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|
 Malankara Church | |
|---|---|
| Type | Eastern Christian |
| Classification | Oriental Orthodox |
| Theology | Miaphysitism |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Supreme Head | Patriarch of Antioch |
| Metropolitan Bishop | Malankara Metropolitan |
| Sub-divisions | Syro-Malankara Catholic Church[1] Jacobite Syrian Christian Church[2] Malabar Independent Syrian Church Saint Thomas Anglicans[3][4] Mar Thoma Syrian Church Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India |
| Region | Kerala,India |
| Language | Suriyani Malayalam,Classical Syriac,Malayalam |
| Liturgy | Antiochian Rite-Liturgy of Saint James |
| Headquarters | Pazhaya Seminary |
| Founder | Thomas the Apostle as per tradition. |
| Origin | 52 AD (tradition) 1665[5][6][7][8] |
| Separated from | Church of the East[9] |
| Branched from | Saint Thomas Christians[a] |
| Merged into | Syriac Orthodox Church |
TheMalankara Church, also known asMalankara Syrian Church,[13] was the unified body ofPuthankurSaint Thomas Christians who claim origins from the missions ofThomas the Apostle. This community, under the leadership ofThoma I, opposed thePadroadoJesuits as well as thePropagandaCarmelites following theCoonan Cross Oath of 1653, which was taken to resistWestern Catholic influences.
The Malankara Church eventually came under the influence of theSyriac Orthodox Church but later split successively, leading to the creation of churches across various denominations and traditions. The Malankara divisions and branchings have resulted in the present-dayJacobite Syrian Christian Church,Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church,Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church,Malabar Independent Syrian Church,Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, theSaint Thomas Anglicans of theChurch of South India and theSt. Thomas Evangelical Church of India.[citation needed]
Historically, Malabar traded frequently with the nations of theMiddle East, and traders fromEgypt,Persia, and theLevant frequently visited Malabar forspices. These groups included Arabs, Jews and also Christians, and the Christians who visited here maintained contact with the Malankara Church. As such the Church in India was in ecclesiastical communion with theChurch of the East, otherwise called the Persian church. The Malankara Church was headed by a Metropolitan consecrated from the Persian Church and ordinary administration of the Church was vested upon a local, dynastic archdeacon, who was referred to as the Head of the Malankara Christian community. (Archdeacon is the highest rank for a cleric in the Church of the East after the rank of bishop.)[14][15]
The Rulers ofKerala, in appreciation for their assistance, gave to the Malankara Nazranis, three deeds on copper plates. They gave the Nasranis various rights and privileges which were written on copper plates. These are known as Cheppeds, Royal Grants, Sasanam etc.[16]
These plates detail privileges awarded to the community by the then rulers. These influenced the development of the social structure in Kerala and privileges, rules for the communities. These are considered as one of the most important legal documents in the history ofKerala.[18][19] Three of these are still in theOrthodox Theological Seminary (Old Seminary) in Kottayam and two are at the Mar Thoma Church Headquarters in Tiruvalla.[20]
The position ofarchdeacon—the highest for clergy who are not abishop—had great importance in the church of India in the centuries leading up to the formation of an independent Malankara Church. Though technically subordinate to the metropolitan, the archdeacon wielded great ecclesiastical and secular power, to the extent that he was considered the secular leader of the community and served as effective head of the Indian Church in times when the province was absent a bishop. Unlike the metropolitan, who was evidently always an East Syriac sent by the patriarch, the archdeacon was a native Saint Thomas Christian. In the documented period, the position was evidently hereditary, belonging to thePakalomattam family, who claimed a privileged connection to Thomas the Apostle.[21][22]
Details on the archidiaconate prior to the arrival of the Portuguese are elusive, but PatriarchTimothy I (780–823) called the Archdeacon of India the "head of the faithful in India", implying an elevated status by at least that time.[23] In the recorded period of its history, the office of archdeacon was substantially different in India than in the rest of the Church of the East or other Christian churches. In the broader Church of the East, each bishop was attended by an archdeacon, but in India, there was only ever one archdeacon, even when the province had multiple bishops serving it.[24]
Following the collapse of the Church of the East's hierarchy in most of Asia in the 14th century, India was effectively cut off from the church's heartland in Mesopotamia and formal contact was severed. By the late 15th century India had had no metropolitan for several generations, and the authority traditionally associated with him had been vested in the archdeacon.[25] In 1491, the archdeacon sent envoys to the Patriarch of the Church of the East, as well as to theCopticPope of Alexandria and to theSyriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, requesting a new bishop for India. The Patriarch of the Church of the EastShemʿon IV Basidi responded by consecrating two bishops, Thoma and Yuhanon, and dispatching them to India.[25] These bishops helped rebuild the ecclesiastical infrastructure and reestablish fraternal ties with the patriarchate, but the years of separation had greatly affected the structure of the Indian church. Though receiving utmost respect, the metropolitan was treated as the spiritual authority in his own diocese; the Archdeacon was firmly established as the real power in the Malankara community.[26]
At the time thePortuguese arrived in India in 1498, the Saint Thomas Christians were in a difficult position. Though prosperous owing to their large stake in thespice trade and protected by a formidable militia, the tumultuous political climate of the time had placed the small community under pressure from the forces of the powerfulrajas ofCalicut,Cochin, and the various smaller kingdoms in the area. When the Portuguese underVasco da Gama arrived on the South Indian coast, the leaders of the Saint Thomas community greeted them and proffered a formal alliance to their fellow Christians.[27] The Portuguese, who had keen interest in implanting themselves in the spice trade and in expanding the domain of their bellicose form of Christianity, jumped at this opportunity.[28]
The Portuguese brought to India a particularly militant brand of Christianity, the product of several centuries of struggle during theReconquista, which they hoped to spread across the world.[29] Facilitating this objective was thePadroado Real, a series of treaties and decrees in which thePope conferred upon the Portuguese government certain authority in ecclesiastical matters in the foreign territories they conquered.[30] Upon reaching India the Portuguese quickly ensconced themselves inGoa and established a church hierarchy; soon they set themselves to bringing the native Christians under their dominion. Towards this goal, the colonial establishment felt it necessary to conduct the Saint Thomas Christians fully into theLatin Church, both in bringing them into conformity with Latin church customs and in subjecting them to the authority of theArchbishop of Goa.[citation needed]
Following the death of Metropolitan Mar Jacob in 1552, the Portuguese became more aggressive in their efforts to subjugate the Saint Thomas Christians.[31] Protests on the part of the natives were frustrated by events back in the Church of the East's Mesopotamian heartland, which left them devoid of consistent leadership. In 1552, the year of Jacob's death, aschism in the Church of the East resulted in there being two rival patriarchates, one of which entered into communion with theCatholic Church, and the other of which remained independent. At different times both patriarchs sent bishops to India, but the Portuguese were consistently able to outmaneuver the newcomers or else convert them to Latin Catholicism outright.[32] In 1575 the Padroado declared that neither patriarch could appoint prelates to the community without Portuguese consent, thereby cutting the Thomas Christians off from their hierarchy.[33]
By 1599 the last Metropolitan, Abraham, had died, and the Archbishop of Goa,Aleixo de Menezes, had secured the submission of the young Archdeacon George, the highest remaining representative of the native church hierarchy.[34] That year, Menezes convened theSynod of Diamper, which instituted a number of structural and liturgical reforms to the Indian church. At the synod, the parishes were brought directly under the Archbishop's authority, certain "superstitious" customs were anathematized, and the traditional variant of theEast Syriac Rite, was purged of elements unacceptable by the Latin standards.[35] Though the Saint Thomas Christians were now formally part of the Catholic Church, the conduct of the Portuguese over the next decades fueled resentment in parts of the community, ultimately leading to open resistance.[36]
Over the next several decades, tensions seethed between the Latin prelates and what remained of the native hierarchy. This came to a head in 1641 with the ascension of two new protagonists on either side of the contention: Francis Garcia, the new Archbishop of Kodungalloor, and ArchdeaconThomas, the nephew and successor to Archdeacon George.[37] In 1652, the escalating situation was further complicated by the arrival in India of a mysterious figure namedAhatallah.[37][38]
Ahatallah arrived inMylapore in 1652, claiming to be the rightfulPatriarch of Antioch who had been sent by the Catholic pope to serve as "Patriarch of the Whole of India and of China".[39] Ahatallah's true biography is obscure, but some details have been established. He appears to have been aSyriac Orthodox Bishop of Damascus who converted to Catholicism and went to Rome in 1632. He then returned to Syria in order to bring the Syriac Orthodox PatriarchIgnatius Hidayat Allah into communion with Rome. He had not accomplished this by the time Hidayat Allah died in 1639, after which point Ahatallah began claiming he was Hidayat Allah's rightful successor. In 1646, he was inEgypt at the court of theCoptic PopeMark VI, who dispatched him to India in 1652, evidently in response to a request for aid from Archdeacon Thomas. Reckoning him an impostor, the Portuguese arrested him, but allowed him to meet with members of the Saint Thomas Christian clergy, whom he impressed greatly. The Portuguese put him on a ship bound for Cochin and Goa, and Archdeacon Thomas led his militia to Cochin demanding to meet with the Patriarch. The Portuguese refused, asserting that he was a dangerous invader and that the ship had already sailed on to Goa.[39]
Ahatallah was never heard from again in India, and rumours soon spread that Archbishop Garcia had disposed of him before he ever reached Goa.[40] Contemporary accounts allege that he was drowned in Cochin harbour, or even that the Portuguese burned him at the stake.[40][41] In reality, it appears that Ahatallah did in fact reach Goa, whence he was sent on to Europe, but evidently died inParis before reaching Rome, where his case was to be heard.[40] In any event, Garcia's dismissive response to the Saint Thomas Christians' appeals only embittered the community further.[40]
This was the last straw for the Saint Thomas Christians, and in 1653, Thomas and representatives of the community met at the Church of Our Lady inMattancherry to take bold action. In a great ceremony before a crucifix and lighted candles, they swore a solemn oath that they would never obey Garcia or the Portuguese again, and that they accepted only the Archdeacon as their shepherd.[40] The Malankara Church and all its successor churches regard this declaration, known as theCoonan Cross Oath.[40]
The oppressive rule of the Portuguese padroado provoked a violent reaction on the part of the indigenous Christian community. The first solemn protest took place in 1653, known as the Coonan Kurishu Satyam (Coonan Cross Oath). Under the leadership ofArchdeacon Thoma, theSt. Thomas Christians publicly took an oath inMattancherry, Cochin that they would not obey the Portuguese Catholic bishops and theJesuit missionaries. Unfortunately, there was no Metropolitan present in the Malankara Church at that time. Hence, in the same year, at Alangad, Archdeacon Thoma was ordained, by the laying on of hands of twelve priests, as the first known indigenous Metropolitan of Kerala, under the name Thoma I. The Portuguese missionaries attempted reconciliation with Saint Thomas Christians, but were not successful. Later, Pope Alexander VII sent the Syrian bishop Joseph Sebastiani at the head of a Carmelite delegation who succeeded in convincing the majority of Saint Thomas Christians, includingPalliveettil Chandy Kathanar andKadavil Chandy Kathanar. The Catholic faction constantly challenged the legitimacy of the consecration of the archdeacon as Metropolitan by priests. This faction was led by Palliveettil Chandy, cousin of Thoma I, who was consecrated as a bishop in 1663 by Carmelite missionaries of theCatholic Church. He was supported by other prominent Saint Thomas Christian leaders includingKadavil Chandy Kathanar and Vengūr Givargis Kathanar. This made it essential to rectify the illegitimacy of the consecration of Archdeacon as Metropolitan. Episcopal consecration of Thoma I as a bishop was regularized in 1665 byGregorios Abdal Jaleel Jerusalem Bishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church. This led to the first permanent split in the Saint Thomas Christian community. Thereafter, the faction affiliated with the Catholic Church under Parambil Mar Chandy was designated thePazhayakoottukar, or "Old Allegiance", while the branch affiliated with Mar Thoma was called thePuthenkoottukar, or "New Allegiance".[5][6][7][8] These appellations have been somewhat controversial since both groups considered themselves the true heirs to the Saint Thomas tradition.
Thoma I with 32 churches (out of a total of 116) and their congregations were the body from which the Malankara Syrian Puthenkūr Churches originated. In 1665, Gregorios Abdul Jaleel, a bishop sent by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, arrived in India, and the Saint Thomas Christians under the leadership of the Archdeacon welcomed him.[42][43] The Gregorios Abdal Jaleel regularised the consecration of Archdeacon as Metropolitan of the Syriac Orthodox Church as per the apostolic standards of Kaiveppu (traditional legitimate way of laying hands by a valid Bishop). The 18th century saw the gradual introduction of West Syriac liturgy and script to the Malabar Coast, a process that continued through the 19th century.
The arrival of Mar Gregorios in 1665, marked the introduction ofOriental Orthodoxy in India through the Malankara Church and validbishopric ofSyriac Orthodox Church in India.
After greeting you with a holy kiss, let that, which we are relating to each one of you, be known to you, o brethren, my beloved, namely that the apostolate to you of Gregorios, that is, the venerable Abdal-Jaleel, was from the divine Providence, because you were not able to appoint and to consecrate for yourselves venerable bishops. Afterwards, you were in need and have already sent three times [envoys to us]. And we yielded [to your request] out of the love of Christ, and have sent to you our Fathers, our Father Mor Baselios, that is, Patriarch Yaldo, together with those who accompany him, not in order that he stays with you, but in order to fill your need and to consecrate for you venerable [bishops] and metropolitans. And after having fulfilled your requests, send them back to us. We do not want him to come to us after a long period, but after three years.
Letter fromDionysious Punnathara (a nineteenth century prelate of theMalankara Syrian Church) addressed to the head of the AnglicanChurch Missionary Society, as translated from the Syriac original:
In the Name of the Eternal and Necessary Existence, the Almighty.
Mar Dionysius, Metropolitan of the Jacobite-Syrians in Malabar, subject to the authority of our Father, Mar Ignatius, Patriarch, who presides in the Apostolic See of Antioch of Syria, beloved of the Messiah. Love from Christ, and from the People of all the Churches, to Lord Gambier, the illustrious, honour able, and renowned President...
We, who are called Syrian-Jacobites, and reside in the land of Malabar, even from the times of Mar Thomas, the holy Apostle, until the wall of Cochin was taken in the reign of King Purgis, kept the True Faith according to the manner of the Syrian Jacobites, of real glory, without division or confusion. But, by the power of the Franks, our Jacobite Syrian Fathers and Leaders were prohibited from coming from Antioch: and, because we had no Leader and Head, we were like Sheep without a Shepherd; or, like Orphans and Widows, oppressed in spirit, without support or help.
In the year of our Lord 1653, came our Spiritual Father, Mar Ignatius, the Patriarch, from Antioch to Malabar....
Again, in the year of our Lord 1753, came to us some holy Jacobite Syrian Fathers from Antioch, who turned us to our true ancient faith, and set up a High Priest for us.[44]
In 1912, a Catholicate was instituted in Malankara by the Syriac Orthodox[spelling?] PatriarchAbdul Masih, thereby starting a century of legal proceedings between factions of the church which supported the Catholicate, and those who opposed it on behalf of the claims that the Abdul Masih was excommunicated. Later, theSyriac Orthodox Church established the office of CanonicalMaphrianate of the East in India (now known as theCatholicos of India) of theJacobite Syriac Orthodox Church.
In 1665,Gregorios Abdul Jaleel, sent from Patriarch Ignatius Abdulmasih I, introduced West Syriac Rite in India.[45] By 1809, the Jacobite Syrians fully incorporated theAntiochian Syriac Rite liturgy after the assembly of parish representatives met at Kandanad, Kerala and resolved to fully implement the move to West Syriac Rite through the declarationKandanad Padiyola, which had been already partially implemented by the same assembly in 1789 at Puthiyacavu.[46][47][48]
The church of Saint Thomas Christians constituted a single church until the 16th century. It formed the community of the East Syriacecclesiastical province of India.[49] Later, some rifts erupted in their church due to the colonization of India by the Portuguese padroado Latin Catholic missionaries. After theSynod of Diamper, their Church was forcibly merged into the Latin Catholic Church and their ecclesiastical province of India was downgraded to become a suffragan see of the newly erectedArchdiocese of Goa, administered byLatin Padroado. Thus, theArchdiocese of Cranganore, the most ancient episcopal see in India was deprived of its all-India jurisdiction and was made an inferior to the Archdiocese of Goa, that was a product of the Portuguese colonialism in the sixteenth century. Although the metropolitan status was soon restored, the colonial subjugation continued. In 1653, as a move for independence, the Saint Thomas Christians made theCoonan Cross Oath against the oppressive Latin Catholic hierarchy. The Pope responded to the issue by sendingPropaganda Carmelite missionaries, assigning them the responsibility for reunification. This eventually culminated in the gradualschism among the Christians, with one faction reuniting with the Catholic Church and the other faction remaining steadfast against the Latin missionaries. The former faction came to known asPaḻayakūr and latter, led byThoma I, came to be known asPuthenkūr. Thoma I was regularised as a canonical bishop in 1665 by Archbishop Gregorios Abdul Jaleel of theSyriac Orthodox Church and thus thePuthenkūr, gradually adopted theMiaphysitechristology and affiliated themselves to theOriental Orthodox Communion.[13] In this process, the traditionalPersian liturgy of the erstwhileChurch of the East in India was replaced among them and this transformation was completed by the 19th century. ThePaḻayakūr constitute the contemporarySyro-Malabar Church and theChaldean Syrian Church.[50] The former is an Eastern Catholic Church and it forms the major part of thePazhayakūr while the latter is in communion with theAssyrian Church of the East since the late 19th century. The Chaldean Syrian Church thus represents the continuation of the traditional pre-Portuguese Church of the East in India.[45]
Later, a number of splits happened among the Jacobite Syrians due to the influence of foreign missionaries and internal conflicts. In 1772,Baselios Shakrallah, a Syriac Orthodoxmaphrian, consecratedKattumangatt Abraham Mar Koorilos as the Metropolitan againstDionysius I.Abraham Mar Koorilos I led the faction that eventually became theMalabar Independent Syrian Church.[51][52]
From 1816 onwards, the AnglicanChurch Mission Society missionaries helped the Malankara Church, through their Help Mission.[3] But on 16 January 1836, MetropolitanDionysius IV of Cheppad, convened a Synod atMavelikara, in protest against the interference of Anglicans in the affairs of the Malankara Church. There it was declared that Malankara Church would be subject to Syrian traditions and theSyriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.[53] The declaration resulted in the separation of the CMS missionaries from the communion with the Malankara Church.[3][4] However, a minority from the Malankara Church, who were in favour of theReformed ideologies of the missionaries, stood along with them and joined theAnglican Church.[3][4] TheseSaint Thomas Anglicans became part of theChurch of South India, after theIndian independence in 1947. So they are also called CSI Syrian Christians.[54][55]
In the 19th century, a reform movement inspired by British missionaries led to the formation of the independentMar Thoma Syrian Church under the leadership of the then Malankara Metropolitan,Mathews Mar Athanasius. Meanwhile, the majority of the members of the church, resisted the movement and strengthened their affiliation to the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch at the Mulanthuruthy Synod in 1876.[56][57] They were led byPulikkootil Joseph Mar Dionysios, who was consecrated by PatriarchIgnatius Peter III. In 1875, PatriarchIgnatius Peter IV excommunicatedMathews Athanasius,Thomas Athanasius and their followers from the Malankara Church.[58][59][60][61][62] The British colonial administration abstained from extending their crucial endorsement to any one faction, thereby disengaging themselves from local church matters. Thus, the rival parties had to settle their disputes, entirely by means of court litigations.[63][64]
Dionysious V and his supporters filed a case on 4 March 1879. (Case O.S. No. 439 of 1054) demanding the possession of the seminary and the control of assets of the Church. Thomas Athanasius was then the Metropolitan.
During the course of this litigation (1879–1889), answering a question Thomas Athanasius Metropolitan said,
The Episcopal throne of Patriarch is the throne of St. Peter, while the throne of Malankara Church is that of St. Thomas. Malankara Church is as old as the Church in Antioch, equal in status, and both are independent.
A meeting was convened by the Maharaja ofTravancore, before the final verdict was given, Athanasius testified that,
Malankara Church was never under any foreign rule and that he was unwilling to move away from the teachings or give the authority and the Church possessions to a foreign Patriarch.
The final verdict which came on 12 July 1889 from the Royal Court of Travancore, upheld the conservative position on theSyriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, as being the only competent ecclesiastical authority historically authorized to ordain and appoint bishops to theMalankara Metropolitan.[65] The ruling declaredDionysious V the rightful Malankara Metropolitan owing to the acceptance by the vast majority of Malankara Christians and appointment bySyriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch[66][67] wherefrom he received direct consecration.[68] The judgement also dismissed all claims of the reformists and their leader Thomas Athanasius to the Metropolitanate or its assets.[68][69][70] They separated and established theReformedMar Thoma Syrian Church.[69][70] In the 1950s, a faction that demanded further conformity to Protestant doctrines, surfaced within the Mar Thoma Syrian Church. In 1961, they split and formed theSt. Thomas Evangelical Church of India.[71][72]
However this church underwent a further split in 1912 due to internal disputes and the question of autonomy.[67][73] The faction that supported the Patriarch of Antioch was known asBava Kakshi (Patriarch faction), and those who supported theMalankara Metropolitan came to be calledMethran Kakshi (bishop faction). The former came to be known as theJacobite Syrian Christian Church, which was incorporated into an arch-diocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church later, and the latter, initially known as the Malankara Yakkobaya Orthodox Syrian Church, which adopted the name of theMalankara Orthodox Syrian Church.[74] On 3 July 2017, the Supreme Court of India passed a judgement in favour of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church on the question of who is the legitimate Malankara Metropolitan and who has the authority to manage the affairs of the Malankara Church and its properties. It equivocally declared the 1934 Constitution of the Malankara Church a valid document to administer the church and ended the legal dispute among the two factions.[66][75]
The modern-day descendants of the Malankara Church are:
those who rejected the Latin rite were known as the New Party, which later became the Jacobite Church
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)CS1 maint: publisher location (link)The Patriarch excommunicated Mathew Mar Athanasius and the pro-Anglican group from the Malankara Jacobite Church.
1876 Patriarch Peter tries to persuade British to declare Mar Dionysius V as lawful Metropolitan, since he had excommunicated Mathews Mar Athanasius. British refuse, withdraw recognition of Mar Athanasius and ask the Indian Christians to approach the civil courts to decide who is lawful Metropolitan.
The Syrian Orthodox also became the target of Anglican missionary activity, as a result of which the Mar Thoma Church separated from the Orthodox in 1874, adopting the Anglican confession of faith and a reformed Syrian liturgy conforming to Protestant principles.
Metropolitan Juhanon Mar Thoma called it "a Protestant Church in an oriental grab."...As a reformed Oriental Church, it agrees with the reformed doctrines of the Western Churches. Therefore, there is much in common in faith and doctrine between the MTC and the reformed Churches of the West. As the Church now sees it, just as the Anglican Church is a Western Reformed Church, the MTC is an Eastern Reformed Church. At the same time as it continues in the apostolic episcopal tradition and ancient oriental practices, it has much in common with the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Thus, it is regarded as a "bridging Church".
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Cultural area ofChristian traditions that developed sinceEarly Christianity in theMiddle East,Eastern Europe,North andEast Africa,Asia Minor,South India, and parts of theFar East. | ||||||||
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