St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Cathedral

St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Cathedral
St.Mary
Headquarters	Kottayam, Kerala
Territory	India
Founder	St. Thomas the Apostle
Independence	Apostolic Era
Recognition	Oriental Orthodox
Official website	Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

File:Piravom1.jpg

This Chucrh the most ancient and prominent Orthodox Church in Kerala stands on a lovely hilltop on the eastern bank of the Muvattupuzha river at Piravom, 35 Kms. east of Kochi. Adorned with all the majestic beauty of nature, this Church is believed to be as old as the Christianity.Though the Church is named after St. Mary, it is popularly known as the Church of the Kings . People from various parts of the country irrespective of caste, creed and religion reach this pilgrim centre for consolation and comfort with offerings to their ‘Kings’ who never refuse the prayers and tears of the devotees. This pilgrim centre stands as a fort of refuge, showering blessings, ecstasy, complacence and solace to millions of people far and near.

As legends say, it is the first Christian Church in the world, and it is the only church in the name of the Holy Kings which stands on the solid rock of Christian faith. It is one among the rare churches in Malankara where there has been daily Holy Mass from very olden times. There is the "Vishudha Moonninmel Kurbana" (The Holy Mass offered jointly by three priests) almost daily and there are two Holy Masses one after the other on Sundays. Pilgrims from far and near come to pray for consolation and comfort. Many parishioners come daily in the afternoon to pray and they light candles in the church and at the tombs of their forefathers in the graveyard, which is another significance of this church among the Churches in Malankara.

This Church is ruling as per Malankara Orthodox Church constitution, but unfortunately now under controll of Jacobite group loyal to the Patriach of Antioch, seated on the H.throne of St. Peter.

Malankara Christians History

Christian community in Kerala is not a homogenous entity. However most Kerala Christian groups follow certain common practices derived from local cultural influences such as wedding customs, and use of Malayalam language in liturgy. Most groups also believe in the St. Thomas tradition.

The present Christian population have descended from these early groups. Some of the early Christians were Paklomattam, Shankarapuri, Kalli, and Kaaliyankavu in the north and Thayyil, Pattamukkil, Manki, and Madathilen near Niranam . They are popularly referred to as Syrian Christians because of the Syrian Liturgy which they continued to use in church services. They have also sometimes been called Nazaranis (followers of Jesus of Nazarene) or St. Thomas Christians. An added fillip to the growth of the Church took place when a group of about 400 people migrated from Syria in 345 AD and joined the then existing Kerala Church. The leader of this group was Thomas of Kana. They stayed on in the region. The descendants of this group even today maintain their separate identity, and are known as Kananites. Syrian Christians remained as an independent group, and they got their bishops from Eastern Orthodox Church in Antioch in Syria.

The Portuguese who arrived by sea in 1498, gradually established their power base and were eager to bring all Christians in the fold of the Church of Rome. With their superior organizational skill and with the help of Portuguese political power Bishop Alexis De Menzes succeeded in establishing the Roman Catholic Church as the dominant Church of Kerala.Between 1500 to 1650 the Portuguese made an effort to convert local inhabitants to the Roman Catholic faith and also bring some of the existing members of the Syrian Christian Church under Roman Catholic influence. The climax of this was what is known as "Synod of Udayamperur" . The Portuguese power declined by the 17th century. That weakened the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in Kerala. In 1653 there was a re-affirmation of allegiance to the Syrian Orthodox tradition in front of an improvised cross at Mattanchery. This event is popularly known as' Coonan Kurisu Satyam' (Oath taken on a bent cross). The immediate provocation was the alleged murder by Portuguese authorities, of a Bishop who was sent from Syria After the decline of the Portuguese the next major influence sprung from British rule. There was a significant influence in the area of education through the efforts of the Christian missionaries which account for the high literacy rate and high degree of education among Keralites.

• Malankara Sabha History

The subsequent history of the Syrian Christian Church of Kerala includes the evolution of the Syrian groups and the Roman catholic groups. First let us look at the Syrian groups.

Around 1800 one of the Syrian Christian Bishops, Mathew Athanasius, influenced by one Abraham Malppan made a move to the Protestant side and this was the beginning of the Kerala Mar Thoma Church. They developed strong links to the Western missionaries and emphasized evangelical renewal and Bible study. But the majority of the parent Syrian Church remained loyal to their own Bishops. In 1912, the Catholicate of east was relocated to India, and Moran Mor Baselios Paulose I was seated in the Honorary Apostolic Throne of St. Thomas as the Catholicos Of East.

However, in 1934, through the meeting of the Malankara Association the authority and powers of the Malankara Metropolitan was also entrusted to the Catholicos. Thus both the spiritual and temporal authorities of the Church was vested in one person who came to be known as CATHOLICOS OF the EAST and MALANKARA METROPOLITAN.

On September 14, 1912 a visiting patriarch from Mardin elevated one of the local bishops in the Syrian Church to Catholicose, a position that existed before in Tigris. This event took place at the famous Niranom Church and subsequently led to disputes and litigation between the factions called Orthodox Syrians and Jacobite Syrians of the Syrian Church in Kerala.Still the disputes continuing.

Several Catholicose followed. Their names are testament to the Churche's eastern connection. The first Catholicose was Basaliose Poulose the I (September 14, 1912 to May 2, 1913) The second was Basliose Geeverghese I. (April 30, 1925 to December 17, 1928). During the time of the third Catholicose (Basaliose Geeverghese III, ( Feb 15, 1929 to January 3, 1964) the positions of 'Malankara Metran' (Head Bishop) and Catholicose were combined. The fourth Catholicose was Basaliose Ougen I (May 12, 1964 to December 8, 1975) and the fifth Basaliose Mar Thoma Mathews I (October 27, 1975 to April 27, 1991).When Basaliose Mar Thoma Mathews I retired sixth Catholicose Basaliose Mar Thoma Mathews II took office on April 29, 1991. When Basaliose Mar Thoma Mathews II retired Seventh Catholicose Basaliose Mar Thoma Didimos I took office on October 31, 2005.

During the 1930s one of the leading Bishops of the Syrian Christians, disillusioned by the split between the Catholicose group and the Patriarch group left the Church and moved to the Roman Catholic Church, forming a group called "Reethu". (Malankara Roman Rite) Nearly a hundred thousand people went over to this new rite from the Syrian Orthodox Church.

The two groups of the Syrian Church, namely the Jacobite Syrians and the Orthodox Syrians continued court battles and finally in 1960 the Supreme Court of India ruled putting an end to the litigation. Bbut even after this temporary reunion the division emerged again. Today there are again two divisions, the Orthodox Syrian Christians owing allegiance to the Catholicose of the East and the Jacobites Syrian Christians owing allegiance to the Patriarch of Antioch in Syria. Very recently the supreme court of India has once again ruled putting an end to legal struggles between those two groups and recognizing the legitimacy of the Catholicose.