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	~~[[File:Coonan Kurish Oath.jpg\|thumb\|The Coonan Kurish Oath of Mattanchery]]~~

	The '''Coonan Cross Oath''' ({{lang-mal\|കൂനൻ കുരിശ് സത്യം}}, ''Kūnan Kuriśŭ Satiaṁ''), also known as '''Great Oath of Bent Cross''', '''Leaning Cross Oath''' or '''The oath of the slanting cross''', taken on 3 January 1653 in [[Mattancherry]], was a public avowal by members of the [[Saint Thomas Christian]] community of the [[Malabar Coast]] in [[India]], that they would not submit to the [[Society of Jesus\|Jesuits]] and [[Latin Church\|Latin Catholic]] hierarchy, nor accept [[Portuguese India\|Portuguese]] dominance (''[[Padroado]]'') in ecclesiastical and secular life.{{sfn\|Brown\|1956\|p=100}}{{sfn\|Baum\|Winkler\|2003\|p=115-116}}{{sfn\|Neill\|2004\|p=316}}		The '''Coonan Cross Oath''' ({{lang-mal\|കൂനൻ കുരിശ് സത്യം}}, ''Kūnan Kuriśŭ Satiaṁ''), also known as '''Great Oath of Bent Cross''', '''Leaning Cross Oath''' or '''The oath of the slanting cross''', taken on 3 January 1653 in [[Mattancherry]], was a public avowal by members of the [[Saint Thomas Christian]] community of the [[Malabar Coast]] in [[India]], that they would not submit to the [[Society of Jesus\|Jesuits]] and [[Latin Church\|Latin Catholic]] hierarchy, nor accept [[Portuguese India\|Portuguese]] dominance (''[[Padroado]]'') in ecclesiastical and secular life.{{sfn\|Brown\|1956\|p=100}}{{sfn\|Baum\|Winkler\|2003\|p=115-116}}{{sfn\|Neill\|2004\|p=316}}

>Br Ibrahim john at 09:05, 6 July 2021

2021-07-06T09:05:43Z

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{{Multiple issues|
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{{Nasrani people}}
{{Christianity in India sidebar}}
[[File:Coonan Kurish Oath.jpg|thumb|The Coonan Kurish Oath of Mattanchery]]

The '''Coonan Cross Oath''' ({{lang-mal|കൂനൻ കുരിശ് സത്യം}}, ''Kūnan Kuriśŭ Satiaṁ''), also known as '''Great Oath of Bent Cross''', '''Leaning Cross Oath''' or '''The oath of the slanting cross''', taken on 3 January 1653 in [[Mattancherry]], was a public avowal by members of the [[Saint Thomas Christian]] community of the [[Malabar Coast]] in [[India]], that they would not submit to the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]] and [[Latin Church|Latin Catholic]] hierarchy, nor accept [[Portuguese India|Portuguese]] dominance (''[[Padroado]]'') in ecclesiastical and secular life.{{sfn|Brown|1956|p=100}}{{sfn|Baum|Winkler|2003|p=115-116}}{{sfn|Neill|2004|p=316}}

[[Saint Thomas Christians]] were originally in communion with the [[Church of the East]], which practiced [[East Syriac Rite]] liturgy.{{sfn|Mingana|1926|p=435–514}} However, the Portuguese did not accept the legitimacy of local ecclesiastical traditions, and they began to impose Latin usages upon the local Christians.{{sfn|Mundadan|1967|p=115-116}} At the [[Synod of Diamper]], held in 1599 under the presidency of [[Aleixo de Menezes]], Catholic Archbishop of Goa, a number of such latinizations were adopted, including the appointment of Catholic bishops, changes in the [[liturgy]], the use of Roman vestments, the requirement of [[clerical celibacy]], and the setting up of the [[Inquisition]].{{sfn|Brown|1956|p=32}}{{sfn|Baum|Winkler|2003|p=115}}{{sfn|Neill|2004|p=208}}
[[File:Our Lady of Life's Church in Mattancherry..JPG|thumb|The church of Our Lady of Life, Mattancherry]]
In 1653, after half a century of the increasing influence of the Latin Church, the majority of the Malabar Christians revolted against [[Jesuits]] and the ''[[Padroado]]'', and took the ''Coonan Cross Oath'' (1653) at [[Mattancherry]], pledging to liberate themselves from latinization and Portuguese domination. They elected [[Thoma I|Thoma]], their archdeacon, as head of their community and decided to re-establish direct ties with traditional Eastern Churches.{{sfn|Brown|1956|p=100-101}}{{sfn|Baum|Winkler|2003|p=115-116}}{{sfn|Neill|2004|p=316-321}}

==Background==
[[File:Erzdiakon Thomas.jpg|thumb|265 px|right|[[Mar Thoma I|Thoma I]], the leader of the Coonan Cross Oath]]
{{more citations needed section|date=December 2015}}
{{main|Church of the East in India}}

The Saint Thomas Christians remain in communion with the [[Church of the East]].<ref>I. Gillman and H.-J. Klimkeit, ''Christians in Asia Before 1500'', (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1999), p. 177.</ref> It is believed that Malabar Church was in communion with the [[Church of the East]] from CE 300 to CE 1599.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14678a.htm#X |title = CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Thomas Christians}}</ref> With the establishment of Portuguese power in parts of India, the clergy of that empire, in particular members of the [[Society of Jesus]] (Jesuits), attempted to [[Liturgical Latinisation|Latinise]] the Indian Christians.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

The Portuguese started a [[Latin Church]] diocese in [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Goa and Daman|Goa]] (1534) and another at [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Cochin|Cochin]] (1558), and sought to bring the St.Thomas Christians under the jurisdiction of the Portuguese ''[[padroado]]'' and into the [[Latin Rite]] of the Catholic Church. A series of [[synod]]s, including the 1585 [[Goa|Synod of Goa]], were held, which introduced Latinized elements to the local liturgy. In 1599 [[Aleixo de Menezes]], [[Archbishop of Goa]], led the [[Synod of Diamper]], which finally brought the Saint Thomas Christians fully under the authority of the Latin Archdiocese of Goa.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

The independence of the ancient Church of Malankara was rescinded. The Padroado (Patronage) of the Portuguese Crown was only momentary for the feelings of resentment and the desire to regain independence among the St. Thomas Christians were very real and could not be contained for long.

In 1653, [[Ahatallah]] of Antioch visited Malankara and was captured by the Portuguese. He was taken onboard a Portuguese ship at Madras bound for Goa, and en route, it touched Cochin. Local Christians heard of the arrival of the ship at Cochin. The Archdeacon with a large number of Priests and several thousands of Saint Thomas Christians assembled at Mattancherry Cochin; their efforts to visit the Bishop when the fleet arrived in Cochin intensified but ultimately, they were not fruitful. Several letters were sent to all the civil and religious authorities in Cochin, for at least an opportunity to visit [[Ahatallah]], to examine his credentials and to verify his identity, promising that if he was found an imposter, they would be the first to press for his punishment. Due to the staunch and intransigent opposition of Archbishop Garcia and the Jesuit fathers<ref name=":0" /> it did not happen. The Archbishop even refused to meet the Christians, who wanted to discuss the matter with him. What happened to [[Ahatallah]] in the midst of the Arabian Sea is still a mystery. Further resentment of these measures led a part of the community to take the Coonan Cross Oath in 1653, swearing "never to submit to the Portuguese". [[Ahatallah]] claimed to be the Patriarch of Antioch and hence was often called or called himself "Ignatius Aloho," which was the name of the Patriarch [[Ignatius Hidayat Aloho]].

According to some writing in the 1980s,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The St. Thomas Christian Revolution 1653|last=Kollamparambil|first=Dr Jacob|publisher=Catholic Bishop's House Kottayam|year=1981|page=foot note 38}}</ref> [[Ahatallah|Ahatalla]] is said to have landed at Surat in 1652 and thence came to Mylapore, where he was arrested by the Jesuits on 3 August 1652. While at Mylapore, Ahatalla met two Syrian Christian deacons, viz: Chengannur ltty and Kuravilangad Kizhakkedath Kurien from Malankara, who were on a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Thomas and sent a letter through them to the Church of Malankara saying:<blockquote>Behold, I Ignatius, Patriarch of All India and China, send to you a letter through the clerics who came here from your place. When you have read this letter diligently send me two priests and forty men. If however, you wish to send them from your place, send them cautiously, quickly and soon, so that seeing your people they would release me without hindrance. I came to the city of Mylapore thinking that many people come here, and that priests would get me to your place of the Indias. In the year 1652 of our Lord, in the month of August, on Monday, I arrived in Mylapore in the monastery of the Jesuits. In the same monastery I stay, and they help me very much; may their reward increase here and there. Peace be with them, with you, and with us now and always. Amen. I, Ignatius, Patriarch of All India and China. </blockquote>When the ship carrying Ahatallah reached Goa, he was handed over to the inquisition, and he was kept in close custody in the Jesuit house there. He was sent to Portugal on the ship "Nosa Senhora da Graca" from Goa and reached Lisbon on 14 July 1653.<ref name=":0" /> The king of Portugal decided to send him to Rome. Accordingly, while he was on his way to Rome, he died in Paris on 26 March 1654 and is buried at the Jerusalem Chapel of the Cordeliena Church.<ref>Death register Cordeliena Church Paris</ref> [[St. Vincent De Paul]], who met Ahatallah at Paris, mentions him in the following words "There remains in this city a good old man of eighty years, a foreigner, who was lodging with the late monsignor Archbishop of Myra. They say he is the Patriarch of Antioch. Be that it may, he is alone and has no mark of prelacy".<ref>{{Cite book|title = History of Christianity in India|last = Thekkedath|first = Joseph|publisher = Theological Publications in India for the Church History Association of India|year = 1982|pages = 213}}</ref> The treatment of Ahatalla, however, shocked the Christian community, and their wounded feelings effervesced into a mass upsurge that heralded the breaking off from the Padroado of the Portuguese Crown and the "Paulists".

==Oath==
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2015}}
Seeing that the Archbishop thus turned a deaf ear to their insistent pleas, the Nasranis became extremely exasperated. A rumor also was spread at this time that [[Ahatallah]] was drowned by the Portuguese. Hence on 3 January 1653, [[Archdeacon Thomas]] and representatives from the community assembled at St Mary's Church (Nossa Senhora da Vida) at [[Mattancherry]] to swear what would be known as the "Coonan Cross Oath". The following oath was read aloud with lighted candles, with the Archdeacon and the leading priests touching the Bible while the people held ropes tied to a cross outside the church:<ref>The Troubled Days of Francis Garcia S. J. Archbp. of Cranganore by Joseph Theekkedathu S. D. B. Page 60</ref>

The number of people who took part in the Sathyam (Oath) was so significant that all of them could not touch the granite Cross at the same time. Therefore, they held on to ropes tied to the Cross in all directions. After the historic oath was read, out of a population of 200,000 [[St. Thomas Christians]], only 400 remained loyal to Archbishop Garcia.

The event broke the 54-year-old Padroado (patronage) rule of the Portuguese Crown over the Malankara Syrian Church. (Padroado supremacy of Portuguese Crown imposed at the [[Synod of Diamper|Udayamperur Synod]] in 1599)

==Aftermath==
{{Eastern Christianity sidebar}}
[[File:SaintThomasChristian'sDivisionsHistoryFinal-en.svg|alt=|thumb|690x690px|Saint Thomas Christians - Divisions- History in a nutshell]]

After the events of the Leaning Cross Oath, the Knanaya priest [[Anjilimoottil Itty Thommen Kathanar]] of Kallissery is noted to have solidified the schism of the Thomas Christians from the Padroado. Being a skilled Syriac writer, it is noted that Anjilimootill forged two letters from Mor Ahatallah which stated Archdeacon Parambil Thomas could be ordained bishop with the [[laying of hands]]. The letters were read with enthusiasm in the churches of the Thomas Christians and Thoma was later consecrated as bishop in a ceremony in which twelve priests [[laying on of hands|laid hands]] on him.{{sfn|Neill|2004|pp=320–321}} Since this Episcopal consecration was in the absence of laying of hands of bishops, this is held unorthodox by [[Syro-Malabar Church]].

After the Coonan Cross Oath, the Portuguese missionaries attempted reconciliation with Saint Thomas Christians but were not successful. Later, [[Pope Alexander VII]] sent the Syriac bishop Joseph Sebastiani as the head of a [[Carmelites|Carmelite]] delegation that regained most of the Saint Thomas Christians, including [[Parambil Mar Chandy|Parambil Chandy]] of [[St. Mary's Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church Kuravilangad|Kuravilangad]] and Kadavil Chandy Kathanar. [[Palliveettil Chandy]] was consecrated as the Metropolitan for the Chaldean Syriac Catholics who professed to obey the Catholic Church in 1663.{{sfn|Mundadan|Thekkedath|1982|pp=96–100}}<ref name="Rev Dr Placid Podipara">Rev Dr Placid Podipara, The Hierarchy of Syro Malabar Church, in Collected works of Rev Dr Placid Podipara CMI, Vol I p 719</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/115623/Christians-of-Saint-Thomas |title=Christians of Saint Thomas (Christian groups, India) – Encyclopedia Britannica |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=18 November 2013}}</ref>

After the Coonan Cross Oath, between 1661 and 1665, the Syrian Catholics claimed 84 of the 116 churches, while Archdeacon [[Thoma I]] and the independent Syrian Nasranis claimed 32. The 84 Catholic churches are the body from which the modern [[Syro-Malabar Church]] and [[Chaldean Syrian Church]] descend. The other 32 churches are the body from which the [[Malankara Syrian Church]] ([[Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church|Jacobites]] and [[Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church|Orthodox]]), [[Malabar Independent Syrian Church]] (1772), [[Mar Thoma Syrian Church]] (1874), and [[Syro-Malankara Catholic Church]] originate.<ref>Catholic Encyclopedia- "St. Thomas Christians"</ref>{{sfn|Mundadan|Thekkedath|1982|p=}}
Thoma I, meanwhile sent requests to various Oriental Churches to receive canonical consecration as bishop. In 1665, [[Gregorios Abdal Jaleel]], a bishop sent by the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, arrived in India and the faction under the leadership of Thoma I welcomed him. The bishop was sent in correspondence to the letter sent by Thoma to the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Oriental Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch]]. Bishop Abdul Jaleel regularised the Episcopal succession of Thoma I.<ref name = Geddes>Menachery G; 1973, 1982, 1998; Podipara, Placid J. 1970; Leslie Brown, 1956; Tisserant, E. 1957</ref>{{sfn|Mundadan|Thekkedath|1982|p=}} This visit gradually introduced the [[West Syriac Rite|West Syriac]] liturgy, customs and script to the Malabar Coast.{{sfn|Vadakkekara|2007|p=88}} The visits of prelates from the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch]] continued since then and this led to gradual replacement of the East Syriac Rite liturgy with the [[West Syriac Rite]] and the faction affiliated to the [[Miaphysitism|Miaphysite Christology]] of the [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox Communion]].<ref name=Gregorios285>Gregorios & Roberson, p. 285.</ref><ref name=Vadakkekara91>Vadakkekara, p. 91.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Jornada|last=Gouvea|first=Antonio de|year=1606|location=Coimbra}}</ref>
The Pazhayakuttukar continued with the [[East Syriac Rite|East Syriac]] traditions and stayed within the Catholic Church with [[Diophysite]] Faith.

This led to the first lasting formal schism in the Saint Thomas Christian community. Thereafter, the faction affiliated with the Catholic Church under Bishop [[Palliveettil Chandy]] was designated the ''Pazhayakuttukar'', or "Old Allegiance", while the branch affiliated with [[Thoma I]] was called the ''Puthankuttukar'', or "New Allegiance".{{sfn|Vadakkekara|2007|p=84}}{{sfn|Frykenberg|2008|p=361}}<ref name="Fernando, p. 79">Fernando, p. 79.</ref><ref name="Chaput, pp. 7–8">Chaput, pp. 7–8.</ref> These appellations have been somewhat controversial, though, as both parties used the official name ("Malankara Church"), considered themselves the true heirs to the Saint Thomas tradition, and saw the other party as schismatic.{{sfn|Vadakkekara|2007|p=84}}

==Various interpretations of the events==

* '''Stephen Neill's version'''
The situation is explained by [[Stephen Neill]] (an Anglican Protestant missionary, from Scotland) in his book ''A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707''.
:<blockquote> "{{sic|On}} January 1653, priests and people assembled in the church of Our Lady at Mattancherry, and standing in front of a cross and lighted candles swore upon the holy Gospel that they would no longer obey Garcia, and that they would have nothing further to do with the Jesuits they would recognize the Archdeacon as the governor of their Church. This is the famous oath of the "Coonan Cross" (the open-air Cross which stands outside the church at [[Mattancherry]]). The Saint Thomas Christians did not at any point suggest that they wished to separate themselves from the Pope. They could no longer tolerate the arrogance of Garcia. And their detestation of the Jesuits, to whose overbearing attitude and lack of sympathy they attributed all their troubles, breathes through all the documents of the time. But let the Pope send them a true bishop, not a Jesuit, and they will be pleased to receive and obey him."<ref>[http://chroniclesofmalabar.blogspot.com/2011/06/coonan-cross-oath-koonan-kurishu-satyam.html Coonan Cross Oath], chroniclesofmalabar.blogspot.com, June 2011; accessed 31 December 2015.</ref><ref>Stephen Neill, ''A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707'', pp. 326-27</ref></blockquote>

* ''' ''Puthenkoor'' version'''
In response to the continuous appeal of the Thoma Arkadiyakon (Archdeacon), who was then given the Church leadership, [[Ahatallah]] arrived in 1653. A rumor spread that the Portuguese arrested him, tied him up, and cast him into the ocean. As a result, a large gathering of about 25,000 assembled at Mattancherry and took the Oath at "Koonan Cross", the historical "Koonan Kurisu Sathayam", in 1653, declaring their future generations would never adhere to the [[Franks]] (i.e., Portuguese) nor accept the faith of the [[Pope]].
The version presented in a letter of [[Punnathra Dionysius III|Dionysious Punnathara]] (a nineteenth century prelate of the ''Malankara Syrian Church'') to the head of the Anglican [[Church Mission Society|Church Missionary Society]], the oath was interpreted as an opposition to the Pope himself.<ref>''[[The Missionary Register]]'' for M DCCC XXII. October 1822, Letter from [[Punnathara Mar Dionysious (Mar Thoma XI)]] to the Head of the [[Church Mission Society|Church Missionary Society]]: <u>''By the Father, Son and Holy Ghost that henceforth we would not adhere to the Franks, nor accept the faith of the Pope.''</u> From a translation of it, out of Syriac, by Professor Lee. pp. 431–432.</ref> [[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church]], [[Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church]], [[Malabar Independent Syrian Church]], and [[Jacobite Syrian Christian Church]] adhere to the version of [[Malankara Syrian Church]], however with significant variations.

==See also==
* [[Throne of St. Thomas]]
* [[Malankara Church]]
* [[Goa Inquisition]]
* [[Syrian Malabar Nasrani]]
* [[Synod of Diamper]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin|2}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Baum|first1=Wilhelm|author-link1=Wilhelm Baum|last2=Winkler|first2=Dietmar W.|title=The Church of the East: A Concise History|year=2003|location=London-New York|publisher=Routledge-Curzon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CnSCAgAAQBAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Brown|first=Leslie W.|title=The Indian Christians of St Thomas: An Account of the Ancient Syrian Church of Malabar|year=1956|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H9gYAAAAIAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Frykenberg|first=Robert Eric|title=Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present|year=2008|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mXgSDAAAQBAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Mooken|first=Aprem|author-link=Aprem Mooken|title=The Chaldean Syrian Church in India|year=1977|location=Trichur|publisher=Mar Narsai Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QwkuAAAAYAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Mooken|first=Aprem|author-link=Aprem Mooken|title=The Chaldean Syrian Church of the East|year=1983|location=Delhi|publisher=National Council of Churches in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HMoP4lsmGXoC}}
* {{Cite book|last=Mundadan|first=Mathias|author-link=Mathias Mundadan|title=The Arrival of the Portuguese in India and the Thomas Christians Under Mar Jacob, 1498-1552|year=1967|location=Bangalore|publisher=Dharmaram College|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UqEhAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Neill|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Neill|title=A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707|year=2004|orig-year=1984|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RH4VPgB__GQC}}
* {{Cite book|last=Vadakkekara|first=Benedict|title=Origin of Christianity in India: A Historiographical Critique|year=2007|location=Delhi|publisher=Media House|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7f3YAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Wilmshurst|first=David|title=The Ecclesiastical Organisation of the Church of the East, 1318–1913|year=2000|location=Louvain|publisher=Peeters Publishers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jB8ir0ek8bgC}}
* {{Cite book|last=Wilmshurst|first=David|title=The martyred Church: A History of the Church of the East|year=2011|location=London|publisher=East & West Publishing Limited|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zfxNtwAACAAJ}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Coonan Cross Oath}}
* [http://malankaraorthodoxchurch.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=101&Itemid=220// History of the Orthodox Church]
* [http://www.smcim.org/ History of the Syro-Malabar Church]
* [http://www.jacobitesyrianchurch.org Jacobite Syrian Church]

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Coonan Cross Oath - Revision history

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>Br Ibrahim john at 09:05, 6 July 2021