Coonan Cross Oath

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The Coonan Cross Oath (Template:Lang-mal, Kūnan Kuriśŭ Satiaṁ), also known as Great Oath of Bent Cross, Leaning Cross Oath or The oath of the slanting cross, taken on 3 January 1653 in Mattancherry, was a public avowal by members of the Saint Thomas Christian community of the Malabar Coast in India, that they would not submit to the Jesuits and Latin Catholic hierarchy, nor accept Portuguese dominance (Padroado) in ecclesiastical and secular life.[1][2][3]

Saint Thomas Christians were originally in communion with the Church of the East, which practiced East Syriac Rite liturgy.[4] However, the Portuguese did not accept the legitimacy of local ecclesiastical traditions, and they began to impose Latin usages upon the local Christians.[5] At the Synod of Diamper, held in 1599 under the presidency of Aleixo de Menezes, Catholic Archbishop of Goa, a number of such latinizations were adopted, including the appointment of Catholic bishops, changes in the liturgy, the use of Roman vestments, the requirement of clerical celibacy, and the setting up of the Inquisition.[6][7][8]

The church of Our Lady of Life, Mattancherry

In 1653, after half a century of the increasing influence of the Latin Church, the majority of the Malabar Christians revolted against Jesuits and the Padroado, and took the Coonan Cross Oath (1653) at Mattancherry, pledging to liberate themselves from latinization and Portuguese domination. They elected Thoma, their archdeacon, as head of their community and decided to re-establish direct ties with traditional Eastern Churches.[9][2][10]

Background[edit]

Thoma I, the leader of the Coonan Cross Oath
Main article: Church of the East in India

The Saint Thomas Christians remain in communion with the Church of the East.[11] It is believed that Malabar Church was in communion with the Church of the East from CE 300 to CE 1599.[12] With the establishment of Portuguese power in parts of India, the clergy of that empire, in particular members of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), attempted to Latinise the Indian Christians.[citation needed]

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

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

In 1653, Ahatallah of Antioch visited Malankara and was captured by the Portuguese. He was taken onboard a Portuguese ship at Madras bound for Goa, and en route, it touched Cochin. Local Christians heard of the arrival of the ship at Cochin. The Archdeacon with a large number of Priests and several thousands of Saint Thomas Christians assembled at Mattancherry Cochin; their efforts to visit the Bishop when the fleet arrived in Cochin intensified but ultimately, they were not fruitful. Several letters were sent to all the civil and religious authorities in Cochin, for at least an opportunity to visit Ahatallah, to examine his credentials and to verify his identity, promising that if he was found an imposter, they would be the first to press for his punishment. Due to the staunch and intransigent opposition of Archbishop Garcia and the Jesuit fathers[13] it did not happen. The Archbishop even refused to meet the Christians, who wanted to discuss the matter with him. What happened to Ahatallah in the midst of the Arabian Sea is still a mystery. Further resentment of these measures led a part of the community to take the Coonan Cross Oath in 1653, swearing "never to submit to the Portuguese". Ahatallah claimed to be the Patriarch of Antioch and hence was often called or called himself "Ignatius Aloho," which was the name of the Patriarch Ignatius Hidayat Aloho.

According to some writing in the 1980s,[13] Ahatalla is said to have landed at Surat in 1652 and thence came to Mylapore, where he was arrested by the Jesuits on 3 August 1652. While at Mylapore, Ahatalla met two Syrian Christian deacons, viz: Chengannur ltty and Kuravilangad Kizhakkedath Kurien from Malankara, who were on a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Thomas and sent a letter through them to the Church of Malankara saying:

Behold, I Ignatius, Patriarch of All India and China, send to you a letter through the clerics who came here from your place. When you have read this letter diligently send me two priests and forty men. If however, you wish to send them from your place, send them cautiously, quickly and soon, so that seeing your people they would release me without hindrance. I came to the city of Mylapore thinking that many people come here, and that priests would get me to your place of the Indias. In the year 1652 of our Lord, in the month of August, on Monday, I arrived in Mylapore in the monastery of the Jesuits. In the same monastery I stay, and they help me very much; may their reward increase here and there. Peace be with them, with you, and with us now and always. Amen. I, Ignatius, Patriarch of All India and China.

When the ship carrying Ahatallah reached Goa, he was handed over to the inquisition, and he was kept in close custody in the Jesuit house there. He was sent to Portugal on the ship "Nosa Senhora da Graca" from Goa and reached Lisbon on 14 July 1653.[13] The king of Portugal decided to send him to Rome. Accordingly, while he was on his way to Rome, he died in Paris on 26 March 1654 and is buried at the Jerusalem Chapel of the Cordeliena Church.[14] St. Vincent De Paul, who met Ahatallah at Paris, mentions him in the following words "There remains in this city a good old man of eighty years, a foreigner, who was lodging with the late monsignor Archbishop of Myra. They say he is the Patriarch of Antioch. Be that it may, he is alone and has no mark of prelacy".[15] The treatment of Ahatalla, however, shocked the Christian community, and their wounded feelings effervesced into a mass upsurge that heralded the breaking off from the Padroado of the Portuguese Crown and the "Paulists".

Oath[edit]

Seeing that the Archbishop thus turned a deaf ear to their insistent pleas, the Nasranis became extremely exasperated. A rumor also was spread at this time that Ahatallah was drowned by the Portuguese. Hence on 3 January 1653, Archdeacon Thomas and representatives from the community assembled at St Mary's Church (Nossa Senhora da Vida) at Mattancherry to swear what would be known as the "Coonan Cross Oath". The following oath was read aloud with lighted candles, with the Archdeacon and the leading priests touching the Bible while the people held ropes tied to a cross outside the church:[16]

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

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

Aftermath[edit]

Template:Eastern Christianity sidebar

Saint Thomas Christians - Divisions- History in a nutshell

After the events of the Leaning Cross Oath, the Knanaya priest Anjilimoottil Itty Thommen Kathanar of Kallissery is noted to have solidified the schism of the Thomas Christians from the Padroado. Being a skilled Syriac writer, it is noted that Anjilimootill forged two letters from Mor Ahatallah which stated Archdeacon Parambil Thomas could be ordained bishop with the laying of hands. The letters were read with enthusiasm in the churches of the Thomas Christians and Thoma was later consecrated as bishop in a ceremony in which twelve priests laid hands on him.[17] Since this Episcopal consecration was in the absence of laying of hands of bishops, this is held unorthodox by Syro-Malabar Church.

After the Coonan Cross Oath, the Portuguese missionaries attempted reconciliation with Saint Thomas Christians but were not successful. Later, Pope Alexander VII sent the Syriac bishop Joseph Sebastiani as the head of a Carmelite delegation that regained most of the Saint Thomas Christians, including Parambil Chandy of Kuravilangad and Kadavil Chandy Kathanar. Palliveettil Chandy was consecrated as the Metropolitan for the Chaldean Syriac Catholics who professed to obey the Catholic Church in 1663.[18][19][20]

After the Coonan Cross Oath, between 1661 and 1665, the Syrian Catholics claimed 84 of the 116 churches, while Archdeacon Thoma I and the independent Syrian Nasranis claimed 32. The 84 Catholic churches are the body from which the modern Syro-Malabar Church and Chaldean Syrian Church descend. The other 32 churches are the body from which the Malankara Syrian Church (Jacobites and Orthodox), Malabar Independent Syrian Church (1772), Mar Thoma Syrian Church (1874), and Syro-Malankara Catholic Church originate.[21][22] Thoma I, meanwhile sent requests to various Oriental Churches to receive canonical consecration as bishop. In 1665, Gregorios Abdal Jaleel, a bishop sent by the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, arrived in India and the faction under the leadership of Thoma I welcomed him. The bishop was sent in correspondence to the letter sent by Thoma to the Oriental Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch. Bishop Abdul Jaleel regularised the Episcopal succession of Thoma I.[23][22] This visit gradually introduced the West Syriac liturgy, customs and script to the Malabar Coast.[24] The visits of prelates from the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch continued since then and this led to gradual replacement of the East Syriac Rite liturgy with the West Syriac Rite and the faction affiliated to the Miaphysite Christology of the Oriental Orthodox Communion.[25][26][27] The Pazhayakuttukar continued with the East Syriac traditions and stayed within the Catholic Church with Diophysite Faith.

This led to the first lasting formal schism in the Saint Thomas Christian community. Thereafter, the faction affiliated with the Catholic Church under Bishop Palliveettil Chandy was designated the Pazhayakuttukar, or "Old Allegiance", while the branch affiliated with Thoma I was called the Puthankuttukar, or "New Allegiance".[28][29][30][31] These appellations have been somewhat controversial, though, as both parties used the official name ("Malankara Church"), considered themselves the true heirs to the Saint Thomas tradition, and saw the other party as schismatic.[28]

Various interpretations of the events[edit]

  • Stephen Neill's version

The situation is explained by Stephen Neill (an Anglican Protestant missionary, from Scotland) in his book A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707.

"On [sic] January 1653, priests and people assembled in the church of Our Lady at Mattancherry, and standing in front of a cross and lighted candles swore upon the holy Gospel that they would no longer obey Garcia, and that they would have nothing further to do with the Jesuits they would recognize the Archdeacon as the governor of their Church. This is the famous oath of the "Coonan Cross" (the open-air Cross which stands outside the church at Mattancherry). The Saint Thomas Christians did not at any point suggest that they wished to separate themselves from the Pope. They could no longer tolerate the arrogance of Garcia. And their detestation of the Jesuits, to whose overbearing attitude and lack of sympathy they attributed all their troubles, breathes through all the documents of the time. But let the Pope send them a true bishop, not a Jesuit, and they will be pleased to receive and obey him."[32][33]

  • Puthenkoor version

In response to the continuous appeal of the Thoma Arkadiyakon (Archdeacon), who was then given the Church leadership, Ahatallah arrived in 1653. A rumor spread that the Portuguese arrested him, tied him up, and cast him into the ocean. As a result, a large gathering of about 25,000 assembled at Mattancherry and took the Oath at "Koonan Cross", the historical "Koonan Kurisu Sathayam", in 1653, declaring their future generations would never adhere to the Franks (i.e., Portuguese) nor accept the faith of the Pope. The version presented in a letter of Dionysious Punnathara (a nineteenth century prelate of the Malankara Syrian Church) to the head of the Anglican Church Missionary Society, the oath was interpreted as an opposition to the Pope himself.[34] Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church, Malabar Independent Syrian Church, and Jacobite Syrian Christian Church adhere to the version of Malankara Syrian Church, however with significant variations.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ Brown 1956, p. 100.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Baum & Winkler 2003, p. 115-116.
  3. ↑ Neill 2004, p. 316.
  4. ↑ Mingana 1926, p. 435–514.
  5. ↑ Mundadan 1967, p. 115-116.
  6. ↑ Brown 1956, p. 32.
  7. ↑ Baum & Winkler 2003, p. 115.
  8. ↑ Neill 2004, p. 208.
  9. ↑ Brown 1956, p. 100-101.
  10. ↑ Neill 2004, p. 316-321.
  11. ↑ I. Gillman and H.-J. Klimkeit, Christians in Asia Before 1500, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1999), p. 177.
  12. ↑ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Thomas Christians".
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Kollamparambil, Dr Jacob (1981). The St. Thomas Christian Revolution 1653. Catholic Bishop's House Kottayam. p. foot note 38.
  14. ↑ Death register Cordeliena Church Paris
  15. ↑ Thekkedath, Joseph (1982). History of Christianity in India. Theological Publications in India for the Church History Association of India. p. 213.
  16. ↑ The Troubled Days of Francis Garcia S. J. Archbp. of Cranganore by Joseph Theekkedathu S. D. B. Page 60
  17. ↑ Neill 2004, pp. 320–321.
  18. ↑ Mundadan & Thekkedath 1982, pp. 96–100.
  19. ↑ Rev Dr Placid Podipara, The Hierarchy of Syro Malabar Church, in Collected works of Rev Dr Placid Podipara CMI, Vol I p 719
  20. ↑ "Christians of Saint Thomas (Christian groups, India) – Encyclopedia Britannica". Britannica.com. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  21. ↑ Catholic Encyclopedia- "St. Thomas Christians"
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Mundadan & Thekkedath 1982.
  23. ↑ Menachery G; 1973, 1982, 1998; Podipara, Placid J. 1970; Leslie Brown, 1956; Tisserant, E. 1957
  24. ↑ Vadakkekara 2007, p. 88.
  25. ↑ Gregorios & Roberson, p. 285.
  26. ↑ Vadakkekara, p. 91.
  27. ↑ Gouvea, Antonio de (1606). Jornada. Coimbra.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Vadakkekara 2007, p. 84.
  29. ↑ Frykenberg 2008, p. 361.
  30. ↑ Fernando, p. 79.
  31. ↑ Chaput, pp. 7–8.
  32. ↑ Coonan Cross Oath, chroniclesofmalabar.blogspot.com, June 2011; accessed 31 December 2015.
  33. ↑ Stephen Neill, A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707, pp. 326-27
  34. ↑ The Missionary Register for M DCCC XXII. October 1822, Letter from Punnathara Mar Dionysious (Mar Thoma XI) to the Head of the Church Missionary Society: By the Father, Son and Holy Ghost that henceforth we would not adhere to the Franks, nor accept the faith of the Pope. From a translation of it, out of Syriac, by Professor Lee. pp. 431–432.

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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