| Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church | |
|---|---|
 MOSC Catholicate Palace | |
| Type | Autocephaly |
| Classification | Christian |
| Orientation | |
| Scripture | Peshitta |
| Theology | Miaphysitism |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Governance | Episcopal Synod |
| Primate | Catholicos of the East and Malankara MetropolitanBaselios Marthoma Mathews III |
| Region | India and theNasrani diaspora |
| Language | Syriac,Konkani,Malayalam,Hindi,English,Tamil and other Indian regional languages |
| Liturgy | West Syriac Rite (Malankara Rite) |
| Headquarters | Catholicate Palace,Kottayam,Kerala,India |
| Founder | Thomas the Apostle (according to tradition) Dionysius VI[1][2]: 285 [3] |
| Origin |
|
| Independence | 1912 (Separation from the Syriac Orthodox Church)[4] |
| Separated from | Syriac Orthodox Church |
| Branched from | Saint Thomas Christians,Malankara Church |
| Separations | Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (1930)[5]: 197 |
| Members | 493K in Kerala (2011)[6] |
| Other names | മലങ്കര സഭ (Malankara Church) Indian Orthodox Church |
| Official website | mosc.in |
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TheMalankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC)[7] also known as theIndian Orthodox Church (IOC)[8] or simply as theMalankara Church,[9] is anautocephalous[10][11][4]Oriental Orthodox church headquartered inDevalokam, nearKottayam,India. It serves India'sSaint Thomas Christian (also known asNasrani) population. According to tradition, these communities originated in the missions ofThomas the Apostle in the 1st century (circa 52 AD).[12] It employs theMalankara Rite, an Indian form of theWest Syriacliturgical rite.
The MOSC descends from theMalankara Church and its affiliation with theSyriac Orthodox Church. However, between 1909 and 1912, aschism over the authority of theSyriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch resulted in the dissolution of the unified Malankara Church and establishment of the overlapping and conflicting MOSC andJacobite Syrian Christian Church (JSCC).[3] Since 1912, the MOSC has maintained acatholicate, theCatholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan of Malankara Orthodox Church–presentlyBaselios Marthoma Mathews III–who is the primate of the church.
The MOSC drafted and formally adopted a constitution in 1934, in order to define the relationship it has with the Syriac Orthodox Church and the patriarch, wherein it defined itself a division of the Syriac Orthodox Church with its supreme spiritual leader being the Patriarch of Antioch. However the constitution stipulated that all the spiritual duties of the patriarch in the Malankara Church was entrusted to the Catholicos of the East and reiterated that its administration was the prerogative of the Malankara Metropolitan. The constitution further declared that the positions of the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan are to be held by the same person from then on, who shall henceforth act as the spiritual and administrative head of the church.[13] The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church assertscommunion with the other Oriental Orthodox churches. However, regular legal and occasional physical confrontations between the MOSC and the Syriac Orthodox JSCC have continued despite multiple efforts to reconcile the churches.[3][14][2]: 272
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church acceptsmiaphysitism,[15][16] which holds that in the one person ofJesus Christ, divinity and humanity are united in one (μία,mia) nature (φύσις – "physis") without separation, without confusion, without alteration and without mixing[17] where Christ isconsubstantial withGod the Father. Around 500 bishops within the Patriarchates ofAlexandria,Antioch andJerusalem refused to accept thedyophysitism (two natures) doctrine decreed by the 4th ecumenical council, theCouncil of Chalcedon in 451,[dubious –discuss] an incident that resulted in the second major split in the main body of the Christian Church (after theNestorian schism). While the Oriental Orthodox churches rejected theChalcedonian definition, the sees that would later become theCatholic Church and theEastern Orthodox Church accepted this council.[18]
Self-reporting roughly 2.5 million members (with external estimates of roughly 1 million)[19] across 32dioceses worldwide, a significant proportion of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church's adherents reside in the southern India state ofKerala with the Malankara communities in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South America, Australia and New Zealand.[20]
According to tradition, Christianity first arrived in India withThomas the Apostle during the 1st century AD, evolving intoSaint Thomas Christianity over several centuries.[21] While isolated and generally independent in administration, Indian Christians maintained contact with the Christian hierarchies ofAntioch, Persia, and potentially Alexandria.[22][23] The Saint Thomas Christians had relationships with the PersianChurch of the East from at least the 6th century onward. The Indians inherited itsEast Syriac dialect for liturgical use and gradually became Syriac Christians in ritual and doctrine. They received clerical support from Persian bishops, who traveled toKerala in merchant ships on thespice route.[24] For much of this period, Saint Thomas Christians were under the leadership of anarchdeacon (a native ecclesiastical head with temporal powers, deriving from theGreekarkhidiākonos).
During the 16th century, efforts by thePortuguesePadroado–an arm of theCatholic Church–to bring the Saint Thomas Christians under the administration of theLatin Church and attempts toLatinize theMalankara Rite led to the first of several rifts in the community. These divisions intensified following the 1599Synod of Diamper. Saint Thomas Christians who were opposed to thePortuguese Padroado missionaries took theCoonan Cross Oath on 3 January 1653.[25][26][27] TheDutch East India Company expulsion of the Portuguese from much of Malabar enabled the reconciliation of some Saint Thomas Christians and the Catholic Church, with this group eventually evolving into theSyro-Malabar Catholic Church, anEastern Catholic church that adopted theChaldean Catholic Church'sEast Syriac Rite andDiophysite christology.
Many Saint Thomas Christian chose to remain independent from the Catholic Church. Patriarch Gregorios Abdal Jaleel, theSyriac Orthodox Archbishop of Jerusalem, witnessed the 1665 ordination of Thomas as BishopThoma I, who forged a renewed relationship with theSyriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and Saint Thomas Christians, which laid the foundation for adoptingWest Syrian liturgy and practices over the next two centuries. Those who supported the indigenous church leader of Malankara, Thoma I, and adoptedWest Syrian liturgies and practices andMiaphysite faith evolved into theMalankara Church.[28][29][30][31][32]
The Arthat Padiyola declared that the administration of Malankara Church was independent and the bishops from Rome, Antioch, and Babylon had no role in the Malankara Church hierarchy, despite continued efforts to integrate the remaining independent Saint Thomas Christians into these patriarchates. In 1807, four gospels of Holy Bible in Syriac were translated to Malayalam by Kayamkulam Philipose Ramban. The Malankara Orthodox Theological Seminary in Kottayam was established in 1815 under the leadership of Pulikottil Ittup Ramban (Mar Dionysius II). The Mavelikara Synod (Padiyola) led by Cheppad Mar Dionysius rejected the suggestions put forward by Anglican missioneries and Reformation group and declared the beliefs and theology of Malankara Church were same as the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch.[citation needed]
Geevarghese Dionysius of Vattasseril, who became the Malankara metropolitan bishop in 1908, played a significant role with the other clerical and lay leaders of Malankara in re-establishing theCatholicos of the East in India in 1912. In 1909 the relations with the Syrian Orthodox Church soured, when PatriarchIgnatius Abded Aloho II who arrived in India, began demanding registered deeds granting the patriarch temporal authority over the church. Dionysius rejected the request and thus emerged two factions in the church. The faction that supported the Patriarch came to be called as "Bava Kakshi" (Patriarch Faction) and the faction that supported the Malankara Metropolitan came to be known as "Methran Kakshi" (Metropolitan Faction).[33][34] The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church wanted to retain itsautocephaly, and appealed to emeritusSyriac Orthodox Patriarch of AntiochIgnatius Abdul Masih II who was disposed by the Universal Syriac Orthodox synod. He enthroned Murimattathil Paulose Ivanios as Baselios Paulose I,Catholicos of the East, on the apostolic throne of St. Thomas at St. Mary's Church inNiranam on 15 September 1912.[35]
In 1934, The Malankara Church adopted a constitution for smooth functioning of the church, parishes and institution. In 1947, Saint Gregorios of Parumala was declared as a saint by the Church. In 1952 the Official Residence of the Malankara Metropolitan and the Headquarters of Malankara Church was shifted to Devalokam from Pazhaya Seminary. In 1958, The Supreme Court declared Catholicos Baselios Geevarghese II as the legitimate Malankara Metropolitan. The two factions of the Malankara Orthodox Church rejoined. In 1964, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch participated in the enthronement ceremony of the Catholicos and Malankara Metropolitan, Baselios Augen I. In 1995, the Supreme Court of India declared the MOSC constitution adopted in 1934 was valid.[citation needed]
In 2002, fresh elections were conducted in Malankara Association under the observation of Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court declared CatholicosBaselios Marthoma Mathews II is the official and legitimate Malankara Metropolitan and also declared that this decision cannot be disputed in any platform. In 2003, VattasherilDionysius VI was declared as a saint. In 2012, the centennial of the establishment of the church and Catholicate were celebrated with history classes and church publications.[36] On 3 July 2017, a major verdict by the Supreme Court of India declared the MOSC legally applicable to all parishes in disputed possession between the MOSC andJacobite Syrian Christian Church.[37]
The spiritual head of the church is the Catholicos of the East, and its temporal head is theMalankara Metropolitan. Since 1934, both titles have been vested in one person; the official title of the head of the church is "The Catholicos of the Apostolic Throne of Saint Thomas and The Malankara Metropolitan". Baselios Marthoma Mathews III was enthroned as the Malankara Metropolitan and the Catholicos of the East. He is the ninthCatholicose of the East in Malankara and the 21stMalankara Metropolitan.
Oriental Orthodox Churches, including the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, accept only the first threeecumenical councils: theFirst Council of Nicaea, theFirst Council of Constantinople, and theCouncil of Ephesus. The church, like all other Oriental Orthodox Churches, uses the originalNicene Creed[38] without thefilioque clause.[39] Like theSyriac Orthodox Church, it primarily uses theliturgy of Saint James inMalayalam,Konkani,Kannada,Hindi,English and other Indian languages.
The church has used theMalankara Rite, part of theAntiochene Rite, since the 17th century.[40] TheJacobite Church and theMaronite Church also belong to the same liturgical family. In the first half of the fifth century, the Antiochene church adopted theLiturgy of Saint James. In the 4th and 5th centuries, The liturgical language of fourth- and fifth-century Jerusalem and Antioch was Greek, and the original liturgy was composed in Greek.
After theCouncil of Chalcedon in 451, theEastern Church was divided in two; one group accepted the council, and the other opposed it. Both groups continued to use the Greek version of the Saint James liturgy. TheByzantine emperor Justin (518–527) expelled the opponents from Antioch, and they took refuge in the Syriac-speakingMesopotamia on the Roman–Persian border (modern eastern Syria,Iraq, and southeastern Turkey). The Antiochene liturgical rites were gradually translated into Syriac, andSyriac hymns were introduced.
Gregorios Abdal Jaleel came to Malankara from Jerusalem in 1665 and introduced Syriac Orthodox liturgical rites. The most striking characteristic of the Antiochene liturgy is its large number ofanaphoras (celebrations of theEucharist). About eighty are known, and about a dozen are used in India. All have been composed following the Liturgy of Saint James.[41]
Christians of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church pray thecanonical hours of theShehimo atfixed prayer times seven times a day.[42]
Theliturgy of Mor Addai is still in use, in anaphora form, similar to the Maronite Sharar. Theanaphora of St. John Chrysostom is sometimes used.
In conformity with otherEastern andOriental Orthodox churches, and also with theRoman Catholic Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church adheres to the tradition of seeking theintercession of saints. Several have beencanonized:
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The temporal, ecclesiastical and spiritual administration of the church is vested in theMalankara Metropolitan, subject to the church constitution which was adopted in 1934.[45] The Malankara Metropolitan is president of the Malankara Syrian Christian Association (Malankara Association) and its managing committee, and trustee of community properties. He is the custodian of the Pazhaya Seminary and other common properties of Malankara Syrian Community. He is also the custodian of vattipanam interest which was deposited in Travancore Government by Marthoma VII. He is elected by the Malankara association.
"Catholicos" means "the general head", and can be considered equivalent to "universal bishop."[53] The early church had three priestly ranks:episcopos (bishop), priest and deacon. By the end of the third century, bishops of important cities in theRoman Empire became known as metropolitans. The fourth-century ecumenical councils recognized the authority of the metropolitan. By the fifth century, the bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria and Antioch gained control of the churches in surrounding cities.[54] They gradually became the heads of the regional churches, and were known as patriarchs (common father).
Outside the Roman Empire, patriarchs were known as catholicos. There were four catholicates before the fifth century: the Catholicate of the East, the Catholicate of Armenia, the Catholicate of Georgia and the Catholicate of Albania. The archdeacons reigned from the fourth to the 16th centuries; in 1653, the archdeacon was elevated to bishop by the community as Mar Thoma I.
The Catholicate of the East was relocated to India in 1912, andBaselios Paulose I was seated on the apostolic throne of St. Thomas as the Catholicos of the East by the disposed Patriarch of Antioch Abdul Masih. The headquarters of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Catholicos of the East is the Catholicate Palace at Devalokam,Kottayam,Kerala, which was consecrated on 31 December 1951. The new palace, built in 1961, was dedicated by visiting Armenian CatholicosVazgen I.
The Holy Synod and Managing committee designated H.G.Dr. Mathews Mor Severios to the new Malankara Metropolitan and Catholicos of Malankara Church succeeding Baselios Marthoma Paulose II. He was consecrated as the 22nd Malankara Metropolitan during the Malankara Association that took place on 14 October 2021 at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Parumala and enthroned as the 9th Catholicos of Malankara Church on 15 October 2021.[55]Relics of St. Thomas are kept in the catholicate chapel, andGeevarghese II,Augen I,Mathews I andPaulose II are interred there.
Until the 17th century, the church was administered by the archdeacon (Malankara Moopan).[56] The elected archdeacon was in charge of day-to-day affairs, including the ordination of deacons to the priesthood. Ordinations were performed by Persian bishops visiting India. The Malankara Palliyogam (a forerunner of the Malankara Association) consisted of elected representatives from individual parishes. The isolation of the Malankara church from the rest ofChristendom preserved the apostolic age's democratic nature through interactions with Portuguese (Roman Catholic) and British (Anglican) colonialists. From the 17th to the 20th centuries, the church had five pillars of administration:
Envisioned by Dionysius VI, the church's general and day-to-day administration was codified in its 1934 constitution. The constitution[59] was presented at the 26 December 1934 Malankara Christian Association meeting at M. D. Seminary,[60] adopted and enacted. It has been amended three times. Although the constitution was challenged in court by dissident supporters of thePatriarch of Antioch,Supreme Court rulings in 1958, 1995, 2017 and 2018 upheld its validity.[61]
The constitution's first article asserts the relationship between theSyriac Orthodox Church and the Malankara Church. The second article addresses the establishment of the Malankara Church by St. Thomas and ascribes primacy to theCatholicos. The third article regards the church's name. The fourth article describes the faith and its traditions. The fifth article examines church governancecanon law.[62]
The elected Malankara Association, consisting of parish members, manages the church's religious and social concerns. Formerly the Malankara Palli-yogam (മലങ്കര പള്ളി യോഗം; Malankara Parish Assembly, its modern form is believed to have been founded in 1873 as the Mulanthuruthy Synod, a gathering of parish representatives inParumala. In 1876, the Malankara Association began.[63]
The church constitution outlines the association's powers and responsibilities. TheCatholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan is the president, and the diocesanmetropolitan bishops are vice-presidents. All positions are elected. Each parish is represented in the association by an elected priest and laypeople, proportional to parish-membership size.
This is a list of co-trustees (priest trustee & lay trustee) elected by the Malankara Association of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church:[64][65]
| Year of Election | Clergy Trustee | Duration | Lay Trustee | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1869 | Punnathra Chacko Chandapilla Kathanar | 21 Oct 1869 – 13 Sep 1886 | Kulangara Ittychan Pailey | 12 Oct 1869 – ? |
| 1886 | Konat Kora Yohannan Kathanar | 13 Sep 1886 – 9 Mar 1890 | Kunnumpurath Kora Ulahannan, Kottayam | 13 Sep 1886 & 31 Mar 1892 – 24 Feb 1901 |
| 1892 | Konat Kora Mathan Malpan | 31 Mar 1892 & 23 Nov 1895 – 7 Sep 1911 | - | |
| 1901 | - | C. J. Kurien (Kunnumpurath Ulahannan Kora), Kottayam | 25 Apr 1901 – 7 Sep 1911 | |
| 1911 | Palappalil Mani Paulose Kathanar Pampakuda | 7 Sep 1911 – 21 Dec 1955 | Chirakadavil Kora Kochu Korula, Kottayam (d. 1931) | 07 Sep 1911 – 31 May 1931 |
| 1931 | - | E. I Joseph, Kottayam | 10 Jul 1931 – 15 Jul 1946 | |
| 1958 | Manalil Jacob Kathanar | 26 Dec 1958 – 28 Dec 1965 | Ooppoottil Kurian Abraham, Kottayam | 26 Dec 1958 – 12 Dec 1978 |
| 1965 | Thengumthottathil T. S. Abraham Cor Episcopa | 28 Dec 1965 – 28 Dec 1982 | - | |
| 1980 | - | Padinjarekkara P. C. Abraham, Kottayam | 1 May 1980 – 21 Mar 2007 | |
| 1982 | Konat Abraham Malpan | 28 Dec 1982 – 3 Mar 1987 | - | |
| 1987 | Fr. Mathai Nooranal | 29 Dec 1987 – 29 Nov 2002 | - | |
| 2004 | Fr. Dr. O. Thomas | 10 Jun 2004 – 21 Mar 2007 | - | |
| 2007 | Fr. Johns Abraham Konat | 21 Mar 2007 – 7 Mar 2012 | M.G. George Muthoot | 21 Mar 2007 – 7 Mar 2012 |
| 2012 | Fr. Johns Abraham Konat | 7 Mar 2012 – 1 Mar 2017 | M.G. George Muthoot | 7 Mar 2012 – 1 Mar 2017 |
| 2017 | Fr. Dr. M.O. John | 1 Mar 2017 – 4 Aug 2022 | George Paul (d. 2019) | 1 Mar 2017 – 26 Nov 2019 |
| 2022 | Fr. Dr. Thomas Varghese Amayil | 4 Aug 2022 – present | Ronny Varghese Abraham | 4 Aug 2022 – present |
The following are Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church dioceses:[66]
The church's episcopal synod has the following diocesan bishops:[69][70][68]
| Name | Location |
|---|---|
| Monastery of Saint Thomas, Vettikkal | Vettikkal |
| Mount Tabor Monastery, Pathanapuram | Pathanapuram |
| The Bethany Ashram | Perunad |
| Bethlehem Ashram | Chengamanad, Kottarakara |
| St. George Dayara | Othera |
| St. Paul’s Ashram | Puthuppady, Kozhikode |
| St. Basil Dayara | Pathanamthitta |
| Holy Trinity Ashram | Angady, Ranni |
| Mar Kuriakose Ashram | Kumbazha North |
| Mar Baselius Dayara | Njaliakuzhy, Vakathanam |
| Mount Carmel Ashram | Mathilakom, East Kallada |
| Mount Horeb Ashram | Muthupilakad |
| MGD Ashram and Balabhavan | Karunagiri, Karukachal |
| Christa Sishya Ashram | Thadagom , Coimbatore (T.N.) |
| Mar Gregorios Bethel Ashram | Kuttikonam, Kunnicode |
| St. George Mount Ashram | Chayalode |
| St. Thomas Ashram | Nellipathy, Agali P.O., Palakkad |
| St. Thomas Karunya Vishranthi Bhavan | Trivandrum |
| St. Thomas Karunya Ashram | Trivandrum |
| St. Thomas Karunya MAS, SAF, SHF | Trivandrum |
| Mount Calvary Ashram | Pattazhy, Kottarakara |
| St. George Ashram | Kulamudi, Mylom, Kottarakara |
| Mount Tabore Ashram | Mathuramala, Pattazhi |
| Mar Augen Ashram, Piramadom (S) | Pampakkuda |
| St. Gregorios Mount Ashram | Kottarakara |
| St. Thomas Ashram | Sooranad, Kollam |
| Bethany Ashram | Kunnamkulam |
| Bethany Ashram | Kuzhimattom |
| St. Anthony's Ashram | Thannithodu |
| St. Thomas Ashram | Bhilai |
| Gregorian Community | Roha |
| St. Anthony's Ashram | Mallapally |
| Mount Olive Ashram | Idukki |
| Name | Location |
|---|---|
| Bethany Convent | Ranni – Perunad |
| Mount Tabore Convent | Pathanapuram |
| St. Mary Magdalene Convent | Adupputty, Kunnamkulam |
| Bethlehem Convent | Kizhakkambalam, Alwaye |
| Nazareth Convent | Kadampanad South |
| Basalel Convent | Sooranad, Kollam |
| St. Mary’s Convent | Kozhimala, Vallamkulam |
| St. Mary’s Asha Bavan | Kozhimala, Vallamkulam |
| St. Paul’s Convent and Balikabhavan | Puthuppady, Kozhikode |
| Mount Carmel Convent | East Kallada, Kollam |
| Gethsemon Convent | Adichanalloor, Kollam |
| Holy Cross Convent | Sreekariyam – Trivandrum |
| St. Mary’s Convent | Thumpamon |
| St. Gregorios Convent | Kalanthode, NITC, Kozhikode |
| Gregorian Community | |
| St Thomas Convent | Bhilai |
The church has a number of spiritual organizations:
The two major seminaries which offers bachelor's and master's degrees in theology areOrthodox Theological Seminary, Kottayam[82] andSt. Thomas Orthodox Theological Seminary, Nagpur.[83]The Malankara Orthodox Seminary at Kottayam is the first Orthodox Seminary in Asia established in year 1815.
Kottakkunnu, S. Battery
Thoothukkudy, (T.N.)
Kolencherry
Kunnamkulam
Kolencherry
The church was a founding member of theWorld Council of Churches.[84] Catholicos Geevarghese II and other metropolitan participated in the 1937 Conference on Faith and Order inEdinburgh; a church delegation participated in the 1948 WCC meeting inAmsterdam in 1948, and the church played a role in the 1961 WCC conference inNew Delhi. MetropolitanPaulos Gregorios was president of the WCC from 1983 to 1991.
The church participated in the 1965 Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches inAddis Ababa.[85] It is a member of theFaith and Order Commission, theChristian Conference of Asiaand the Global Christian Forum. A number of primates of sister churches have visited, includingPatriarch Justinian of Romania in February 1957 and in January 1969;Catholicos of All ArmeniansVazgen I in December 1963; Armenian PatriarchDerderian of Jerusalem in December 1972;Patriarch Pimen I of Moscow in January 1977;Catholicos-Patriarch of All GeorgiaIlia II in September 1982; Archbishop of CanterburyRobert Runcie in 1986, PatriarchTeoctist Arăpașu of Romania in 1989;Ecumenical Patriarch of ConstantinopleBartholomew I in November 2000; Metropolitan (later Patriarch)Kirill of theRussian Orthodox Church in December 2006;Catholicos of All ArmeniansKarekin II in November 2008,Patriarch of EthiopiaAbune Paulos in December 2008; theArmenian Catholicos of CiliciaAram I Keshishian in February 2010, andPatriarch of EthiopiaAbune Mathias in November 2016.
In May 2025, a trilateral meeting involving theCoptic Orthodox Church, theSyriac Orthodox Church, and theArmenian Apostolic Church (of theGreat House of Cilicia) took place at theMonastery of Saint Pishoy inWadi El Natrun, Egypt to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of theCouncil of Nicaea.[86][87] During this meeting,Pope Tawadros II andCatholicos Aram I expressed their solidarity and support for the decision made by the universal synod of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch not to participate in any liturgical celebrations or formal theological dialogues in the presence of representatives of the "separated faction of the Church in India".[88] Additionally, the Coptic and Armenian representatives extended an invitation to discuss the ongoing rift between the two claimants to the title of Catholicos of the East, in the presence of thePatriarch of Antioch; in response, while welcoming the peace mediation efforts, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) issued a statement denouncing the aspects of the joint declaration and also cited the ordination of a newMaphrian in India by Antioch as a violation of its jurisdictional authority.[89][90]
TheOrder of St. Thomas, the church's highest award is presented to heads of state and churches by theCatholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan. Recipients includeBartholomew I of Constantinople, Patriarch and Catholicos of All ArmeniansKarekin II, Patriarch of EthiopiaAbune Paulos, Armenian Catholicos of CiliciaAram I, and Patriarch of EthiopiaAbune Mathias.[91]
The Malankara Orthodox Church of India(also called by a variety of names, such as the Malankara Church). It is located in Kerala, India.
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, also known asIndian Orthodox Church alsoMalankara Church, is one of the major and oldest churches in the world.
The autocephalous Malankara Orthodox Church is governed by Holy Episcopal Synod of 24 Bishops presided over by His Holiness Moran Mar Baselios Mar Thoma Didimos Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan.
The Malankara Church is a division of the Orthodox Syrian Church. The Primate of the Orthodox Syrian Church is the Patriarch of Antioch.
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