Jacobite Syrian Christian Church

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Not to be confused with Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.

Jacobite Syrian Christian Church
Syriac Orthodox Church Emblem
LanguageMalayalam, English, Hindi, Syriac, Tamil
HeadquartersPatriarchal Center, Puthencruz, Kochi, India
TerritoryIndia
PossessionsIndia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America
RecognitionOriental Orthodox
Official websitejscnews.org
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Saint Thomas Christian denominations

Syro-Malabar Catholic, Syro-Malankara Catholic, Latin Catholic

Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

Independent Oriential Orthodox

Malabar Independent Syrian Church

Chaldean Syrian

Mar Thoma Syrian, St. Thomas Evangelical

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The Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church,[3][4][5][6][7] officially known as Jacobite Syrian Christian Church,[8][9][10][11] is an Oriental Orthodox Church based in the Indian state of Kerala, and is an integral branch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. It recognizes the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch, currently Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II seated in the Cathedral of Saint George, Bab Tuma, Damascus, Syria, as its Supreme Head. It functions as a largely autonomous unit within the church, under the authority of the Catholicos of India, currently Baselios Thomas I. Its members are part of the Saint Thomas Christian community, which traces its origins to the evangelistic activity of Saint Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century.[12][13][14][15]

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History

Main article: Saint Thomas Christians
Main article: Saint Thomas Christian Churches
Main article: Malankara Church
History and evolution of the Malankara church in a nutshell

It is believed that Saint Thomas Christians of Malabar were in communion with the Church of the East from 496 to 1599.[16] They received episcopal support from Persian bishops, who traveled to Kerala in merchant ships along the spice route, while the local leader of the Saint Thomas Christians held the rank of Archdeacon; it was a hereditary office held by the Pakalomattam family. In the 16th century, the overtures of the Portuguese padroado to bring the Saint Thomas Christians into Latin Rite Catholicism led to the first of several rifts in the community due to Portuguese colonialists, and the establishment of the Catholic and the Malankara Church factions. Since then, further splits have occurred, and the Saint Thomas Christians are now divided into several fragments.

Saint Thomas Christians were administratively under the single native dynastic leadership of an Archdeacon (അർക്കദിയൊക്കൊൻ) (a native ecclesiastical head with spiritual and temporal powers, deriving from Greek term arkhidiākonos) and were in communion with the Church of the East, centered in Persia, from at least 496.[17][18] The indigenous Church of Malabar/Malankara followed the faith and traditions handed over by the Apostle St. Thomas. During the 16th century, the Portuguese Jesuits began deliberate attempts to annex the native Christians to the Catholic Church, and in 1599 they succeeded through the Synod of Diamper. Resentment against these forceful measures led the majority of the community under the Archdeacon Thomas to swear an oath never to submit to the Portuguese, known as the Coonan Cross Oath, in 1653. The Malankara Church consolidated under Mar Thoma I welcomed Gregorios Abdal Jaleel, who regularized the canonical ordination of Mar Thoma as a Bishop.

Meanwhile, the Dutch East India Company defeated the Portuguese and gained supremacy over the spice trade in Malabar in 1663. The Malankara church used this opportunity to escape from Catholic persecution with the Dutch East India Company's help. At the request of the Malankara Church, the Dutch brought Gregorios Abdal Jaleel of Jerusalem, a bishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church, in their trading vessel in 1665. Mar Thoma I forged a relationship with the Syriac Orthodox Church and gradually adopted West Syrian liturgy and practices.

St.Mary's Cathedral Kothamangalam

As part of the Syriac Orthodox communion, the church uses the West Syrian liturgy and is part of the Oriental Orthodox group of churches. It has dioceses in most parts of India as well as in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Western Europe, the Persian Gulf, Australia and New Zealand nations. In 2003 it was estimated that the church has 1,200,000 members globally.[1]

Headquarters

Puthencruz is the headquarters of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church in India. The headquarters is situated near the St. Peter's and St. Paul's Jacobite Syrian church. Its headquarters is named after the illustrious Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas. The property was bought and built under the leadership of the Catholicos of India Baselios Thomas I, after the church faced difficulties in continuing its functioning from its base at Muvattupuzha with the demise of Catholicos Baselios Paulose II.

The Catholicossate chapel is named after Poulose Mor Athanasius of Aluva and under the chapel is situated the space for tombs for the use of future Catholicos of the church. An Arts and Science college named after Mor Athanasius of Aluva is also run in the premises of the Zakka centre. It is the place where Akhila Malankara Suvisesha Yogam, the official gospel convention of the community, that is generally conducted from 26 to 31 December of every year. The official publishing house of the church, JSC Publishers are also a part of the large complex.Its subsidiary institutions such as the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Sunday School Association (MJSSA) is also based in Puthencruz.

Catholicos of India

For the current Catholicos of India, see Catholicos Baselios Thomas I.

Catholicos of India is an ecclesiastical office in the Syriac Orthodox Church, the head of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church in Kerala, India. He is the Catholicos/Maphrian of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church an autonomous body within the Syriac Orthodox Church, and functions at an ecclesiastical rank second to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. The jurisdiction of the Syriac Orthodox Catholicos is limited to India and Indian diaspora, although he is often invited to preside over Syriac Orthodox functions abroad.[19] The current Catholicos of India is Catholicos Baselios Thomas I, who was consecrated in 2002.

The position was created in the 20th century, amid a series of splits within the local Malankara Church and the broader Syriac Orthodox communion that divided the community into rival Indian Orthodox and Jacobite Syrian Church factions. It was instituted to provide a regional head for Jacobite Syrian Church, the faction that remained closely aligned with the Patriarch of Antioch.

Catholicos Baselios Thomas I (Mal: ആബൂന്‍ മോര്‍ ബസേലിയോസ് തോമസ്‌ പ്രഥമന്‍ കാതോലിക്ക ബാവ, b: July 22, 1929) is the second Indian Maphrian of the East i.e. Catholicos of the Syriac Orthodox Church in India and Metropolitan Trustee of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church.

His official title is Catholicos of India and also known as the Maphrian of the East. On 26 July 2002 he was enthroned as the second Catholicos and the head of the Malankara Jacobite church in India by the Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, in a ceremony held in Damascus, Syria. The position had remained vacant between 1996 (date of death of Catholicos Baselios Paulose II) and 2002.

Saints of the Church

Dioceses

The Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church has the following dioceses

Manarcad Marth Maryam Cathedral
Bethel Suloko Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church, Perumbavoor, Kerala
Mulanthuruthy Marthoman Church
Piravom Valiyapally

Archdioceses (Autonomous)

There are Archdioceses under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch:

  1. Knanaya Archdiocese
    1. Region of Chingavanam
    2. Region of Kallisseri
    3. Region of Ranni
    4. Region of USA, Canada and Europe
  2. Malankara Archdiocese of North America
  3. Malankara Archdiocese of Europe
    1. Patriarchal Vicarate of Ireland
    2. Patriarchal Vicarate of UK
    3. Patriarchal vicarate of Germany & Central Europe

Dioceses in Kerala

  1. Trivandrum
  2. Kollam Diocese[20]
  3. Thumpamon Diocese[21]
  4. Niranam Diocese[22]
  5. Kottayam Diocese[23]
  6. Idukki Diocese[24]
  7. Kandanad Diocese[25]
  8. Kochi Diocese[26]
  9. Angamaly(Largest Diocese)
    1. Angamaly Region
    2. Perumbavoor Region
    3. Kothamangalam Region
    4. Highrange Region
    5. Muvattupuzha Region
    6. Pallikkara Region
  10. Thrissur Diocese[27]
  11. Kozhikode Diocese[28]
  12. Malabar Diocese[29]

Dioceses in Rest of India

  1. Mangalore DIocese
  2. Bangalore DIocese
  3. Mylapore DIocese[30] (formerly Chennai Diocese)
  4. Bombay Diocese
  5. New Delhi Diocese[31]

Dioceses in Outside India (Autonomous)

  1. Middle East Diocese - -Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen
  2. Australia & New Zealand
  3. Singapore & Malaysia

Other Dioceses (Autonomous)

There are dioceses under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch.

  1. Honavar Mission[32]
  2. E.A.E (Evangelistic Association Of The East) Churches[33]
  3. Simhasana Churches

Present Synod

The Synod of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church comprises:

  1. Catholicos Baselios Thomas I
  2. Kuriakose Mor Severios Edavazhikal (Knanaya)
  3. Abraham Mor Severious
  4. Thomas Mor Timotheos
  5. Joseph Mor Gregorios
  6. Mathews Mor Ivanios
  7. Geevarghese Mor Dionysius
  8. Kuriakose Mor Dioscorus
  9. Geevarghese Mor Athanasios (Simhasana Churches)
  10. Kuriakose Mor Theophilos
  11. Yuhanon Mor Militos
  12. Mathews Mor Theodosius
  13. Mathews Mor Aphrem
  14. Pathros Mor Osthathios
  15. Geevarghese Mor Coorilose
  16. Yeldho Mor Theethose
  17. Kuriakose Mor Eusabios
  18. Markose Mor Chrisostamos
  19. Elias Mor Athanasios
  20. Kuriakose Mor Gregorios (Knanaya)
  21. Yaqu'b Mor Anthonios
  22. Zacharias Mor Philoxenos
  23. Paulose Mor Irenious
  24. Kuriakose Mor Ivanious (Knanaya)
  25. Ayub Mor Silvanious (Knanaya)
  26. Geevarghese Mor Barnabas
  27. Issac Osthathios
  28. Kuriakose Mor Julios
  29. Thomas Mor Alexandros
  30. Geevarghese Mor Polycarpus
  31. Mathews Mor Thimothios
  32. Matthews Mor Anthimos

See also

Related

References

  1. ^ a b Fahlbusch, Erwin; Lochman, Jan Milic; Mbiti, John S.; Vischer, Lukas; Bromiley, Geoffrey William (2003). The Encyclopedia Of Christianity (Encyclopedia of Christianity) Volume 5. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. pp. 285–286. ISBN 0-8028-2417-X.
  2. ^ http://www.cnewaindia.in/default.aspx?ID=9&pagetypeID=9&sitecode=CA&pageno=1
  3. ^ Russell, Thomas Arthur; Comparative Christianity: A Student's Guide to a Religion and Its Diverse Traditions(English) Boca Raton, Florida;2010; Universal Publishers; p 40.
  4. ^ Gregorios; Paulos; Roberson; Ronald G.; The Encyclopedia Of Christianity Online (Syrian Orthodox Churches in India)(English) Netherlands;2016; Brill Online Reference works.
  5. ^ Lucian N. Leustean; Eastern Christianity and the cold war, 1945-91(English) New York;2010; Routeledge Taylor&Francis Group; p.317.
  6. ^ Erwin Fahlbusch; The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 5(English);2008; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing;p. 285.
  7. ^ Frykenberg, Eric; Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present(English); Oxford University Press; p 374.
  8. ^ "JSC News - The Official News Portal of the Holy Jacobite Syrian Christian Church".
  9. ^ Pastoral message of H.B Thomas I, Catholicos of India, Jacobite Church Head in India
  10. ^ Official Publication of Jacobite Syrian Christian Church
  11. ^ "Jacobite Syrian Christian Church Constitution 2002 (in Malayalam)" (PDF).
  12. ^ Menachery G (1973) The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India, Ed. George Menachery, B.N.K. Press, vol. 2, ISBN 81-87132-06-X, Lib. Cong. Cat. Card. No. 73-905568; B.N.K. Press – (has some 70 lengthy articles by different experts on the origins, development, history, culture... of these Christians, with some 300 odd photographs).
  13. ^ Leslie Brown, (1956) The Indian Christians of St. Thomas. An Account of the Ancient Syrian Church of Malabar, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1956, 1982 (repr.)
  14. ^ Thomas Puthiakunnel, (1973) "Jewish colonies of India paved the way for St. Thomas", The Saint Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India, ed. George Menachery, Vol. II., Trichur.
  15. ^ NSC Network (2007) St. Thomas, India mission- Early reference and testimonies
  16. ^ [1]
  17. ^ Frykenberg, p. 93.
  18. ^ Wilmshurst, EO, 343
  19. ^ Catholicate of the East
  20. ^ "Kollam Diocese of Jacobite Syrian Church". Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  21. ^ "Official site of Thumpamon Diocese". Thumpamon Diocese. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  22. ^ "Niranam Diocese of Jacobite Syrian Christian Church". Niranam Diocese. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  23. ^ "Kottayam Diocese". Kottayam Diocese. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  24. ^ "Official website of Idukki Dioces". Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  25. ^ "Kandanad Diocese - Jacobite Syrian Christian Church". Kandanad Diocese. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  26. ^ Kochi Diocese of Jacobite Syrian Church Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  27. ^ "Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church". Thrissur Diocese. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  28. ^ "Kozhikode Diocese - Jacobite Syrian Christian Church". Kozhikode Diocese. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  29. ^ "Official Website of Malabar Diocese, Jacobite Syrian Christian Church". Malabar Diocese. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  30. ^ "Mylapore Diocese - Diocese of Jacobite Syrian Christian Church". Mylapore Diocese. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  31. ^ "Delhi Diocese of Jacobite Syrian Church". Delhi Diocese. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  32. ^ "Honnavar Mission". Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  33. ^ "Evangelical Association of the East". Retrieved 26 September 2017.

External links


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