Champakulam Kalloorkadu St. Mary's Basilica (

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

: ചമ്പക്കുളം വലിയ പള്ളി) is an ancient Christian Church in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. It belongs to the Syro-Malabar Church under the Archeparchy of Changanacherry. It is a Forane church, with several parishes under it.

History

Champakulam Champakulam is a village in Kerala, India. It is in Alappuzha district. Champakulam is part of Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala, and is resplendent in green paddy fields, coconut groves and water fowl. Champakulam is an important tourist spo ...

Kalloorkadu St. Mary's Basilica (also called Champakulam Valia Palli) is one of the oldest Christian churches in India and the mother church of almost all Catholic Syrian churches in Alleppey District. Believed to be established in AD 427, the church was rebuilt many times. Champakulam church was once under

Niranam Church Niranam Pally, popularly known as Niranam Valiya Pally or St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church, Kadapra, is a church under the Niranam Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. It is believed that this church was one of the Church along wit ...

, which was founded by the Apostle Saint Thomas himself. The many rock inscriptions found around the church tell us about the history of the church. The open air Rock Cross at Champakulam church is one of the most ancient crosses with clear documentation of its antiquity, dating to AD 1151. There are many archaeological artifacts found around the church that tell more about its history. Champakulam Church had very friendly relations with the '' Puthenkoottukar'' and had a pivotal role in many ecumenical efforts in the eighteenth century. Ikkako Kathanar, one of the martyrs (nasranis) of

East Syriac The East Syriac Rite or East Syrian Rite, also called the Edessan Rite, Assyrian Rite, Persian Rite, Chaldean Rite, Nestorian Rite, Babylonian Rite or Syro-Oriental Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Liturgy ...

Catholics, was born in this parish. Champakulam church has been recognized by the Universal Church as a Basilica. On 27 November 2016, the church was officially declared as a basilica by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

and

Mar Joseph Perumthottam Mar Joseph Perumthottam (born 5 July 1948) is a prelate of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Since 2007 he as served as the Archbishop of Changanassery. Education He was educated in St. Joseph's High School in Punnathura and St. Berchmans' ...

, the Metropolitan Archbishop of

Changanacherry Changanassery or Changanacherry is a municipal town in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. History The first recorded history on the origin of Changanacherry is obtained from Sangam period literature. According to Sangam era d ...

. This is the first basilica in the archdiocese of Changanasserry, the fourth in the Syro Malabar Church, the ninth in Kerala and the twenty-third basilica in India. Over the years, the church has undergone significant updates. Initially, there was a small parish hall with about hundred seats. A few years back, a bigger Parish Hall was constructed. The latest, inaugurated on 3 January 2011, has 800+ seats. St. Mary's Theological Center was inaugurated in 2011 as well.

The Church At Glance

* Parish : Champakulam * Forane : Champakulam * Diocese : Changanacherry * Patron : St.

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

* First Church : AD 427 * Priests : 4 * Vicar :Very Rev. Fr. Kadathukalam Abraham * Asst.Vicars: Fr. Kakkaparampil Antony and Fr. Rino John SVD * Catholic Population : 6500 * Catholic Families : 1378 * Phone : 0477-2736252

Holy Qurbana The Holy Qurbana ( syr, ܩܘܼܪܒܵܢܵܐ ܩܲܕܝܫܵܐ, ''Qurbānā Qaddišā'' in Eastern Syriac or ''Qurbānā Qandišā'' in the Indian variant of Eastern Syriac, the "Holy Offering" or "Holy Sacrifice" in English), refers to the Eucharis ...
Timings

* Sundays : 6.00AM, 7.30AM, 9.30AM, 4.00PM * Other Days : 6.00AM, 7.00AM * Wednesdays : 6.30AM, 4.00PM

Catholic Organizations

*C.M.L *

Altar Boys Altar Boys were a Christian punk band from California formed in 1982. The original members were Mike Stand (vocals, songwriting and guitar), Jeff Crandall (drums), Steve Pannier (guitars) and Ric Alba (bass guitar and backing vocals). Mark Rob ...

*Thirubala sakhyam *Yuva Deepti-S.M.Y.M *Mathru Jyothis *Pithru Vedi *

St. Vincent De Paul Society The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor. Innumerable Catholic parishes have ...

*Darsana Smooham *Choir Group

Location (Wikimapia)

* http://wikimapia.org/101750/Champakulam-Kaloorkadu-St-Mary-s-Forane-Church-AD-427

Famous Parishioners

There are many famous parishioners in the history of Kalloorkadu church. One of them is the martyr of the church, Ikkako Kathanar.

Ikkako Kathanar

Ikkako Kathanar was a priest from this parish who became martyr in the hand of Portuguese for protecting the East Syriac tradition of the indigenous catholic church of India (Nasranis) mainly along the malabar coast. Till the arrival of Europeans Nasranis were belonging to the

rites in the Catholic Church. The Europeans under the Padroado and Propaganda tried to forcefully convert the nasranis into western or Latin rite. Ikkako Kathanar is one of the faithful of the church who tried to resist this illegal attempt which extended over more than five centuries. He attained martyrdom under the hands of propaganda carmelites during this.

Annual Feasts

Apart from general Christian Holy celebrations like Christmas, Good Friday & Easter (Holy week) etc., there are two main yearly feasts (മലയാളം: പെരുന്നാള്‍).

Feast of Mother Mary / Marian apparition(ദര്‍ശനതിരുന്നാള്‍)

The Feast of the Apparition lasts for 11 days of pious celebrations and concludes on the Sunday following 15 October.

Commemoration of the Death of St. Joseph (യൌസേപ്പ് പിതാവിന്റെ മരണ തിരുന്നാള്‍)

This is a 'shradham- Chatham' conducted in commemoration of the death of St. Joseph is held on 19 March every year. It attracts thousands of devotees to Kalloorkadu Church from far of places. Moonnu Noyambu Perunnaal of Champakulam Champakulam Church is one of the ancient churches in which Moonnu Noyambu Perunnaal (Three day fast- Rogation of Ninevites) celebrated regularly which has been discontinued in the recent past. There are clear documentation about the Moonnu noyambu perunaal of champakulam in the records about the financial help and support from the Kings of Chempakasserry for the feast.

Parishes Under Champakulam Forane

# Champakulam (Kalloorkad) St. Mary's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church 0477-2736252 # Kondackal St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church 0477-2736216 # Pullangady Holy Family Syro-Malabar Catholic Church 0477-2736346 # Thekkekara St. John's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church 0477-2707031 # Vadakkeamichakari St. George's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church 0477-2707075 # Vaisyambhagam St. Antony's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church 0477-2736501 # St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Chennamkary 0477-2724237 # Kandankary St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church 0477-2737125 # Narbonapuram St. Sebastian's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church 0477-2762205 # Nazareth St. Jerome's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church 0477-2762205 # Sleevapuram Syro-Malabar Catholic Church(Ponga) 0477-2762188 # Chennamkary Lourdes Matha Syro-Malabar Catholic Church 0477- # Padaharam St.Joseph's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

Institutions under the Parish

Religious Houses In the Parish

* St.Martin Chapel * Gagultha Ashram CMI * SABS (The Congregation of the sisters of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament) Convent. ** SABS was founded on 8 December 1908 at Champakulam in Kerala. It had its origin in the personal experience of the Eucharistic presence of the servant of God

Thomas Kurialacherry Venerable Thomas of Kurialacherry (14 January 1873 – 2 June 1925) was a Catholic bishop from Kerala. Kurialacherry was a member of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, and was the first bishop of what would become the Archdiocese of Changana ...

(1873-1925) the first bishop of Changanacherry. * Kurialasserry Bhavan (SABS) * Clara madhom & Orphanage for young girls, Kondakkal.