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According to the mainstream view, at least in part due to, to migrant [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac Christians]], the Saint Thomas Christian community gradually gravitated towards the Persian [[Church of the East]] headed by the Catholicos of [[Seleucia-Ctesiphon]], and became part of its [[Fars (East Syriac ecclesiastical province)#The Archdiocese of Rev Ardashir|archdiocese of Rev Ardashir]], by AD 420.<ref name="Mallampalli2023">{{cite book |last1=Mallampalli |first1=Chandra |title=South Asia's Christians: Between Hindu and Muslim |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-060890-3 |pages=24–28 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-d2mEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Baumer2016">{{cite book |last1=Baumer |first1=Christoph |title=The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity |date=5 September 2016 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-83860-933-7 |pages=58–68 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Church_of_the_East/6eiWDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Kanjamala2014">{{cite book |last1=Kanjamala |first1=Augustine |title=The Future of Christian Mission in India: Toward a New Paradigm for the Third Millennium |date=21 August 2014 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-63087-485-8 |pages=109–110 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Future_of_Christian_Mission_in_India/FaENBQAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> This communion with the Church of the East lasted till the arrival of Portuguese colonists in the 16th century.{{sfn|Brock|2011|loc=[https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/entry/Thomas-Christians Thomas Christians]}}
According to the mainstream view, at least in part due to, to migrant [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac Christians]], the Saint Thomas Christian community gradually gravitated towards the Persian [[Church of the East]] headed by the Catholicos of [[Seleucia-Ctesiphon]], and became part of its [[Fars (East Syriac ecclesiastical province)#The Archdiocese of Rev Ardashir|archdiocese of Rev Ardashir]], by AD 420.<ref name="Mallampalli2023">{{cite book |last1=Mallampalli |first1=Chandra |title=South Asia's Christians: Between Hindu and Muslim |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-060890-3 |pages=24–28 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-d2mEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Baumer2016">{{cite book |last1=Baumer |first1=Christoph |title=The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity |date=5 September 2016 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-83860-933-7 |pages=58–68 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Church_of_the_East/6eiWDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Kanjamala2014">{{cite book |last1=Kanjamala |first1=Augustine |title=The Future of Christian Mission in India: Toward a New Paradigm for the Third Millennium |date=21 August 2014 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-63087-485-8 |pages=109–110 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Future_of_Christian_Mission_in_India/FaENBQAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> This communion with the Church of the East lasted till the arrival of Portuguese colonists in the 16th century.{{sfn|Brock|2011|loc=[https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/entry/Thomas-Christians Thomas Christians]}}


The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church recognizes the ecclesiastical authority of the [[Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East|Patriarch of Antioch over the East]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=1948-01-01 |title=Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East {{!}} World Council of Churches |url=https://www.oikoumene.org/member-churches/holy-apostolic-catholic-assyrian-church-of-the-east#:~:text=In%20280,%20the%20Church%20of,Afghanistan%20and%20south-central%20Asia |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=www.oikoumene.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Citation |last=Stephens |first=Christopher W. B. |title=The Canons of Antioch in Context |date=2015-05-01 |work=Canon Law and Episcopal Authority |pages=50–82 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198732228.003.0003 |access-date=2024-09-22 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The First Council of Nicaea (Nicea) {{!}} EWTN |url=https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/first-council-of-nicaea-nicea-11556 |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=EWTN Global Catholic Television Network |language=en}}</ref> Canon 33 further grants him authority over the Bishop of Seleucia and the entire East, a decree signed by John of Persia, then Bishop of Seleucia, who had claimed authority over Christians in India.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rae |first=George Milne |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.501998/page/n107/mode/2up |title=The Syrian Church In India |date=1892 |pages=84 |language=Unknown}}</ref> The Church of the East itself emerged when the Catholicos of Seleucia reorganized itself in AD 410 and declared independence from the Patriarch of Antioch around AD 424.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baum |first=Wilhelm |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm50802547 |title=The Church of the East: a concise history |last2=Winkler |first2=Dietmar W. |date=2003 |publisher=RoutledgeCurzon |isbn=978-0-415-29770-7 |location=London ; New York |pages=19 |oclc=ocm50802547}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> Additionally, in the 12th century, [[Dionysius bar Salibi|Dionysius Bar Salibi]], the Metropolitan of Amid, noted that most Indian Christians followed the teachings of [[Severus of Antioch]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mingana |first=Alphonse |url=https://www.harvard.com/book/9789354173035 |title=Woodbrooke studies; Christian documents in Syriac, Arabic, and Garshuni; |last2=Harris |first2=Rendel |date=1927-34 |publisher=Cambridge, Heffer |others=Robarts - University of Toronto |isbn=9333355421 |pages=26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ignatius Jakob |url=https://www.gorgiaspress.com/history-of-the-syrian-church-of-india |title=History of the Syrian Church of India |last2=Moosa |first2=Matti |date=2009 |publisher=Gorgias Press |isbn=978-1-59333-982-1 |series=Publications of the Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church |location=Piscataway, NJ |pages=18}}</ref> Local historian E. M. Phillip argues that the belief that [[Nestorianism|Nestorians]] were the dominant Christian group in India stemmed from a Western bias, and that there was both a Nestorian and Jacobite presence, with the Jacobite's being the stronger faction.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mathew |first=K.S. |url=https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506461366/St-Thomas-and-India |title=St. Thomas and India: Recent Research |date=September 1, 2020 |publisher=Fortress Press |isbn=9781506461366 |pages=41}}</ref> According to Vatican archives from the 16th century, the [[Maphrian|Maphrian of the East]] viewed itself as having authority over the St. Thomas Christians in India.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Honigmann |first=Ernst |url=https://archive.org/details/lecouventdebarsa0000honi/mode/2up |title=Le couvent de Barṣaumā et le Patriarcat jacobite d'Antioche et de Syrie |date=1954 |publisher=Louvain : L. Durbecq |others=Internet Archive |pages=177}}</ref>
The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church recognizes the ecclesiastical authority of the [[Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East|Patriarch of Antioch over the East]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=1948-01-01 |title=Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East {{!}} World Council of Churches |url=https://www.oikoumene.org/member-churches/holy-apostolic-catholic-assyrian-church-of-the-east#:~:text=In%20280,%20the%20Church%20of,Afghanistan%20and%20south-central%20Asia |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=www.oikoumene.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Citation |last=Stephens |first=Christopher W. B. |title=The Canons of Antioch in Context |date=2015-05-01 |work=Canon Law and Episcopal Authority |pages=50–82 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198732228.003.0003 |access-date=2024-09-22 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The First Council of Nicaea (Nicea) {{!}} EWTN |url=https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/first-council-of-nicaea-nicea-11556 |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=EWTN Global Catholic Television Network |language=en}}</ref> Canon 33 of the Arabic Pseudo-Nicene Canons further grants him authority over the Bishop of Seleucia and the entire East, a decree signed by John of Persia, then Bishop of Seleucia, who had claimed authority over Christians in India.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rae |first=George Milne |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.501998/page/n107/mode/2up |title=The Syrian Church In India |date=1892 |pages=84 |language=Unknown}}</ref> The Church of the East itself emerged when the Catholicos of Seleucia reorganized itself in AD 410 and declared independence from the Patriarch of Antioch around AD 424.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baum |first=Wilhelm |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm50802547 |title=The Church of the East: a concise history |last2=Winkler |first2=Dietmar W. |date=2003 |publisher=RoutledgeCurzon |isbn=978-0-415-29770-7 |location=London ; New York |pages=19 |oclc=ocm50802547}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> Additionally, in the 12th century, [[Dionysius bar Salibi|Dionysius Bar Salibi]], the Metropolitan of Amid, noted that most Indian Christians followed the teachings of [[Severus of Antioch]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mingana |first=Alphonse |url=https://www.harvard.com/book/9789354173035 |title=Woodbrooke studies; Christian documents in Syriac, Arabic, and Garshuni; |last2=Harris |first2=Rendel |date=1927-34 |publisher=Cambridge, Heffer |others=Robarts - University of Toronto |isbn=9333355421 |pages=26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ignatius Jakob |url=https://www.gorgiaspress.com/history-of-the-syrian-church-of-india |title=History of the Syrian Church of India |last2=Moosa |first2=Matti |date=2009 |publisher=Gorgias Press |isbn=978-1-59333-982-1 |series=Publications of the Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church |location=Piscataway, NJ |pages=18}}</ref> Local historian E. M. Phillip argues that the belief that [[Nestorianism|Nestorians]] were the dominant Christian group in India stemmed from a Western bias, and that there was both a Nestorian and Jacobite presence, with the Jacobite's being the stronger faction.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mathew |first=K.S. |url=https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506461366/St-Thomas-and-India |title=St. Thomas and India: Recent Research |date=September 1, 2020 |publisher=Fortress Press |isbn=9781506461366 |pages=41}}</ref> According to Vatican archives from the 16th century, the [[Maphrian|Maphrian of the East]] viewed itself as having authority over the diocese of St. Thomas in India.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Honigmann |first=Ernst |url=https://archive.org/details/lecouventdebarsa0000honi/mode/2up |title=Le couvent de Barṣaumā et le Patriarcat jacobite d'Antioche et de Syrie |date=1954 |publisher=Louvain : L. Durbecq |others=Internet Archive |pages=177}}</ref>


However, the Jacobite Church acknowledges the longstanding connections between the Saint Thomas Christians and the Church of the East, particularly from the 14th to 16th centuries.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Joseph |first=Thomas |title=Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church |url=https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/entry/Malankara-Syriac-Orthodox-Church |website=Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition}}</ref> Despite these ties, the Church maintains that the Saint Thomas Christians still regarded themselves as under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch.<ref name=":2" /> This is supported by the account of Joseph the Indian in the 16th century, who incorrectly claimed his Catholicos derived authority from the Patriarch of Antioch.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Schurhammer1934">{{Cite book |last=Schurhammer |first=Georg |url=https://archive.org/details/malabarchurchrom00schu_0/page/26/mode/2up |title=The Malabar Church and Rome during the early Portuguese period and before |date=1934 |publisher=Trichinopoly : Printed by F.M. Ponnuswamy |others=Boston College |pages=26–32}}</ref> Although Joseph was ordained by the Catholicos of Babylon, this is interpreted as evidence that the Saint Thomas Christians still perceived themselves as being under Antioch's authority.<ref name="Schurhammer1934" />
However, the Jacobite Church acknowledges the longstanding connections between the Saint Thomas Christians and the Church of the East, particularly from the 14th to 16th centuries.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Joseph |first=Thomas |title=Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church |url=https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/entry/Malankara-Syriac-Orthodox-Church |website=Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition}}</ref> Despite these ties, the Church maintains that the Saint Thomas Christians still regarded themselves as under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch.<ref name=":2" /> This is supported by the account of Joseph the Indian in the 16th century, who incorrectly claimed his Catholicos derived authority from the Patriarch of Antioch.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Schurhammer1934">{{Cite book |last=Schurhammer |first=Georg |url=https://archive.org/details/malabarchurchrom00schu_0/page/26/mode/2up |title=The Malabar Church and Rome during the early Portuguese period and before |date=1934 |publisher=Trichinopoly : Printed by F.M. Ponnuswamy |others=Boston College |pages=26–32}}</ref> Although Joseph was ordained by the Catholicos of Babylon, this is interpreted as evidence that the Saint Thomas Christians still perceived themselves as being under Antioch's authority.<ref name="Schurhammer1934" />

Revision as of 05:52, 28 September 2024

Not to be confused with the British political movement, Jacobitism.

Syriac Orthodox Church Under the Holy See of Antioch and All East
Jacobite Syrian Church
Patriarch Ignatius Zaka I Iwas Centre
Patriarch Ignatius Zaka I Iwas Centre in Cochin
AbbreviationJSC
ClassificationOriental Orthodox
OrientationSyriac
Malankara
ScripturePeshitta
Vishudhagrandham (Malayalam Translation)
TheologyOriental Orthodox Theology
PolityEpiscopal polity
PatriarchIgnatius Aphrem II
CatholicosBaselios Thomas I
Malankara MetropolitanGregorios Joseph
ChurchSyriac Orthodox Church of Antioch[1]
RegionIndia and Nasarani Malayali Diaspora
LanguageMalayalam, English, Hindi, Syriac, Tamil, Kannada
LiturgyWest Syriac Rite
Divine Liturgy of Saint James
HeadquartersPatriarch Ignatius Zaka I Iwas Centre (Patriarchal Centre)
Puthencruz Kochi India
FounderSaint Thomas the Apostle
Origin52 AD by tradition[2][3]
Branched fromSaint Thomas Christians
Malankara Church[1]
SeparationsMalabar Independent Syrian Church (c. 1772), Church of South India (1836), Mar Thoma Syrian Church (1889), Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (1912,[4] 1975), and Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (1930)[5]
Members480,0000 in Kerala[6]
Official News PortalJ.S.C.
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The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church,[7][8][9][10] the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church,[11] the Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church[12][13] or the Syriac Orthodox Church in India,[14][15] is an autonomous Maphrianate of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch based in Kerala, India and a part of the Oriental Orthodox Communion. It is administered by the Malankara Metropolitan, Gregorios Joseph, under the spiritual authority of the Catholicos of India, Baselios Thomas I, and, the Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius Aphrem II the supreme hierarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church.[11]

According to tradition, it was founded by Saint Thomas the Apostle.[16] It is currently the only church in Malankara that maintains the hierarchy and succession of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The church employs the West Syriac Rite Liturgy of Saint James.[17][18][19]

As part of the Syriac Orthodox Church, the church uses the West Syriac liturgy and is part of the Oriental Orthodox Communion. It has dioceses in most parts of India as well as in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Western Europe, the Persian Gulf, Australia, and New Zealand. In 2003 it was estimated that the church had 1,000,000 (including Knanaya) members globally.[20]

Name

In the aftermath of the Council of Chalcedon, Emperor Justinian I who supported the Chalcedonians, exiled Patriarch Severus of Antioch to Egypt, for refusing to accept the council, and professing Miaphysitism. The Syriac Orthodox Church is the church of Antioch that continued to accept Severus as patriarch until his death in 538 AD. During this turbulent time for the church, Jacob Baradaeus was consecrated as bishop with the support of Empress Theodora and he led and revived the church.[21] The term "Jacobite" was originally used as a derogatory word for Miaphysites from the church of Antioch, but were later embraced by the church.

Headquarters

Puthencruz is the headquarters of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church in India. It is registered as a society under the Societies Act of the Government of India. Its headquarters are named after Ignatius Zakka I. The property was bought and built under the leadership of Baselios Thomas I after the church faced difficulties in continuing its operations in Muvattupuzha after Baselios Paulose II's death.

History

Main articles: Saint Thomas Christians, Saint Thomas Christian Churches, and Malankara Church
History and evolution of the Malankara church.

According to Indian Christian tradition, the Malankara Nasranis of Kerala were evangelized to by Thomas the Apostle, who reached Malankara in AD 52.[16] The Nasranis were initially administratively under the single native dynastic leadership of an archdeacon (Syr: arkhidiākono ܐܰܪܟܺܝܕܺܝܰܩܳܘܢܳܐ) and were in communion with the church in the Middle East from at least AD 496, from which it got ecclesiastical support.[22]

Early Relations to the Syriac Church

According to the mainstream view, at least in part due to, to migrant Syriac Christians, the Saint Thomas Christian community gradually gravitated towards the Persian Church of the East headed by the Catholicos of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, and became part of its archdiocese of Rev Ardashir, by AD 420.[23][24][25] This communion with the Church of the East lasted till the arrival of Portuguese colonists in the 16th century.[26]

The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church recognizes the ecclesiastical authority of the Patriarch of Antioch over the East.[27][28][29] Canon 33 of the Arabic Pseudo-Nicene Canons further grants him authority over the Bishop of Seleucia and the entire East, a decree signed by John of Persia, then Bishop of Seleucia, who had claimed authority over Christians in India.[28][29][30] The Church of the East itself emerged when the Catholicos of Seleucia reorganized itself in AD 410 and declared independence from the Patriarch of Antioch around AD 424.[31][27] Additionally, in the 12th century, Dionysius Bar Salibi, the Metropolitan of Amid, noted that most Indian Christians followed the teachings of Severus of Antioch.[32][33] Local historian E. M. Phillip argues that the belief that Nestorians were the dominant Christian group in India stemmed from a Western bias, and that there was both a Nestorian and Jacobite presence, with the Jacobite's being the stronger faction.[34] According to Vatican archives from the 16th century, the Maphrian of the East viewed itself as having authority over the diocese of St. Thomas in India.[35]

However, the Jacobite Church acknowledges the longstanding connections between the Saint Thomas Christians and the Church of the East, particularly from the 14th to 16th centuries.[12] Despite these ties, the Church maintains that the Saint Thomas Christians still regarded themselves as under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch.[12] This is supported by the account of Joseph the Indian in the 16th century, who incorrectly claimed his Catholicos derived authority from the Patriarch of Antioch.[12][36] Although Joseph was ordained by the Catholicos of Babylon, this is interpreted as evidence that the Saint Thomas Christians still perceived themselves as being under Antioch's authority.[36]

16th Century Portuguese Colonization and adoption of West Syriac Rite

In the 16th century, the overtures of the Portuguese Padroado to bring the Saint Thomas Christians into the Latin Church of the Catholic Church led to the first of several rifts in the community due to Portuguese colonialists, and the establishment of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Since then, further splits have occurred, and the Saint Thomas Christians are now divided into several factions.

The indigenous Church of Malabar/Malankara followed the faith and traditions handed over by the apostle St. Thomas. In the 16th century, the Portuguese Jesuits deliberately attempted to annex the native Christians to the Catholic Church, and in 1599 they succeeded through the Synod of Diamper. Resentment against these forceful measures caused the majority of the community under Archdeacon Thomas to swear an oath never to submit to the Portuguese, known as the Coonan Cross Oath, in 1653.

A Syriac bishop called "Ahatulla" arrived in India in 1653. The identity of this bishop is disputed. Some sources say that he was a bishop sent by the Patriarch of Antioch. Others say that he was the Patriarch himself,[37] which was the official position taken by the Synod of Mulanthuruthy in 1876. However, he was imprisoned and later drowned in the Indian Ocean by the Portuguese navy.[38] Sources say that in the meantime, he had given a letter to some deacons that had come to visit him in imprisonment, on the way to the tomb of St. Thomas. He had given them an encyclical authorizing the consecration of Archdeacon Thoma as Malankara Metropolitan, by 12 priests, an irregular form of consecration, however it had historical backing in the Church of Alexandria.

Meanwhile, the Dutch East India Company defeated the Portuguese and gained supremacy over the spice trade in Malabar in 1663. The Malankara church used this opportunity to escape from Catholic persecution with the company's help. The Portuguese started pushing the claim that Archdeacon Thoma was uncanonically consecrated. Seeing the validity to the claim, Archdeacon Thoma sent a letter to the Patriarch of Antioch to send a bishop to regularize his consecration. The Dutch brought Gregorius Abdul Jaleel, a bishop of the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Jerusalem, aboard their trading vessel in 1665. The Malankara Church consolidated under Archdeacon Thoma and welcomed Gregorios Abdal Jaleel, who regularized the canonical ordination of him as Mar Thoma I, the first Malankara Metropolitan. The Malankara Church gradually adopted West Syriac liturgy and practices, formalizing Syriac Orthodox identity.

Beliefs and Practices

Celebration of Holy Qurobo at St. Mary's Cathedral, Kundara

Liturgy

See also: Liturgy of Saint James, Malankara Rite, and West Syriac Rite
Traditional baptismal font with indigenous sculptural elements at Akaparamb Mor Sapor Mor Prod Church.
Nasrani Cross with the traditional food of Saint Thomas Christians

The liturgical service is called Holy Qurbono in the Syriac language. The Liturgy of Saint James is celebrated on Sundays and special occasions. The Holy Eucharist consists of Gospel reading, Bible readings, prayers, and songs. Apart from certain readings, prayers are sung in the form of chants and melodies. Hundreds of melodies remain preserved in the book known as Beth Gazo.[39] Liturgy is done every Sunday and on feast days, traditionally done every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday (which only some churches follow nowadays).[40]

Holy Bible

Main article: Peshitta

The official Bible of the church is the Peshitta or its Malayalam translation, Vishudhagrandham(വിശുദ്ധ ഗ്രന്ഥം).[41]

Prayers

There are 7 hours of prayers in the Syriac Orthodox Church, in accordance with Psalms 119:164. The Hours are: Vespers (Ramsho - 6pm), Compline (Sootoro - 9pm), Midnight (Lilyo - 12am), Matins (Saphro-6am), Third Hour (Tloth sho' - 9am), Sixth Hour (Sheth sho - 12pm), and Ninth Hour (tsha' sho - 3pm).[42]

The Jacobite Syrian Christians pray from the Shehimo during canonical hours in accordance with Psalm 119. In 1910, Reverend Konattu Mathen Malpan translated the prayer book of the Syrian orthodox church into Malayalam, known as Pampakuda Namaskaram, with permission from Ignatius Abded Aloho II.[43][44] It is the common prayer book of Syrian Orthodox Christians in India.

Prayers are done facing the East, and churches are normally built facing the East, in accordance with Matthew 24:27.

Theology

Main articles: Trinitarianism and Miaphysitism

The Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, as a part of the Syriac Orthodox Church, rejects the Council of Chalcedon along with the rest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches.[45] The church believes in the faith as proclaimed by the three Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea, Constantinople, and Ephesus. The church confesses Trinitarianism, that God, who is One in Essence, subsists in Three Hypostasis, the Father Son and Holy Spirit. The Father is Unbegotten, the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father. The Trinity is One Godhead, having One Will, One Word, and One Lordship.[46]

The church believes in the Incarnation of God the Son, who is Jesus Christ, of the Virgin Mary, who was cleansed by the Holy Spirit of all natural impurity, filling her with His Grace. The Church confesses that Christ has One Incarnate Nature, that is Fully Human and Fully Man (miaphysitism). This union is natural, free of all separateness, intermixture, confusion mingling, change, and transformation. The Church maintains that at the time of Christs death, His Body separated from His Soul, and His Divinity did not depart from either.[47]

The Malankara Church has accepted miaphysitism since early on, per pictorial evidence in St. Mary's Knanaya Church of Kottayam, Piravom Church, and Mulanthuruthy Church dating to the first millennium.[48]

In punishment by the cross (was) the suffering on this one; He who is true Christ and God above, and Guide ever Pure

— Inscription of St. Mary's Knanaya Church, Kottayam[49]

Apostolic Succession

Thomas of Cana and the Knanaya depart for India

The Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church of India established by Saint Thomas the Apostle believes in apostolic succession within the hierarchy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, within the Oriental Orthodox Communion.

It is under the Holy See of Antioch, established by Saint Peter, which was confirmed as a patriarchate in the Council of Nicaea, along with the Holy See of Alexandria, and the Holy See of Rome. All bishops of the East must be in communion with the Patriarch of Antioch. A bishop in the East who is not in communion with the Holy See of Antioch is considered invalid by the church.

The highest rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy is the Patriarch of Antioch, head of the Syriac Orthodox Church, who became the first among equals of the Diocese of the East as stated by the Council of Nicaea (Canon 6). The second among equals is the Maphrian, known nowadays as the Catholicos of India, and is the head of the Jacobite Syrian Church in India, and first among the Syriac Orthodox bishops in India. There are also archbishops, and bishops.

Three ranks of hierarchy

There are three ranks of priesthood in the Syriac Orthodox Church:

Intercession of Saints

The Church believes in the intercessions of the St. Mary and all the Saints. The church holds the place of the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God as affirmed by the Council of Ephesus, with the title of Theotokos(Θεοτόκος) in Greek, Yoldath Aloho(ܝܠܕܬ ܐܠܗܐ) in Syriac, or Daiva Mathavu (ദൈവമാതാവ്) in Malayalam. The church also considers St. Thomas the Apostle as its patron saint, the Apostle of India (ܫܠܝܚܐ ܕܗܢܕܘܐ Shleehe d'Hendo). Its most venerated relics include the Holy Girdle of the Theotokos and the relics of Saint Thomas the Apostle.[51] The church of India also venerates other saints, local saints, church fathers, martyrs, aligned with the practices of the entire Syriac Orthodox Church.

Modern Conflicts

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

The JSC and MOSC regularly engage in disputes over the position of the Patriarch of Antioch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and his authority over the Malankara Church. The conflict with MOSC started in 1912, when the Malankara Metropolitan Dionysius Vattesseril was suspended by the Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius Abded Aloho II. This caused Vattesseril to go to the deposed Patriarch, Ignatius Abded Mshiho II, to get an autocephalous Catholicate established in Malankara. After years of conflict the church reunited in 1955, under the Patriarchate of Antioch, with an autonomous Maphrianate, leading to the subsequent enthronement of Baselios Augen I as Catholicos of the East. However, in 1974, the Catholicate sought to remove the Patriarch from his authority over Malankara, leading to Augen I being suspended by the Syriac Orthodox Synod of 1975 from his position, and the enthronement of Baselios Paulose II as Catholicos of the East, causing a second split into the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church (who supported the Synod) and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (who rejected the Synod).[52]

The MOSC proclaims the general agreement of territorial jurisdictions integral to the Orthodox churches around the world and alleges that the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate illegally interferes in the temporal matters of the Malankara Church. The JSC lost many of its prominent churches to the Malankara Orthodox after the Supreme Court of India's verdict, despite having absolute majority in many of those churches.[53] After the long struggle for talks on churches that were dismissed by Malankara Orthodox, the Jacobite Syrian Church decided to end their sacramental relationship with them in 2022.[54]

Eccumenical Relationships

Catholicos Baselios Thomas I with Ignatius Aphrem II of the Syriac Orthodox Church and Pope Francis of Holy Catholic Church
Joseph Mar Thoma, Philipose Mar Chrysostom Mar Thoma with Ignatius Aphrem II

Aside from the ecumenical agreements by the Syriac Orthodox Church, and the larger communion being the Oriental Orthodox Communion, the JSC also has these relations:

Roman Catholic Church

According to the agreement of Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I and Pope John Paul II, the Syriac Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church have a relationship between sacraments of penance, Eucharist and anointing of the sick for a grave spiritual need. There are also set rules and guidelines, within this agreement specifically for interfaith marriages between the Malankara Syriac Orthodox and the Syro-Malankara Catholic churches.[55][56]

Catholicate

Main articles: Maphrian and List of maphrians
Tomb of Baselios Yeldo Maphrian of the East (Catholicos) in the Marthoma CheriyaPally

By the fourth century, the bishops of Antioch, Alexandria and Rome became the heads of the regional churches, and were known as patriarchs. In the seventh century, the Syriac Orthodox Christians who lived outside the Roman Empire began using the title of "maphrian", for their head. This office ranked right below the Patriarch of Antioch in Syriac Orthodox church hierarchy, until it was abolished in 1860 and reinstated in 1964 in India.

Catholicos of India

Main article: Catholicos of India
For the current Catholicos of India, see Catholicos Baselios Thomas I.

The Maphrian of India(Catholicos) is an ecclesiastical office of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the local head of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. He is the head of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, which is a part of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The jurisdiction of Catholicos is limited to India so to avoid disambiguation and avoid legal issues. The Syriac Orthodox Church uses the title Catholicos of India, distinct from Catholicos of the East.[57]

Fathers of the Church

The following saints from Malankara are included in the 5th Diptych(Canon of the Church Fathers):

Ignatius Elias III
Tomb of Baselios Yeldo
Geevarghese Gregorios
Paulose Athanasius
Abdal Jaleel Gregorios

Dioceses

  • Kollam Diocese[58]
  • Thumpamon Diocese[59]
  • Niranam Diocese[60]
  • Kottayam Diocese[61]
  • Idukki Diocese[62]
  • Kandanad Diocese[63]
  • Kochi Diocese[64]
  • Angamaly Diocese
    • Angamaly
    • Perumbavoor
    • Pallikkara
    • Muvattupuzha
    • Kothamangalam
    • Highrange
  • Thrissur Diocese[65]
  • Kozhikode Diocese[66]
  • Malabar Diocese[67]
  • Mangalore Diocese
  • Bangalore Diocese
  • Mylapore Diocese[68] (formerly Chennai Diocese)
  • Mumbai Diocese
  • Delhi Diocese[69]

Autonomous Dioceses

Malankara Synod

See also

References

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  3. ^ Malankara Church
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    Vicarate: Within it there are the ranks of chor-episcopos and priest or qasheesho.
    Deaconate: Within it there are the ranks of archdeacon, evangelical-deacon, subdeacon, lector or qoruyoand singer or mzamrono.
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Sources

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