Archeparchy of Kottayam
The Archeparchy of Kottayam is a Knanaya metropolitan archeparchy of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India. The archeparchy is exclusively for Knanaya faithful who claim to be the descendants of Syriac Judeo-Christians who migrated from South Mesopotamia to Kodungallur in South India in 4th century A.D.
History of the archeparchy
Community formation
Traditional belief is that St. Thomas, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus, had introduced Christianity in the Malabar coast in South India. His port of entry was Kodungalloor, formerly known as Muziris. Trade relations between the Middle East and the Malabar coast might have favored the arrival of St. Thomas to Kodungallur. The presence of Jews in the South West India from the 6th century B.C. also might have been another attraction for St. Thomas to arrive at Muziris so he could introduce Jesus and his teachings starting with the Jews here.Another Thomas, a rich and influential merchant from South Mesopotamia, had trade relations in the fourth century with the Malabar coast. He was a Christian from the Chaldean church. He made acquaintance with the local Christians in Kodungalloor, who were descendants of the Christian converts from St. Thomas, the Apostle. The Christian community at Kodungalloor sought the help of Merchant Thomas to get clergy to lead their church, as they were weakening because of the lack of clergy.
Thomas reported the need of the Christians in Kodungalloor to his church leaders in South Mesopotamia. The Catholicos took the matter seriously. There is a tradition that Urha Yausef was inspired by God to support the Christians in the Malabar coast. The church authorities came up with the idea of sending a bishop and some clergy along with some families to migrate in Kodungalloor so the clergy also would feel comfortable in the foreign land. Thomas of Kynai, being influential, could get permission from Cheraman Perumal, the king of Kodungallur. The king might have welcomed the new migrants to keep better trade relations with the Middle East and to import the material and technical resources of the immigrants. The fertility and favorable conditions of Kodungalloor might have attracted the families in South Mesopotamia to migrate to the Malabar coast.
Bishop Urha Mar Yausef, four priests, and several deacons volunteered to migrate to Malabar coast to offer their missionary service to the St. Thomas Christian community in the Malabar coast. Along with them, around 400 people belonging to 72 Jewish-Christian families from seven clans also came under the leadership of Kynai Thomman. The Knanaya community believes that the families selected were 72 to represent the same number of disciples of Jesus and seven clans to remind them of the seven sacraments Jesus instituted in the church. The migration, according to tradition, happened in 345 A.D.
Considering their distinctiveness including their culture, language, customs, food, and dress from the natives, the migrants preferred to live as a colony without having marital relations with others. King Cheraman Perumal assigned them a vacant land in the southern part of his palace for the new settlers. Since they inhabited the Southern region of the Kingdom, they were known as Southists while other Christians were known as Northists to distinguish both groups. The first written record of the epithet Knanaya used in reference to the community dates to the 1800s. Translations of Thomas' epithet Canaanite as "Cananeo" are recorded in 17th century source work. Archbishop of Kodungallur-Angamaly, Francis Roz, refers to the Southist as the "Thomas Cananeo Party" in his documents dated to 1603/1604. Honoring the new migrants and their leader Kynai Thomas, the king offered 72 privileges for the Christians acknowledging them as higher class people in his kingdom. The privileges were documented on copper plates known as Thomas of Cana copper plates. The plates were present in Kerala during the time of the Portuguese colonization in the early 17th century, but were lost during Portuguese rule. Portuguese Archbishop Francisco Ros notes in his 1604 account M.S. ADD 9853 that the plates were taken to Portugal by Franciscans. The Knanaites invoke the plates as evidence of their descent from Kynai Thoma's mission.
Bishop Urha Yausef might have popularized the Syriac Chaldean liturgy developed by Addai and Mari of the Chaldean church. Under his leadership the migrants established three churches in honor of St. Thomas, St. Mary, and St. Kuriakose. The bishop, along with other clergy, was serving the Northists and Southists at the same time for which they came to India. According to the traditional song, the Catholicos of the East had promised the migrants that he would send bishops to succeed Urha Yausef to continue the pastoral service for the Christians in Malabar. Thus, the bishops from the Chaldean church continued to succeed one another in serving the St. Thomas Christians in Kerala until the end of the 16th century when the missionaries from Europe took over the pastoral leadership along with the European colonization.
Dispersion from Kodungallur
The Southists had to leave their settlement in Kodungalloor because of the destruction of their colony during the war between the Kingdom of Cochin and Zamorin of Calicut in the 16th century. The community migrated to cities, mainly of river banks, like Udayamperoor, Kaduthuruthy, Chungam, Kottayam, and Kallissery. Road transportation was less at that time and the means of transportation was by water like lakes, canals, and rivers.The Northists and Southists in Malabar lived in harmony under the pastoral leadership of bishop from the Chaldean church and using the same Chaldean liturgy in the Syriac language. The bishop from Edessa was assisted for temporal administration by an Archdeacon who was a local priest.
Situation began to change when the European missionaries came to Malabar along with the colonial rule and mandate from the Pope for missionary service. The Synod of Diamper held from 20 to 26 June 1599 paved the way for revolt of Syrian Christians of Malabar against the Portuguese Jesuit missionaries because of the forceful changes they introduced in the form of worship and governance different from what had been practiced before. Pope assigned Francisco Ros, a Latin prelate as the bishop for the Syrians in Malabar avoiding the arrival of bishops from the Chaldean church. The Latinization of the Syrian church was the main cause of the objection.
The revolt against the Latin bishop came to a climax on 3 January 1653 with the Coonan Cross Oath of the Syrians at Mattancherry near Kochi. This protest against the Portuguese Padroado at the time of Archbishop Garcia S.J. resulted in the division of the Syrian Christians including the Knanaites based on their allegiance to the ecclesiastical authorities. Kadavil Chandy Kathanar from Kaduthuruthy parish and Anjilimoottil Itty Thomman Kathanar from Kallissery parish were among the major leaders of the revolt who were from the Southists. Though many compromised with the Portuguese archbishop after the revolt, the others made Archdeacon Thomas Parambil their "bishop" with the imposition of hands by 12 priests at Alangad. The dissident group welcomed a Jacobite Bishop Gregorios of Jerusalem in 1665 and followed his teachings. That led to the emergence and growth of the Jacobite faction among the Syrians while two third remained as Catholics under the Catholic Bishop Parambil Chandy, who was supported by Kadavil Chandy Kathanar and Vengūr Givargis Kathanar. Then on, the Catholics and Jacobites of the Southists remained separate from each other and from the Northists with their own churches or section within a common church and served by Southist priests. This article focuses on the Southist Catholics who later became members of the Archeparchy of Kottayam.
Vicariate of Kottayam
While administering the Syrian churches, the European missionaries established Latin churches also in Malabar. Churches of Latin and Syrian rites were under the Archdiocese of Verapoly. The co-adjutor bishop was in charge of the Syrians. On 20 May 1887, Pope Leo XII separated the Syrians from the Archdiocese of Verapoly by establishing the Vicariate of Kottayam including Northists and Southists and the Vicariate of Trichur. Pope appointed Dr. Charles Lavigne as the Vicar Apostolic of Kottayam and Dr. Adolf Medlycott as the Vicar Apostolic of Trichur.. While establishing the Vicariate of Kottayam common for Southists and Northists, the Holy See ordered Bishop Charles Lavinge to appoint a separate vicar general for the Knanaites. Thus, Bishop Lavinge appointed a Knanaya priest Fr. Mathew Makil as vicar general for the Knanaya Catholics. The seat of Kottayam Vicariate was moved to Changanacherry on 16 September 1890. Bishop Charles Lavigne established eight foranes for the Northists, and Kottayam and Kaduthuruthy foranes for the Southists on 10 October 1891. With the permission of Bishop Charles Lavinge, Vicar General Fr. Mathew Makil started Sisters of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary for Knanaya women at Kaipuzha on 24 June 1892.Pope Leo XIII reconstituted the Vicariates of Changanacherry and Trichur by adding the Vicariate of Ernakulam with territories from Vicariates of Changanacherry and Thrissur on 28 July 1896. Pope appointed indigenous bishops for these vicariates. Aloysius Pazheparambil was appointed for Ernakulam and John Menacherry for Thrissur. The Knanaya Vicar General, Mathew Makil was appointed as the head of Changanacherry Vicariate that consisted of Southists and Northists. The episcopal consecration of the three bishops were held at Kandy in Sri Lanka on 25 October 1896.
In 1896, the Vicariate of Changanacherry consisted of 100 to109 thousand Northists with 133 parishes and 256 priests. The Knanaites in the vicariate at the same time were a minority of less than 10% with 14,000 to 20,000 members, 12 parishes, and 21 priests. Since the Northists and Southists had no communal relationship, a bishop from the minority community was naturally unacceptable for the majority community.
The Southists were worried that they would be divided under different vicariates. In 1896, when the Vicariate of Ernakulam was established 1,500 Southists came under that vicariate where as 12,500 were under the Vicariate of Changanacherry. They were also concerned about their fate under a Northist bishop after the term of Makil. So, both Norhists and Southists desired to have their own vicariates. The bishops governing the three Syrian Vicariates were convinced that such an arrangement would be the best solution for the issues of the time.
Considering the unanimous request of the three Syrian bishops under the leadership of the Vicar Apostolic of Changanacherry Mathew Makil, Pope Pius X established the new Vicariate of Kottayam on 29 August 1911 exclusively for the Southists by the Apostolic letter "In Universi Christiani." All the Southists belonging to the vicariates of Changanacherry and Ernakulam were brought under this reconstituted Vicariate of Kottayam. Pope appointed Mathew Makil as the head of the new vicariate.
Bishop Mathew Makil expired on 26 January 1914 at Kottayam. He was buried at St. George Church, Edacat.
Pope Pius X appointed Fr. Alexander Choolaparambil as the Vicar Apostolic of Kottayam on 16 July 1914. His consecration was held in Kandy, Sri Lanka on 1 November 1914. Choolaparambil established the Eparchial Society of the Oblates of the Sacred Heart at S.H. Mount, Kottayam on 29 January 1921.