur. To co-ordinate the Jews settlers and to further convert the locals, Apostle Thomas a Galilean by birth and one of the 12 disciples of Jesus came to Kodungallur. From the Muziris Thomas went to Palayoor a place near the present Guruvayur.
Palayur was a place of Hindu priestly community. From there he went to the southern parts of Kerala. He established the Ezhara (7 & 1/2) pallikal (churches). These pallees are at Kodungallur, Palayur (present Chattukulangara) Kollam, Niranam (St Mary's Orthodox), Nilackal (Chayal), Kokkamangalam, Kottakkayal (present Paravoor) and the Arappally (half church) at Thiruvithankode a small town in the Kanyakumari District). Doubting Thomas and Didymus (twin)
Apostle Thomas was also known as the Doubting Thomas and Twin. Let us see why he was known by these names. When Jesus was declared dead after stoning, his followers declared the resurrection of Jesus. Thomas did not believe the resurrection and wanted to be convinced by physical touch. He was believed to have touched the wounds of Jesus living. After this he became a believer and became disciple of Jesus. Now his term 'Doubting Thomas/es' is used to describe persons who refuse to believe things without direct touch or physical evidence. At that time hi is the only Apostle who went out of the Roman Empire to preach Christianity. Besides India he is believed to have traveled in other South East Asian countries including parts of China.
In the Gospel of John Thomas is referred as Didymus, the Twin. One reason for identifying him as twin is that he was considered as twin to Jesus as Jesus told Thoma that since Thomas is his twin and true companion, he can examine himself. Another factor is that in Aramaic Language Tau'ma or Toma is twin. From these words the name Thomas came hence he is known as the Twin. Nazaranees
The Christians of Kerala are called as Nazaranees. The word Nazrani is plural of Nazra and is believed to have come from the place name of Nazareth the place f followers of Jesus. They were independent and were having coordination arrangements with Syrians and were following the Syrian Church practices for their religious matters and church matters. Till the arrival of the Portuguese there was no problem to the Christian community. The Portuguese were following the Roman Catholic System under the Pope. They were a dominant group and wanted to bring the Kerala Church and the Christian community under the Papal system (under Pope). Portuguese domination
With the arrival of Portuguese their missionaries also came. Their Christian Missionaries were very keen to bring all the churches in India – at that time churches in India were mainly confined to the Kerala coast and Tamilnad only –under the Roman Catholic headed by the Pope. The Portuguese Missionaries were successful in pressuring the representatives of the local parishes who attended the Synod (governing body of Eastern Church) of Diamper (foreign pronunciation of Udayamperoor) to accept the authority of Pope. Following this the Indian Churches were governed by the Portuguese Missionaries. They did not like the independence of the local church and started interfering in the administration of the church. This resulted in a general revolt ending in the 1653 Coonan Cross Oath. Koan Kurishu Satyam (Coonan Cross Oath)
The local church was independent under Apostle Thomas. Originally the St Thomas Christians were having common leadership and ritual practices of the church of the east headquartered in Persia. Then the Portuguese missionaries came and tried to bring them under the Latin rituals of Catholic Church by pressure. This was resisted by the majority of the community and they joined the archdeacon St Thomas (a senior level clergy above the normal clergies but below that of Bishop) who was the head of the church at that time. They did a public vow or swearing to the effect of not to become part of the Portuguese Church or the Roman Catholic Church. This vow, swearing or oath is known as the Coonan Cross Oath. This happened on the 3rd January 1653. Now those who took the oath of Coonan Cross and remained to St Thomas are known as the Malankara Church followers. By this Oath the local church wanted to maintain its independence. This also had a problem for the local church in the sense that there was no Bishop for them at that time. Hence the local Christian representatives appealed to the other eastern churches for help. The eastern churches sent the Bishop of Jerusalem Gregarious Abdul Jaleel. He confirmed St Thomas as Marthoma (Mar Toma - Saint Thomas) I, and as the bishop. The Bishop and Mar Thoma agreed to work together to organize the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Administration of the Orthodox Church
Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church has a constitution evolved gradually from its experience of functioning over a time. It has adopted a system of democratic set up to decide about the administration of the church. The base of the administrative set up consists of all members of the Parish. A parish is the territorial unit like a village or a colony etc under the care of a parish priest. All members of a parish are automatically members of Idavaka Sangham (Idavaka = of the locality) (sangham = assembly) meaning the General Body of the local unit. They elect their representative/s to the Diocesan Assembly and the prathinidhi mandalam (representative council – Church Parliament) Episcopal (a head of religious institution like a Bishop) Synod (council of church). Diocese means an administrative area like the District, consisting of a number of parishes under the care of Bishop. The Mar Thoma assembly is known as the Grand Assembly - Episcopal Synod of the Marthoma Suryani Sabha Prathinidhi Mandalam to help the Bishop in the administrative matters and also to help the selection committee to select the candidates for the ministry of the church. The title head of the church is the Marthoma - Marthoma Metropolitan. He is selected from among the Bishops duly consecrated (solemn dedication) of the jurisdictions concerned. Normal practice is to select the senior most Bishop. If the Marthoma finds it difficult for him to manage the duties, he can relinquish the position and another person is selected for the position. In that event, relinquished Marthoma becomes the Mar Thoma Valia Metropolitan, Senior Marthoma Metropolitan. Metropolitans are assisted by episcopes and the senior most among them is called the Suffragan Metropolitan (deputy to Marthoma).
Saint Thomas with the same name, as the founder of Christianity not only in Kerala but the whole country, was the main person of the church in Kerala and was also the head of administration of the church. But the history after the founder is not clear till the seventeenth century. The then Idavaka Moopens (parish elders) designated St Thomas as Archdeacon (Arkadayakon in Malayalam) to head the Christians of Saint Thomas. Subsequently a general meeting on 22nd ay 1653 at Allangad elevated him to the status to the Bishop titling him as Marthoma -1. It was akin to the prince and head of the community. It had such titles as Gate of All India and Governor of India etc. St Thomas had the sanction of the local kings of Cochin and Travancore and St Thomas had even a small army of Syrian Christian solders. This is the start of the reign of Marthoma Metropolitans. They are from the Pakalmattom family in Malankara. This family had the privilege of having the Marthoma Metropolitan continuously till the time of Marthoma IX. Then one Joseph Ramban of Pulikottil became a powerful person in the Christian community and the community identified him as the new leader. With this the continuity of Pakalmattom family for the claim of Marthoma Metrans came to a full stop. The new Metrans came from different families. In one dominant Roman Catholic St Thomas Christian Matthoo Tharakan of Thachil house captured the Marthoma VI and forced the church to conduct the mass in Latin catholic procedures. But immediately thereafter there was the Hindu Revolt under the lead of Velu Thampi Dalava. During this revolt, Matthoo Tarakan escaped and the earlier position was restored. The Bishops after the Metropolitan 9 was being more popularly known as the Malankara Metropolitans instead of the Mar Thoma. They were recognized by Royal proclamations of the Hindu rulers of the Cochin and Travancore kingdoms. Malankara and Jacobite Syrian Churches
The arrangement as per the Coonan Cross Oath did not last long and gradually differences arose between the local units. Some of the revolters who were with the Malankara Church at the time of Oath had rethinking pointing out that the Mar Thoma -1 was not ordained properly as Bishop and hence he could not be considered as Bishop and wanted to go back to be under the Roman Catholic Church. The original group in 1912 held a function at St Mary Church at Niranam. In this function one Murimattathil Paulose Mar Ivanios was consecrated under the name Baselios Paulose -1 by an ecclesiastical advisory body led by the Patriarch Ignatius Abdul Masih – 2. Among the Kerala Christian community those who supported Baselios Paulose is now known as the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Those who opposed this and continued with the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs are known as the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. There were attempts to unite these two groups and partially succeeded between 1958 and 1975 but was purely temporary only. The church leaders and the decisions of 2 decisions of the Supreme Court could not make them to work together. The groups are operating as two separate churches now. The Indian Orthodox Church – Malankara Church is following the Alexandrian Christian community church and the Coptic (Oriental) Orthodox Church follows the West Syrian rituals. The Protestant Influence
During the period the British East India has already established themselves and started expanding South wards. Eventually The East India Company power was taken over by the British Government. Eventually the British captured the Malabar in 1795. One of the British priests Rev Claudius Buchanan came to the St Thomas Church. The Malankara Church opened seminary (Theological College, or divinity school in theology) in Kottayam during the year 1815. In 1816 the British Missionaries joined this institution. However they started imposing the Protestant doctrines on the theology. This was resented by the Malankara Church and naturally they disassociated from the British Missionaries. This association of the British created one more division into the Christian movement in Kerala and the factions became three in numbers. The London Missionary became very active and the first English church was opened at Thalavady. This was inaugurated this British church in the house of one Itti Matthan Panicker. This became later the Church of South India.
In Kerala history there is absolutely no evidence of Nambudhiris or Jews being converted by St. Thomas or at a later stage by missionaries coming from Persia. Instead of scientifically proving (not manipulated ) genetic link between Jews or Nambudhiris with Syrian Christians, people like George Menachery are making ridiculous references to colour of dress, building model, customs, rituals and social habits to claim Brahmin and Jewish ancestry. Along with these preposterous comparisons, manipulated DNA tests are being conducted to nullify authentic records of conversion of untouchables by saintly and trustworthy CMS missionaries such as Norton, Fenn, Baker, Bailey, Peet, Dawson and others Hawksworth says that he converted slaves, and how can DNA test show that the descendants of the slaves have Jewish blood? The descendants of slaves in Alappuzha, Mallappally, Pallom, Mavelikara, Chengannur are now a a part of mainstream Syrian Christian community. CMS (now CSI) church marriage registers will show how many Malankara and Jacobites have married CMS boys and girls.
Missionaries from Persia who came to Kerala in pre-colonial days were not Jews or Assyrians, but Persians. It is not sufficiently realized by racist writers that the immense majority of the members of the Nestorian Church living east of the Tigris were of Persian, and not Semitic or Aramean birth and extraction. Many were born of Christian parents who originally belonged to the Zoroastrian faith, and many others were only themselves converts from Zoroastrianism. So it is sheer absurdity to claim Jewish or Assyrian genealogy through Persians who periodically visited Kerala.
Another argument of these racists is that tying of thali is a proof that Syrian Christians are descendants of Nambudhiris. But this claim is also not sustainable because untouchables such as Parayas, Pulayas, Mukkuvas, vannans and many others tie thali. Paul Roche gives this account of Paraya Catholic marriage: “The priest, though of higher caste, does not treat the Paraiya couple as untouchables. He blesses the couple and says Mass for them. The symbol of the wedding union is the thali. The thali is a gold medal on a yellow thin string. It is yellow because it is dyed with turmeric (Manjal). During Mass the priest blesses the thali and hands it over to the bridegroom who ties it around the neck of the bride. The priest also blesses two flower garlands and hands one each to the bridegroom and the bride who garland each other." The fact that Syrian Christians follow Hindu rituals is a clear proof that they were converted from backward Hindu communities. Ezhava, Pulaya and Paraya Christians are having Hindu relatives of their own castes even after conversion and therefore they still retain more Hindu rituals and customs than Syrians who were also lower caste converts. Menachery, instead of pointing out Hindu rituals and manipulated DNA, should give clear evidence about the conversion of Nambudhiris or Jews --- the locality of these Nambudhiris or Jews, the number of people converted, the year of conversion and , above all, the person or missionary who converted them. CMS missionaries' diaries give a detailed account of the caste of the converted people and the date, place and year of conversion. Can Menachery produce such a record of Nambudhiri or Jewish conversion, instead of showing fake DNA or the white dress that even Paraya Pentecost people wear everywhere?
Quite surprisingly, these racial writers also claim that Church built on the model of a Hindu temple is another proof for their Nambudhiri ancestry. But Paraya and Pulaya temples are also like Nair temples.. Lamp, especially oil lamp, Kuthvilakku, is lighted on all important occasions of Parayas, and this practice is also prevalent in some Syrian houses. Church architecture was modeled on temple architecture because that was the prevalent pattern of buildings in Kerala at that time. Aishwarya has recently constructed a house in Mumbai in American style. Is it not foolish to claim American ancestry for her because of her American model house? What separates Syrian Christians from Nambudhiri Brahmin and links them to lower castes is their lifestyle and food habits. Syrian Christian settlements were seen on the coastal areas and thick jungles. But Nambudhiri settlements were inside villages, near temples and tanks. Syrian Christians like Parayas eat beef and pork. But Nambudhiris are vegetarians. Jews do not eat pork. Christian Jews in Israel and Europe do not eat pork. But for Syrians, pork is a favorite dish. In convents, sisters rear pigs to supply pork to Christians on important occasions such as Christmas, Easter and Anniversaries. Another important factor that separates Syrians from Brahmins is, Nambudhiris wear a sacred thread (poonool) which is conspicuously absent in Syrian Christians. Nairs followed matrinelial system but Syrian Christians like Parayas follow patrilineal system and their surnames are generally inherited from the father and property passes to the sons. To camouflage this, people like George Menacchery claim Nambudhiri and Jewish descent without realizing the cardinal fact that Syrian Christian population is greater than Nambudhiris and Jews. Some Syrians live in a fantasy world thinking St.Thomas converted Nambudhiris to claim ‘nobility status' without realizing the historical fact that there were no Nambudhiris when St Thomas came in the First century A.D. There is also no reference to the conversion of Chera kings. Nairs were also not converted, for Kerala history has recorded that Nairs used Syrian Christians to do free labour (oozhiyam) in their farmlands. In Jewish records kept by Koder there is no reference to Christian Jews. Menachery has even quoted Kesavan Veluthat and M.G.S.Narayanan confirming the coming of Nambudiris to Kerala several centuries after the coming of St. Thomas. .And yet, a racist claim is propagated that five Brahmin families in Kodungalloor were converted to Christianity by St. Thomas in the first century, when there were no Brahmins at that time. .Another phony claim is that Nambudhiri Christians migrated to Kuravilangad, Angamaly, Pallipuram, Niranam etc.and founded Christian settlements. Probably at the time of persecution of Christians by one Manickavachagar some backward Christian converts would have fled from Kodungalloor to jungle areas. But how could Nambudhiri caste could be attached to those fugitives, when there is no record in Kerala history about Nambudhiri conversion or about the flight of some Nambudhiri families to jungle areas? Another laughable claim of Menachery is that Christianity is older than Hinduism in Kerala ignoring the fact that Hinduism in Kerala can be traced to the Indus Valley religion. Research studies suggest the possible relationship with Indus Valley Civilization during the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age. Rock engravings in the Edakkal Caves (in Wayanad) are thought to date from the early to late Neolithic eras around 5000 B.C. M.R. Raghava Varier of the Kerala state archaeology department identified a sign of “a man with jar cup" in the engravings, which is the most distinct motif of the Indus valley civilization. It is rank foolishness to claim that there was no religion in Kerala before the Nambudhiris came and introduced their own religion. Nambudhiris did not destroy any god or goddess of Keralites. All the gods and goddesses of pre-Nambudhiri Kerala were declared various incarnations of Nambudhiri gods. Another racial and offensive argument of Menachery is to claim phony superiority status for untouchable Syrian converts along with Nambudhiris and Jews by referring to the similarities in (to quote his words)“ the customs and traditions of the Namboothiri Brahman, Jews and Syrian Christians in the matter of their attitude to pollution, untouchability, or the idea of “Clean and Unclean".. It is only after the coming of the colonial powers that Christians were instructed to lead a clean and hygienic life. According to early Portuguese and British writers Syrian Christians were in a very pathetic condition when they first met them. Abbe J.A. Dubois, a missionary in Mysore, in his letter dated August 7, 1815, writes: “The Jesuits, on their first arrival in India, hearing of them, in one way or other converted the greatest part to the Catholic faith. Their liturgy is to this day in the Syrian language, and in the performance of their religious ceremonies they use this ancient dead tongue. There remains still among them large congregations, consisting of 70 or 80,000 Christians, of whom two-thirds are Catholics, and a third Nestorians. They are all designated under the contemptuous name of Nazarany, and held by the pagans in still greater contempt than the Christians of this part of the country. The Nairs chiefly keep them at a greatest distance, and they form a separate body in society." (Dubois, Abbe J.A., Letters On The State of Christianity in India, New Delhi:Associated Publishing House, (1977),p.12).European missionaries trained Christians to live in cleanliness and to dress properly. Some decisions of the Synod of Diamper refer to the untidy lifestyle, superstition, and unhygienic environment of Christians.. .An eye witness account by Samuel Mateer when he visited Syrian Christian (not Protestant CMS Christians) settlements as narrated in his book, ‘Native Life in Travancore,' is given below:
The Syrians appear to be in the lowest condition in the
northern and mountainous districts in Muvdttupulay direction….
Between Cottayam and Trichoor, a distance of about 70 miles,
a great field for Christian labour lies open, for which the
Alwaye Itineracy has been established. At Mdvdttupulay
and Todupulay there are large numbers of Syrians, poor, hard-
working, and kind people, renting lands from the Nambiiri
landlords, for which they pay four or five times the seed sown,
and cultivating areca palms and the fruits, roots, and grains on
which they live. They have no Scriptures or other books, and
few schools. Nor is there a Sirkar District school at either of
the two district towns just mentioned. The priests conduct
service and go off to their houses ; sometimes indeed there is
no one to hold worship in the churches. The surrounding
population have very little idea as to what God the Syrians
worship, or how
The ignorance and spiritual darkness of these poor nominal
Christians is very great. On a tour in that quarter not long
ago to see the country, I very carefully and cautiously examined
those whom I met, or stayed with, as to their knowledge of
Christian truth. It was heart-rending to learn of the criminal
indifference and negligence of the priests, and to find old men
and young quite ignorant, not only of the Scriptures, which they
never read nor hear read, but even as to who Jesus Christ
was. " I know nothing of it " said an old man with whom I
conversed. A youth with handsome open countenance could
not tell what kind of person or character Jesus Christ was —
whether a Brahman, a government officer, a carpenter, or what !
He "could not say." One could hardly credit that such
Ignorance was possible ; but a native friend, who accompanied
me, also repeated the queries in various forms to make sure
that they were understood, and both of us used their Syriac
terms. The old man could mumble over the creed, but did not
know the meaning. “What then do you go to church for? "
"To do the appointed things, and worship the cross. The
priest shows us God." But he could not tell why the cross was
worshipped. Another said he went to worship the Apostle
Paul, but did not know who he was, or what he did. " Why
are you baptized ? " " For the religion and for the soul ; to
make me a Mapillay," were the answers. " Why do you attend
the holy communion ? " ** Because it is the custom. We are
told to do it, but do not know the reason why." " Is it the
same as eating your rice } " " Oh no, something quite different,
but I do not know what." Scarcely any knew who the first
man was, and such like things. I found that the Syrians were beneath the Roman Catholics of the neighbourhood, both in knowledge and in morals" (Native Life in Travancore, 1883 Book digitized by Google from the library of New York Public Library)
It is quite evident from Samuel Mateer's account that the Syrian Christians of the pre-British period in Travancore were not Nambudiri converts but lower castes working as farm labourers of Nambudiri jenmis. Churches were managed by local, uneducated priests having Nestorian belief. No wonder Syrian Christian converts of that period went to neighborhood Hindu temples. There were also wealthy and elite groups of Syrian Christians living in urban areas. They were elevated to that status by the Portuguese by employing them as Army officers, soldiers, police officers, brokers, planters, traders, accountants, cooks and messengers. They were not Nambudiris but from various sub castes. But they even controlled Nambudhiris and Nairs because the Raja of Kochi was a loyal vassal of the Portuguese. This may be the probable reason for them to assume Nambudhiri and Jewish status, although they came from untouchable stock.
Despite an avalanche of irrefutable evidences that Syrian Christians cannot claim Nambudhiri or Jewish ancestry, why these racists are inventing lies to usurp the identity of others by referring to temple architecture, colour of dress, phony DNA ,tying of thali and cleanliness?