Malankara Metropolitan

Malankara Metropolitan was a legal title given to the head of the Malankara Syrian Church aka Puthencoor (New Traditionalists) Syrian Christians by the Government of Travancore and Cochin in South India. This title was awarded by a proclamation from the King of Travancore & the King of Cochin to the legal head of Malankara Syrian Church . The Supreme Court of India had authenticated the usage of this title by the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in its verdict in Malankara Church case.

History

It was when Col. Munroe the resident of Travancore, Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop Ramban was ordained as a bishop by Geevarghese Mar Philexenos (Kidangan) (1811–29) of Malabar Independent Syrian Church (Thozhyoor Church) on 22 March 1815. He was given the episcopal title Dionysius (a Greek personal name derived from the name of the Greek god DIONYSOS), the second bishop in the Malankara Church to get this title. After the death of Mar Thoma VIII, he was made the head of the Malankara Church by a Royal proclamation issued by the King of Travancore and later by the King of Cochin. The proclamation insisted every Syrian Christian of Travancore-Cochin to obey the Malankara Metropolitan. From then onwards the head of the Malankara Syrian Church came to be known as Malankara Metropolitan. The position of the Malankara Metropolitan in the 19th century is an upgrowth from the position of the previous MarThomas' and Archdeacons'. The power and authority of the Malankara Metropolitan got more recognition than the power and authority of the previous Archdeacons' and Marthomas' because of some political changes in the country through the establishment of British rule.

From 1816, DionysiusII, DionysiusIII, DionysiusIV, Mathews Mar Athanasios, Thomas Mar Athanasios and DionysiusV were the Malanakara Metropolitans in the 19th century. Among these Mathews Mar Athanasios of Palakkunnathu exercised enormous spiritual as well as temporal powers inside and outside the community. He was the Malankara Metropolitan at the time of Mulanthuruthy Padiyola (1876).However inspired by the western missionaries cooperated in the old seminary at Kottayam, he wanted to inculcate reformist ideas in the traditional syrian church. A parallel group under Dionysious V was working against the ruling Malankara Metropolitan's reformist ideas. During the later half of the 19th century there occurred two factions in the community; the minority faction that favored reformation and supported the Malankara metropolitan( Metran Kakshi- Reformists)and the majority faction who were against the introduction of new changes which was against the Syrian tradition of the church got stood with the Patriarch of Antioch (Bava kakshi- Syrian traditionalists ) . This invited a closer interference of the Patriarch of Antioch. Mar Dionysius V stood with the Patriarch of Antioch against the ruling metropolitan, Mathews Mar Athanasios of Palakkunnathu .A series of court cases followed there after. The Travancore Royal court on 14th July 1889 declared that Palakkunnathu Thomas Mar Athanasius and the Reformist faction has no rights in Malankara Syrian Church as they were not willing to accept the supremacy of the Patriarch of Antioch. Later the Reformist faction organised themselves as independent Marthoma Syrian Church.

The practice of issuing Royal proclamation ceased after the time of Palakkunnathu Mathews Mar Athanasius. Dionysious V of the Bava Kakshi (Syrian traditionalists) invited and brought Patriarch Peter III of Antioch to Malankara in 1875 .The Patriarch divided the Malankara church into seven diocese; Dionysious V who was holding the Diocese of Quilon was declared as the Malankara Metropolitan in the synod of Mulanthuruthy(27th to 30th June 1876) . Neither the reigning Malankara Metropolitan, Palakkunathu Mathews Mar Athanasious nor the Churches favouring him participated in the synod . Naturally the Patriarch formally took the control of the Syrian church as per the wishes of the traditionalists(Bava Kakshi). This resulted in a series of court cases and stronger rift in the church. . Dionysious V of Bava Kakshi approached the Royal Court of Travancore aganist Palakkunnathu Thomas Mar Athanasious reigning as Malankara Metropolitan and against occupying assets of church and seminary. Appellant Dinoysious V and Bava Kakshi won the case in 1889 and Palakkunnathu Thomas Mar Athanasius was deprived of the title of Malankara Metropolitan and evicted from Syrian Seminary as he was not willing to attend the synod and accept the supremacy of the Patriarch .

Later the reformist faction argued over years that the case took a turn in favor of Bava Kakshi on production of an evidence exhibit which later became infamous as KAPPI CANON ( A Syriac Church law book which was tampered with addition of extra articles narrating historic subordination of Malankara church to Holy See of Antioch and giving temporal powers to See of Antioch) dipped in coffee concentrate to show its antiquity.Mean while the defeated metran(reformist) faction organised themselves under the evicted Malankara Metropolitan Thomas Mar Athanasious with independent Indigenous Christian heritage as Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church.

However, later after the establishment of Catholicate in Malankara in 1912, again a rift occurred among Jacobites over the temporal authority of Patriarch of Antioch .There were several years of litigation between the two factions, the Metran (orthodox) faction and the Bava (jacobite) faction. Now the Jacobites and the Orthodox are separate sister churches as Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church aka Indian Orthodox Church (Under Catholicate See of Saint Thomas) and Malankara Jacobite Syrian Christian Church aka Malankara Syrian Church (under The Holy Antiochian See of Saint Peter).

List of Malankara Metropolitans

Archdeacon position was uplifted to Metropolitan position. Metropolitans of the Malankara Church were called Marthoma. (They all took the title name Marthoma except Mar Thoma VI)

Mar Thoma I (1653–1670)
Mar Thoma II (1670–1686)
Mar Thoma III (1686–1688)
Mar Thoma IV (1688–1728)
Mar Thoma V (1728–1765)
Mar Dionysius I(1765–1808)(affectionately called Mar Thoma VI)
Mar Thoma VII (1808–1809)
Mar Thoma VIII (1809–1816)
Mar Thoma IX (1816–1817)

There after Marthoma title was not used until 1975 and again restarted in the Malankara Church

Name	Episcopal Name& Details	Years served as Malankara Metropolitan
Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop	Mar Dionysius II-The first Malankara Metropolitan proclaimed by the King of Travancore and King of Cochin. Consecrated by Kidangan on 22 March 1815	March 22 1815 to November 24, 1816
Geevarghese Mar Philexenos II (Kidangan)	The then head of Malabar Independent Syrian Church served as ad hoc Malankara Metropolitan under the proclamation of the Kings of Tavancore & Cochin	1816 - 1817
Punnathara Mar Dionysius	Mar Dionysius III. Consecrated by Kidangan on 19 October 1817	19th October 1817- 17th May 1825
Cheppad Philippose Ramban	Mar Dionysius IV. Consecrated by Kidangan on 27 August 1825.	27 August 1825 to 1852
Deacon Mathen of Palakkunnathu	Mathews Mar Athanasius. Consecrated by the Patriarch of Antioch in 1841	30 August 1852- 16th July 1877
Deacon Thomas of Palakkunnathu	Thomas Mar Athanasius. Consecrated by Mathews Mar Athanasius in 1869	July 16, 1877- 1889
Pulikkottil Joseph Mar Dionysius II	Mar Dionysius V. On 30th April 1865 he was consecrated as Metropolitan by Joseph Mar Dionysius.	1889–1909
Geevarghese Mar Dionysius of Vattasseril	Mar Dionysius VI	1909–1934
Baselios Geevarghese II	Baselios Geevarghese II	1934–1964
Baselios Augen I	Baselios Augen I	1964–1975
Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews I	Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews I	1975–1991
Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews II	Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews II	1991–2005
Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I	Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I	2005–2010
Baselios Mar Thoma Paulose II	Baselios Mar Thoma Paulose II	2010–present

External links

History

List of Malankara Metropolitans

See also

External links