Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
Saint Thomas established the Malankara Orthodox Church in A.D. 52 when he came to India. Saint Thomas was one of the twelve original disciples of Jesus Christ. He is commonly known as the doubting Apostle. He brought Christianity to the southern part of India and established a church there and appointed priests to run these churches. It is believed that he lived there until he was eventually martyred. The members of his church are frequently called St. Thomas Christians.
THE PERSIAN CONNECTION
In the 4th century the East Syrian and Indian Church came into contact when a huge upsurge of immigrants came to India from Mesopotamia. These immigrants were of the Persian Church and they also claimed to originate from Saint Thomas the Apostle. The Persian Church believed in being autonomous as they were also an autonomous body.
THE PORTUGUESE PERIOD
The Indian Church continued as an independent administration until the 16th century until what we now call the Portuguese Period. It was during this time that the Portuguese came to India and claimed over the Indian Orthodox Christians there accusing them of following Nestorian. They held a synod to determine whether this was in fact true. This synod was called the Synod at Udayamperur and during this synod the Portuguese tried very hard to change the Syrian liturgy of the Indian Orthodox Christians to the Latin rite. Due to lack of support the Indian Orthodox Christians had to agree to the terms set by the Portuguese. The Indian Orthodox Christians still tried to keep their liturgy but the Portuguese began to lord over them and force their liturgy on the Indian Orthodox Christians. There was much dissatisfaction amongst the people when this occurred and some members of the Indian Church organized a revolt. This revolt is commonly known as the Coonan Cross Revolt. At this revolt the angry Indian Orthodox Christians swore an oath known as the Coonan Cross Oath. In this oath they swore to never bow down to the Portuguese. They then anointed an archdeacon as their leader, giving him the title of Metropolitan, naming him Mar Thoma I.
THE ANTIOCHIAN CONNECTION
While the Indian Orthodox Christians were being distressed by the Portuguese they sought help from several other Christian churches. One of these churches was the Holy Church of Antioch. The Patriarch of Antioch responded to the request and sent the Indian Orthodox Christians a bishop, named Mar Gregorius Abdul Jaleel. When he arrived in India, he recognized and confirmed the Episcopal ranking of Mar Thoma I. He and Mar Thomas I then worked together on rebuilding the church with a solid foundation. Due to the issues that occurred with the Portuguese the Malankara Orthodox Church needed much assistance from other churches but they have always been able to uphold their autonomy.
COOPERATION WITH THE C.M.S
Eventually the British came to India with the Church Mission Society and settled there. During this time, the Metropolitan of the Indian Orthodox Church expressed his wish to open a seminary to educate the clergy of the church. One of the British residents agreed with him and supported him in this venture and thus the seminary was created and it was shared between the Indian Orthodox Christians and the C.M.S. of the Anglican Church. This lasted until 1836, until the strain of having two completely different faiths taught under one roof became too much and this joint venture was put on hold. This incident caused a rift in the Indian Orthodox Church forming two new factions. The first faction tried to bring about severe reforms and failed but the second group joined the C.M.S. movement and created what is now known as the Mar Thomas Church.
CONCLUSION
The Malankara Orthodox Church has been through many trials and tribulations but today it still stands strong, independent and autonomous and though most of its members began in India, there are now 21 Dioceses spread throughout India, America, Canada, UK and Europe.
"The Orthodox Church is Evangelical, but not Protestant. It is Orthodox, but not Jewish. It is Catholic, but not Roman. It isn't non-denominational - it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago."