Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Orthodox Church | {{Short description|Orthodox Church in Kerala, India}} | ||
{{Redirect|Indian Orthodox Church|other uses|Indian Orthodox churches}} | {{Redirect|Indian Orthodox Church|other uses|Indian Orthodox churches}} | ||
{{distinguish| | {{about|the modern denomination|the historic church body|Malankara Church}} | ||
{{distinguish|Jacobite Syrian Christian Church}} | |||
{{More citations needed|date=June 2019}} | {{More citations needed|date=June 2019}} | ||
{{Use Indian English|date = February 2019}} | {{Use Indian English|date = February 2019}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}} | ||
{{Infobox Christian denomination | {{Infobox Christian denomination | ||
| icon = | | icon = | ||
| icon_width = | | icon_width = 100px | ||
| icon_alt = Logo of the | | icon_alt = Logo of the MOSC | ||
| name = | | name = Malankara Orthodox | ||
Syrian Church<br/> (Indian Orthodox Church) | |||
| image = Aramana.jpg | | image = Devalokam Aramana, Kottayam.jpg | ||
| imagewidth = 250px | | imagewidth = 250px | ||
| alt = Large, white two-storey building | | alt = Large, white two-storey building | ||
| caption = Catholicate Palace | | caption = MOSC Catholicate Palace | ||
| main_classification = [[Oriental Orthodox Churches| | | branched_from = [[Saint Thomas Christians]], [[Malankara Church]] | ||
| orientation = [[Eastern Christianity | | main_classification = [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox]] | ||
| liturgy = [[ | | orientation = [[Eastern Christianity]] | ||
[[ | | liturgy = [[West Syriac Rite]] ([[Malankara Rite]]) | ||
| theology = [[Miaphysitism]] | | theology = [[Miaphysitism]] | ||
| polity = [[Episcopal polity|Episcopal]] | | polity = [[Episcopal polity|Episcopal]] | ||
| scripture = [[Peshitta | | scripture = [[Peshitta]] | ||
| governance=Episcopal Synod | | governance=Episcopal Synod | ||
| structure= | | structure= | ||
| leader_title = | | leader_title = Primate | ||
| leader_name = [[ | | leader_name = Malankara Metropolitan & Catholicos of East [[Baselios Marthoma Mathews III]] | ||
| area = [[India]] and the [[Saint Thomas Christians|Nasrani]] [[Malayali]] diaspora | | area = [[India]] and the [[Saint Thomas Christians|Nasrani]] [[Malayali]] diaspora | ||
| language = [[Syriac language|Syriac]], [[ | | language = [[Syriac language|Syriac]], [[Konkani language|Konkani]], [[Malayalam]], [[English language|English]] | ||
| | | headquarters = Catholicate Palace, [[Kottayam]], [[Kerala]], [[India]] | ||
| founder = [[Thomas the Apostle]] <br> | |||
| founder = [[ | | founded_date = 1st century by tradition,<ref name=WCC>{{cite book|title=Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement|chapter=Oriental Orthodox Churches|page=756-757|publisher=[[World Council of Churches]]|location=[[Geneva]]|editor1-last=Lossky|editor1-first=Nicholas|editor2-last=Bonino|editor2-first=José Miguez|editor3-last=Pobee|editor3-first=John|date=1991}}</ref><br>[[Malankara Orthodox-Jacobite church dispute|1912]] | ||
| independence = 1912 (Establishment of Catholicate)<ref name=CNEWA>{{cite web|url=https://cnewa.org/eastern-christian-churches/oriental-orthodox-churches/the-malankara-orthodox-syrian-church/|title=The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church|publisher=[[Catholic Near East Welfare Association]]|access-date=9 July 2022}}</ref> | |||
| founded_date = [[ | |||
| | |||
| absorbed= | | absorbed= | ||
| | | merged_into= | ||
| separations= [[Syro-Malankara Catholic Church]] (1930)<ref name=CEC>{{cite book|title=The Catholic Eastern Churches|author=[[Donald Attwater|Attwater, Donald]]|chapter=The Malankarese|publisher=Bruce Publishing Company|location=[[Milwaukee]]|date=1935|edition=1937 revised}}</ref>{{rp|197}} | |||
| | |||
| defunct= | | defunct= | ||
| congregations_type= | | congregations_type= | ||
| members =1 million | | members = <!--1 million<ref name=MOSCGorgias>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Baby|last=Varghese|title=Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church|encyclopedia=Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition |editor1=Sebastian P. Brock |editor2=Aaron M. Butts |editor3=George A. Kiraz |editor4=Lucas Van Rompay |url=https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Malankara-Orthodox-Syrian-Church |publisher=[[Gorgias Press]]|year=2011|author-link=Baby Varghese|access-date=22 September 2016}}</ref>-->0.5 million in Kerala<ref name="Population_kerala_pdf">{{cite web |url=http://14.139.171.199:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/87/WP468.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611195258/http://14.139.171.199:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/87/WP468.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |archive-date=2022-06-11 |id=Working paper 468 |title=Religious denominations of Kerala |first=K.C. |last=Zachariah|date=April 2016 |publisher=Centre for Development Studies (CDS) |place=Kerala}}</ref> | ||
| ministers= | | ministers= | ||
| missionaries= | | missionaries= | ||
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| tax_status= | | tax_status= | ||
| tertiary= | | tertiary= | ||
| other_names =''' | | other_names = '''മലങ്കര സഭ'''<br> ('''Malankara Church''')<br>'''Indian Orthodox Church'''<br> | ||
| website = [http://www.malankaraorthodoxchurch.in mosc.in] | | website = [http://www.malankaraorthodoxchurch.in mosc.in] | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{Oriental Orthodox sidebar}} | {{Oriental Orthodox sidebar}} | ||
{{Christianity in India sidebar}} | {{Christianity in India sidebar}} | ||
The '''Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church''' ('''MOSC''')<ref>{{cite book | The '''Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church''' ('''MOSC''')<ref>{{cite book|author=Thomas Arthur Russell|title= Comparative Christianity: A Student's Guide to a Religion and Its Diverse Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FmMarHDbglgC&pg=PT40| year= 2010| publisher = Universal-Publishers| isbn= 978-1-59942-877-2|page=40|quote=The Malankara Orthodox Church of India(also called by a variety of names, such as the Malankara Church). It is located in Kerala, India.}}</ref> also known as the '''Indian Orthodox Church''' ('''IOC''')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.neamericandiocese.org/index.aspx|title=Home|publisher=[[Malankara Orthodox Diocese of Northeast America|Northeast American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church]]|access-date=20 June 2022}}</ref> or simply as the '''Malankara Church''',<ref>{{Cite book| author1= John| author2= Anthony McGuckin|title=The Encyclopedia Of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, 2 Volume Set| date= November 2010|publisher=Wiley-Blackwells| location=West Sussex|isbn=978-1-4443-9254-8|pages=878|quote= The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, also known as '''Indian Orthodox Church''' also '''Malankara Church''', is one of the major and oldest churches in the world.}}</ref> is an [[Autocephaly|autocephalous]]<ref>{{Cite book|author1= Lucian N. Leustean|title= Eastern Christianity and the Cold War, 1945–91 | ||
| author | |year=2010|publisher=Routeledge Taylor & Francis Group|location=New York|isbn=978-0-203-86594-1|pages=317}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|author1=Fahlbusch| author2 = Lochman| author3= Mbiti| author4= Pelikan| title= The Encyclopedia Of Christianity, Volume 5 S-Z| date = November 2010| publisher = Vandenhoeck&Rupercht|location=Gittingen, Germany|isbn= 978-0-8028-2417-2|pages=285|quote=The autocephalous Malankara Orthodox Church is governed by Holy Episcopal Synod of 24 Bishops presided over by His Holiness Moran Mar Baselios Mar Thoma Didimos Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan.}}</ref><ref name=CNEWA/> [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox church]] headquartered in [[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church#Catholicate|Devalokam]], near [[Kottayam]], [[India]]. It serves India's [[Saint Thomas Christians|Saint Thomas Christian]] (also known as ''Nasrani'') population. According to tradition, these communities originated in the missions of [[Thomas the Apostle]] in the 1st century (circa 52 AD).<ref name="Erwin Fahlbusch">[https://books.google.com/books?id=lZUBZlth2qgC&q=Muziris ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 5''] by Erwin Fahlbusch. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing – 2008. p. 285. {{ISBN|978-0-8028-2417-2}}.</ref> It employs the [[Malankara Rite]], an Indian form of the [[West Syriac Rite|West Syriac]] [[liturgical rite]]. | ||
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}}</ref> also known as the '''Indian Orthodox Church''',<ref>{{Cite book | |||
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}}</ref> is an [[Autocephaly|autocephalous]]<ref>{{Cite book | |||
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}}</ref> [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox church]] | |||
The | The MOSC descends from the [[Malankara Church]] and its affiliation with the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]]. However, between 1909 and 1912, a [[Malankara Orthodox-Jacobite church dispute|schism]] over the authority of the [[Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East|Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch]]'s authority resulted in the dissolution of the unified Malankara Church and establishment of the overlapping and conflicting MOSC and [[Jacobite Syrian Christian Church]] (JSCC).<ref name=Gorgias>{{cite book|title=Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition|url=https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Thomas-Christians|chapter=Thomas Christians|publisher=[[Gorgias Press]]|author=[[Sebastian Brock|Brock, Sebastian P.]]|date=2018|editor-last=Mardutho|editor-first=Beth|access-date=9 July 2022}}</ref> Since 1912, the MOSC has maintained a [[catholicos|catholicate]], the [[Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan]]–presently [[Baselios Marthoma Mathews III]]–who is the primate of the church. | ||
The | The MOSC drafted and formally adopted a constitution in 1934, in order to define the relationship it has with the Syriac Orthodox Church and the patriarch, wherein it defined itself a division of the Syriac Orthodox Church with its supreme spiritual leader being the Patriarch of Antioch. However the constitution stipulated that all the spiritual duties of the patriarch in the Malankara Church was entrusted to the Catholicos of the East and reiterated that its administration was the prerogative of the Malankara Metropolitan. The constitution further declared that the positions of the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan are to be held by the same person from then on, who shall henceforth act as the spiritual and administrative head of the church.<ref name=":ConstitutionMOSC">{{Cite book |last=Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church |url=http://archive.org/details/moscconstitutionenglish |title=The Constitution of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in English}}</ref> The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church asserts [[Communion (Christian)|communion]] with the other Oriental Orthodox churches. However, regular legal and occasional physical confrontations between the MOSC and the Syriac Orthodox JSCC have continued despite multiple efforts to reconcile the churches.<ref name=Gorgias/><ref name=FirstPost>{{cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/malankara-church-row-all-you-need-to-know-about-century-old-dispute-behind-high-drama-between-jacobite-orthodox-factions-in-kerala-7414211.html|title=Malankara church row: All you need to know about century-old dispute between Jacobite, Orthodox factions in Kerala|work=FirstPost|author=FP Staff|date=27 September 2019|access-date=27 April 2020}}</ref><ref name=Dissident>{{cite book|title=The Dissident Eastern Churches|author=[[Donald Attwater|Attwater, Donald]]|location=[[Milwaukee]]|publisher=Bruce Publishing Company|date=1937}}</ref>{{rp|272}} | ||
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church accepts [[miaphysitism]],{{sfn|Winkler|1997|p=33-40}}{{sfn|Brock|2016|p=45–52}} which holds that in the one person of [[Jesus Christ]], divinity and humanity are united in one (μία, ''mia'') nature (φύσις – "[[physis]]") without separation, without confusion, without alteration and without mixing<ref>''The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity'' by Ken Parry 2009 {{ISBN|1-4443-3361-5}} page 88 [https://books.google.com/books?id=fWp9JA3aBvcC&dq=Miaphysitism&pg=PA88]</ref> where Christ is [[Consubstantiality|consubstantial]] with [[God the Father]]. Around 500 bishops within the Patriarchates of [[Alexandria]], [[Antioch]] and [[Jerusalem]] refused to accept the [[dyophysitism]] (two natures) doctrine decreed by the 4th ecumenical council, the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in 451,{{Dubious|date=July 2021}} an incident that resulted in the second major split in the main body of the Christian Church (after the [[Nestorian schism]]). While the Oriental Orthodox churches rejected the [[Chalcedonian definition]], the sees that would later become the [[Catholic Church]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] accepted this council.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07218b.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia: Henoticon |publisher=Newadvent.org |date=1910-06-01 |access-date=2013-06-30}}</ref> | |||
Self-reporting roughly 2.5 million members (with external estimates of roughly 1 million)<ref name=MOSCGorgias>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Baby|last=Varghese|title=Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church|encyclopedia=Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition |editor1=Sebastian P. Brock |editor2=Aaron M. Butts |editor3=George A. Kiraz |editor4=Lucas Van Rompay |url=https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Malankara-Orthodox-Syrian-Church |publisher=[[Gorgias Press]]|year=2011|author-link=Baby Varghese|access-date=22 September 2016}}</ref> across 30 [[diocese]]s worldwide, a significant proportion of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church's adherents reside in the southern India state of [[Kerala]] with the diaspora communities in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.<ref name=MOSCPOP>{{cite web|url=https://mosc.in/the_church/the-malankara-orthodox-syrian-church|title=The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church|access-date=31 May 2022|publisher=Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church}}</ref> | |||
==History== | ==History== | ||
===Early history=== | ===Early history=== | ||
{{See also|Saint Thomas Christian denominations|Malankara–Persia relations}} | {{See also|Saint Thomas Christian denominations|Malankara–Persia relations}} | ||
[[File:Branches & Denominations of Saint Thomas Christians.svg|thumb|420x420px|Chronological diagram of Saint Thomas Christian denominations]] | |||
According to tradition, Christianity first arrived in India with [[Thomas the Apostle]] during the 1st century AD, evolving into [[Saint Thomas Christians|Saint Thomas Christianity]] over several centuries.<ref>{{cite journal|author= Baby Varghese|title= Renewal in the Malankara Orthodox Church, India|journal= Studies in World Christianity|volume= 16|issue= 3|year= 2010|publisher= [[Edinburgh University Press]]|pages= 226–244|doi= 10.3366/swc.2010.0102|issn= 1354-9901}}</ref> While isolated and generally independent in administration, Indian Christians maintained contact with the Christian hierarchies of [[Antioch]], Persia, and potentially Alexandria.<ref name="newadvent.org">{{cite book|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14678a.htm#X|chapter=St. Thomas Christians|title=Catholic Encyclopedia|via=[[New Advent]]|access-date=11 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125064004/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14678a.htm|archive-date=25 January 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| url=https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Thomas-Christians| title=Thomas Christians| website=eGEDSH| last1=Brock| first1=Sebastian P.}}</ref> The Saint Thomas Christians had relationships with the Persian [[Church of the East]] from at least the 6th century onward. The Indians inherited its [[East Syriac dialect]] for liturgical use and gradually became Syriac Christians in ritual and doctrine. They received clerical support from Persian bishops, who traveled to [[Kerala]] in merchant ships on the [[spice route]].{{sfnm|Frykenberg|2008|1p=93|Wilmshurst|2000|2p=343}} For much of this period, Saint Thomas Christians were under the leadership of an [[archdeacon]] (a native ecclesiastical head with temporal powers, deriving from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''arkhidiākonos''). | |||
During the 16th century, efforts by the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] ''[[Padroado]]''–an arm of the [[Catholic Church]]–to bring the Saint Thomas Christians under the administration of the [[Latin Church]] and attempts to [[Liturgical Latinisation|Latinize]] the [[Malankara Rite]] led to the first of several rifts in the community. These divisions intensified following the 1599 [[Synod of Diamper]]. Saint Thomas Christians who were opposed to the [[Portuguese Padroado]] missionaries took the [[Coonan Cross Oath]] on 3 January 1653.{{sfn|Brown|1956|p=100}}{{sfn|Baum|Winkler|2003|p=115-116}}{{sfn|Neill|2004|p=316}} The [[Dutch East India Company]] expulsion of the Portuguese from much of Malabar enabled the reconciliation of some Saint Thomas Christians and the Catholic Church, with this group eventually evolving into the [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Church]], an [[Eastern Catholic]] church that adopted the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]]'s [[East Syriac Rite]] and [[Dyophysite Christology|Diophysite christology]]. | |||
[[ | |||
===Malankara Church=== | |||
{{main|Malankara Church}} | |||
<ref> | Many Saint Thomas Christian chose to remain independent from the Catholic Church. Patriarch Gregorios Abdal Jaleel, the [[Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Jerusalem]], witnessed the 1665 ordination of Thomas as Bishop [[Thoma I]], who forged a renewed relationship with the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]] of Antioch and Saint Thomas Christians, which laid the foundation for adopting [[West Syriac Rite|West Syrian liturgy]] and practices over the next two centuries. Those who supported the indigenous church leader of Malankara, Thoma I, and adopted [[West Syriac Rite|West Syrian]] liturgies and practices and [[Miaphysitism|Miaphysite]] faith evolved into the [[Malankara Church]].{{sfnm|Vadakkekara|2007|1pp=84, 86|Frykenberg|2008|2p=361}}<ref>"Synod of Diamper." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 23 December 2011.</ref><ref>For the Acts and Decrees of the Synod cf. Michael Geddes, "A Short History of the Church of Malabar Together with the Synod of Diamper &c." London, 1694;Repr. in George Menachery, Ed., Indian Church History Classics, Vol.1, Ollur 1998, pp.33-112</ref><ref name="ReferenceC">Thekkedath, History of Christianity in India"</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">Eugene Cardinal Tisserant, "Eastern Christianity in India"</ref> | ||
===19th century=== | ===19th century=== | ||
The Arthat Padiyola declared that the administration of Malankara Church | The Arthat Padiyola declared that the administration of Malankara Church was independent and the bishops from Rome, Antioch, and Babylon had no role in the Malankara Church hierarchy, despite continued efforts to integrate the remaining independent Saint Thomas Christians into these patriarchates. In 1807, four gospels of Holy Bible in Syriac were translated to Malayalam by Kayamkulam Philipose Ramban. The Malankara Orthodox Theological Seminary in Kottayam was established in 1815 under the leadership of Pulikottil Ittup Ramban (Mar Dionysius II). The Mavelikara Synod (Padiyola) led by Cheppad Mar Dionysius rejected the suggestions put forward by Anglican missioneries and Reformation group and declared the beliefs and theology of Malankara Church were same as the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch.{{cn|date=July 2022}} | ||
In 1807, four gospels of Holy Bible in Syriac were translated to Malayalam by Kayamkulam Philipose Ramban. | |||
The Malankara Orthodox Theological Seminary in Kottayam was established in 1815 under the leadership of Pulikottil Ittup Ramban (Mar Dionysius II). | |||
The Mavelikara Synod (Padiyola) | |||
===20th century=== | ===20th century=== | ||
[[Geevarghese Dionysius of Vattasseril]], who became the Malankara metropolitan bishop in 1908, played a significant role with the other clerical and lay leaders of Malankara in re-establishing | [[Geevarghese Dionysius of Vattasseril]], who became the Malankara metropolitan bishop in 1908, played a significant role with the other clerical and lay leaders of Malankara in re-establishing the [[Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan|Catholicos of the East]] in India in 1912. In 1909 the relations with the Syrian Orthodox Church soured, when Patriarch [[Ignatius Abded Aloho II]] who arrived in India, began demanding registered deeds granting the patriarch temporal authority over the church. Dionysius rejected the request and thus emerged two factions in the church. The faction that supported the Patriarch came to be called as "Bava Kakshi" (Patriarch Faction) and the faction that supported the Malankara Metropolitan came to be known as "Methran Kakshi" (Metropolitan Faction).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/feud-began-19th-century-what-happened-jacobite-orthodox-locked-horns-96295 | title=A feud that began in 19th century: What happened before Jacobite-Orthodox locked horns | date=6 February 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/1599-today-tracing-kerala-s-jacobite-vs-orthodox-church-battle-66476 | title=From 1599 to today: Tracing Kerala's Jacobite vs Orthodox church battle | date=8 August 2017 }}</ref> The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church wanted to retain its [[autocephaly]], and appealed to [[List of Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch|Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch]] [[Ignatius Abdul Masih II]]. He enthroned Murimattathil Paulose Ivanios as Baselios Paulose I, [[Catholicos of the East]], on the apostolic throne of St. Thomas at St. Mary's Church in [[Niranam]] on 15 September 1912.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://niranamchurch.com/|title= About the church|year = 2009|publisher= Niranam St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100127171538/http://niranamchurch.com/|archive-date= 27 January 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> | ||
In 1934, The Malankara Church adopted a constitution for smooth functioning of the church, parishes and institution. In 1947, Saint Gregorios of Parumala was declared as a saint by the Church. In 1952 the Official Residence of the Malankara Metropolitan and the Headquarters of Malankara Church was shifted to Devalokam from Pazhaya Seminary. In 1958, The Supreme Court declared Catholicos Baselios Geevarghese II as the legitimate Malankara Metropolitan. The two factions of the Malankara Orthodox Church rejoined. In 1964, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch participated in the enthronement ceremony of the Catholicos and Malankara Metropolitan, Baselios Augen I. In 1995, the Supreme Court of India declared the MOSC constitution adopted in 1934 was valid.{{cn|date=July 2022}} | |||
}}</ref> | |||
In 1934, The Malankara Church adopted a constitution for smooth functioning of the church, parishes and institution. | |||
In 1947, Saint Gregorios of Parumala was declared as a saint by the Church. | |||
In 1952 the Official Residence of the Malankara Metropolitan and the | |||
In 1958, The Supreme Court declared Catholicos Baselios Geevarghese II as the legitimate Malankara Metropolitan. The two factions of the Malankara Orthodox Church rejoined. | |||
In 1964, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch participated in the enthronement ceremony of the Catholicos and Malankara Metropolitan, Baselios Augen I. | |||
In | |||
=== 21st century === | === 21st century === | ||
In 2002, fresh elections were conducted in Malankara Association under the observation of Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court declared Catholicos Baselios Mathews II is the official and legitimate Malankara Metropolitan and also declared that this decision cannot be disputed in any platform. | In 2002, fresh elections were conducted in Malankara Association under the observation of Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court declared Catholicos [[Baselios Marthoma Mathews II]] is the official and legitimate Malankara Metropolitan and also declared that this decision cannot be disputed in any platform. In 2003, Vattasheril [[Dionysius VI]] was declared as a saint. In 2012, the centennial of the establishment of the church and Catholicate were celebrated with history classes and church publications.<ref name=TOICentennial>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Centenary-celebrations-of-Malankara-Orthodox-Syrian-Church-begin/articleshow/10591803.cms|title = Centenary celebrations of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church begin | Kochi News - Times of India|website = [[The Times of India]]| date=3 November 2011 }}</ref> On 3 July 2017, a major verdict by the Supreme Court of India declared the MOSC legally applicable to all parishes in disputed possession between the MOSC and [[Jacobite Syrian Christian Church]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://scroll.in/article/858273/a-century-old-church-dispute-in-kerala-flares-up-again-as-supreme-court-rejects-plea-on-leadership| website=scroll.in| title=Kerala church split}}</ref> | ||
In 2003, Vattasheril Dionysius VI was declared as a | |||
In 2012, the | |||
On 3 July 2017, a major verdict by the Supreme | |||
{{clear}} | {{clear}} | ||
==Hierarchy | ==Hierarchy and doctrine== | ||
The spiritual head of the church is the Catholicos of the East, and its temporal head is the [[Malankara Metropolitan]]. Since 1934, both titles have been vested in one person; the official title of the head of the church is "The Catholicos of the Apostolic Throne of Saint Thomas and The Malankara Metropolitan". Baselios Marthoma | [[File:Malankara Metropolitan Mathews III.jpg|thumb|411x411px|[[Baselios Marthoma Mathews III]] Present Catholicos and Malankara Metropolitan]] | ||
The spiritual head of the church is the Catholicos of the East, and its temporal head is the [[Malankara Metropolitan]]. Since 1934, both titles have been vested in one person; the official title of the head of the church is "The Catholicos of the Apostolic Throne of Saint Thomas and The Malankara Metropolitan". Baselios Marthoma Mathews III was enthroned as the Malankara Metropolitan and the Catholicos of the East. He is <!--91st Catholicos of the East{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}} in the lineage of Thomas the Apostle,--> the eighth [[Catholicose of the East]] in Malankara and the 21st [[Malankara Metropolitan]]. | |||
[[Oriental Orthodox Churches]], including the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, accept only the first three [[ecumenical council]]s: the [[First Council of Nicaea]], the [[First Council of Constantinople]], and the [[Council of Ephesus]]. The church, like all other Oriental Orthodox Churches, uses the original [[Nicene Creed]]<ref>[http://mosc.in/the_church/the-ecumenical-council-of-nicea-and-nicene-creed Geevarghese Mar Yulios : Ecumenical Council of Nicea and Nicene Creed]</ref> without the [[filioque clause]].<ref>[http://mosc.in/the_church/oriental-and-eastern-orthodox-churches Paulos Mar Gregorios: Oriental and Eastern Orthodox churches]</ref> Like the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], it primarily uses the [[liturgy of Saint James]] in [[Malayalam]], [[Konkani language|Konkani]], [[Kannada]], [[Hindi]], [[English language|English]] and other Indian languages. | [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]], including the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, accept only the first three [[ecumenical council]]s: the [[First Council of Nicaea]], the [[First Council of Constantinople]], and the [[Council of Ephesus]]. The church, like all other Oriental Orthodox Churches, uses the original [[Nicene Creed]]<ref>[http://mosc.in/the_church/the-ecumenical-council-of-nicea-and-nicene-creed Geevarghese Mar Yulios : Ecumenical Council of Nicea and Nicene Creed]</ref> without the [[filioque clause]].<ref>[http://mosc.in/the_church/oriental-and-eastern-orthodox-churches Paulos Mar Gregorios: Oriental and Eastern Orthodox churches]</ref> Like the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], it primarily uses the [[liturgy of Saint James]] in [[Malayalam]], [[Konkani language|Konkani]], [[Kannada]], [[Hindi]], [[English language|English]] and other Indian languages. | ||
==Liturgy and canonical hours== | === Liturgy and canonical hours === | ||
[[File:Holy Mass Celebration in Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.jpg|alt=Eucharist celebration|thumb|left|Eucharist celebration of the church.]] | [[File:Holy Mass Celebration in Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.jpg|alt=Eucharist celebration|thumb|left|Eucharist celebration of the church.]] | ||
The church has used the [[Malankara Rite]], part of the [[Antiochene Rite]], since the 17th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://indianorthodoxireland.ie/catholicate/liturgy/|title=Liturgy Holy Qurbana St. Thomas Indian Orthodox Church|date=2016-05-13|website=indianorthodoxireland.ie|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-11-06}}</ref> The [[Jacobite Church]] and the [[Maronite Church]] also belong to the same liturgical family. In the first half of the fifth century, the Antiochene church adopted the [[Liturgy of Saint James]]. In the 4th and 5th centuries, The liturgical language of fourth- and fifth-century Jerusalem and Antioch was Greek, and the original liturgy was composed in Greek. | The church has used the [[Malankara Rite]], part of the [[Antiochene Rite]], since the 17th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://indianorthodoxireland.ie/catholicate/liturgy/|title=Liturgy Holy Qurbana St. Thomas Indian Orthodox Church|date=2016-05-13|website=indianorthodoxireland.ie|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-11-06}}</ref> The [[Jacobite Church]] and the [[Maronite Church]] also belong to the same liturgical family. In the first half of the fifth century, the Antiochene church adopted the [[Liturgy of Saint James]]. In the 4th and 5th centuries, The liturgical language of fourth- and fifth-century Jerusalem and Antioch was Greek, and the original liturgy was composed in Greek. | ||
After the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in 451, the [[Eastern Church]] was divided in two; one group accepted the council, and the other opposed it. Both groups continued to use the Greek version of the Saint James liturgy. The [[Justin I|Byzantine emperor Justin]] (518–527) expelled the opponents from Antioch, and they took | After the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in 451, the [[Eastern Church]] was divided in two; one group accepted the council, and the other opposed it. Both groups continued to use the Greek version of the Saint James liturgy. The [[Justin I|Byzantine emperor Justin]] (518–527) expelled the opponents from Antioch, and they took refuge in the Syriac-speaking [[Mesopotamia]] on the Roman–Persian border (modern eastern Syria, [[Iraq]], and southeastern Turkey). The Antiochene liturgical rites were gradually translated into Syriac, and [[Syriac sacral music|Syriac hymns]] were introduced. | ||
Gregorios Abdal Jaleel came to Malankara from Jerusalem in 1665 and introduced Syriac Orthodox liturgical rites. The most striking characteristic of the Antiochene liturgy is its large number of [[Anaphora (liturgy)|anaphoras]] (celebrations of the [[Eucharist]]). About eighty are known, and about a dozen are used in India. All have been composed following the Liturgy of Saint James.<ref>{{cite web | Gregorios Abdal Jaleel came to Malankara from Jerusalem in 1665 and introduced Syriac Orthodox liturgical rites. The most striking characteristic of the Antiochene liturgy is its large number of [[Anaphora (liturgy)|anaphoras]] (celebrations of the [[Eucharist]]). About eighty are known, and about a dozen are used in India. All have been composed following the Liturgy of Saint James.<ref>{{cite web | ||
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Christians of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church pray the [[canonical hours]] of the [[Shehimo]] at [[fixed prayer times]] seven times a day.<ref name="Kurian2020">{{cite web |last1=Kurian |first1=Jake |title="Seven Times a Day I Praise You" – The Shehimo Prayers |url=http://www.ds-wa.org/seven-times-a-day-i-praise-you-the-sheema-prayers.html |publisher=[[Malankara Orthodox Diocese of Southwest America|Diocese of South-West America of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church]]|access-date=2 August 2020}}</ref> | Christians of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church pray the [[canonical hours]] of the [[Shehimo]] at [[fixed prayer times]] seven times a day.<ref name="Kurian2020">{{cite web |last1=Kurian |first1=Jake |title="Seven Times a Day I Praise You" – The Shehimo Prayers |url=http://www.ds-wa.org/seven-times-a-day-i-praise-you-the-sheema-prayers.html |publisher=[[Malankara Orthodox Diocese of Southwest America|Diocese of South-West America of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church]]|access-date=2 August 2020}}</ref> | ||
==Saints== | The [[Liturgy of Addai and Mari|liturgy of Mor Addai]] is still in use, in anaphora form, similar to the Maronite Sharar. The [[Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom|anaphora of St. John Chrysostom]] is sometimes used. | ||
=== Saints === | |||
{{Nasrani people}} | {{Nasrani people}} | ||
In conformity with other [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern]] and [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]], the Malankara | In conformity with other [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern]] and [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox churches]], and also with the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]], the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church adheres to the tradition of seeking the [[intercession of saints]]. Several have been [[Canonization|canonized]]: | ||
* [[Geevarghese Gregorios of Parumala]]: Entombed in [[St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Parumala]], and canonized by Geevarghese II in 1947 | * [[Geevarghese Gregorios of Parumala]]: Entombed in [[St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Parumala]], and canonized by Geevarghese II in 1947 | ||
* [[Baselios Yeldo]]: Entombed in [[St. Thomas Church, Kothamangalam]], and canonised by Geevarghese II in 1947 | * [[Baselios Yeldo]]: Entombed in [[St. Thomas Church, Kothamangalam]], and canonised by Geevarghese II in 1947 | ||
* [[Geevarghese Dionysius of Vattasseril]]: Entombed in the [[Orthodox Theological Seminary, Kottayam]], and canonized by Mathews II in 2003 | * [[Geevarghese Dionysius of Vattasseril]]: Entombed in the [[Orthodox Theological Seminary, Kottayam]], and canonized by Mathews II in 2003 | ||
* [[Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvares]]: Entombed in St. Mary's Orthodox Church, Ribandar, and declared a regional saint by Paulose II in 2015. (Not officially canonized a saint) <ref>{{cite book |last1= Philip|first1= Dr. Ajesh T.|last2=Alexander| first2=George| date= May 2018|series =Western Rites of Syriac-Malankara Orthodox Churches | volume = I|title= The Mission Untold|location= India|publisher= OCP Publications, Alappuzha| pages = 17|isbn= 978-1-387-80316-3}}</ref> | * [[Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvares]]: Entombed in St. Mary's Orthodox Church, Ribandar, and declared a regional saint by Paulose II in 2015. (Not officially canonized a saint)<ref>{{cite book |last1= Philip|first1= Dr. Ajesh T.|last2=Alexander| first2=George| date= May 2018|series =Western Rites of Syriac-Malankara Orthodox Churches | volume = I|title= The Mission Untold|location= India|publisher= OCP Publications, Alappuzha| pages = 17|isbn= 978-1-387-80316-3}}</ref> | ||
* [[Fr. Roque Zephrin Noronah]]: Entombed in St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Brahmavar, and declared a regional saint by Paulose II in 2015 (Not officially canonized a saint) <ref>{{cite book |last1= Philip|first1= Dr. Ajesh T.|last2=Alexander| first2=George| date= May 2018|series =Western Rites of Syriac-Malankara Orthodox Churches | volume = I|title= The Mission Untold|location= India|publisher= OCP Publications, Alappuzha| pages = 83|isbn= 978-1-387-80316-3}}</ref> | * [[Fr. Roque Zephrin Noronah]]: Entombed in St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Brahmavar, and declared a regional saint by Paulose II in 2015 (Not officially canonized a saint)<ref>{{cite book |last1= Philip|first1= Dr. Ajesh T.|last2=Alexander| first2=George| date= May 2018|series =Western Rites of Syriac-Malankara Orthodox Churches | volume = I|title= The Mission Untold|location= India|publisher= OCP Publications, Alappuzha| pages = 83|isbn= 978-1-387-80316-3}}</ref> | ||
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="230"> | <gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="230"> | ||
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</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
== | === Metropolitan === | ||
The temporal, ecclesiastical and spiritual administration of the church is vested in the [[Malankara Metropolitan]], subject to the church constitution<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ovsonline.in/1934-constitution-malankara-orthodox-church/|title =1934 constitution of The Malankara Church (മലങ്കരസഭ ഭരണഘടന) }}</ref> | The temporal, ecclesiastical and spiritual administration of the church is vested in the [[Malankara Metropolitan]], subject to the church constitution which was adopted in 1934.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ovsonline.in/1934-constitution-malankara-orthodox-church/|title=1934 constitution of The Malankara Church (മലങ്കരസഭ ഭരണഘടന)|access-date=29 February 2020|archive-date=2 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502165529/http://www.ovsonline.in/1934-constitution-malankara-orthodox-church/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Malankara Metropolitan is president of the Malankara Syrian Christian Association (Malankara Association) and its managing committee, and trustee of community properties. He is the custodian of the Pazhaya Seminary and other common properties of Malankara Syrian Community. He is also the custodian of vattipanam interest which was deposited in Travancore Government by Marthoma VII. He is elected by the Malankara association. | ||
===List of Malankara | ==== List of Malankara metropolitans ==== | ||
#[[Thoma I]] (1653–1670)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://koonankurishu.net/koonan-kurishu-old-syrian-church/koonan-kurishu-sathyam/amp/|title=Coonan Cross Oath History}}</ref> | #[[Thoma I]] (1653–1670)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://koonankurishu.net/koonan-kurishu-old-syrian-church/koonan-kurishu-sathyam/amp/|title=Coonan Cross Oath History|access-date=29 February 2020|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224140528/http://koonankurishu.net/koonan-kurishu-old-syrian-church/koonan-kurishu-sathyam/amp/|url-status=dead}}</ref> | ||
#[[Thoma II]] (1670–1686) | #[[Thoma II]] (1670–1686) | ||
#[[Thoma III]] (1686–1688) | #[[Thoma III]] (1686–1688) | ||
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#[[Dionysious V|Dionysius V]] (1865–1909)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1883692/ |title= Royal Court Verdict declared Pulikottil Joseph Dionysius as the rightful Malankara Metropolitan}}</ref> | #[[Dionysious V|Dionysius V]] (1865–1909)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1883692/ |title= Royal Court Verdict declared Pulikottil Joseph Dionysius as the rightful Malankara Metropolitan}}</ref> | ||
#[[Geevarghese Dionysius of Vattasseril|Dionysius VI]] (1909–1934)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/107194354/?type=print/|title= In 1929, Travancore High Court declared Dionysius of Vattasseril will remain as the Malankara Metropolitan (Vattipanam Suit) }}</ref> | #[[Geevarghese Dionysius of Vattasseril|Dionysius VI]] (1909–1934)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/107194354/?type=print/|title= In 1929, Travancore High Court declared Dionysius of Vattasseril will remain as the Malankara Metropolitan (Vattipanam Suit) }}</ref> | ||
#[[Geevarghese II]] (1934–1964)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/107194354/?type=print/|title=In 1958, Supreme Court of India declared Baselios Geevarghese II is the rightful Malankara Metropolitan (Samudayam Suit)}}</ref> ''From 1934 Malankara Metropolitan also holds the office of [[Catholicos of the East]] of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.'' | #[[Baselios Geevarghese II|Geevarghese II]] (1934–1964)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/107194354/?type=print/|title=In 1958, Supreme Court of India declared Baselios Geevarghese II is the rightful Malankara Metropolitan (Samudayam Suit)}}</ref> ''From 1934 Malankara Metropolitan also holds the office of [[Catholicos of the East]] of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.'' | ||
#[[Augen I]] (1964–1975), also Catholicos of the East | #[[Baselios Augen I|Augen I]] (1964–1975), also Catholicos of the East | ||
#[[Mathews I]] (1975–1991), also Catholicos of the East | #[[Baselios Marthoma Mathews I|Mathews I]] (1975–1991), also Catholicos of the East | ||
#[[Mathews II]] (1991–2005),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://malankaraorthodox.tv/?p=60636|title= Supreme Court Order July 12, 2002 declared Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews II is the unquestionable Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Church}}</ref> also Catholicos of the East | #[[Baselios Marthoma Mathews II|Mathews II]] (1991–2005),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://malankaraorthodox.tv/?p=60636|title= Supreme Court Order July 12, 2002 declared Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews II is the unquestionable Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Church}}</ref> also Catholicos of the East | ||
#[[Didymos I]] (2005–2010), also Catholicos of the East | #[[Baselios Marthoma Didymos I|Didymos I]] (2005–2010), also Catholicos of the East | ||
#[[Paulose II (Indian Orthodox Church)|Paulose II]] (2010–2021),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/supreme-head-of-the-malankara-orthodox-syrian-church-passes-away/article35273281.ece/amp/ |title=Supreme head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church passes away|newspaper=The Hindu|date=12 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/news/new-catholicos-of-the-east-baselios-marthoma-paulose-ii-installed-phot-report/|title=Ordination of the new Malankara Metropolitan & Catholicos. H.H Moran Baselios Marthoma Paulose 2 is the present Malankara Metropolitan.Baselios Marthoma Paulose 2 is the 21st Malankara Metropolitan.|date=November 2010}}</ref> | #[[Paulose II (Indian Orthodox Church)|Paulose II]] (2010–2021), also Catholicos of the East | ||
#[[Baselios Marthoma Mathews III|Mathews III]] (15 October 2021 – present), also Catholicos of the East<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/supreme-head-of-the-malankara-orthodox-syrian-church-passes-away/article35273281.ece/amp/ |title=Supreme head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church passes away|newspaper=The Hindu|date=12 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/news/new-catholicos-of-the-east-baselios-marthoma-paulose-ii-installed-phot-report/|title=Ordination of the new Malankara Metropolitan & Catholicos. H.H Moran Baselios Marthoma Paulose 2 is the present Malankara Metropolitan.Baselios Marthoma Paulose 2 is the 21st Malankara Metropolitan.|date=November 2010}}</ref> | |||
==Catholicate== | === Catholicate === | ||
"Catholicos" means "the general head", and can be considered equivalent to "universal bishop."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mosc.in/catholicate|title=The Catholicate of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church|website=Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church|access-date=12 March 2020}}</ref> The early church had three priestly ranks: ''episcopos'' (bishop), priest and deacon. By the end of the third century, bishops of important cities in the [[Roman Empire]] became known as metropolitans. The fourth-century ecumenical councils recognized the authority of the metropolitan. By the fifth century, the bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria and Antioch gained control of the churches in surrounding cities.{{ | "Catholicos" means "the general head", and can be considered equivalent to "universal bishop."<ref name="Catholicate">{{cite web|url=http://mosc.in/catholicate|title=The Catholicate of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church|website=Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church|access-date=12 March 2020}}</ref> The early church had three priestly ranks: ''episcopos'' (bishop), priest and deacon. By the end of the third century, bishops of important cities in the [[Roman Empire]] became known as metropolitans. The fourth-century ecumenical councils recognized the authority of the metropolitan. By the fifth century, the bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria and Antioch gained control of the churches in surrounding cities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Catholicate of the Malankara orthodox Syrian Church {{!}} |url=https://mosc.in/catholicate/catholicate/ |access-date=2024-01-14 |website=mosc.in}}</ref> They gradually became the heads of the regional churches, and were known as patriarchs (common father). | ||
Outside the Roman Empire, patriarchs were known as catholicos. There were four catholicates before the fifth century: the Catholicate of the East, the Catholicate of Armenia, the Catholicate of Georgia and the Catholicate of Albania. The archdeacons reigned from the fourth to the 16th centuries; in 1653, the archdeacon was elevated to bishop by the community as Mar Thoma I. | |||
[[ | The Catholicate of the East was relocated to India in 1912, and [[Baselios Paulose I]] was seated on the apostolic throne of St. Thomas as the Catholicos of the East by the disposed Patriarch of Antioch Abdul Masih. The headquarters of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Catholicos of the East is the Catholicate Palace at Devalokam, [[Kottayam]], [[Kerala]], which was consecrated on 31 December 1951. The new palace, built in 1961, was dedicated by visiting Armenian Catholicos [[Vazgen I]]. | ||
=== List of Catholicos of the East of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church === | The Holy Synod and Managing committee designated H.G.Dr. Mathews Mor Severios to the new Malankara Metropolitan and Catholicos of Malankara Church succeeding Baselios Marthoma Paulose II. He was consecrated as the 22nd Malankara Metropolitan during the Malankara Association that took place on 14 October 2021 at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Parumala and enthroned as the 9th Catholicos of Malankara Church on 15 October 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stthomasorthodoxcathedral.com/index.php?/our-church/catholicos-of-the-east.html|title=Catholicos of the East {{!}} our-church|website=stthomasorthodoxcathedral.com|access-date=2019-11-06|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804005445/https://www.stthomasorthodoxcathedral.com/index.php?%2Four-church%2Fcatholicos-of-the-east.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Relic]]s of St. Thomas are kept in the catholicate chapel, and [[Baselios Geevarghese II|Geevarghese II]], [[Baselios Augen I|Augen I]], [[Baselios Marthoma Mathews I|Mathews I]] and [[Paulose II (Indian Orthodox Church)|Paulose II]] are interred there. | ||
==== List of Catholicos of the East of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church ==== | |||
The list of [[Catholicos of the East]] of Malankara Church: | The list of [[Catholicos of the East]] of Malankara Church: | ||
*[[Baselios Paulose I]] (1912–1914) | *[[Baselios Paulose I]] (1912–1914) | ||
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** From 1934 Catholicos is also holding the office of [[Malankara Metropolitan]]. | ** From 1934 Catholicos is also holding the office of [[Malankara Metropolitan]]. | ||
*[[Baselios Augen I]] (1964–1975) | *[[Baselios Augen I]] (1964–1975) | ||
*[[Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews I]] (1975–1991) | *[[Baselios Marthoma Mathews I|Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews I]] (1975–1991) | ||
*[[Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews II]] (1991–2005) | *[[Baselios Marthoma Mathews II|Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews II]] (1991–2005) | ||
*[[Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I]] (2005–2010) | *[[Baselios Marthoma Didymos I|Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I]] (2005–2010) | ||
*[[Baselios Mar Thoma Paulose II]] (2010–2021) | *[[Baselios Marthoma Paulose II|Baselios Mar Thoma Paulose II]] (2010–2021) | ||
*[[Baselios Marthoma Mathews III|Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews III]] (2021–present) | |||
==Administration== | ==Administration== | ||
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===1934 church constitution=== | ===1934 church constitution=== | ||
Envisioned by Dionysius VI, the church's general and day-to-day administration was codified in its 1934 constitution. The constitution<ref name= | Envisioned by Dionysius VI, the church's general and day-to-day administration was codified in its 1934 constitution. The constitution<ref name=mosc>{{cite web|title=Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Constitution|year= 1934|url= https://mosc.in/uploads/2015/05/MOSC-Constitution.pdf|quote=The Malankara Church is a division of the Orthodox Syrian Church. The Primate of the Orthodox Syrian Church is the Patriarch of Antioch.}}</ref> was presented at the 26 December 1934 Malankara Christian Association meeting at M. D. Seminary,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mosc.in/administration/administration|title=The Constitution of the Malankara Orthodox Church |website=mosc.in}}</ref> adopted and enacted. It has been amended three times. Although the constitution was challenged in court by dissident supporters of the [[Patriarch of Antioch]], [[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]] rulings in 1958, 1995, 2017 and 2018 upheld its validity.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/sc-says-no-review-of-malankara-verdict/article20487475.ece|title=SC says no review of Malankara Church verdict: Upholds 1934 constitution of Church| last=Rajagopal|first= Krishnadas|newspaper=The Hindu|date=16 November 2017}}</ref> | ||
The constitution's first article | The constitution's first article asserts the relationship between the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]] and the Malankara Church. The second article addresses the establishment of the Malankara Church by St. Thomas and ascribes primacy to the [[Catholicos]]. The third article regards the church's name. The fourth article describes the faith and its traditions. The fifth article examines church governance [[canon law]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mosc.in/administration/administration|title=The Constitution of the Malankara Orthodox Church|publisher=Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church|access-date=14 September 2023}}</ref> | ||
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===Malankara Association=== | ===Malankara Association=== | ||
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The church constitution outlines the association's powers and responsibilities. The [[Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan]] is the president, and the diocesan [[metropolitan bishop]]s are vice-presidents. All positions are elected. Each parish is represented in the association by an elected priest and laypeople, proportional to parish-membership size. | The church constitution outlines the association's powers and responsibilities. The [[Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan]] is the president, and the diocesan [[metropolitan bishop]]s are vice-presidents. All positions are elected. Each parish is represented in the association by an elected priest and laypeople, proportional to parish-membership size. | ||
===Co-trustees=== | |||
This is a list of co-trustees ([[Priest Trustee|priest trustee]] & lay trustee) elected by the Malankara Association of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mosc.in/administration/malankara-association |title=Malankara Association |publisher=mosc.in |accessdate=2023-04-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ovsonline.in/?p=27876 |title=Malankara Association |publisher=www.ovsonline.in |accessdate=2023-04-15}}</ref> | |||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 100%;" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background-color: #DCDCDC; width: 10%; color: #000000;" | Year of Election | |||
! style="background-color: #DCDCDC; width: 20%; color: #000000;" | Clergy Trustee | |||
! style="background-color: #DCDCDC; width: 20%; color: #000000;" | Duration | |||
! style="background-color: #DCDCDC; width: 20%; color: #000000;" | Lay Trustee | |||
! style="background-color: #DCDCDC; width: 20%; color: #000000;" | Duration | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|1869 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Punnathra Chacko Chandapilla Kathanar | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|21 Oct 1869 – 13 Sep 1886 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Kulangara Ittychan Pailey | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|12 Oct 1869 – ? | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|1886 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Konat Kora Yohannan Kathanar | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|13 Sep 1886 – 9 Mar 1890 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Kunnumpurath Kora Ulahannan, Kottayam | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|13 Sep 1886 & <br>31 Mar 1892 – 24 Feb 1901 | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|1892 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Konat Kora Mathan Malpan | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|31 Mar 1892 & <br>23 Nov 1895 – 7 Sep 1911 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|- | |||
| style="text-align: center;"| | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|1901 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|- | |||
| style="text-align: center;"| | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|C. J. Kurien (Kunnumpurath Ulahannan Kora), Kottayam | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|25 Apr 1901 – 7 Sep 1911 | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|1911 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Palappalil Mani Paulose Kathanar Pampakuda | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|7 Sep 1911 – 21 Dec 1955 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Chirakadavil Kora Kochu Korula, Kottayam (d. 1931) | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|07 Sep 1911 – 31 May 1931 | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|1931 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|- | |||
| style="text-align: center;"| | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|E. I Joseph, Kottayam | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|10 Jul 1931 – 15 Jul 1946 | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|1958 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Manalil Jacob Kathanar | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|26 Dec 1958 – 28 Dec 1965 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Ooppoottil Kurien Abraham, Kottayam | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|26 Dec 1958 – 12 Dec 1978 | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|1965 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Thengumthottathil T. S. Abraham Cor Episcopa | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|28 Dec 1965 – 28 Dec 1982 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|- | |||
| style="text-align: center;"| | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|1980 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|- | |||
| style="text-align: center;"| | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Padinjarekkara P. C. Abraham, Kottayam | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|1 May 1980 – 21 Mar 2007 | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|1982 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Konat Abraham Malpan | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|28 Dec 1982 – 3 Mar 1987 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|- | |||
| style="text-align: center;"| | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|1987 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Fr. Mathai Nooranal | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|29 Dec 1987 – 29 Nov 2002 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|- | |||
| style="text-align: center;"| | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|2004 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Fr. Dr. O. Thomas | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|10 Jun 2004 – 21 Mar 2007 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|- | |||
| style="text-align: center;"| | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|2007 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Fr. Johns Abraham Konat | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|21 Mar 2007 – 7 Mar 2012 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|M.G. George Muthoot | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|21 Mar 2007 – 7 Mar 2012 | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|2012 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Fr. Johns Abraham Konat | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|7 Mar 2012 – 1 Mar 2017 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|M.G. George Muthoot | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|7 Mar 2012 – 1 Mar 2017 | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|2017 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Fr. Dr. M.O. John | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|1 Mar 2017 – 4 Aug 2022 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|George Paul (d. 2019) | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|1 Mar 2017 – 26 Nov 2019 | |||
|- valign="top" style="background-color: #FFFFFF;" | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|2022 | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Fr. Dr. Thomas Varghese Amayil | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|4 Aug 2022 – present | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|Ronny Varghese Abraham | |||
| style="text-align: center;"|4 Aug 2022 – present | |||
|} | |||
===Dioceses=== | ===Dioceses=== | ||
Line 306: | Line 375: | ||
{{div col end}} | {{div col end}} | ||
==Metropolitan | === Metropolitan bishops === | ||
The church's | The church's episcopal synod has the following diocesan bishops:<ref>{{cite web | title =Holy Synod | url =http://mosc.in/holysynod | website =mosc.in | date = 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://mosc.in/uploads/2022/01/Kalpana-344-2022-1.pdf |title=Kalpana No. 344/2022 Appointments of Bishops |publisher=mosc.in |accessdate=2023-09-27}}</ref> | ||
{{div col | colwidth=30em}} | {{div col | colwidth=30em}} | ||
* Baselios Marthoma | * [[Baselios Marthoma Mathews III]] Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan.[[Kandanad West Orthodox Diocese|Kandanad West]], [[Bangalore Orthodox Diocese|Bangalore Diocese]] and [[Kottayam Central Orthodox Diocese|Kottayam Central]] | ||
* Thomas Mar | * [[Thomas Mar Athanasios]] – Metropolitan of [[Kandanad East Diocese]] | ||
* Yuhanon Mar Meletius – Thrissur | * [[Yuhanon Mar Meletius]] – Metropolitan of [[Thrissur Orthodox Diocese|Thrissur Diocese]] | ||
* [[Kuriakose Clemis]] – | * [[Kuriakose Mar Clemis]] Valiya Metropolita<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mosc.in/uploads/2023/01/No.-248-Kalpana-H-G-Mar-Cleemis-Metropolitan.pdf |title=Kalpana No. 248 – H G Mar Cleemis Valiya Metropolita |publisher=mosc.in |accessdate=2023-09-26}}</ref> – Retired | ||
* [[Geevarghese Mar Coorilose]] – Metropolitan of [[Bombay Orthodox Diocese|Bombay Diocese]] | |||
* Geevarghese Mar | * [[Zachariah Mar Nicholovos]] – Metropolitan of [[Malankara Orthodox Diocese of Northeast America|Northeast America Diocese]] | ||
* Zachariah Mar Nicholovos – Northeast America | * [[Yakob Mar Irenios]] – Metropolitan of [[Kochi Orthodox Diocese|Kochi Diocese]] | ||
* [[ | * [[Gabriel Mar Gregorios]] -Metropolitan of [[Thiruvananthapuram Orthodox Diocese|Trivandrum Diocese]] | ||
* [[Yuhanon Mar Chrysostamos]] – Metropolitan of [[Niranam Orthodox Diocese|Niranam Diocese]] | |||
* [[Gabriel Mar Gregorios]] -Trivandrum | * [[Yuhanon Mar Policarpos]] – Metropolitan of [[Angamaly Malankara Orthodox Diocese|Ankamali Diocese]] | ||
* Yuhanon Mar | * [[Mathews Mar Theodosius]] - On Leave | ||
* Yuhanon Mar Policarpos – Ankamali | * [[Joseph Mar Dionysius]] – Metropolitan of [[Kollam Orthodox Diocese|Kollam Diocese]] | ||
* Mathews Mar Theodosius | * [[Abraham Ephiphanios|Abraham Mar Ephiphanios]] – Metropolitan of [[Mavelikara Orthodox Diocese|Mavelikara Diocese]] | ||
* Joseph Mar Dionysius – | * [[Mathews Mar Thimothios]] – Metropolitan of [[Chengannur Orthodox Diocese|Chengannur Diocese]] | ||
* [[Abraham Ephiphanios|Abraham Mar Ephiphanios]] – | * [[Alexios Mar Eusebios]] - Metropolitan of [[Calcutta Orthodox Diocese|Calcutta Diocese]] | ||
* [[Mathews Mar Thimothios]] – | * [[Yuhanon Mar Dioscoros]] – Metropolitan of [[Kottayam Orthodox Diocese|Kottayam Diocese]] | ||
* Alexios Mar | * [[Youhanon Mar Demetrios]] – Metropolitan of [[Delhi Orthodox Diocese|Delhi Diocese]] | ||
* [[Yuhanon Mar Dioscoros]] – | * [[Yuhanon Mar Thevodoros]] – Metropolitan of [[Kottarakkara Punalur Orthodox Diocese|Kottarakara–Punalur Diocese]] | ||
* | * [[Yakob Mar Elias]] – Metropolitan of [[Brahmavar Orthodox Diocese|Brahmavar Diocese]] | ||
* Yuhanon Mar Thevodoros – | * [[Joshua Mar Nicodemos]] – Metropolitan of [[Nilakal Orthodox Diocese|Nilackal Diocese]] | ||
* Yakob Mar Elias – Brahmavar | * [[Zacharias Mar Aprem]] – Metropolitan of [[Adoor Kadampanad Orthodox Diocese|Adoor–Kadampanadu Diocese]] | ||
* Joshua Mar | * [[Geevarghese Mar Yulios]] – Metropolitan of [[Kunnamkulam Diocese]] | ||
* [[Zacharias Mar Aprem]] – Adoor | * [[Abraham Mar Seraphim]] – Metropolitan of [[Thumpamon Orthodox Diocese|Thumbamon Diocese]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mosc.in/uploads/2023/01/Kalpana-Thumpamon-Diocese.pdf |title=Kalpana No. 240 – Thumpamon Diocese Mar Seraphim Metropolitan |publisher=mosc.in |accessdate=2023-09-27}}</ref> | ||
* Geevarghese Mar | * [[Abraham Mar Stephanos]]-Metropolitan of [[UK, Europe and Africa Malankara Orthodox Diocese|UK, Europe, Africa Diocese]] | ||
* Abraham Mar Seraphim – Bangalore | * [[Thomas Mar Ivanios]]- Metropolitan of [[Malankara Orthodox Diocese of Southwest America|Southwest America Diocese]] | ||
* [[Geevarghese Mar Theophilos]]- Metropolitan of [[Ahmedabad Orthodox Diocese|Ahmedabad Diocese]] & Asst. Metropolitan of [[Bombay Orthodox Diocese|Bombay Diocese]] | |||
* [[Geevarghese Mar Philexinos]]- Metropolitan of [[Madras Orthodox Diocese|Madras Diocese]] & Asst. Metropolitan of [[Bangalore Orthodox Diocese|Bangalore Diocese]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mosc.in/uploads/2023/01/Kalpana-Bangalore-Diocese.pdf |title=Kalpana No. 242 – Bangalore Diocese Mar Philaxenos Metropolitan |publisher=mosc.in |accessdate=2023-09-27}}</ref> | |||
* [[Geevarghese Mar Pachomios]]- Metropolitan of [[Malabar Orthodox Diocese|Malabar Diocese]] | |||
* [[Geevarghese Mar Barnabas]]- Metropolitan of [[Sulthan Bathery Orthodox Diocese|Sulthan Bathery Diocese]] | |||
* [[Zachariah Severios | Zachariah Mar Severios]]- Metropolitan of [[Idukki Orthodox Diocese|Idukki Diocese]] | |||
{{div col end}} | {{div col end}} | ||
==Churches with historical importance== | ==Churches with historical importance== | ||
{{multiple image | {{multiple image | ||
| direction = vertical | | direction = vertical | ||
| image1 | | image1 = Parumala Church.jpg | ||
| caption1 | | caption1 = [[St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Parumala]] | ||
| image2 | | image2 = നിരണം പള്ളി.jpg | ||
| caption2 | | caption2 = [[St. Mary's Church, Niranam]] | ||
| image3 | | image3 = Arappally02.jpg | ||
| caption3 | | caption3 = [[St. Mary's Church, Thiruvithamcode]] | ||
| image4 | | image4 = Chengannur 2.JPG | ||
| caption4 | | caption4 = [[Old Syrian Church, Chengannur]] | ||
| image5 | | image5 = Vettickal Dayara.jpg | ||
| caption5 | | caption5 = [[St.Thomas Dayara, Vettikkal]] | ||
| image6 | | image6 = St George Church Kochi.jpg | ||
| caption6 | | caption6 = [[St George Orthodox Koonan Kurishu Old Syrian Church]], [[Mattancherry]] | ||
| image7 | | image7 = StGeorgeOrthodoxChurch Puthuppalli.jpg | ||
| caption7 | | caption7 = [[St. George Orthodox Church, Puthuppally]] | ||
| image8 = | |||
| caption8 = [[St. George's Church, Mylapra]] | |||
| caption9 = [[St. George's Church, Chandanapally]] | |||
| image9 = Chandanappally Valiyapally.jpg | |||
}} | }} | ||
* [[St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Parumala]] | * [[St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Parumala]] | ||
* [[St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Arthat]] | * [[St. George Orthodox Church, Chandanapally|St. George's Church, Chandanapally]] | ||
* [[St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Arthat]] | |||
* [[St. Mary's Church, Thiruvithamcode]], established by Apostle Saint Thomas | * [[St. Mary's Church, Thiruvithamcode]], established by Apostle Saint Thomas | ||
* [[St. Mary's Church, Niranam]], established by Apostle Saint Thomas | * [[St. Mary's Church, Niranam]], established by Apostle Saint Thomas | ||
* [[St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Puthencavu]] | * [[St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Puthencavu]] | ||
* [[ | * [[Mar Beshanania Orthodox Church, Vanchithra, Kozhencherry]] | ||
* [[St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Pazhanji]] | |||
* [[St. Mary's Church, Kottayam]] | * [[St. Mary's Church, Kottayam]] | ||
* [[Kallada]][[Valiyapally]] | * [[Kallada]][[Valiyapally]] | ||
* [[Kundara]][[Valiyapally]] | * [[Kundara]][[Valiyapally]] | ||
* [[St.Thomas Orthodox Syrian Cathedral, Mulanthuruthy]] | * [[St. Thomas Orthodox Syrian Cathedral, Mulanthuruthy]] | ||
* [[Thumpamon Valiya Pally]] | * [[Thumpamon Valiya Pally]] | ||
* [[South Bazar Church|Ambalam Pally, Kunnamkulam]] | * [[South Bazar Church|Ambalam Pally, Kunnamkulam]] | ||
Line 373: | Line 453: | ||
* [[St. George Orthodox Church, Puthuppally|Puthuppally Pally]] | * [[St. George Orthodox Church, Puthuppally|Puthuppally Pally]] | ||
* [[St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Kandanad]] | * [[St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Kandanad]] | ||
* [[St. George Orthodox Valiyapally, Mylapra]] | |||
* [[St. Thomas Orthodox Cathedral, Kadampanad]] | * [[St. Thomas Orthodox Cathedral, Kadampanad]] | ||
* [[St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Kolenchery]] | * [[St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Kolenchery]] | ||
Line 380: | Line 461: | ||
* [[St Mary's Orthodox Church, Kallooppara]] | * [[St Mary's Orthodox Church, Kallooppara]] | ||
* [[St. George's Church, Chandanapally]] | * [[St. George's Church, Chandanapally]] | ||
* [[St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Puthiyacavu Mavelikara]] | |||
* [[Old Syrian Church, Chengannur]] | * [[Old Syrian Church, Chengannur]] | ||
* St. Stephen's Orthodox Cathedral, Kudassanad | |||
* | * [[Kadeesa Orthodox Cathedral, Kayamkulam]] | ||
* [ | ==Monasteries and convents== | ||
*[[Monastery of Saint Thomas, Vettikkal]] | |||
*[[Mount Tabor Monastery, Pathanapuram]] | |||
*[[The Bethany Ashram]] | |||
==Spiritual organizations== | ==Spiritual organizations== | ||
Line 404: | Line 490: | ||
*St. Thomas Orthodox Vaidika Sanghom | *St. Thomas Orthodox Vaidika Sanghom | ||
*Marth Mariam Vanitha Samajam (women's wing) | *Marth Mariam Vanitha Samajam (women's wing) | ||
*Sruti School of Liturgical Music | |||
*Ecological Commission | *Ecological Commission | ||
*Ardra Charitable Trust<ref>{{cite web |title=Spiritual Organisation |url=http://mosc.in/spiritual |website=mosc.in |publisher=Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church}}</ref> | *Ardra Charitable Trust<ref>{{cite web |title=Spiritual Organisation |url=http://mosc.in/spiritual |website=mosc.in |publisher=Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church}}</ref> | ||
Line 413: | Line 500: | ||
==Ecumenical relations== | ==Ecumenical relations== | ||
The church was a founding member of the [[World Council of Churches]].<ref> | The church was a founding member of the [[World Council of Churches]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://archive.org/details/wcca5/page/230/mode/2up?q=list| title=World council of churches, Amsterdam 1948| website=archive.org| year=1948| page=230}}</ref> Catholicos Geevarghese II and other metropolitan participated in the 1937 Conference on Faith and Order in [[Edinburgh]]; a church delegation participated in the 1948 WCC meeting in [[Amsterdam]] in 1948, and the church played a role in the 1961 WCC conference in [[New Delhi]]. Metropolitan [[Paulos Gregorios]] was president of the WCC from 1983 to 1991. | ||
The church participated in the 1965 Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches in [[Addis Ababa]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.theorthodoxchurch.info/aacp/resolutions/addis-ababa-conference/| title=Addis Ababa Conference| website=theorthodoxchurch.info}}</ref> It is a member of the [[Faith and Order Commission]], the [[Christian Conference of Asia]] | The church participated in the 1965 Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches in [[Addis Ababa]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.theorthodoxchurch.info/aacp/resolutions/addis-ababa-conference/| title=Addis Ababa Conference| website=theorthodoxchurch.info}}</ref> It is a member of the [[Faith and Order Commission]], the [[Christian Conference of Asia]] | ||
Line 419: | Line 506: | ||
===Order of St. Thomas=== | ===Order of St. Thomas=== | ||
The [[Order of St. Thomas (award)|Order of St. Thomas]], the church's highest award | The [[Order of St. Thomas (award)|Order of St. Thomas]], the church's highest award is presented to heads of state and churches by the [[Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan]]. Recipients include [[Bartholomew I of Constantinople]], Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians [[Karekin II]], Patriarch of Ethiopia [[Abune Paulos]], Armenian Catholicos of Cilicia [[Aram I]], and Patriarch of Ethiopia [[Abune Mathias]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://malankaraorthodox.tv/?p=62396 |website=Malankaraorthodox.tv| title=Recipients of the order of St. Thomas| access-date=1 August 2018}}</ref> | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
{{Portal|Christianity|India}} | |||
*[[List of Malankara Metropolitans]] | *[[List of Malankara Metropolitans]] | ||
*[[List of metropolitans of the Indian Orthodox Church]] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Line 433: | Line 518: | ||
==Bibliography== | ==Bibliography== | ||
{{Refbegin|2}} | {{Refbegin|2}} | ||
* {{Cite book|last1=Baum|first1=Wilhelm|author-link1=Wilhelm Baum (historian)|last2=Winkler|first2=Dietmar W.|title=The Church of the East: A Concise History|year=2003|location=London-New York|publisher=Routledge-Curzon|isbn=9781134430192|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CnSCAgAAQBAJ}} | |||
* {{Cite journal|last=Brock|first=Sebastian P.|author-link=Sebastian P. Brock|title=Miaphysite, not Monophysite!|journal=Cristianesimo Nella Storia|year=2016|volume=37|number=1|pages=45–52|isbn=9788815261687|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TwKJDAEACAAJ}} | * {{Cite journal|last=Brock|first=Sebastian P.|author-link=Sebastian P. Brock|title=Miaphysite, not Monophysite!|journal=Cristianesimo Nella Storia|year=2016|volume=37|number=1|pages=45–52|isbn=9788815261687|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TwKJDAEACAAJ}} | ||
* {{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=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}} | ||
Line 450: | Line 536: | ||
* {{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|isbn=9780521548854|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RH4VPgB__GQC}} | * {{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|isbn=9780521548854|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RH4VPgB__GQC}} | ||
* {{Cite book|last=Neill|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Neill|title=A History of Christianity in India: 1707-1858|year=2002|orig-year=1985|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521893329|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xi-tvrYbYxMC}} | * {{Cite book|last=Neill|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Neill|title=A History of Christianity in India: 1707-1858|year=2002|orig-year=1985|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521893329|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xi-tvrYbYxMC}} | ||
* Tamcke, Martin (2009). [https://books.google.com/books?id=E2UYCm6b2v0C | * Tamcke, Martin (2009). [https://books.google.com/books?id=E2UYCm6b2v0C&dq=%22Ignatius+Abdul+Masih+II%22&pg=PA214 ''Die Christen vom tur Abdin: Hinführung zur Syrisch-orthodoxen Kirche'']. Verlag Otto Lembeck. 3874765806. | ||
* {{Cite book|last=Vadakkekara|first=Benedict|title=Origin of Christianity in India: A Historiographical Critique|year=2007|location=Delhi|publisher=Media House|isbn=9788174952585|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7f3YAAAAMAAJ}} | * {{Cite book|last=Vadakkekara|first=Benedict|title=Origin of Christianity in India: A Historiographical Critique|year=2007|location=Delhi|publisher=Media House|isbn=9788174952585|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7f3YAAAAMAAJ}} | ||
* Van der Ploeg, J. P. M. (1983). ''The Christians of St. Thomas in South India and their Syriac Manuscripts''. Dharmaram Publications. | * Van der Ploeg, J. P. M. (1983). ''The Christians of St. Thomas in South India and their Syriac Manuscripts''. Dharmaram Publications. | ||
Line 468: | Line 554: | ||
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928082948/http://www.icon.org.in/icon_prev_catholicoses.icon ICON Indian Christian Orthodox Network – Catholicos of the East] | * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928082948/http://www.icon.org.in/icon_prev_catholicoses.icon ICON Indian Christian Orthodox Network – Catholicos of the East] | ||
* [http://marthoman.tv/ Malankara Orthodox TV] | * [http://marthoman.tv/ Malankara Orthodox TV] | ||
{{Christianity in Kerala}} | {{Christianity in Kerala}} |
Latest revision as of 20:06, 14 September 2024
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2019) |
Malankara Orthodox
Syrian Church (Indian Orthodox Church) | |
---|---|
![]() MOSC Catholicate Palace | |
Classification | Oriental Orthodox |
Orientation | Eastern Christianity |
Scripture | Peshitta |
Theology | Miaphysitism |
Polity | Episcopal |
Governance | Episcopal Synod |
Primate | Malankara Metropolitan & Catholicos of East Baselios Marthoma Mathews III |
Region | India and the Nasrani Malayali diaspora |
Language | Syriac, Konkani, Malayalam, English |
Liturgy | West Syriac Rite (Malankara Rite) |
Headquarters | Catholicate Palace, Kottayam, Kerala, India |
Founder | Thomas the Apostle |
Origin | 1st century by tradition,[1] 1912 |
Independence | 1912 (Establishment of Catholicate)[2] |
Branched from | Saint Thomas Christians, Malankara Church |
Separations | Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (1930)[3]:197 |
Members | 0.5 million in Kerala[4] |
Other name(s) | മലങ്കര സഭ (Malankara Church) Indian Orthodox Church |
Official website | mosc.in |
Template:Oriental Orthodox sidebar
Part of a series on |
Christianity in India |
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The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC)[5] also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC)[6] or simply as the Malankara Church,[7] is an autocephalous[8][9][2] Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. It serves India's Saint Thomas Christian (also known as Nasrani) population. According to tradition, these communities originated in the missions of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century (circa 52 AD).[10] It employs the Malankara Rite, an Indian form of the West Syriac liturgical rite.
The MOSC descends from the Malankara Church and its affiliation with the Syriac Orthodox Church. However, between 1909 and 1912, a schism over the authority of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch's authority resulted in the dissolution of the unified Malankara Church and establishment of the overlapping and conflicting MOSC and Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (JSCC).[11] Since 1912, the MOSC has maintained a catholicate, the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan–presently Baselios Marthoma Mathews III–who is the primate of the church.
The MOSC drafted and formally adopted a constitution in 1934, in order to define the relationship it has with the Syriac Orthodox Church and the patriarch, wherein it defined itself a division of the Syriac Orthodox Church with its supreme spiritual leader being the Patriarch of Antioch. However the constitution stipulated that all the spiritual duties of the patriarch in the Malankara Church was entrusted to the Catholicos of the East and reiterated that its administration was the prerogative of the Malankara Metropolitan. The constitution further declared that the positions of the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan are to be held by the same person from then on, who shall henceforth act as the spiritual and administrative head of the church.[12] The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church asserts communion with the other Oriental Orthodox churches. However, regular legal and occasional physical confrontations between the MOSC and the Syriac Orthodox JSCC have continued despite multiple efforts to reconcile the churches.[11][13][14]:272
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church accepts miaphysitism,[15][16] which holds that in the one person of Jesus Christ, divinity and humanity are united in one (μία, mia) nature (φύσις – "physis") without separation, without confusion, without alteration and without mixing[17] where Christ is consubstantial with God the Father. Around 500 bishops within the Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem refused to accept the dyophysitism (two natures) doctrine decreed by the 4th ecumenical council, the Council of Chalcedon in 451,[dubious ] an incident that resulted in the second major split in the main body of the Christian Church (after the Nestorian schism). While the Oriental Orthodox churches rejected the Chalcedonian definition, the sees that would later become the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church accepted this council.[18]
Self-reporting roughly 2.5 million members (with external estimates of roughly 1 million)[19] across 30 dioceses worldwide, a significant proportion of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church's adherents reside in the southern India state of Kerala with the diaspora communities in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.[20]
History[edit]
Early history[edit]
According to tradition, Christianity first arrived in India with Thomas the Apostle during the 1st century AD, evolving into Saint Thomas Christianity over several centuries.[21] While isolated and generally independent in administration, Indian Christians maintained contact with the Christian hierarchies of Antioch, Persia, and potentially Alexandria.[22][23] The Saint Thomas Christians had relationships with the Persian Church of the East from at least the 6th century onward. The Indians inherited its East Syriac dialect for liturgical use and gradually became Syriac Christians in ritual and doctrine. They received clerical support from Persian bishops, who traveled to Kerala in merchant ships on the spice route.[24] For much of this period, Saint Thomas Christians were under the leadership of an archdeacon (a native ecclesiastical head with temporal powers, deriving from the Greek arkhidiākonos).
During the 16th century, efforts by the Portuguese Padroado–an arm of the Catholic Church–to bring the Saint Thomas Christians under the administration of the Latin Church and attempts to Latinize the Malankara Rite led to the first of several rifts in the community. These divisions intensified following the 1599 Synod of Diamper. Saint Thomas Christians who were opposed to the Portuguese Padroado missionaries took the Coonan Cross Oath on 3 January 1653.[25][26][27] The Dutch East India Company expulsion of the Portuguese from much of Malabar enabled the reconciliation of some Saint Thomas Christians and the Catholic Church, with this group eventually evolving into the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic church that adopted the Chaldean Catholic Church's East Syriac Rite and Diophysite christology.
Malankara Church[edit]
Many Saint Thomas Christian chose to remain independent from the Catholic Church. Patriarch Gregorios Abdal Jaleel, the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Jerusalem, witnessed the 1665 ordination of Thomas as Bishop Thoma I, who forged a renewed relationship with the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and Saint Thomas Christians, which laid the foundation for adopting West Syrian liturgy and practices over the next two centuries. Those who supported the indigenous church leader of Malankara, Thoma I, and adopted West Syrian liturgies and practices and Miaphysite faith evolved into the Malankara Church.[28][29][30][31][32]
19th century[edit]
The Arthat Padiyola declared that the administration of Malankara Church was independent and the bishops from Rome, Antioch, and Babylon had no role in the Malankara Church hierarchy, despite continued efforts to integrate the remaining independent Saint Thomas Christians into these patriarchates. In 1807, four gospels of Holy Bible in Syriac were translated to Malayalam by Kayamkulam Philipose Ramban. The Malankara Orthodox Theological Seminary in Kottayam was established in 1815 under the leadership of Pulikottil Ittup Ramban (Mar Dionysius II). The Mavelikara Synod (Padiyola) led by Cheppad Mar Dionysius rejected the suggestions put forward by Anglican missioneries and Reformation group and declared the beliefs and theology of Malankara Church were same as the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch.[citation needed]
20th century[edit]
Geevarghese Dionysius of Vattasseril, who became the Malankara metropolitan bishop in 1908, played a significant role with the other clerical and lay leaders of Malankara in re-establishing the Catholicos of the East in India in 1912. In 1909 the relations with the Syrian Orthodox Church soured, when Patriarch Ignatius Abded Aloho II who arrived in India, began demanding registered deeds granting the patriarch temporal authority over the church. Dionysius rejected the request and thus emerged two factions in the church. The faction that supported the Patriarch came to be called as "Bava Kakshi" (Patriarch Faction) and the faction that supported the Malankara Metropolitan came to be known as "Methran Kakshi" (Metropolitan Faction).[33][34] The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church wanted to retain its autocephaly, and appealed to Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Abdul Masih II. He enthroned Murimattathil Paulose Ivanios as Baselios Paulose I, Catholicos of the East, on the apostolic throne of St. Thomas at St. Mary's Church in Niranam on 15 September 1912.[35]
In 1934, The Malankara Church adopted a constitution for smooth functioning of the church, parishes and institution. In 1947, Saint Gregorios of Parumala was declared as a saint by the Church. In 1952 the Official Residence of the Malankara Metropolitan and the Headquarters of Malankara Church was shifted to Devalokam from Pazhaya Seminary. In 1958, The Supreme Court declared Catholicos Baselios Geevarghese II as the legitimate Malankara Metropolitan. The two factions of the Malankara Orthodox Church rejoined. In 1964, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch participated in the enthronement ceremony of the Catholicos and Malankara Metropolitan, Baselios Augen I. In 1995, the Supreme Court of India declared the MOSC constitution adopted in 1934 was valid.[citation needed]
21st century[edit]
In 2002, fresh elections were conducted in Malankara Association under the observation of Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court declared Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Mathews II is the official and legitimate Malankara Metropolitan and also declared that this decision cannot be disputed in any platform. In 2003, Vattasheril Dionysius VI was declared as a saint. In 2012, the centennial of the establishment of the church and Catholicate were celebrated with history classes and church publications.[36] On 3 July 2017, a major verdict by the Supreme Court of India declared the MOSC legally applicable to all parishes in disputed possession between the MOSC and Jacobite Syrian Christian Church.[37]
Hierarchy and doctrine[edit]

The spiritual head of the church is the Catholicos of the East, and its temporal head is the Malankara Metropolitan. Since 1934, both titles have been vested in one person; the official title of the head of the church is "The Catholicos of the Apostolic Throne of Saint Thomas and The Malankara Metropolitan". Baselios Marthoma Mathews III was enthroned as the Malankara Metropolitan and the Catholicos of the East. He is the eighth Catholicose of the East in Malankara and the 21st Malankara Metropolitan.
Oriental Orthodox Churches, including the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, accept only the first three ecumenical councils: the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople, and the Council of Ephesus. The church, like all other Oriental Orthodox Churches, uses the original Nicene Creed[38] without the filioque clause.[39] Like the Syriac Orthodox Church, it primarily uses the liturgy of Saint James in Malayalam, Konkani, Kannada, Hindi, English and other Indian languages.
Liturgy and canonical hours[edit]
The church has used the Malankara Rite, part of the Antiochene Rite, since the 17th century.[40] The Jacobite Church and the Maronite Church also belong to the same liturgical family. In the first half of the fifth century, the Antiochene church adopted the Liturgy of Saint James. In the 4th and 5th centuries, The liturgical language of fourth- and fifth-century Jerusalem and Antioch was Greek, and the original liturgy was composed in Greek.
After the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Eastern Church was divided in two; one group accepted the council, and the other opposed it. Both groups continued to use the Greek version of the Saint James liturgy. The Byzantine emperor Justin (518–527) expelled the opponents from Antioch, and they took refuge in the Syriac-speaking Mesopotamia on the Roman–Persian border (modern eastern Syria, Iraq, and southeastern Turkey). The Antiochene liturgical rites were gradually translated into Syriac, and Syriac hymns were introduced.
Gregorios Abdal Jaleel came to Malankara from Jerusalem in 1665 and introduced Syriac Orthodox liturgical rites. The most striking characteristic of the Antiochene liturgy is its large number of anaphoras (celebrations of the Eucharist). About eighty are known, and about a dozen are used in India. All have been composed following the Liturgy of Saint James.[41]
Christians of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church pray the canonical hours of the Shehimo at fixed prayer times seven times a day.[42]
The liturgy of Mor Addai is still in use, in anaphora form, similar to the Maronite Sharar. The anaphora of St. John Chrysostom is sometimes used.
Saints[edit]
Template:Nasrani people In conformity with other Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and also with the Roman Catholic Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church adheres to the tradition of seeking the intercession of saints. Several have been canonized:
- Geevarghese Gregorios of Parumala: Entombed in St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Parumala, and canonized by Geevarghese II in 1947
- Baselios Yeldo: Entombed in St. Thomas Church, Kothamangalam, and canonised by Geevarghese II in 1947
- Geevarghese Dionysius of Vattasseril: Entombed in the Orthodox Theological Seminary, Kottayam, and canonized by Mathews II in 2003
- Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvares: Entombed in St. Mary's Orthodox Church, Ribandar, and declared a regional saint by Paulose II in 2015. (Not officially canonized a saint)[43]
- Fr. Roque Zephrin Noronah: Entombed in St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Brahmavar, and declared a regional saint by Paulose II in 2015 (Not officially canonized a saint)[44]
Metropolitan[edit]
The temporal, ecclesiastical and spiritual administration of the church is vested in the Malankara Metropolitan, subject to the church constitution which was adopted in 1934.[45] The Malankara Metropolitan is president of the Malankara Syrian Christian Association (Malankara Association) and its managing committee, and trustee of community properties. He is the custodian of the Pazhaya Seminary and other common properties of Malankara Syrian Community. He is also the custodian of vattipanam interest which was deposited in Travancore Government by Marthoma VII. He is elected by the Malankara association.
List of Malankara metropolitans[edit]
- Thoma I (1653–1670)[46]
- Thoma II (1670–1686)
- Thoma III (1686–1688)
- Thoma IV (1688–1728)
- Thoma V (1728–1765)
- Thoma VI (1765–1808)
- Thoma VII (1808–1809)
- Thoma VIII (1809–1816)
- Thoma IX (1816)
- Dionysius II (1816)
- Dionysius III (1817–1825)
- Dionysius IV (1825–1852)
- Mathews Athanasius (1852–1877)
- Dionysius V (1865–1909)[47]
- Dionysius VI (1909–1934)[48]
- Geevarghese II (1934–1964)[49] From 1934 Malankara Metropolitan also holds the office of Catholicos of the East of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.
- Augen I (1964–1975), also Catholicos of the East
- Mathews I (1975–1991), also Catholicos of the East
- Mathews II (1991–2005),[50] also Catholicos of the East
- Didymos I (2005–2010), also Catholicos of the East
- Paulose II (2010–2021), also Catholicos of the East
- Mathews III (15 October 2021 – present), also Catholicos of the East[51][52]
Catholicate[edit]
"Catholicos" means "the general head", and can be considered equivalent to "universal bishop."[53] The early church had three priestly ranks: episcopos (bishop), priest and deacon. By the end of the third century, bishops of important cities in the Roman Empire became known as metropolitans. The fourth-century ecumenical councils recognized the authority of the metropolitan. By the fifth century, the bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria and Antioch gained control of the churches in surrounding cities.[54] They gradually became the heads of the regional churches, and were known as patriarchs (common father).
Outside the Roman Empire, patriarchs were known as catholicos. There were four catholicates before the fifth century: the Catholicate of the East, the Catholicate of Armenia, the Catholicate of Georgia and the Catholicate of Albania. The archdeacons reigned from the fourth to the 16th centuries; in 1653, the archdeacon was elevated to bishop by the community as Mar Thoma I.
The Catholicate of the East was relocated to India in 1912, and Baselios Paulose I was seated on the apostolic throne of St. Thomas as the Catholicos of the East by the disposed Patriarch of Antioch Abdul Masih. The headquarters of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Catholicos of the East is the Catholicate Palace at Devalokam, Kottayam, Kerala, which was consecrated on 31 December 1951. The new palace, built in 1961, was dedicated by visiting Armenian Catholicos Vazgen I.
The Holy Synod and Managing committee designated H.G.Dr. Mathews Mor Severios to the new Malankara Metropolitan and Catholicos of Malankara Church succeeding Baselios Marthoma Paulose II. He was consecrated as the 22nd Malankara Metropolitan during the Malankara Association that took place on 14 October 2021 at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Parumala and enthroned as the 9th Catholicos of Malankara Church on 15 October 2021.[55] Relics of St. Thomas are kept in the catholicate chapel, and Geevarghese II, Augen I, Mathews I and Paulose II are interred there.
List of Catholicos of the East of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church[edit]
The list of Catholicos of the East of Malankara Church:
- Baselios Paulose I (1912–1914)
- Vacant (1914–1925)
- Baselios Geevarghese I (1925–1928)
- Baselios Geevarghese II (1929–1964)
- From 1934 Catholicos is also holding the office of Malankara Metropolitan.
- Baselios Augen I (1964–1975)
- Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews I (1975–1991)
- Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews II (1991–2005)
- Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I (2005–2010)
- Baselios Mar Thoma Paulose II (2010–2021)
- Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews III (2021–present)
Administration[edit]
Until the 17th century, the church was administered by the archdeacon (Malankara Moopan).[56] The elected archdeacon was in charge of day-to-day affairs, including the ordination of deacons to the priesthood. Ordinations were performed by Persian bishops visiting India. The Malankara Palliyogam (a forerunner of the Malankara Association) consisted of elected representatives from individual parishes. The isolation of the Malankara church from the rest of Christendom preserved the apostolic age's democratic nature through interactions with Portuguese (Roman Catholic) and British (Anglican) colonialists. From the 17th to the 20th centuries, the church had five pillars of administration:
- The Episcopal Synod, presided over by the Catholicos of the East
- The Malankara Association, presided by Malankara Metropolitan
- Three trustees: the Malankara metropolitan and priest and lay trustees
- The Malankara Association's managing and working committees[57][58]
1934 church constitution[edit]
Envisioned by Dionysius VI, the church's general and day-to-day administration was codified in its 1934 constitution. The constitution[59] was presented at the 26 December 1934 Malankara Christian Association meeting at M. D. Seminary,[60] adopted and enacted. It has been amended three times. Although the constitution was challenged in court by dissident supporters of the Patriarch of Antioch, Supreme Court rulings in 1958, 1995, 2017 and 2018 upheld its validity.[61]
The constitution's first article asserts the relationship between the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Malankara Church. The second article addresses the establishment of the Malankara Church by St. Thomas and ascribes primacy to the Catholicos. The third article regards the church's name. The fourth article describes the faith and its traditions. The fifth article examines church governance canon law.[62]
Malankara Association[edit]
The elected Malankara Association, consisting of parish members, manages the church's religious and social concerns. Formerly the Malankara Palli-yogam (മലങ്കര പള്ളി യോഗം; Malankara Parish Assembly, its modern form is believed to have been founded in 1873 as the Mulanthuruthy Synod, a gathering of parish representatives in Parumala. In 1876, the Malankara Association began.[63]
The church constitution outlines the association's powers and responsibilities. The Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan is the president, and the diocesan metropolitan bishops are vice-presidents. All positions are elected. Each parish is represented in the association by an elected priest and laypeople, proportional to parish-membership size.
Co-trustees[edit]
This is a list of co-trustees (priest trustee & lay trustee) elected by the Malankara Association of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church:[64][65]
Year of Election | Clergy Trustee | Duration | Lay Trustee | Duration |
---|---|---|---|---|
1869 | Punnathra Chacko Chandapilla Kathanar | 21 Oct 1869 – 13 Sep 1886 | Kulangara Ittychan Pailey | 12 Oct 1869 – ? |
1886 | Konat Kora Yohannan Kathanar | 13 Sep 1886 – 9 Mar 1890 | Kunnumpurath Kora Ulahannan, Kottayam | 13 Sep 1886 & 31 Mar 1892 – 24 Feb 1901 |
1892 | Konat Kora Mathan Malpan | 31 Mar 1892 & 23 Nov 1895 – 7 Sep 1911 |
- | |
1901 | - | C. J. Kurien (Kunnumpurath Ulahannan Kora), Kottayam | 25 Apr 1901 – 7 Sep 1911 | |
1911 | Palappalil Mani Paulose Kathanar Pampakuda | 7 Sep 1911 – 21 Dec 1955 | Chirakadavil Kora Kochu Korula, Kottayam (d. 1931) | 07 Sep 1911 – 31 May 1931 |
1931 | - | E. I Joseph, Kottayam | 10 Jul 1931 – 15 Jul 1946 | |
1958 | Manalil Jacob Kathanar | 26 Dec 1958 – 28 Dec 1965 | Ooppoottil Kurien Abraham, Kottayam | 26 Dec 1958 – 12 Dec 1978 |
1965 | Thengumthottathil T. S. Abraham Cor Episcopa | 28 Dec 1965 – 28 Dec 1982 | - | |
1980 | - | Padinjarekkara P. C. Abraham, Kottayam | 1 May 1980 – 21 Mar 2007 | |
1982 | Konat Abraham Malpan | 28 Dec 1982 – 3 Mar 1987 | - | |
1987 | Fr. Mathai Nooranal | 29 Dec 1987 – 29 Nov 2002 | - | |
2004 | Fr. Dr. O. Thomas | 10 Jun 2004 – 21 Mar 2007 | - | |
2007 | Fr. Johns Abraham Konat | 21 Mar 2007 – 7 Mar 2012 | M.G. George Muthoot | 21 Mar 2007 – 7 Mar 2012 |
2012 | Fr. Johns Abraham Konat | 7 Mar 2012 – 1 Mar 2017 | M.G. George Muthoot | 7 Mar 2012 – 1 Mar 2017 |
2017 | Fr. Dr. M.O. John | 1 Mar 2017 – 4 Aug 2022 | George Paul (d. 2019) | 1 Mar 2017 – 26 Nov 2019 |
2022 | Fr. Dr. Thomas Varghese Amayil | 4 Aug 2022 – present | Ronny Varghese Abraham | 4 Aug 2022 – present |
Dioceses[edit]
- Thiruvananthapuram Diocese
- Kollam Diocese
- Kottarakkara Punaloor Diocese
- Adoor Kadampanad Diocese
- Thumpamon Diocese
- Nilakal Diocese
- Mavelikara Diocese
- Chengannur Diocese
- Niranam Diocese
- Kottayam Diocese
- Kottayam Central Diocese
- Idukki Diocese
- Kandanad West Diocese
- Kandanad East Diocese
- Kochi Diocese
- Angamaly Diocese
- Thrissur Diocese
- Kunnamkulam Diocese
- Malabar Diocese
- Sulthan Bathery Diocese
- Brahmavar Diocese
- Bangalore Diocese
- Madras Diocese
- Bombay Diocese
- Ahmedabad Diocese
- Delhi Diocese
- Calcutta Diocese
- UK, Europe and Africa Diocese
- Northeast America Diocese
- Southwest America Diocese[66]
Metropolitan bishops[edit]
The church's episcopal synod has the following diocesan bishops:[67][68]
- Baselios Marthoma Mathews III Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan.Kandanad West, Bangalore Diocese and Kottayam Central
- Thomas Mar Athanasios – Metropolitan of Kandanad East Diocese
- Yuhanon Mar Meletius – Metropolitan of Thrissur Diocese
- Kuriakose Mar Clemis Valiya Metropolita[69] – Retired
- Geevarghese Mar Coorilose – Metropolitan of Bombay Diocese
- Zachariah Mar Nicholovos – Metropolitan of Northeast America Diocese
- Yakob Mar Irenios – Metropolitan of Kochi Diocese
- Gabriel Mar Gregorios -Metropolitan of Trivandrum Diocese
- Yuhanon Mar Chrysostamos – Metropolitan of Niranam Diocese
- Yuhanon Mar Policarpos – Metropolitan of Ankamali Diocese
- Mathews Mar Theodosius - On Leave
- Joseph Mar Dionysius – Metropolitan of Kollam Diocese
- Abraham Mar Ephiphanios – Metropolitan of Mavelikara Diocese
- Mathews Mar Thimothios – Metropolitan of Chengannur Diocese
- Alexios Mar Eusebios - Metropolitan of Calcutta Diocese
- Yuhanon Mar Dioscoros – Metropolitan of Kottayam Diocese
- Youhanon Mar Demetrios – Metropolitan of Delhi Diocese
- Yuhanon Mar Thevodoros – Metropolitan of Kottarakara–Punalur Diocese
- Yakob Mar Elias – Metropolitan of Brahmavar Diocese
- Joshua Mar Nicodemos – Metropolitan of Nilackal Diocese
- Zacharias Mar Aprem – Metropolitan of Adoor–Kadampanadu Diocese
- Geevarghese Mar Yulios – Metropolitan of Kunnamkulam Diocese
- Abraham Mar Seraphim – Metropolitan of Thumbamon Diocese[70]
- Abraham Mar Stephanos-Metropolitan of UK, Europe, Africa Diocese
- Thomas Mar Ivanios- Metropolitan of Southwest America Diocese
- Geevarghese Mar Theophilos- Metropolitan of Ahmedabad Diocese & Asst. Metropolitan of Bombay Diocese
- Geevarghese Mar Philexinos- Metropolitan of Madras Diocese & Asst. Metropolitan of Bangalore Diocese[71]
- Geevarghese Mar Pachomios- Metropolitan of Malabar Diocese
- Geevarghese Mar Barnabas- Metropolitan of Sulthan Bathery Diocese
- Zachariah Mar Severios- Metropolitan of Idukki Diocese
Churches with historical importance[edit]
- St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Parumala
- St. George's Church, Chandanapally
- St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Arthat
- St. Mary's Church, Thiruvithamcode, established by Apostle Saint Thomas
- St. Mary's Church, Niranam, established by Apostle Saint Thomas
- St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Puthencavu
- Mar Beshanania Orthodox Church, Vanchithra, Kozhencherry
- St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Pazhanji
- St. Mary's Church, Kottayam
- KalladaValiyapally
- KundaraValiyapally
- St. Thomas Orthodox Syrian Cathedral, Mulanthuruthy
- Thumpamon Valiya Pally
- Ambalam Pally, Kunnamkulam
- Thevalakkara Church
- Kottakkakathu Old Syrian Church, Karthikappally
- Puthuppally Pally
- St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Kandanad
- St. George Orthodox Valiyapally, Mylapra
- St. Thomas Orthodox Cathedral, Kadampanad
- St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Kolenchery
- St. George Orthodox Church, Cheppad
- St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Cathedral, Piravom
- St. George's Church, Kadamattom
- St Mary's Orthodox Church, Kallooppara
- St. George's Church, Chandanapally
- St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Puthiyacavu Mavelikara
- Old Syrian Church, Chengannur
- St. Stephen's Orthodox Cathedral, Kudassanad
- Kadeesa Orthodox Cathedral, Kayamkulam
Monasteries and convents[edit]
Spiritual organizations[edit]
The church has a number of spiritual organizations:
- Orthodox Syrian Sunday School Association of the East (OSSAE)[72]
- Orthodox Christian Youth Movement (OCYM)
- Mar Gregorios Orthodox Christian Student Movement (MGOCSM)[73]
- Divyabodhanam (Theological Education Programme for the Laity)
- St. Paul's & St.Thomas Suvishesha Sangam (National Association for Mission Studies)
- Orthodox Sabha Gayaka Sangham
- Malankara Orthodox Baskiyoma Association
- Servants of the Cross
- Akhila Malankara Prayer Group Association
- Akhila Malankara Orthodox Shusrushaka Sangham (AMOSS)
- Mission Board and Mission Society
- Ministry of Human Empowerment
- Akhila Malankara Balasamajam
- St. Thomas Orthodox Vaidika Sanghom
- Marth Mariam Vanitha Samajam (women's wing)
- Sruti School of Liturgical Music
- Ecological Commission
- Ardra Charitable Trust[74]
Seminaries[edit]
The two seminaries which offers bachelor's and master's degrees in theology are Orthodox Theological Seminary, Kottayam[75] and St. Thomas Orthodox Theological Seminary, Nagpur.[76] The Malankara Orthodox Seminary at Kottayam is the first Orthodox Seminary in Asia established in year 1815.
Ecumenical relations[edit]
The church was a founding member of the World Council of Churches.[77] Catholicos Geevarghese II and other metropolitan participated in the 1937 Conference on Faith and Order in Edinburgh; a church delegation participated in the 1948 WCC meeting in Amsterdam in 1948, and the church played a role in the 1961 WCC conference in New Delhi. Metropolitan Paulos Gregorios was president of the WCC from 1983 to 1991.
The church participated in the 1965 Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches in Addis Ababa.[78] It is a member of the Faith and Order Commission, the Christian Conference of Asia and the Global Christian Forum. A number of primates of sister churches have visited, including Patriarch Justinian of Romania in February 1957 and in January 1969; Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen I in December 1963; Armenian Patriarch Derderian of Jerusalem in December 1972; Patriarch Pimen I of Moscow in January 1977; Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II in September 1982; Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie in 1986, Patriarch Teoctist Arăpașu of Romania in 1989; Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I in November 2000; Metropolitan (later Patriarch) Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church in December 2006; Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II in November 2008, Patriarch of Ethiopia Abune Paulos in December 2008; the Armenian Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I Keshishian in February 2010, and Patriarch of Ethiopia Abune Mathias in November 2016.
Order of St. Thomas[edit]
The Order of St. Thomas, the church's highest award is presented to heads of state and churches by the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan. Recipients include Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, Patriarch of Ethiopia Abune Paulos, Armenian Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I, and Patriarch of Ethiopia Abune Mathias.[79]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Lossky, Nicholas; Bonino, José Miguez; Pobee, John, eds. (1991). "Oriental Orthodox Churches". Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement. Geneva: World Council of Churches. p. 756-757.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church". Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ↑ Attwater, Donald (1935). "The Malankarese". The Catholic Eastern Churches (1937 revised ed.). Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Company.
- ↑ Zachariah, K.C. (April 2016). "Religious denominations of Kerala" (PDF). Kerala: Centre for Development Studies (CDS). Working paper 468. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2022.
- ↑ Thomas Arthur Russell (2010). Comparative Christianity: A Student's Guide to a Religion and Its Diverse Traditions. Universal-Publishers. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-59942-877-2.
The Malankara Orthodox Church of India(also called by a variety of names, such as the Malankara Church). It is located in Kerala, India.
- ↑ "Home". Northeast American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ↑ John; Anthony McGuckin (November 2010). The Encyclopedia Of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, 2 Volume Set. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwells. p. 878. ISBN 978-1-4443-9254-8.
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, also known as Indian Orthodox Church also Malankara Church, is one of the major and oldest churches in the world.
- ↑ Lucian N. Leustean (2010). Eastern Christianity and the Cold War, 1945–91. New York: Routeledge Taylor & Francis Group. p. 317. ISBN 978-0-203-86594-1.
- ↑ Fahlbusch; Lochman; Mbiti; Pelikan (November 2010). The Encyclopedia Of Christianity, Volume 5 S-Z. Gittingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck&Rupercht. p. 285. ISBN 978-0-8028-2417-2.
The autocephalous Malankara Orthodox Church is governed by Holy Episcopal Synod of 24 Bishops presided over by His Holiness Moran Mar Baselios Mar Thoma Didimos Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan.
- ↑ The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 5 by Erwin Fahlbusch. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing – 2008. p. 285. ISBN 978-0-8028-2417-2.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Brock, Sebastian P. (2018). "Thomas Christians". In Mardutho, Beth (ed.). Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Gorgias Press. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ↑ Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. The Constitution of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in English.
- ↑ FP Staff (27 September 2019). "Malankara church row: All you need to know about century-old dispute between Jacobite, Orthodox factions in Kerala". FirstPost. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ↑ Attwater, Donald (1937). The Dissident Eastern Churches. Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Company.
- ↑ Winkler 1997, p. 33-40.
- ↑ Brock 2016, p. 45–52.
- ↑ The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity by Ken Parry 2009 ISBN 1-4443-3361-5 page 88 [1]
- ↑ "Catholic Encyclopedia: Henoticon". Newadvent.org. 1 June 1910. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ↑ Varghese, Baby (2011). "Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church". 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.
- ↑ "The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church". Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ↑ Baby Varghese (2010). "Renewal in the Malankara Orthodox Church, India". Studies in World Christianity. Edinburgh University Press. 16 (3): 226–244. doi:10.3366/swc.2010.0102. ISSN 1354-9901.
- ↑ "St. Thomas Christians". Catholic Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020 – via New Advent.
- ↑ Brock, Sebastian P. "Thomas Christians". eGEDSH.
- ↑ Frykenberg 2008, p. 93; Wilmshurst 2000, p. 343.
- ↑ Brown 1956, p. 100.
- ↑ Baum & Winkler 2003, p. 115-116.
- ↑ Neill 2004, p. 316.
- ↑ Vadakkekara 2007, pp. 84, 86; Frykenberg 2008, p. 361.
- ↑ "Synod of Diamper." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 23 December 2011.
- ↑ For the Acts and Decrees of the Synod cf. Michael Geddes, "A Short History of the Church of Malabar Together with the Synod of Diamper &c." London, 1694;Repr. in George Menachery, Ed., Indian Church History Classics, Vol.1, Ollur 1998, pp.33-112
- ↑ Thekkedath, History of Christianity in India"
- ↑ Eugene Cardinal Tisserant, "Eastern Christianity in India"
- ↑ "A feud that began in 19th century: What happened before Jacobite-Orthodox locked horns". 6 February 2019.
- ↑ "From 1599 to today: Tracing Kerala's Jacobite vs Orthodox church battle". 8 August 2017.
- ↑ "About the church". Niranam St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church. 2009. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
- ↑ "Centenary celebrations of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church begin | Kochi News - Times of India". The Times of India. 3 November 2011.
- ↑ "Kerala church split". scroll.in.
- ↑ Geevarghese Mar Yulios : Ecumenical Council of Nicea and Nicene Creed
- ↑ Paulos Mar Gregorios: Oriental and Eastern Orthodox churches
- ↑ "Liturgy Holy Qurbana St. Thomas Indian Orthodox Church". indianorthodoxireland.ie. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ↑ "Malankara Orthodox Church – Holy Qurbana". Malankaraorthodoxchurch.in. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
- ↑ Kurian, Jake. ""Seven Times a Day I Praise You" – The Shehimo Prayers". Diocese of South-West America of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ↑ Philip, Dr. Ajesh T.; Alexander, George (May 2018). The Mission Untold. Western Rites of Syriac-Malankara Orthodox Churches. Vol. I. India: OCP Publications, Alappuzha. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-387-80316-3.
- ↑ Philip, Dr. Ajesh T.; Alexander, George (May 2018). The Mission Untold. Western Rites of Syriac-Malankara Orthodox Churches. Vol. I. India: OCP Publications, Alappuzha. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-387-80316-3.
- ↑ "1934 constitution of The Malankara Church (മലങ്കരസഭ ഭരണഘടന)". Archived from the original on 2 May 2018. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
- ↑ "Coonan Cross Oath History". Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
- ↑ "Royal Court Verdict declared Pulikottil Joseph Dionysius as the rightful Malankara Metropolitan".
- ↑ "In 1929, Travancore High Court declared Dionysius of Vattasseril will remain as the Malankara Metropolitan (Vattipanam Suit)".
- ↑ "In 1958, Supreme Court of India declared Baselios Geevarghese II is the rightful Malankara Metropolitan (Samudayam Suit)".
- ↑ "Supreme Court Order July 12, 2002 declared Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews II is the unquestionable Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Church".
- ↑ "Supreme head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church passes away". The Hindu. 12 July 2021.
- ↑ "Ordination of the new Malankara Metropolitan & Catholicos. H.H Moran Baselios Marthoma Paulose 2 is the present Malankara Metropolitan.Baselios Marthoma Paulose 2 is the 21st Malankara Metropolitan". November 2010.
- ↑ "The Catholicate of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church". Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ↑ "The Catholicate of the Malankara orthodox Syrian Church |". mosc.in. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ↑ "Catholicos of the East | our-church". stthomasorthodoxcathedral.com. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ↑ Niranam Granthavari (Record of History written during 1770–1830). Editor Paul Manalil, M.O.C.Publications, Catholicate Aramana, Kottayam. 2002.
- ↑ "The Managing Committee". mosc.in.
- ↑ "The Working Committee". mosc.in.
- ↑ "Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Constitution" (PDF). 1934.
The Malankara Church is a division of the Orthodox Syrian Church. The Primate of the Orthodox Syrian Church is the Patriarch of Antioch.
- ↑ "The Constitution of the Malankara Orthodox Church". mosc.in.
- ↑ Rajagopal, Krishnadas (16 November 2017). "SC says no review of Malankara Church verdict: Upholds 1934 constitution of Church". The Hindu.
- ↑ "The Constitution of the Malankara Orthodox Church". Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ↑ "Malankara Association". malankaraorthodoxchurch.in. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- ↑ "Malankara Association". mosc.in. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ↑ "Malankara Association". www.ovsonline.in. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ↑ "Dioceses". mosc.in. Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ↑ "Holy Synod". mosc.in. 2019.
- ↑ "Kalpana No. 344/2022 Appointments of Bishops" (PDF). mosc.in. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ↑ "Kalpana No. 248 – H G Mar Cleemis Valiya Metropolita" (PDF). mosc.in. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- ↑ "Kalpana No. 240 – Thumpamon Diocese Mar Seraphim Metropolitan" (PDF). mosc.in. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ↑ "Kalpana No. 242 – Bangalore Diocese Mar Philaxenos Metropolitan" (PDF). mosc.in. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ↑ "OSSAE website". ossae.org.
- ↑ "MGOCSMwebsite". mgocsm.in/index.php.
- ↑ "Spiritual Organisation". mosc.in. Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.
- ↑ "Orthodox Theological Seminary Kottayam". Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ↑ "St. Thomas Orthodox Theological Seminary {STOTS), Nagpur". Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ↑ "World council of churches, Amsterdam 1948". archive.org. 1948. p. 230.
- ↑ "Addis Ababa Conference". theorthodoxchurch.info.
- ↑ "Recipients of the order of St. Thomas". Malankaraorthodox.tv. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
Bibliography[edit]
- Baum, Wilhelm; Winkler, Dietmar W. (2003). The Church of the East: A Concise History. London-New York: Routledge-Curzon. ISBN 9781134430192.
- Brock, Sebastian P. (2016). "Miaphysite, not Monophysite!". Cristianesimo Nella Storia. 37 (1): 45–52. ISBN 9788815261687.
- Brown, Leslie W. (1956). The Indian Christians of St Thomas: An Account of the Ancient Syrian Church of Malabar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Fahlbusch, Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William Bromiley (198), The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2008, ISBN 978-0-8028-2417-2
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Frykenberg, Robert E. (2008). Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-826377-7.
- Joseph Cheeran, et al.(2002) Tradition and History of Indian Orthodox Church, p. 300–423
- Menachery, George (1973). The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India Vol. II.
- Menachery, George (1998). The Indian Church History Classics: The Nazranies.
- Neill, Stephen (1966). Colonialism and Christian Missions. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Neill, Stephen (2004) [1984]. A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521548854.
- Neill, Stephen (2002) [1985]. A History of Christianity in India: 1707-1858. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521893329.
- Tamcke, Martin (2009). Die Christen vom tur Abdin: Hinführung zur Syrisch-orthodoxen Kirche. Verlag Otto Lembeck. 3874765806.
- Vadakkekara, Benedict (2007). Origin of Christianity in India: A Historiographical Critique. Delhi: Media House. ISBN 9788174952585.
- Van der Ploeg, J. P. M. (1983). The Christians of St. Thomas in South India and their Syriac Manuscripts. Dharmaram Publications.
- Wilmshurst, David (2000). The Ecclesiastical Organisation of the Church of the East, 1318–1913. Louvain: Peeters Publishers. ISBN 9789042908765.
- Wilmshurst, David (2011). The Martyred Church: A History of the Church of the East. London: East & West Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781907318047.
- Winkler, Dietmar W. (1997). "Miaphysitism: A New Term for Use in the History of Dogma and in Ecumenical Theology". The Harp. 10 (3): 33–40.
External links[edit]
- Official website of the Indian (Malankara) Orthodox Syrian Church
- Complete website of Catholicos of The East and Malankara Metropolitan
- Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Constitution of 1934
- Indian Orthodox Radio | E – Radio from the Shores of Malankara to the World
- Indian Orthodox Herald: News about the Catholicate of the East
- Matha Mariam Media: A Complete Orthodox Web Portal maintained by Trivandrum Diocese
- ICON Indian Christian Orthodox Network – Catholicos of the East
- Malankara Orthodox TV
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