Puthencruz is the headquarters of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church in India. It is registered as a society under the Societies Act of the Government of India. Its headquarters are named after Ignatius Zakka I. The property was bought and built under the leadership of Baselios Thomas I after the church faced difficulties in continuing its operations in Muvattupuzha after Baselios Paulose II's death.
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 295 AD to 1599.[25] They received episcopal support from Syriac 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, which was a hereditary office held by the Pakalomattam family. In the 16th century, the overtures of the Portuguesepadroado 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 Syro-Malabar Church and the Malankara Church factions. Since then, further splits have occurred, and the Saint Thomas Christians are now divided into several factions.
Saint Thomas Christians were administratively under the single native dynastic leadership of an archdeacon (a native ecclesiastical head with spiritual and temporal powers, deriving from the Greek term arkhidiākonos) and were in communion with the Church of the East centered in Persia, from at least 496 AD.[26] The indigenous Church of Malabar/Malankara followed the faith and traditions handed over by the apostle St. Thomas. In the 16th century, the Portuguese Jesuits deliberately attempted to annex the native Christians to the Catholic Church, and in 1599 they succeeded through the Synod of Diamper. Resentment against these forceful measures caused the majority of the community under 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 Thoma I welcomed Gregorios Abdal Jaleel, who regularized the canonical ordination of 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 company's help. At the church's request, the Dutch brought Gregorios Abdal Jaleel of Jerusalem, a bishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church, aboard their trading vessel in 1665. Thoma I formed a relationship with the Syriac Orthodox Church and gradually adopted West Syriac liturgy and practices.
As part of the Syriac Orthodox communion, the church uses the West Syriac 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. In 2003 it was estimated that the church had 1,000,000 (including Knanaya) members globally.[27]
Hierarchy
The highest rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy is the patriarch. The second-highest rank is the maphrian, also known as the Catholicos of India, and is the head of the Jacobite Syrian Church in India. There are metropolitan bishops or archbishops, and auxiliary bishops beneath them.
Three ranks of hierarchy
There are three ranks of priesthood in the Syriac Orthodox Church:
Episcopate: Patriarch, Maphrian, archbishop and bishop.
Vicariate: chor-episcopos and priest or qasheesho.
Deaconate: archdeacon, evangelical-deacon, subdeacon, lector or qoruyo and singer or mzamrono.
The Church believed in the Trinity, apostolic succession, Miaphysitism Christological doctrines, and the Saints' Communion with Heaven. It also believed in the Throne of Antioch established by Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and accepted the Petrine primacy and supremacy of Patriarchs akin to the Church of Rome. Those who follow the early theological doctrines from India are known as Saint Thomas Christians. The church venerates icons. It has prayers to Geevarghese Gregorios of Perumpally, Curien Kaniyamparambil, and other people who controlled higher positions in the church. The Church has myths in India related to Hinduism regarding churches in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It has major and minor pilgrim sites in the Manarcad Church.
Manarcad Church is a pilgrimage site in Kerala and is known as the Global Marian Pilgrim Center. The Holy Girdle of the Virgin Mary was installed in 1953 by Ignatius Zakka I, and church construction was completed in 1954.
The Syrian Christians accepted the traditions of the Syriac traditional Indian Church. The rituals incorporated into Syrian Christianity from other religions include many different blessings and processions. The Syrian Christians have a prominent position given by Maharajas.[32]
The Minnukettu and Manthrakodi are Syrian Orthodox rituals adhered to by the Malankara Church. They approved by Ignatius Peter IV, the Patriarch of Antioch. The Manthrakodi is known as sari for a bridegroom, and the Minnu is the ritual layout of a wedding ceremony in a shape resembling wheat, which represents rebirth and resurrection.[33]
The Procession is the ritual of the Bible being shown to everyone at Mass, an existing tradition in Hinduism and Syriac Christianity.
Chattayum Mundum is the traditional dress of Syriac Christians; it was inspired by Jewish and Mohammedan culture.
The Syriac Orthodox Church respects the relics of Saint Mary, forefathers, and saints. The most venerated relics of the Syrian Orthodox Church are the Holy Girdle found from the olden manuscripts by Ignatius Aphrem I and the relics of the Thomas the Apostle discovered by Ignatius Zakka I. The Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church kept some of these relics and celebrated on occasions.[34]
The liturgical service is called Holy Qurobo in the Syriac language. The Liturgy of Saint James is celebrated on Sundays and special occasions. The Holy Eucharist consists of Gospel reading, Bible readings, prayers, and songs. Apart from certain readings, prayers are sung in the form of chants and melodies. Hundreds of melodies remain preserved in the book known as Beth Gazo.[35]
Holy Bible
The Syriac Orthodox Church respects the Bible in the Church of tradition and liturgy. It preserves the Syriac manuscripts of the Bible and other holy books. The Syriac name of Peshitta is Vishudhagrandham (വിശുദ്ധ ഗ്രന്ഥം) in Malayalam, translated by Fr. Kurien Kaniamparambil.
Prayers
The Jacobite Syrian Christians pray from the Shehimo during canonical hours in accordance with Psalm 119. In 1910, Reverend Konattu Mathen Malpan translated the prayer book of the Syrian orthodox church into Malayalam, known as Pampakuda Namaskaram, with permission from Ignatius Abded Aloho II.[36][37] It is the common prayer book of Syrian Orthodox Christians in India.
In punishment by the cross (was) the suffering on this one; He who is true Christ and God above, and Guide ever Pure
— Inscription of St. Mary's Knanaya Church, Kottayam[39]
However, it does not refute the Church of the East's relationship with the earlier church, and as the Church of the East never professed the alleged Nestorianism, it is held as a misnomer and false accusation according to most historians.[40][41]
Nasrani Cross
The Nasrani Cross (Persian cross) is used by Syrian Christians of India. It spread in the early fourth century and is similar to the Armenian Cross of the Armenian Apostolic Church.[42]
The JSC and MOSC regularly engage in disputes over the former's staunch allegiance to the Syriac Orthodox Church. The latter proclaims the general agreement of territorial jurisdictions integral to the Orthodox Churches around the world and alleges that the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate illegally interferes in the temporal matters of the Malankara Church. The JSC lost many of its prominent churches to the Malankara Orthodox after the Supreme Court of India's verdict, despite having absolute majority in those churches.[43] After the long struggle for talks on churches that were dismissed by Malankara Orthodox, the Jacobite Syrian Church decided to end their sacramental relationship with them on 2022.[44]
Cemetery ordinance
As per Supreme Court Order 2017, the Syrian Church disputed its rights to attend holy mass and rituals and took the proposed ordinance for cemeteries. The ordinance gives the right for every person to attend rituals and laws passed on by the majority votes with the support of the chief minister, ministers and other Assembly members.[45]
According to the Agreement of Pope John Paul II and Ignatius Zakka I, the Holy Catholic Church and Syriac Orthodox Church have a relationship between sacraments of Penance, Eucharist and Anointing of the Sick for a grave spiritual need.[46][47]
Marthoma Syrian Church
The Mar Thoma Syrian Church also known as Malankara Mar Thoma, or Reformed Syrian church of Malabar and Jacobite Syrian Church attend prayer meetings and marriage ceremonies together. They continue their synods in recognition of theological acceptance and Holy Communion from their understanding. The Holy Muron of Mar Thoma Syrian Church was given by Ignatius Elias II in 1842 which decided the church will only use the ecclesiastical title of the names Ignatius and Baselios to honour the Syriac Orthodox Church.[48]
The Syriac Orthodox Patriarchal Delegates of India is the representative body of the patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, who is sent to India to guide and administer the church, or on special occasions, as the representative of the Holy See of Antioch.[49] Every year, Syriac Orthodox Patriarchal Delegates participate in the Manjanikkara Church Feast.[50][51]
By the fifth century, the bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch gained control of the churches in surrounding cities. They became the heads of the regional churches, and were known as patriarchs. Outside of the Roman Empire, patriarchs were known as catholicos. After Nestorian Schism in the seventh century, the Syriac Orthodox Christians who lived in Persia began using the title for its maphrian, who was originally the head of the Syriac Orthodox Christian community in Persia. This office ranked right below the patriarch of Antioch in Syriac Orthodox church hierarchy, until it was abolished in 1860 and reinstated in 1964.
The Maphrian of India(Catholicos) is an ecclesiastical office of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the local head of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. He is the Catholicos of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, an archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The jurisdiction of Catholicos is limited to India so to avoid disambiguation and avoid legal issues, the Syriac Orthodox Church uses the title Catholicos of India or Maprian, distinct from Catholicos of the East. The position remained vacant between 1996 and 2002.[52]
^Attwater, Donald (1935). The Catholic Eastern Churches (1937 revised ed.). Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Company. p. 198.
^K.C. Zachariah, "Religious Denominations of Kerala" (Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India), Working Paper 468, April 2016, p. 29
^Russell, Thomas Arthur; Comparative Christianity: A Student's Guide to a Religion and Its Diverse Traditions; Boca Raton, Florida; 2010; Universal Publishers; p. 40.
^Gregorios; Paulos; Roberson; Ronald G.; The Encyclopedia of Christianity Online (Syrian Orthodox Churches in India); Netherlands; 2016; Brill Online Reference works.
^Lucian N. Leustean; Eastern Christianity and the cold war, 1945-91; New York; 2010; Routeledge Taylor&Francis Group; p. 317.
^Erwin Fahlbusch; The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 5; 2008; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing; p. 285.
^Frykenberg, Eric; Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present; Oxford University Press; p. 374.
^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. ISBN0-8028-2417-X.
Brock, Sebastian P. (2011). "Thomas Christians". In Sebastian P. Brock; Aaron M. Butts; George A. Kiraz; Lucas Van Rompay (eds.). Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Gorgias Press. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
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