Thazhathangady Pally or Thazhathangady Mar Baselios Mar Gregorios Orthodox Church is a parish attached to the

Kottayam Central Orthodox Diocese Kottayam Central Diocese is one of the 30 dioceses of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. The diocese was created in 1982. This diocese is in the direct control of Catholicos of the East (Malankara Metropolitan).The current Metropolitan of ...

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 autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. The church serve ...

. The church is located on the banks of

Meenachil River The Meenachil River or Meenachilaar (Malayalam: ), also known as Kavanar, Valanjar, is a river in Kerala. It is one of the most treacherous rivers in Kerala due to its flash floods, heavy undercurrents and woods and debris it carries from the m ...

on Kumarakom Road in Kottayam.

History

A worshiping community of Syrian Christian adherents existed in Thazhathangady dating back to the 12th century AD. Thazhathangady was the headquarters of the Thekkumkoor (Thekkumkur) Rajas who ruled over a principality which includes the larger parts of the present

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...

and Idukki districts. In order to develop the trade and commercial activities of the Kingdom, the

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

s encouraged settlement of Malankara Nazranis who excelled in these spheres of life.

Present day

On the banks of Meenachil River, in close proximity to the Church, there is very ancient, large

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

, which can be considered as the forerunner of this Church. There was a worship hall near the cross, but it was destroyed in a fire about one century ago under mysterious circumstances. This prayer hall had Mar Bahanan Sahada (Saint Behnan) as the patron saint. When the new Church was erected in the 20th century, the cross tower in front of the Church on the banks of Meenachil river, was aptly named after Mar Bahanan Sahada.

Official website

* Churches in Kottayam district Malankara Orthodox Syrian church buildings {{India-OO-church-stub