The ''Paḻayakūṟ'' (''Pazhayakoor'') or ''Romo-Syrians''
or ''Syrian Catholics of Malabar'' refers to the East Syriac denominations of the
Saint Thomas Christian
The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala (Malabar region), ...
Church, which claim ultimate apostolic origin from the Indian mission of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century AD. The ''Paḻayakūṟ'' descends from the faction that remained within the Catholic fold and held fast to an
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 ...
identity after the historic
Coonan Cross Oath
The Coonan Cross Oath ( mal, കൂനൻ കുരിശ് സത്യം, Kūnan Kuriśŭ Satiaṁ), also known as the Great Oath of Bent Cross, the Leaning Cross Oath or the Oath of the Slanting Cross, taken on 3 January 1653 in Mattanch ...
of 1653 while being part of the community seceded from the Portuguese ''
Padroado
The ''Padroado'' (, "patronage") was an arrangement between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Portugal and later the Portuguese Republic, through a series of concordats by which the Holy See delegated the administration of the local churches and gra ...
''. The modern descendants of the ''Paḻayakūṟ'' are the
Syro-Malabar Church
lat, Ecclesia Syrorum-Malabarensium mal, മലബാറിലെ സുറിയാനി സഭ
, native_name_lang=, image = St. Thomas' Cross (Chennai, St. Thomas Mount).jpg
, caption = The Mar Thoma Nasrani Sl ...
and the
Chaldean Syrian Church
The Chaldean Syrian Church of India ( Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܖ̈ܝܐ; Malayalam: / ''Kaldaya Suriyani Sabha'') is an Eastern Christian denomination, based in Thrissur, in India. It is organized as a metropolitan provi ...
. Among these, the former is an
Eastern Catholic church
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of t ...
in
full Communion
Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but ...
with the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
and the latter is an integral part of the
Assyrian Church of the East
The Assyrian Church of the East,, ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية sometimes called Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East,; ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسول ...
, one of the traditionalist descendants of the
Church of the East
The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...
.
History
Early history of Christianity in India
Traditionally, Thomas the Apostle is credited for the establishment of Christianity in India. He is believed to have come to
Muziris
Muziris ( grc, Μουζιρίς, Old Malayalam: ''Muciri'' or ''Muciripattanam'' possibly identical with the medieval ''Muyirikode'') was an ancient harbour and an urban centre on the Malabar Coast. Muziris found mention in the ''Periplus of ...
on the
Malabar coast
The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing m ...
, which is 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 ...
, in AD 52.
The Jewish community in India are known to have existed in Kerala in the 1st century AD,
and it was possible for an
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
-speaking
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
, such as St. Thomas from
Galilee
Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...
, to make a trip to Kerala then.
The earliest known source connecting the Apostle to India is the ''
Acts of Thomas
''Acts of Thomas'' is an early 3rd-century text, one of the New Testament apocrypha within the Acts of the Apostles subgenre. References to the work by Epiphanius of Salamis show that it was in circulation in the 4th century. The complete ver ...
'', likely written in the early 3rd century, perhaps in
Edessa
Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...
.
The tradition of origin of the Christians in Kerala is found in a version of the Songs of Thomas or ''Thomma Parvam'',
["The Song of Thomas Ramban" in Menachery G (ed); (1998) "The Indian Church History Classics", Vol. I, The Nazranies, Ollur, 1998. ] in which, Thomas is described as arriving in or around
Maliankara
Maliankara is a village in Paravur Taluk, Ernakulam district of Kerala. It is located near Moothakunnam. It is also a boat ride away from Munambam and accessible by bridge to Pallipuram of Vypin island. Along with Munambam it forms the north-wes ...
and founding Seven Churches, or ''
Ezharapallikal'':
Kodungallur
Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...
,
Kottakavu ,
Palayoor
Palayūr, also called Palayoor and historically as Palur, is a town near Chavakkad, Thrissur district, India. It is famous for its ancient church, Palayur Mar Thoma Church, which is believed to be one of the seven major churches founded by Sa ...
,
Kokkamangalam
Kokkamangalam also known as Gokkamangalam is a village in Alappuzha district of Kerala state, south India. It is situated in between Cochin and Kumarakom and on the western shore of Vembanad Lake, 5 km east of the town of Cherthala, which ...
,
Nilackal
Nilakkal St.Thomas Ecumenical Church is one of the earliest Christian church in Kerala, India. This church is one among the '' Ezharappallikal'' (seven and a half churches) believed to be established in 54 AD by St. Thomas, one of the twelve ap ...
,
Niranam
Niranam is a village in Tiruvalla, Kerala, India. It was a port in ancient Kerala, on the confluence of the Manimala River, Manimala and Pamba River. It is almost 7 km from Tiruvalla SCS Junction in Pathanamthitta District of Kerala, lies t ...
and
Kollam
Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...
. Some other churches, namely
Thiruvithamcode Arappally
Thiruvithamcode Arappally ("Royal Church"; Tamil:திருவிதாங்கோடு அரப்பள்ளி; Malayalam:തിരുവിതാംകോട് അരപ്പള്ളി;), or Thomayar Kovil or St. Mary's Orthodox ...
(a "half church"),
Malayattoor
Malayattoor is a village in Aluva thaluk . It is situated around 15 km (9 mi) north-east of Angamaly in Ernakulam District in the state of Kerala in South India. The name `Malayattoor' is an amalgamation of three small words. Mala ( ...
and
Aruvithura
Erattupetta is a municipal town located in Kottayam district, close to the place Aruvithura, state of Kerala, India,. It is located 38 km east of Kottayam, the district capital. Erattupetta Grama Panchayath was founded in 1964 and upgrade ...
are often called ''Arappallikal''. The ''Thomma Parvam'' further narrates St Thomas's mission in the rest of South India and his martyrdom at
Mylapore
Mylapore, also spelt Mayilapur, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is also called Tirumayilai. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the cel ...
in present-day
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, Tamil Nadu.
Church of the East in India
An organized Christian presence in India dates to the arrival 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 ...
settlers and missionaries from
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, members of what would become the
Church of the East
The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...
, in around the 3rd century. 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. However, most experts believe that the arrival of Knai Thoma must have occurred in the ninth century. The subgroup of the Saint Thomas Christians known as the
Knanaya
The Knānāya, (from Syriac: ''Knā'nāya'' (Canaanite)) also known as the Southists or Tekkumbhagar, are an endogamous ethnic group found among the Saint Thomas Christian community of Kerala, India. They are differentiated from another part of t ...
or Southists trace their lineage to Thomas of Cana, while the group known as the
Northists
The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...
claim descent from the early Christians evangelized by Thomas the Apostle.
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
traveller
Cosmas Indicopleustes
Cosmas Indicopleustes ( grc-x-koine, Κοσμᾶς Ἰνδικοπλεύστης, lit=Cosmas who sailed to India; also known as Cosmas the Monk) was a Greek merchant and later hermit from Alexandria of Egypt. He was a 6th-century traveller who ma ...
wrote of Syrian Christians he met in India and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
in the 6th century.
Even in Taprobané ri 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 alabar' 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 Reishahr ( fa, ری شهر) or Rev Ardashir () was a city on the Persian Gulf in medieval Iran and is currently an archaeological site near Bushehr. It may be identical to the Antiochia-in-Persis of the Seleucid period, but was refounded by Ardashir ...
, the head of the province, used to consecrated bishops for the Diocese of India. Patriarch
Ishoyahb III
Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene was Patriarch of the Church of the East from 649 to 659.
Sources
Brief accounts of Ishoʿyahb's patriarchate are given in the ''Ecclesiastical Chronicle'' of the Jacobite writer Bar Hebraeus (thirteenth-century), and t ...
(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 parasang
The parasang is a historical Iranian unit of walking distance, the length of which varied according to terrain and speed of travel. The European equivalent is the league. In modern terms the distance is about 3 or 3½ miles (4.8 or 5.6 km).
Hist ...
s, but even your own Persia."
The port at
Kollam
Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...
, 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
Venad was a medieval kingdom lying between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea on the south-western tip of India with its headquarters at the port city of Kollam/Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Is ...
or the State of Quilon, a feudatory under
Sthanu Ravi Varma
Sthanu Ravi Varma ( early Malayalam and Tamil: Ko Tanu Iravi), known as the Kulasekhara, was the Chera Perumal ruler of Kerala in southern India from 844/45 to 870/71 AD.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interp ...
''
Perumal
Perumal (the 'Great One') is the name of a Hindu deity.
It was also a medieval Indian royal title of:
*Western Ganga dynasty Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala''. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 171.
**Sripurusha
**Rajamalla
**Nitim ...
'' of the
Chera kingdom. Sapir Iso was the East Syriac Christian merchant who led the East Syriac bishops
Mar Sabor and Mar Proth
'
Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, according to Syrian Malabar Christian tradition, were two Chaldean Assyrian bishops who landed in the port of Kollam (in present-day Kerala) by the help of a Nestorian merchant, Sabr Iso in 823 AD. The mission is said ...
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. It was during this period that Christians disappeared from the
Coromandel Coast
The Coromandel Coast is the southeastern coastal region of the Indian subcontinent, bounded by the Utkal Plains to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Kaveri delta to the south, and the Eastern Ghats to the west, extending over an ...
.
After the schism
Following the
Synod of Diamper
The Synod of Diamper (Udayamperoor Synod) ( mal, ഉദയംപേരൂർ സൂനഹദോസ്, Udayampērūṟ Sūnahadōs), held at Udayamperoor (known as Diamper in non-vernacular sources) in June 1599, was a diocesan synod, or cou ...
held in 1599 and organised by
Aleixo de Menezes
Archbishop Aleixo de Menezes or Alexeu de Jesu de Meneses (25 January 1559 – 3 May 1617) was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Goa, Archbishop of Braga, Portugal, and Viceroy of Portugal during the Philippine Dynasty.
Biographical sketch
Aleixo was ...
, the
Primate of East Indies and
Archbishop of Goa
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Goa and Daman ( la, Archidioecesis Goanae et Damanensis, gom, Gõy ani Damanv Mha-Dhormprant, pt, Arquidiocese de Goa e Damão) encompasses the Goa state and the Damaon territory in the Konkan r ...
, 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.
Francisco Ros
Dom Francisco Ros, S.J (1559–1624) was the first Latin Archbishop of Archdiocese of Angamaly-Cranganore, the See of Saint Thomas Christians in the early modern Malabar in South India.
Introduction
Ros was a Catalan Jesuit who arrived ...
, 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.
[ This ]second Synod of Angamaly
Second Synod of Angamaly was convoked by Dom Francis Ros, S.J., the first Latin bishop of Angamaly, the See of Saint Thomas Christians on 7 December 1603. Francis Ros was the successor of Mar Abraham of Angamaly
Abraham of Angamaly ( syr, ...
implemented a Latinised form of the Chaldean Rite among the Saint Thomas Christians. 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 Coonan Cross Oath ( mal, കൂനൻ കുരിശ് സത്യം, Kūnan Kuriśŭ Satiaṁ), also known as the Great Oath of Bent Cross, the Leaning Cross Oath or the Oath of the Slanting Cross, taken on 3 January 1653 in Mattanch ...
, the ''Puthenkoor
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. ...
'' faction, led by Thoma I
Mar Thoma I, also known as Valiya Mar Thoma (''Mar Thoma the Great'') and Arkkadiyokkon Thoma (''Archdeacon Thomas'') in Malayalam and Thomas de Campo in Portuguese was the first native-born, popularly-selected Metropolitan bishop of the 17th ...
, allied with 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 ...
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.
Friction with the propaganda
Bishop Palliveettil Chandy
Palliveettil Chandy also known as Parambil Chandy (''Alexander de Campo'' in Portuguese) was a bishop of the Catholic Saint Thomas Christians. He is also the first known native Indian bishop. He was the bishop of the East Syriac Rite (Chal ...
tried to consecrate Thoma II
Mar Thoma II was the second Metropolitan of the Malankara Church from 1670 to 1686.
Introduction
The Malayalam versions of the Canons of the Synod of Diamper use these titles throughout the report except in three places where they use th ...
, 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 () as the Vicar Apostolic of Malabar
The Archdiocese of Verapoly (Verapolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church, composed of Latin Catholics of Malabar and headquartered at the city of Cochin, in the south Indian state of Kerala. Th ...
for Saint Thomas Christians. 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. Soon, Bishop Raphael Figueredo also lost the favour of the Carmelites and he was replaced with Custodius de Pinho () as the Vicar Apostolic of Malabar. Chandy died in 1687 and with him the initial attempts for reunification of both factions also died out.
Metropolitan Shemʿon and his mission in Malabar
During this time, Metropolitan Shemʿon of ʿAda (d. 1720) 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. 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
Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...
for the faithful in India. He travelled to India once again and reached Surat
Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...
. There, he was detained in a '' Capuchin'' monastery. He informed that he was a Catholic bishop sent from the Chaldean Patriarch. Moreover, during the same time the Rome wanted to curtail the ''Padroado'' authority in India, through the ''propaganda'' administration. 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. 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
Alangad is a village located in Paravur Taluk of Ernakulam District in the Indian state of Kerala. It lies almost in the middle of North Paravur and Aluva. The Kochi city is 15 km away from Alangad.
Etymology
The name Alangad has been der ...
, where he was made to consecrate Angelo Francisco at midnight. The Carmelites took every precaution so that he could not meet anyone from the Saint Thomas Christians. He was then secretly deported to Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
. There he lived in home custody until his death on 16 August 1720. 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. 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.
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 hom I askedtold 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 etter Etter is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Albert Etter (born 1872), American horticulturist
*Bill Etter (born 1950), American football quarterback
*Bob Etter (born 1945), American football placekicker, bridge player, and profess ...
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
By 1705, another East Syrian bishop was working in Southern Malabar, sent by the Catholicos of the East, Patriarch Eliah X Augen. His mission was roughly coterminous with that of Shemʿon of ʿAda, however much more fruitful. He was Gabriel of Ardishai, the Metropolitan of Azerbaijan.
Unlike Metropolitan Shem˓on, Gabriel neither explicitly claim to be Chaldean Catholic bishop nor was he interested in a friendship with the Latin missionaries. However, he implicitly presented himself as a Catholic bishop sent from the Chaldean Patriarchate. 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. 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.
However, in one of his two letters preserved in the in 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. 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”.
Meanwhile, Giuseppe Sagribanti, Prefect of the ''Propaganda'' and writing in the name of Pope Innocent XIII
Pope Innocent XIII ( la, Innocentius XIII; it, Innocenzo XIII; 13 May 1655 – 7 March 1724), born as Michelangelo dei Conti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 May 1721 to his death in March 1724. He is ...
, rejects his claims by saying that Gabriel has no authority from the Pope. In 1712, the ''Propaganda'' sent him another letter, ordering him to retreat from Malabar to his flock in Azerbaijan. 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. 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. However, it is clear that he used both leavened and unleavened bread opportunistically.
Meanwhile, Angelo Francisco received the letter of Giuseppe Sagribanti that alerted the Carmelites. They were successful in persuading the natives and thereby ousting Gabriel from the Changanassery
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 ...
. Gabriel then found residence in Kottayam Minor church. This church was then used by both factions of Saint Thomas Christians. 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.
During this period, the leader of the ''Puthenkur'' was Thoma IV (). Gabriel opposed him and was successful in winning back a number of churches and faithful from his faction. Many churches from the ''Paḻayakūṟ'' also joined him. He claimed to have secured about 44 churches in his leadership. Thoma IV was by this time a supporter of Miaphysitism, brought by the Syriac Orthodox prelates, and he regarded Gabriel as a Nestorian heretic. In 1709, he wrote a letter to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch, pleading that bishops be sent to aid him in countering Gabriel's arguments.
Gabriel strongly opposed the Portuguese but sought the support of the Dutch. His letter to Jacobus Canter Visscher, a Dutch chaplain at Kochi, 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 anaan
''Anaan'' is a 2017 Indian Marathi-language film produced by Raunaq Bhatia & Hemant Bhatia under the banner of Rohan Theatres Pvt. Ltd. It is being directed by Rajesh Kushte. The film stars Prarthana Behere along with Omkar Shinde, Sukhada Kha ...
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.
Gabriel received certain amount of support and favour from the Dutch and he remained in India until his death in 1731. 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.
Indigenous attempts for reunification
Following the arrival of West Syriac prelates in 1751, Thoma VI
Mar Dionysius I (Mar Thoma VI) (died 8 April 1808), was the 6th Metropolitan of the Malankara Syrian Church from 1765 until his death. A member of the Pakalomattom family (Thazhmon, Ayroor) he appealed to outside authorities to assert his positio ...
, the leader of the ''Puthenkūr'' was troubled by their increasing influence among his faction.[ 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. 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. Baselios Shakrallah Qasabgi, the head of the Syriac Orthodox delegation, consecrated Kurian Kattumangat as Bishop Abraham Koorilose in 1764.] These West Syriac bishops were skeptical about the validity of Sacraments administered by Thoma VI. They often re-ordained priests who were already ordained by him. 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. 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. This led to frequent conflicts between the adherents of new rite and those following the old. This led to eventual division of churches between ''Paḻayakūṟ'' and the ''Putthenkūṟ'' fractions of the St.Thomas Christians. By 1770, the prelates forced Thoma VI to be reconsecrated as 'Dionysios I'.[ Thoma VI had to receive all orders of priesthood from the tonsure to the episcopal consecration. Thoma VI received support from ''Pazhayakūr'' leaders, who informed him of the ill-treatment and discrimination that they faced from the missionaries. 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. The representatives from the Edappally church narrated the way how the European missionaries put their parish priest to death.
]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.
Consequently, they selected two priests: Kariattil Iousep
Kariattil Mar Iousep, alternatively written as Mar Joseph Kariattil, (5 May 1742 – 10 September 1786) was the first native Indian to be appointed as Metropolitan of Kodungalloor (Cranganore) for Syrian Catholics in the territory now compris ...
and Paremmakkal Thoma to meet the Pope to convey the message of Thoma VI and to negotiate the union of the dissident ''Putthenkūṟ'' faction. They also decided to meet the Portuguese monarch
This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution.
Through the n ...
, who was in charge of the ''Padroado Real''. 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
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...
, Thachil Matthoo Tharakan
Thachil Mar Matthoo Tharakan (1741–1814) was a Saint Thomas Christian merchant, social leader and minister who played a key role in Kerala, especially in its Travancore and Cochin regions, in India towards the latter part of the 18th century ...
. Other members of the community contributed by selling or pawning their jewellery and property. Kariattil was previously a student at the school of the ''Propaganda'' in Rome and had earned a doctoral degree there. Kariyattil Iousep, accompanied by Paremmakkal Thoma and two other deacons, made the trip from Kerala in 1778. Meanwhile, the ''Propaganda'' missionaries, who had already achieved the trust of the pope, managed to spoil the efforts at Rome. 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. He was thus consecrated as the Archbishop of Cranganore in 1782, effectively making him the Metropolitan of the united Malankara Church. However, Kariattil died in unclear circumstances in Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
. Thus the efforts drastically failed and planned Church reunion could not be realised.[ Following this, the ''Paḻayakūṟ'' was led by Thomas Paremmakkal who took charge as the administrator of the Archdiocese of Cranganore. The ''Padroado'' authorities in Goa and the ''Propaganda'' missionaries in Malabar recognised his authority in the fear of protest from the ''Paḻayakūṟ'' Christians. 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.] ''Varthamanappusthakam
''Varthamanappusthakam'' is a Malayalam travelogue written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar, a Nasrani Mappila kathanar of the modern-day Syro-Malabar Church. It is the first ever travelogue written in an Indian Language. It was written in the 18th ...
'', written by Thoma Kathanar in 1785, provides the detail of this journey until the death of the archbishop.[
Thomas Paremmakkal, supported by Thachil Matthoo Tharakan, continued the negotiations with Dionysius I. In 1796, they sent a delegation to the Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate. The delegation was led by Paulose Pandari, a ''Paḻayakūṟ'' priest. They met Patriarch Yohannan VII Hormizd at the ]Monastery of Rabban Hormizd
Rabban Hormizd Monastery ( syr , ܪܒܢ ܗܘܪܡܝܙܕ ܥܓ̰ܡܝܐ) is an important monastery of the Chaldean Catholic Church, founded about 640 AD, carved out in the mountains about 2 miles from Alqosh, Iraq, 28 miles north of Mosul. It was the ...
and requested him to sent East Syriac bishops to India. The Patriarch consecrated Paulose Pandari as Metropolitan of Malabar under the episcopal name Mar Abraham and sent him to India. It was symbolic gesture from the Chaldean Patriarchate presenting the Metropolitan as the episcopal successor of Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
, 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
Alappuzha or Alleppey () is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha district in States and territories of India, state of Kerala, India. The Kerala Backwaters, Backwaters of Alappuzha are one of the most popular tourist attractions in Indi ...
. However, Metropolitan Abraham Pandari soon became sick. According to the diary of Kuriakose Elias Chavara
Kuriakose Elias Chavara, C.M.I. (10 February 1805 – 3 January 1871) was an Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic priest, philosopher and social reformer. He is the first canonised Catholic male saint of Indian origin and a member of the Syro- ...
, he grew mad and thus proved to be unable to administer the Church. There were other attempts in 1799 to bring a new bishop to replace Pandari. However, none of those attempts materialised. Thus this short lived reunion failed.
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. 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.[ Although the King later repented for the indiscriminate actions of the Dalava,] the church union movement had already lost its powerful economic backing.
Notes
Sources
See also
* Latin Catholics of Malabar
The Latin Catholics of Malabar Coast, aka Roman Catholics of Kerala or Malabar Latin Catholics (''Malayalam'': ലതീൻ കത്തോലിക്കർ / ലതീൻ കൃസ്ത്യാനികൾ) are a multi-ethnic religious gro ...
Bibliography
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{{Refend
Saint Thomas Christians