Jacobite Syrian Christian Church

In the aftermath of the Council of Chalcedon, Emperor Justinian 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 and died in 538 AD. During this turbulent time for the church, Jacob Baradeus was consecrated as bishop, with the support of Empress Theodora, the wife of Justinian, and he led and revived the church.[24] The term "Jacobite" was originally used as a derogatory word for Miaphysites from the church of Antioch, but were later embraced by the church.

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 and evolution of the Malankara church in a nutshell

It is believed that Saint Thomas Christians of Malabar were placed under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch since AD 325 as per Canon 6 of the Council of Nicaea[25][26]. They received episcopal support from Syriac bishops, who traveled to Kerala in merchant ships along the spice route, while the local administrative leader of the Saint Thomas Christians held the rank of archdeacon, which was a hereditary office held by the Pakalomattam family. In the 6th century, the churches outside of the Roman Empire(in Persia towards the East), were arranged under the Catholicos of Seleucia, who after conflicts with the Patriarch(leading to the Council of Capharthutha), joined the Church of the East, causing a further split in the Malankara Church[27]. 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.

Saint Thomas Christians were administratively under the single native dynastic leadership of an archdeacon (a native ecclesiastical head with spiritual and temporal powers, deriving from the Greek term arkhidiākonos) and were in communion with the church in the Middle East from at least 496 AD.[28] 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.

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. At the church's request, the Dutch brought Gregorius Abdul Jaleel of Jerusalem, a bishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church, aboard their trading vessel in 1665. The Malankara Church consolidated under Archdeacon Thoma welcomed Gregorios Abdal Jaleel, who regularized the canonical ordination of Thoma as a bishop. The Malankara Church gradually adopted West Syriac liturgy and practices.

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.[29]

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, also known 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.

Thomas of Cana and the Knanaya depart for India

The Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church of India established by Thomas the Apostle believes in apostolic succession within the hierarchy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, within the Oriental Orthodox communion. 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 Church.[30]

The Church believes in the faith as proclaimed by the three Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea, Constantinople, and Ephesus. 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.

The Syriac Orthodox Church respects the relics of Saint Mary, and the saints. The most notable of these relics, are the Holy Girdle of the Theotokos and the relics of the Thomas the Apostle. The Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church kept some of these relics and celebrates them on occasions.[31] The church of India also has relics from other saints including St. George the Martyr, St. Cyricus the Martyr, as well as other saints.

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

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.[32]

The JSC and MOSC regularly engage in disputes over the former's staunch allegiance to the Syriac Orthodox Church. The latter 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.[38] 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.[39]

Cemetery ordinance

As per Supreme Court Order 2017, the Syrian Church disputed its rights to attend holy mass and rituals and took the proposed ordinance for cemeteries. The ordinance gives the right for every person to attend rituals and laws passed on by the majority votes with the support of the chief minister, ministers and other Assembly members.[40]

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 for its 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.

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

• Ignatius Elias III: entombed in Manjanikkara Dayara at Omallur
• Baselios Yeldo: entombed in Kothamangalam cheria pally
• Parumala Thirumeni (Geevarghese Gregorious): entombed in Parumala Church
• Paulose Athanasius: entombed in Aluva Thrikkunnathu Seminary
• Koorilos Paulose: entombed in Panampady Church
• Koorilos Yuyakkim: entombed in Mulanthuruthy Marthoman Church
• Osthatheos Sleeba: entombed in Arthat St.Mary's Simhasana Church, Kunnamkulam
• Baselios Sakralla III of Aleppo: entombed at Morth Mariam Cathedral, Kandanad
• Gregorios Abdal Jaleel: entombed at St. Thomas Church North Paravur

Ignatius Elias III

Tomb of Baselios Yeldo

Geevarghese Gregorios

Paulose Athanasius

Abdal Jaleel Gregorios

• List of Patriarchs of Antioch – to 518
• List of Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch – list from 518
  • Maphrian of the East
  • Catholicos of India
  • Maphrian
• Oriental Orthodox Church
• Saint Thomas Christians
  • Saint Thomas Anglicans
• Manarcad church

• Brock, Sebastian P. (2011). "Thomas Christians". 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.
• Frykenberg, Robert E. (2008). Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198263777.
• Seleznyov, Nikolai N. (2010). "Nestorius of Constantinople: Condemnation, Suppression, Veneration: With special reference to the role of his name in East-Syriac Christianity". Journal of Eastern Christian Studies. 62 (3–4): 165–190.
• Wilmshurst, David (2000). The Ecclesiastical Organisation of the Church of the East, 1318–1913. Louvain: Peeters Publishers. ISBN 9789042908765.

• Official website

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