St. Thomas Dayara is a monastery of the

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an Autocephaly, autocephalous Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in #Catholicate ...

situated in Vettikkal, about five kilometres from

Mulanthuruthy Mulanthuruthy, also spelt Mulamthuruthy, is a south-eastern suburb of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. The historic Marthoman church is located here. Chottanikkara Temple is situated nearby Mulanthuruthy. Location It is about 15 km southea ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

History

In the year 1125, on the first Sunday after Easter, a cross brought from St. Thomas Church, Mulanthuruthy was erected at Vettikkal,About the Dayara
/ref> which was the then border point between the Royal Provinces of Kochi and Travancore, in the name of India's Apostle and our Guardian Saint Blessed St. Thomas. This ancient Holy Cross is still retained on the east side wall of the Dayara building. In the year 1200 it was declared a Chapel. Kattumangattu Junior Bava Geevarghese Coorilose (second Bishop of Thozhiyoor Church) who died in 1809, is buried in this Dayara. He is considered a saint by the local faithful, who celebrate his feast on 28 and 29 May. Thousands of people irrespective of religious affiliations attend this every year and receive blessings. In 1877,

Parumala Thirumeni Geevarghese Mar Gregorios of Parumala (15 June 1848 – 2 November 1902), also known as Parumala Thirumeni, was a Metropolitan bishop, Metropolitan of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church. Parumala Thirumeni became the first person of Indian or ...

, the

Malankara Metropolitan The Malankara Metropolitan, or the Metropolitan of Malabar, is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of the Malankara Syrian Church. It evolved from the sixteenth-century East Syriac metropolitans of India who were also styled as the Metro ...

, after 40 days of meditation and fasting, consecrated the renovated Dayara and the Holy Madbaha. Soon after the consecration ceremony, the 'first Holy Synod of Malankara Church' was conducted in the Dayara. The Malankara Church was demarcated into seven dioceses in this Synod with Bishops being assigned to each Diocese. In 1976, Metropolitan Joseph Mar Pachomios renovated the Dayara. On 10 December 1976, in the centenary year of Parumala Thirumeni's ordination as Metropolitan, the holy relics of

were transferred and interred here. In 1977, on 10 December, a Chapel in the upper floor of the Dayara was consecrated by

Baselios Marthoma Mathews I Baselios Marthoma Mathews I (27 March 1907 – 8 November 1996) was the primate of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, also known as Indian Orthodox Church. He was the 5th catholicos of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and 18th Malankara M ...

, the Catholicose.

Pictures

File:Vettikkal Dayara01.jpg, Vilakku File:Vettikkal Dayara02.jpg, Chapel File:Vettikkal Dayara03.jpg, Tombs

References

External links

Official Website

Malankara Sabha History

Website of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
Malankara Orthodox Syrian church buildings

Churches in Ernakulam District Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

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