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Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church | Indian Christian Heritage
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church: An Ancient Indian Christian Tradition
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, officially known as the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church of the East and commonly called the Indian Orthodox Church, is one of India's ancient apostolic Christian traditions. Rooted in the historic Saint Thomas Christian community of Kerala, the Church traces its spiritual heritage to the traditional arrival of Saint Thomas the Apostle in India in AD 52.
Today, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox Church, meaning that it governs itself under its own ecclesiastical leadership. Its supreme spiritual head is the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan, whose seat is at Devalokam, Kottayam, Kerala.
The Church represents a distinctive expression of Indian Christianity, combining the ancient Christian heritage of the Malabar Coast with the West Syriac liturgical tradition and a deeply rooted Indian identity. Its history reflects nearly two millennia of Christian presence in India and several centuries of ecclesiastical change, conflict, renewal, and institutional development.
Origins in the Saint Thomas Christian Tradition
According to the ancient tradition of India's Saint Thomas Christians, Christianity was brought to the Malabar Coast by Saint Thomas the Apostle, who is believed to have arrived in India in AD 52. Tradition holds that the apostle established Christian communities in Kerala before travelling to the region of present-day Chennai, where he was martyred.
Although the precise details of the apostle's mission cannot be fully reconstructed from contemporary historical records, the existence of an ancient Christian community in southern India is well established. Over the centuries, the Saint Thomas Christians developed as a distinctive Indian Christian community with strong ecclesiastical and commercial connections to the churches of Persia and the wider Syriac Christian world.
For much of their early history, the Christians of Malabar followed the East Syriac liturgical tradition and maintained relations with the Church of the East, whose bishops periodically travelled from Persia and Mesopotamia to serve the Indian Christian community. Local administration was traditionally entrusted to an Archdeacon, an influential indigenous ecclesiastical leader who played a central role in both the religious and communal affairs of the Saint Thomas Christians.
This early structure allowed the community to preserve a distinctly Indian social and cultural identity while remaining connected to the broader Eastern Christian world.
The Arrival of the Portuguese and a Period of Transformation
The arrival of the Portuguese on the Malabar Coast at the end of the fifteenth century profoundly changed the history of Christianity in India. Portuguese missionaries encountered the ancient Saint Thomas Christian community and sought to bring it more directly under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church and the Portuguese ecclesiastical system.
These efforts culminated in the Synod of Diamper, held at Udayamperoor in 1599 under the leadership of Archbishop Aleixo de Menezes of Goa. The synod introduced significant changes to the administration, liturgy, and religious practices of the Saint Thomas Christians and formally placed the community under Latin Catholic ecclesiastical authority.
Many Saint Thomas Christians increasingly resented foreign control over their Church, particularly the weakening of the traditional office of the Archdeacon and the disruption of longstanding relationships with Eastern Christian churches.
These tensions eventually led to one of the most significant events in Indian Christian history.
The Coonan Cross Oath of 1653
In January 1653, a large number of Saint Thomas Christians gathered at Mattancherry near Kochi and took what became known as the Coonan Cross Oath, or Koonan Kurishu Sathyam. They pledged not to remain under the authority of the Portuguese Jesuit hierarchy.
The oath was a decisive expression of resistance to foreign ecclesiastical control. Shortly afterward, Archdeacon Thomas was elevated by community leaders as Mar Thoma I, although the canonical validity of his initial consecration was disputed because it had not been performed by bishops.
The Saint Thomas Christian community subsequently divided. A majority eventually reconciled with Rome under Bishop Joseph Sebastiani, while those who continued under Mar Thoma I formed the community that became known as the Puthenkoor, or "New Allegiance."
The descendants of these two branches eventually developed into several of the Christian churches found in Kerala today. The group that remained in communion with Rome became the historical foundation of the modern Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, while the Puthenkoor community became the historical foundation from which the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and several other Malankara Christian traditions later emerged.
The Adoption of the West Syriac Tradition
Following the Coonan Cross Oath, the followers of Mar Thoma I sought episcopal support from other Eastern Christian churches. A major turning point came with the arrival in India of Mar Gregorios Abdal Jaleel, a bishop associated with the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, in 1665.
His arrival strengthened the episcopal succession of the Puthenkoor community and began a gradual process through which the West Syriac liturgical tradition became established among these Christians.
This transition did not happen immediately. Over time, however, the Malankara Church increasingly adopted the West Syriac liturgy, theology, ecclesiastical customs, and spiritual traditions associated with the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch.
The liturgical language of the Church became Syriac, while Malayalam increasingly developed as the principal language of worship and religious instruction among the faithful. Today, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church celebrates its liturgy primarily in Malayalam and other local languages while preserving important elements of its Syriac heritage.
The Malankara Church in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Malankara Church experienced periods of both consolidation and internal disagreement. Questions concerning ecclesiastical authority, relations with the Patriarch of Antioch, liturgical reform, and the influence of Anglican missionaries contributed to significant changes within the wider Saint Thomas Christian community.
In the early nineteenth century, the Church Missionary Society worked for a time in cooperation with the Malankara Church, particularly in the fields of education, biblical translation, and theological training. This relationship eventually contributed to a reform movement within the Church.
The reform movement associated particularly with Abraham Malpan sought changes in worship and doctrine. Those who embraced these reforms eventually developed into the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, while the majority of the Malankara Church continued to preserve the Orthodox faith and West Syriac liturgical tradition.
Meanwhile, another major controversy concerned the nature and extent of the authority exercised by the Patriarch of Antioch over the Malankara Church. These disagreements became increasingly important during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and eventually contributed to a lasting division.
The Mulanthuruthy Synod of 1876
An important event in the nineteenth-century history of the Malankara Church was the Mulanthuruthy Synod of 1876, convened in the presence of Patriarch Ignatius Peter IV of Antioch.
The synod reorganized the administration of the Malankara Church and strengthened its formal ecclesiastical relationship with the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate. Diocesan structures were developed, and new administrative arrangements were introduced.
However, disagreements concerning the respective authority of the Patriarch of Antioch and the Malankara Church's own indigenous leadership continued. These questions would eventually lead to the division between what became the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church.
The Establishment of the Catholicate in India
A defining moment in the history of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church came in 1912, when the Catholicate of the East was established in India.
Baselios Paulos I was enthroned as Catholicos at St. Mary's Church in Niranam with the participation of Patriarch Ignatius Abdul Masih II, a former Patriarch of Antioch. The establishment of the Catholicate provided the Church in India with its own supreme ecclesiastical head and became the foundation of its autocephalous identity.
The office of the Catholicos came to symbolize the Church's claim to ecclesiastical self-government and the continuity of apostolic leadership within India.
The supreme head of the Church today bears the combined title Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan.
The establishment of the Catholicate was strongly opposed by those who continued to recognize the direct jurisdiction of the reigning Patriarch of Antioch. The resulting division eventually produced two principal communities: the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, governed by the Catholicos, and the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, which remains under the spiritual supremacy of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.
The Constitution of 1934
The 1934 Constitution of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church became a foundational document for the Church's modern governance. It established an administrative framework combining episcopal leadership with representative participation by clergy and laity.
Under this system, the Malankara Syrian Christian Association plays an important role in Church administration, including participation in the election of bishops and the Catholicos.
The Constitution also affirmed the position of the Catholicos of the East as Malankara Metropolitan, thereby uniting the highest spiritual and administrative offices of the Church.
This system reflects a distinctive feature of the Malankara Orthodox tradition: strong episcopal leadership combined with significant historical participation by clergy and lay representatives in Church governance.
Reconciliation and Renewed Division
The twentieth century witnessed repeated efforts to reconcile the factions within the Malankara Church.
A significant reconciliation occurred in 1958, following a judgment of the Supreme Court of India. For a period, the two groups were reunited under the leadership of the Catholicos.
However, disputes concerning ecclesiastical authority resurfaced, and by the 1970s the division had again become firmly established. Subsequent legal disputes over Church governance and the administration of individual parishes continued for decades.
In 1995, the Supreme Court of India addressed important constitutional questions relating to the Malankara Church. Further judgments, particularly the Supreme Court's 2017 decision concerning the administration of disputed parishes, affirmed the applicability of the 1934 Constitution to the Malankara Church.
These legal disputes have had a profound impact on relations between the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. Yet both communities share the same ancient Saint Thomas Christian roots and much of the same West Syriac liturgical and spiritual heritage.
Faith, Worship, and Spiritual Tradition
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church belongs to the family of Oriental Orthodox Churches, together with the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Armenian Apostolic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
These churches accept the first three ecumenical councils: Nicaea in 325, Constantinople in 381, and Ephesus in 431. They are distinct from the Eastern Orthodox churches that accept the Council of Chalcedon of 451.
The central act of worship in the Malankara Orthodox Church is the Holy Qurbana, or Divine Liturgy. The Church follows the West Syriac Rite, with the Liturgy of Saint James holding a particularly important place in its worship.
The liturgical life of the Church is characterized by ancient prayers, chants, incense, vestments, icons, fasting, and a rich cycle of feasts and commemorations. The Church recognizes seven sacraments, including baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, confession, marriage, ordination, and anointing of the sick.
Fasting is an important element of Orthodox spirituality. The faithful observe several periods of fasting throughout the liturgical year, particularly the Great Lent preceding Easter.
Saint Gregorios of Parumala
One of the most revered figures in the history of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church is Saint Geevarghese Mar Gregorios of Parumala, commonly known as Parumala Thirumeni.
Born in 1848, he became a bishop at a young age and was known for his spiritual discipline, pastoral care, humility, and devotion to the Church. He died in 1902 and was canonized by the Church in 1947.
His tomb at St. Peter's and St. Paul's Church in Parumala, Kerala, has become one of the most important Christian pilgrimage sites in India, attracting large numbers of pilgrims each year.
Saint Gregorios is especially significant as the first canonized Christian saint of Indian origin in the Malankara Orthodox tradition.
Historic Churches and Sacred Sites
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church maintains numerous ancient and historically important churches, particularly in Kerala. Many are connected with the broader history of the Saint Thomas Christian community.
Among its significant churches and pilgrimage centres are:
- St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church, Niranam, associated by tradition with Saint Thomas the Apostle and one of the ancient Christian centres of Kerala.
- St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Kandanad, an important historic centre of the Malankara Church.
- St. Mary's Orthodox Church, Kottayam, commonly known as Kottayam Cheriapally, dating to the sixteenth century and notable for its historic architecture and murals.
- St. Peter's and St. Paul's Orthodox Church, Parumala, the burial place of Saint Gregorios of Parumala.
- Catholicate Palace, Devalokam, the headquarters and official residence associated with the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan.
- Old Seminary, Kottayam, established in 1815 and one of the most historically significant centres of theological education in the Malankara Christian tradition.
These sites preserve important aspects of Kerala's Christian architectural, artistic, liturgical, and communal heritage.
Education and Social Service
Like many Christian denominations in India, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church has made important contributions to education, healthcare, and social welfare.
The Church operates schools, colleges, theological seminaries, hospitals, orphanages, and charitable institutions. Its educational ministry reflects the broader Christian tradition in India of combining religious service with the advancement of literacy, professional education, and social development.
Among institutions associated with the Church are Catholicate College in Pathanamthitta, Baselios College in Kottayam, and St. Stephen's College in Pathanapuram, along with numerous schools and other educational institutions.
The Church also operates healthcare and charitable ministries serving people without regard to religious background.
The Malankara Orthodox Church Beyond Kerala
Although historically centred in Kerala, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church has expanded throughout India and across the world.
Migration from Kerala during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries led to the establishment of parishes in major Indian cities as well as in the Middle East, North America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and other regions.
The Church's worldwide presence allows members of the Indian diaspora to preserve their Orthodox faith, Syriac Christian heritage, Malayalam traditions, and connection with the ancient Christian community of India.
At the same time, the growing use of English and regional languages has helped the Church minister to younger generations and communities beyond its traditional Malayalam-speaking base.
An Ancient Church with an Indian Identity
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church occupies a distinctive place in the history of Christianity in India. Its roots lie in the ancient Saint Thomas Christian community of the Malabar Coast, while its liturgical tradition reflects centuries of connection with Syriac Christianity.
Its historical journey has included the early East Syriac heritage of the Saint Thomas Christians, the arrival of the Portuguese, the Synod of Diamper, the Coonan Cross Oath, the adoption of the West Syriac tradition, nineteenth-century reform movements, and the establishment of the Catholicate in India.
Through these transformations, the Church developed an identity that is simultaneously apostolic, Oriental Orthodox, Syriac in liturgical heritage, and deeply Indian in its historical and cultural roots.
Today, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church continues to preserve its ancient traditions while serving communities throughout India and around the world. Its churches, monasteries, educational institutions, charitable ministries, liturgical traditions, and historic sacred sites remain an important part of India's diverse Christian heritage.
References and Further Reading
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Official website of the Indian Orthodox Church. https://mosc.in
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. History of the Church and the Catholicate. Official Church historical resources.
Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Thomas Christians." https://www.britannica.com
Frykenberg, Robert Eric. Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present. Oxford University Press, 2008.
Brown, Leslie W. The Indian Christians of St Thomas: An Account of the Ancient Syrian Church of Malabar. Cambridge University Press, 1956.
Mundadan, A. Mathias. History of Christianity in India, Volume I: From the Beginning up to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century. Church History Association of India, 1984.
Neill, Stephen. A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707. Cambridge University Press, 1984.
Neill, Stephen. A History of Christianity in India: 1707–1858. Cambridge University Press, 1985.
Perczel, István. Scholarly studies on the Saint Thomas Christians and the Syriac Christian traditions of India.
Supreme Court of India. Judgments concerning the Malankara Church, including the 1958, 1995, and 2017 decisions on Church governance and parish administration.
The Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches. Resources on the Oriental Orthodox family of churches.
Parumala Seminary and St. Peter's and St. Paul's Orthodox Church. Historical resources concerning Saint Gregorios of Parumala and the Parumala pilgrimage centre.
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