ORTHODOX FAITH

The history of Christianity in India begins in 52 AD. By the end of the 13th Century, western countries started coming to India. In the 16th century Portuguese missionaries reached our land. There are different descriptions of the church in India now available to us. The Malankara Church was from the beginning undivided and in good relationship with other religious faiths. But because of western missionary activities, the undivided church of India has broken into fragments. 'St. Thomas Christians' or 'Syrian Christians' exist in more or less fifteen different communities and denominations. Of these, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church is prominent. It has Devalokam Catholicate Aramana in Kottayam as its headquarters. The church has many parishes and institutions in different parts of the world.

The Inception of the Church
Apostle Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ is the founder of the 'St. Thomas Church' of India. There is plenty of historical evidence to strengthen this view. Christian writers and delegates of the Church of the 4th century have referred to the missionary activities of St. Thomas in India. Christians in India have traced to St. Thomas the founding of their Church in the Ist century A.D. St. Thomas came to India, preached the Gospel of Christ, and founded the Church. He died a martyr in Mylapore in Chennai. Thomas Christians have unflinching faith in their hoary traditions.

Milestones in its Growth
The boundaries of the church extended far and wide. On the north - western part were Kashmir, Sindh, Baluchistan, Afganistan, on the western coast, were Kalyan near Mumbai, on the southeastern coast the land from Madras to Sri Lanka coast. The ancient book " Act of Judas Thomas" which relates \Thomas, to Apostle's preaching of the Gospel to Gondopohrus, has clearly stated that Gondophorus was the King of the northwestern part of India.

1. West Asian (Syrian) Settlements
From ancient times, there were trade relations between Southern India and the central part of West Asia. As a result of this, the Churches, which existed in those regions especially, the Persian Church got an opportunity to know about the Christian community in India. When the Christians were persecuted in the Persian kingdom, many of them migrated to the southern coast of India where they received a warm and hearty welcome.
The most important of these arrivals took place in the times of Sapor II (345) when under the leadership of knanya Thoma, a group of Persian Christians came to India. Tradition records that this community consisted of 400 people who belonged to 72 families and a group of priests headed by a bishop. The Christian community here very happily welcomed these people and the Hindu King of this region gave them inscribed copper-plated documents granting them special privileges. Today's Thekhan Kuttukar' in Kerala claim that they are their progenies.

2. The Administrative Set up of the Church
There are no authoritative records regarding the administrative system of the Indian Church in the early centuries. According to tradition, Thomas, the Apostle founded churches and ordained priests for these churches. These priests must have nurtured good relations with the Bishops of the various Churches in the different parts of the then known world.
Like the Ethiopian and Nubian Churches in Africa and the Armenian and Georgian Churches, the Indian Church had independent administration under the regional leader 'Jathiku Karthaviyan' and later under the 'Archdeacon'. According to the tradition of the Persian Church, the autonomy of all other churches, which had close relations with it, was fully recognized. In the 16th century when the Portuguese come to India, they saw a completely independent Church in Kerala. A complete list of all the Bishops who ruled the western (Antioch) Syrian Church upto the 12th century is available to us today. But none of them had any relation with the Church in India. This shows that Malankara Church enjoyed autonomy in the early centuries.

3. The Indian Church's Persian connection
The Indian Church had relations with the Eastern Syrian Church from the 4th century onwards, from the times of Knanya Thoma. Though there is no continuous history in this regard, we can guess that this relation between them persisted. But there is evidence to show that there were in the Indian Church in the 6th century Bishops who were ordained in Persia. By about 520 AD Kosmas visited South India. He has clearly stated in his book "Universal Christian Topography", about the Church he had seen in Malabar and also about a place called 'Kalyan' where there was a bishop who was ordained in Persia. In the 7th century Esawyab III, the then Patriarch reprimanded Metropolitan Simon of Rivardishir, capital of Persia, for not giving enough priests to the Indian Church.
In the 9th century, giving due respect to the autonomy of the Indian Church, it was given to understand that the Metropolitans in India need resume relations with the patriarch only once in six years. In the 9th century Patriarch Timotheos freed the Metropolitan of Rivardishir of all responsibilities regarding the Indian region and assumed himself the full charge. In the same century, two Persian Metropolitans,"Prodh" and "Sapor" came to kerala. They also received from the King of Quilon special inscribed copper- plated documents giving them authority over the Churches. The "Persian Crosses" seen today in Kerala and Madras belong to this particular period.
The Persian church asserted its own individuality in the 5th century. The Catholicose of Selusia- siphon came to be addressed as " Patriarch". The synod of 486 A D declared Nesthor a saint and Father of the church. But a minority group dissented. They joined together in 629 and consecrated a 'Maphriyana' with "Thegres" in north Mesopotamia as his headquarters.
Thus from the beginning of the 5th century itself, the Persian church divided itself into two communities. One had direct relations with the patriarch of the Selusia - siphon, and the other had through the Maphriyana of Thegres relation with the Antiochian Syrian Patriarch. There are no records to prove that the " Catholicos" of Thegres, that is, "Maphriyana" during this period had any relation with the Indian Church or had sent missionaries outside Persia. But the 'Catholicos' of Selusia continued to have relation with the Indian church and the preaching of the Gospel was done in all the eastern countries including china.
From records available in the Persian church it is known that in the 8th century there were several metropolitans in India with one Metropolitan as their leader. The designation of that Metropolitan read thus "The metropolitan and Gate of all India". A note for Bible reading produced in 1301 A.D in kodungallor has been recorded in Vatican Syrian Codex 22. In this book, it is specifically stated that the metropolitan of India "Sitting in the throne of the Holy Apostle Thomas guides the Holy church of India".
In 1490, three delegates of the Malankara church set forth to Persia to request the Nestorian Patriarch to consecrate for them a Metropolitan. One of the delegates died on the way. The other two reached the headquarters of the patriarch and submitted their petition. In response two people Thomas and John were ordained Metropolitans and sent to Malankara along with the delegates. Without much delay Bishop Thomas returned to the Patriarch. This time four other Metropolitans were sent to India. We know that one of these, Mar Yakob resisted the Portuguese hegemony until his death in 1552.

The Malankara Church's relation with he Portuguese
The Portuguese General Vasco-da-Gama came to Calicut in 1498. Very soon south India came under the domination of the Portuguese. After dominating the land, they subjugated the ancient church of Kerala. The Portuguese missionaries exerted pressure to bring the Malankara church under the Roman Catholic Church. They ceaselessly worked in the 16th century with this end in view. In 1599 in the Udyamperoor Synod they achieved this end most effectively. St.Thomas Christians were forced to break off all ties with the Persian church and to forge links with the pope in Rome.
Three Jesuit Archbishops started governing the Malankara Syrian church which came under the Portuguese through the Udayamperoor Syod. But people under the leadership of the Archdeacon were very much unhappy and dissatisfied with the state of affairs. This dissatisfaction deepened and reached its climax. As a result in 1653 A.D at Koonenkurisu, all the Syrian Christians unanimously took an oath to sever all connections with the Roman church. The Portuguese attempt to suppress this revolution did not succeed. At that time, Rome directly sent missionaries belonging to "Vishwasa Pracharana Sabha" to Kerala and within some five years a good number of the people returned to the Syrian Catholic fold.
But one group of people under the leadership of their Archdeacon stood firmly for the independence of the Indian Church. They had to experience a lot of difficulties because they did not have a Metropolitan to lead them; yet they were extremely careful in safeguarding the freedom of the Indian Church. The Portuguese were able to create a rift in the hitherto united Malankara Church. Though one group of people were led to the Roman catholic fold, a sizable section of the people rejected the Roman Churches and Stood stead fast under the leadership of Mar Thoma I, the Archdeocon.

The Relations with Antioch
The believers who decided to protect their freedom requested the Antiochean Church for a bishop for the Malankara Church. As per this request, the Syrian Patriarch of Antioch sent Metropolitan Mar Gregorious of Jerusalem to India. His Grace came here in 1665 and worked in co- operation with Mar Thoma I.
Until the end of the 18th century, the Malankara Church was guided by Arch Deacons who were designated as Mar Thoma. They provided education regarding rules and regulations of the Church and tried to get for the church the right of Episcopal succession. These were the urgent needs of the church. The Malankara Church approached the Syrian Patriarch of Antioch to get knowledgeable Metropolitans and Malpans. Even in its widest dream the church never sought the suzerainty of the Antiochean Church. What Malankara Church wanted was friendly relation with Antioch on equal terms. But in the 18th century, there was a change in this stand. According to the request of the Malankara Church, the Patriarch sent a group of priests including two Episcopas of whom (one was Maphriana) to Malankara (Kerala). At that time, the Patriarch wanted that the Malankara Church should submit to his authority. Mar Thoma V who led the Church was called upon to get his Episcopal succession confirmed by his delegates, the Syrian Metropolitans. Mar Thoma V refused to submit to this demand and for nearly two decades, this resistance continued. Mar Thoma VI who succeeded Mar Thoma V in 1765 expressed his willingness to a compromise in 1770. He got his metropolitan designation confirmed and accepted the title "Dionysius". It was this 'Valiya Mar Dionysius' who until his demise in 1808 guided the destiny of Malankara Church courageously.

The Co- Operation of C.M.S.
In 1795 the British established their supremacy in South India and Kerala came under their governance. From 1800 onwards, in order to maintain British supremacy in Kerala, a Resident was appointed by the British administrative head.
The first two Residents, Colonel Collin Macaulay and colonel John Munro very much desired to see the Malankara church work in close co-operation with the Anglican Church. During Macanlay's time, the Malankara Church had made a permanent deposit of Rs. 10500 in the British Company. It would fetch for the community 8% interest every year. Later two prominent priests of the Anglican Church, namely, Claudius Bukana and Richard Halcat visited the Malankara Church.
During Munro's time, a senior priest of the Malankara Sabha, Pulikkotil Joseph Kathanar expressed his desire to found a seminary for training priests. The Resident supported him and in 1815 the Kathanar established a seminary at Kottayam. This is the old Seminary. Joseph Kathanar was raised to the Episcopal rank under the name Mar Dionysius (he was designated as Pulikkotil Joseph Mar Dionysius I). From 1816 onwards, C.M.S. missionaries from the Anglican Church worked in close co-operation with the Malankara church. But their experiment ended in failure in 1806.
This caused the division of the Malankara church into three.One group, the reformists, tried to renew the church completely. But they did not succeed. For nearly half a century this in-fighting went on in the church. The reformists were defeated in the court of law (1889), they gave shape to the Mar Thoma Syrian Church.
Another small group of people expressed their desire to join the missionaries and they became part of the Anglican Church. The majority of the members of the ancient church remained steadfast without accepting the reformist ideas.

A group within the Syrian Church
The schism that divided the community into the reformists and conservatives in the 19th century plunged the church into a very sad critical situation. Against the onslaught of the reformist those who resisted the reformists sought the help of the Syrian patriarch of Antioch. In 1875 the Patriarch of Antioch Peter III came to Kerala and in 1876 a meeting of the representatives of the Malankara Church was convened in the Mulanthuruthy Church. This meeting has come to be known as the Mulanthuruthy synod. One of the decision taken by the synod was that the Malankara Sabha should continue its relations with the Syrian Church in Antioch and also with the Patriarch. But he Patriarch exploited these decisions to claim authority over the Malankara Church. But this was not acceptable to the Malankara Church.
Following the Mulanthuruthy Synod in 1876, the supporters and opponents of the reform continued their law suit in the court of law. The church case prolonged until the Verdict of the Royal Court in 1889, which was against the reformist faction. According to the Verdict of the three judge panel, from the middle of the 18th century, the Patriarch was wilding the spiritual authority on the Malankara Church and as such he had, spiritual authority, over the Church.
Patriarch Peter III was not satisfied with this verdict. The Patriarch very much wished to get it legally established that he has not only spiritual but temporal authority over the Malankara Church. He also sent a strongly worded protest to Malankara. None of those related to this case gave much significance to it. But his second successor Patriarch Abdulla II took this matter very seriously.
Patriarch Abdulla II took up what Patriarch Peter Commenced but failed to accomplish. With the intention of getting his authority established he came to Kerala in 1909 and made efforts to achieve his goal. But apart from dividing the church into two factions the Patriarch could not gain anything. From 1911 onwards, the Malankara Church existed as two factions. One supported the Patriarch and the other stood with Vattasseril Dionysius VI, the Malankara Metropolitan who refused to surrender the Malankara Church to the Patriarch.

The Institution of Catholicos
In instituting the Catholicos, Vattasseril Mar Dionysius (VI) Metropolitan was helped by the immediate successor of Patriarch Peter III, namely, patriarch Abdual Messiah. He was denied the freedom function in Turkey due to the interference of the government; instead Patriarch Abdulla came to be at the helm of affairs at the headquarters.
Abdul Messiah came to the help of Malankara Metropolitan. He came to Kerala in 1912 and working in close association with Dionysius VI and all the other Metropolitans of the church, instituted the Catholicate in Malankara.
In the Roman Empire, the Head of the Church was designated as "Patriarch" while outside the empire the chief of the Church was called "Catholicos". The Catholicos is equal to the Patriarch in church position. In the administrative hierarchy of the Malankara church, the Patriarch is only the first among equals.

The Significance of the catholicate.
The significance of the Catholiate with Kottayam as its headquarters can be brought out in the following way.
1. Catholicos was established in Malankara with the benevolent co-operation of His Holiness Patriarch Abdul messiah.
Through this, the Patriarch was withdrawing his own authority vested in him as per the verdict of the Royal Court in 1889 namely supervisory powers over the Malankara church. It was in 1958 through the peace accord that Patriarch III accepted unconditionally the Catholicos. Submitting to administrative formalities, the Catholicos also accepted the Patriarch. The Supreme Court Judgment of 1995 specifically stated this and declared that the so-called authority of the Patriarch over the Indian Church got mollified through this mutual acceptance.
2. The Indian Church has apostolic traditions and a very ancient history. Eventhogh, due to historical reasons, the church has not been able to maintain its freedom and individuality at all times, the supremely merciful God Almighty has been guiding the church through centuries. Now, through the institution of the Catholicos, the Indian Church has achieved individuality and the right of self- governance.
3. All oriental and eastern Churches are independent churches of their own countries. Though there is a need for ritualistic Communion among them, in matters of administration they never interfere with one another. Each national church has its own Head (Patriarch / Catholicos). It is according to this tradition that the Catholicate exists in Malankara. With gratitude we praise Almighty God who guided this church for the past several centuries. This Church is today led by The Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan His Holiness Moran Mar Beselius Mar Thoma Mathews II who is on the Holy Apostolic Seat (throne) of St. Thomas.