St. Mary's Church or Marth Maryam Cathedral is a

valiyapally Valiyapally (Malayalam: വലിയ പള്ളി, "Principal church") is a title given to a main church in a diocese of the Christian denominations Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. For a church to be de ...

(principal church) of the

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

situated in

Kothamangalam Kothamangalam, , is a municipality in Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. The town is in the foothills of the Western Ghats, and is a part of the Idukki Lok Sabha constituency. The town serves as the headquarters of a taluk and a municipality ...

town in the

Ernakulam district Ernakulam, ; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'', in Malayalam: എറണാകുളം), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, that takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part o ...

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 ...

, India. It is one of the most ancient Christian churches in India. According to local belief, the church was founded on or before 4th century by a few Syrian Christian families who migrated from Paravur and Angamali. The new church established in AD 1338 by four

Syrian Christian Syrian or Syriac Christians may refer to * Adherents of Christianity in Syria * Adherents of Syriac Christianity, various Christian bodies of Syriac traditions, especially: ** Syriac/Assyrian/Aramean people, Christian neo-Aramaic speakers through ...

merchants who bought the entire land of Kothamangalam from a local chief for commodity trading with the nearby state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

History

Kothamangalam Marth Mariam Valiyapally old photo

Kothamangalam was a major commercial city during the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

period. The Marth Maryam church at Kothamangalam, commonly known as

Valiyapally Valiyapally (Malayalam: വലിയ പള്ളി, "Principal church") is a title given to a main church in a diocese of the Christian denominations Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. For a church to be de ...

is the oldest of all the churches in the region. Present Kothamangalam region was historically known as ''Malakhachira'' (മാലാഖച്ചിറ, which literally means "Place of the Angel"). The name came from a legend associated with

Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twi ...

. According to tradition, the Apostle, during his mission in India, stayed in this region where he had a vision of

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

who instructed him to establish seven and a half churches in Malankara. According to tradition, Mar Yuhannon who represented the

Malankara Church The Malankara Church, also known as ''Puthenkur'' and more popularly as Jacobite Syrians, is the historic unified body of West Syriac Saint Thomas Christian denominations which claim ultimate origins from the missions of Thomas the Apostle. ...

at the Holy Synod of Ephesus in AD 431 stayed at Kothamangalam church and had visited Angamaly Church.

John Mason Neale John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar and hymnwriter. He worked and wrote on a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his most ...

, ''A history of the Holy Eastern Church : the Patriarchate of Antioch'', (First published 1873. Republisher: Facsimile Publisher, 2015), p.6, ff.3..

Altars

The altars in the Martha Maryam church are dedicated to the blessed

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, and Apostles

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

and Saint Thomas

Feasts

The most important festivals of the church are celebrated on 10 February and 15 August.

Holy Soonoro

A small portion of the

Holy Girdle The Holy Girdle, also known as the Girdle of Thomas, Holy Girdle of Mary, Holy ''Zoonoro'', (or) ''Zunoro'', and Holy Belt of Saint Mary the mother of Jesus, is a relic of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is one of the important relics of Syriac ...

Saint Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, rediscovered at the

at Homs in 1953 by

Patriarch of Antioch Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian c ...

Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum ( syc, ܡܪܢ ܡܪܝ ܐܝܓܢܐܛܝܘܣ ܐܦܪܝܡ ܒܪܨܘܡ, ar, إغناطيوس أفرام الأول برصوم, June 15, 1887–June 23, 1957) was the 120th Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syri ...

, was established in this church In 1980 by the diocesan Metropolitan Thomas Mor Dionysius (The present Catholicos of Malankara).

Historical Events

*All the six Patriarchs of Antioch who had visited Malankara in the last two centuries came to this church as well. The last of these Patriarchal visits was that of Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II in 2015. It was during such a visit that Patriarch Ignatius Zakka Iwas I had ordained an assistant metropolitan for the diocese by name Mor

Severios Abraham Mor Severios Abraham is a Syriac Orthodox bishop. , he is the Metropolitan of Angamali region of the Angamali Diocese and Abbott of Mor Gabriel Dayro (Monastery). He is the most senior metropolitan in the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church. Early ...

, at the Kothamangalam Cheriapally. *As per the biography of Saint Gregorios of Malankara written by Mookencheril Paily Varkey in 1903, Palakunnath

Mathews Mar Athanasius Mathews Mar Athanasius (Mar Thoma XIII) (25 April 1818 – 16 July 1877) was the Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Church from 1852 until 1865. As a reformer, he spent most of his reign attempting to reform and heal rifts within the chur ...

ordained St. Gregorios of Parumala as

Korooyo , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

in this church in 1858. *From 1974 to 1997, the building adjacent to the Valiyapally was the bishop's residence of the diocesan Metropolitan.

Gallery

File:Kothamanagalam Valiyapally altar.jpg, Kothamanagalam

''Madbaho'' (altar). File:Baptismal font @ Valiyapally Kothamangalam.jpg,

Baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

of the church.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Jacobite Syrian Cathedral, Kothamangalam Syriac Orthodox churches in India Soonoro churches in Kerala Syriac Orthodox cathedrals Churches in Kothamangalam Oriental Orthodox cathedrals in India Churches completed in 1338 14th-century churches in India 14th-century Oriental Orthodox church buildings