St. George's Church, Kadamattom - Revision history

RobertSwale: added intro for clarity

2026-02-01T06:57:41Z

added intro for clarity

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
+#REDIRECT [[Kandanad West Orthodox Diocese]]
-{{more citations needed|date=October 2014}}
-{{Infobox religious building
+{{Redirect category shell|
-|building_name         =St.George Malankara Orthodox  Church Kadamattom
+{{R from move}}
 }}

45.249.170.158: /* History */Added detailed history

2022-01-01T13:50:08Z

History: Added detailed history

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox religious building
|building_name =St.George Malankara Orthodox Church Kadamattom
|image = Kadamattomchurch7.jpg
|caption = St. George Malankara Orthodox Church, Kadamattom
|image_size =
|location = Kadamattom, [[Ernakulam, Kerala]]
|coordinates = {{coord|9.9774|76.4984|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
|religious_affiliation = [[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church ]]
|consecration_year =
|status = Pilgrim Centre
|architecture_type = [[Church (building)|Church]]
|architecture_style = [[Architecture of Kerala|Kerala Architecture]]
|facade_direction = West
|year_started =
|year_completed = 9th century CE
}}
'''Kadamattom Church''' is an ancient [[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church]], located in Kadamattom near [[Kolenchery]], in [[Ernakulam district|Ernakulam]] district, [[Kerala]]
[[File:Mar Sabor and Mar Proth East Syriac Persian Saints of the Malabar Church.jpg|thumb|Mar Sabor and Mar Proth]]

Vicar: Fr. Sunny Varghese
Asst Vicar: Fr. Abraham Vattuthottam

==History==
The church is believed to have been established in the 9th century by [[Mar Sabor and Mar Proth|Mar Sabor]].<ref>{{cite news|publisher=The Hindu Images|title=Kadamattom Church|url=http://pay.hindu.com:8080/hindu/photoDetail.do?photoId=3133017|access-date=29 October 2014|issue=3133017|date=2004-07-17}}</ref> In the 4th century A.D, Mar Abo, a Holy Father from the city of Nineveh in Iraq reached India to spread the message of Christianity. But he could not make great impact in India because of the strong cast system prevailing at that time. In the course of his journey he reached the small hamlet, Kadamattom one evening tired and hungry. He went to a hut which belonged to an old widow. He wanted to take rest and spend the night there at the hut. The widow and her only son who were the inhabitants received the holy man with full warmth and love who appeared in outlandish apparel and spoke a foreign language. But the poor mother and son could not offer him food because they were starving for last few days. The holy man who sensed the situation with a divine knowledge requested the old woman to prepare for cooking the rice. When the water started boiling in the pot Mar Abo took a grain of rice from the rice bin and praying to God, he put it into the pot. Suddenly the pot was brimmed with rice and the mother and the son were surprised to see it. They had their food with very satisfaction and understood that the person who reached their hut was a holy man.

The only daughter of ruler of their province ‘Ayackunnath Karthavu’ was suffering from severe insanity and remained chained throughout her life. No traditional healers or wizards could cure her of her madness. The old widow, having understood the greatness of the Holy Father, dared to talk to him about the madness of the girl and requested to save the girl. The next day he was taken to the ruler. Mar Abo prayed to his God and healed the madness of the ruler’s daughter completely, which was a real miracle and that spread like wild fire throughout the land. The ruler and his family embraced Christianity, being convinced that his daughter was saved by the mercy of Christ. The ruler accepted the wish of the Holy Father to construct a church in the name of Virgin Mary. So the present church of Kadamttom was founded by the Holy Father Mar Abo. Hundreds of people embraced Christianity when they experienced the miracles happened by the power of the prayer of the Holy Father. The ruler gifted him with herds of cattle and made the son of widow as the assistant to him who became Christian and was known after Paulose after he was made a deacon.

Oneday when he was grazing cattle in the deep forest, he was captured by cavemen who were cannibals. They used to eat anything that was brought before their chieftain as a great feast for all of them. The deacon, who knew that he would be killed, prayed to God powerfully. Suddenly there was a change in chieftain who felt sympathy for him and decided to make him as one among them saving him from premature death. The chieftain realized the sincerity and fidelity of the deacon and wished to make him his heir-apparent. He imparted the deacon with all the knowledge of wizardry, magic and supernatural to make him eligible for chieftain of the cavemen. But the deacon was pained to convey to the chieftain his inability to stay with them as the chieftain of cannibals in caves. He expressed to him his wish to see his old mother and the Holy Father Mar Abo. The cavemen knowing his intention, put up a guard around him. The chieftain connived him to go back seeing no change in deacon’s mind. He advised the Deacon to escape at midnight after making all the guards asleep with tricks of his magic. He made the deacon assure him before his escape that he would not teach anything that he learned from the chieftain to the outside world. He made the guards asleep by tricks of magic and escaped from the cavemen and ran towards the church of Kadamattom. The cavemen when they knew that the deacon had escaped, they went after him. The deacon reached the church in the early morning but found it closed. But he prayed to Virgin Mary and suddenly, to his surprise, he saw the door of the church opened. Hardly had he entered the church when the cavemen reached there and tried to break the wall with iron chain with all their might. But they were disappointed in their attempt and went back forlorn.

Mar Abo, seeing his son come back, felt overjoyed and ordained him as Father Paulose handing over all responsibilities of the church to him. He revealed to Fr. Paulose who was brought up as his own son, that his mission was to spread the gospel of Christ and he was to continue his work to reach his aim of spreading Christianity throughout the world. Fr.Paulose who was deeply sad at this news discouraged the Holy Father not to leave him. The Holy Father realizing the pain of separation of his disciple and son put his signet ring on deacon’s finger. Mar Abo said good bye to him and to Kadamattom, saying that if the ring fell from his finger, it meant his death, but could reach him if the ring was put on the finger again.

Mar Abo reached Thevalakkara in Kollam to continue his mission of gospel. He stayed with a Hindu family and taught them traditional knowledge on treatment of eyes. The entire Hindu family and dwellers of the area accepted Christianity and built a church in the name of Virgin Mary. The church is known as St. Mary’s Orthodox Church Thevalakkara now a days. The famous Thevalakkara eye specialists are the successors of those who learned the practice from Mar Abo.

On one fine morning the signet ring fell down from Fr. Paulose’ finger who sensed that his teacher mentor was no more. He went after his teacher mentor and reached St. Mary’s Orthodox Church to find the grave of Holy Father at the north west of the altar. Fr. Paulose who could not see the mortal remains of the Holy Father felt extremely sad and he knelt down to pray before the grave. Suddenly the right hand of Mar Abo rose from the grave to the sight of Fr. Paulose. He was immensely overjoyed that his teacher recognized his presence and received the hand with all prayer and piety. He installed the hand at the southern wall of the altar of the Kadamattom Church with due religious fervor and faith and installed a Persian cross at that spot.

Fr.Paulose dedicated his life to God by serving humanity saving them from untold miseries and sufferings. The miracles performed by him by destroying evil forces with divine knowledge he learned from Mar Abo and the lore learned from chieftain of cavemen are very famous and countless. Fr.Paulose is also known as ‘Kadamattathu Kathanar’. The church of Kadamattom is a great shelter for the shelterless. There is an offering known as “Kadamattom tradition”. The mortal remain of Kadamattathu Kathanar was buried at the north side of the Church. The Church founded by Mar Abo was St. Mary’s Church but later it was rechristened as St. George Church. The Church which was constructed at the place where Fr. Paulose (Kadamattathu Kathanar) was born and brought up, is known as Poyedam Church. The Church is located 150 meters away from the main church in north east direction and Poyedam Kinar( the well) is also situated close to the Poyedam Church.

==Location==
Kadamattom church is situated next to [[National Highway 49 (India)]] (Kochi-Madurai National Highway) between [[Kolenchery]] and [[Muvattupuzha]] towns in the Ernakulam District. While traveling from [[Kochi]] towards the east, the church is seen on the north side of the road {{convert|2|km}} beyond the [[Kolenchery]] Medical College Junction. While traveling from Muvattupuzha towards Kolenchery, the church lies {{convert|1|km}} after the Peruvammuzhi Junction.

==Features==
On entering the church, on the left there is a photograph of Mar Sabor Metropolitan, the Reverend Paulose, who was the mentor of [[Kadamattathu Kathanar]]. It is believed that Mar Sabor, a Persian high priest established the church with the help of Kartha, the then local ruler of Kadamattom. Mar Sabro was not only a theologian but also a conjurer. He stayed in a hut with a poor widow and her only son Paulose. Paulose assisted Mar Sabor for years and later Paulose was ordained a priest.<ref>{{cite book|title=Stories from Ithihyamala: Fables of Kerala|year=2001|publisher=A. K. Shrikumar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fe81XHPJbEEC&pg=PA79|access-date=29 October 2014}}</ref>

The tomb of [[Mar Thoma IX]] (formerly Pakalomattom Iype Kathanar) lies on the left side just outside the Madbaha or altar room.

A 9th-century stone Persian cross with four equal-size arms sits on the right wall of the Madbaha or altar room. The arms are tipped with floral designs and is claimed to have been made by Mar Sabor. Around the cross is engraved a [[Pahlavi literature|Pahlavi]] inscription.

Kadamattom feast is one of the major festivals observed during the January – February period. It marks the death anniversary of Kadamattathu Kathanar.
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Kadamattom church pallimeda 2.jpg|Pallimeda or Priest's residence
File:Mukhappu Kadamattom pally.jpg|Mukhappu- Kadamattom pally
File:Chithrappani 2.jpg|Wood work
File:Poyyedom church.jpg|Poyyedom chapel of Kadamattom Church
File:Kadamatom church kerala.jpg|
File:കടമറ്റം‍പള്ളി-അൾത്താര.jpg|Altar
File:Persian Cross Kadamatam church.jpg|Old Persian Cross
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Kadamattom Church}}
* [http://kadamattompally.co.in// Official Website of St. George Orthodox Church, Kadmattom]

{{Christianity in Kerala}}
{{Churches of Kerala}}

[[Category:Churches in Ernakulam district]]

{{India-OO-church-stub}}