Syro-Malabaric Rite
The Syro-Malabaric Rite, also called the Malabar Chaldean Rite, is the Indian usage of the East Syriac Rite. It is currently employed in the Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern catholic church of East Syriac Rite based in India. It originally developed as the rite of the Saint Thomas Christians of South India, who were part of the Church of the East, incorporating indigenous cultural elements into the East Syriac Rite. It was widely latinized following the Portuguese conquest in the 16th century. The Catholic Church officially began efforts to restore the ancient liturgy in the latter half of the 19th century. Since the last half of the 20th century there is an ongoing conflict between those who call for complete restoration of the pre-16th century rite and those who argue for a reformed Indianized rite or a brand new form of liturgy.
History
Pre-16th century
There are only a few records of the worship practices of the Saint Thomas Christians before the 16th century. One tradition holds that the Syro-Chaldean rite was spread in Malabar by Mesopotamian Christian immigrants led by Knai Thoma, who are believed to have arrived on the Malabar coast in the 4th century. These traditions are unclear about the rite of the Christian community that is believed to have existed in Malabar before this event. There are those who argue that that the original rite was one with a Semitic background, while others argue that a purely indigenous rite could have been prevalent. The first direct historical accounts of the Christian community in South India are extant only since the 6th century.The Chronicles of Seert records that Ma'na, a 6th century East Syriac metropolitan of Rev Ardashir in Pars, sent religious books and translations of the Greek treatises of Diodore and Theodore in Pahlavi to the churches of India and its environs. A parallel 6th century account of the Christian communities along the Malabar coast, in Sri Lanka and the other islands of the Indian Ocean has been recorded by Cosmas Indicopleustus following his visit to India.
It is believed that the Indian Christians adopted a form of the East Syriac rite in use in Persia, incorporating elements adapted to the cultural characteristics of southern India. This may also have been influenced by the Persian Christian migration to Malabar led by Sabor and Aproth in the 9th century.
16th century
It is only from the 16th century that clearer and more extensive records of the Malabar Christians and the rituals prevalent among them are available. The main source for this is the accounts of the Portuguese who were working in Malabar at that time. The Udayamperoor Synod, which took place in 1599, and the accounts of the following years shed more light on the Syro-Malabaric Rite in the 16th century.Architectural style of churches
, a Portuguese missionary and metropolitan who worked in Malabar in the 16th and 17th centuries, gives a description of the architectural style of the Saint Thomas Christian churches. Christian churches were also built in the unique architectural style of Malabar. From the outside, the churches looked similar to temples. The crosses placed in front of the church and on top of the roof helped in distinguishing them from non-Christian buildings of worship. The churches were built in east-west direction. The sanctuary of the church, called the, was located at the easternmost side. On the southern side of the was the baptistery, and on the northern side was a place for baking the bread for Holy. In some church, the baking of bread was done over a room above the. The prepared bread was placed in a lotus leaf basket tied with string and taken down to the. The was a narrow room containing an altar for the offering of Holy. Its main door to the was veiled. The veil was thrown open only during the Holy. No one except the priests was allowed to enter it. There were no pictures or figures inside the church except for the cross.Yāqōv Avūna, the Metropolitan of Kodungallur, was the first to call for churches to be built in the Portuguese style, succumbing to pressure from the Portuguese. The churches built or rebuilt by the Portuguese were followed their architectural style. It was during this time that façades for churches began to be built. Over time, intricately carved raredos containing figures and images began to be installed in the of churches. The pulpit and the cast bells were also contributions from the Portuguese.
Liturgical language
The liturgy of the Malabar Christians was entirely in the Eastern dialect of the Syriac language. Manuscripts of the Holy, other sacraments, liturgies, and the Holy Bible were written in the East Syriac script. In addition to this, there was also a style called '', which was used to write Malayalam in the Syriac script for recording rubrics and other purposes outside of worship.The Portuguese worked hard to make Latin the language of worship for Christians. The Franciscan seminary established in Kodungallur admitted young Christians, taught them Latin, and made them priests. But the Saint Thomas Christians were not willing to accept these priests who did not know the Syriac language. This often led to clashes with the Portuguese. The Portuguese lamented that the Saint Thomas Christians did not accept anything that was not in Syriac. The Portuguese then changed their policy and brought in priests, including Francisco Roz, who were experts in Syriac, and taught the Syriac language in the new Jesuit seminary established at Vaippicotta. They spearheaded a campaign by which the liturgical books of the Syro-Malabar Christians were examined and revised, adapted to the Latin liturgy, and the Latin liturgical books were translated into Syriac and put into practice.
Scripture
The Peshitta, the Syriac translation of the Holy Bible, was the religious scripture of the Saint Thomas Christians. There were some differences between the Peshitta, which was popular in Malabar, and the Vulgate, the official Bible translation of the Latin Catholic Church. These differences were in the number and structure of the books. The books of the Maccabees were not included in the manuscripts of the Old Testament of the Syro-Malabar Christians. The Revelation and the 2nd and the 3rd epistles of John, 2nd Epistle of Peter, the Epistle of Jude, and the part about the woman caught in adultery in the Gospel of John were also not in the Peshitta New Testament manuscripts. Roz records that when he asked Metropolitan Abraham about this difference, he replied that these parts, which are not found in the Malabar manuscripts, were in use in Persia. After the Synod of Udayamperoor, the Portuguese revised the Peshitta Bible of the Syro-Malabar Christians and adapted it to the Latin Vulgate.Priesthood
The same priestly system that existed elsewhere in the Church of the East was also present among the Saint Thomas Christians. The main priestly orders were the bishop, archdeacon, presbyter, deacon, subdeacon, and lector.The spiritual leadership of the Saint Thomas Christians was held by those who had been sent from Assyria by the East Syriac patriarchs. The chief among them was known as the Metropolitan of All India. In addition to the metropolitan, there were also three suffragan bishops appointed. Gouvea and Roz record that the suffragan dioceses were Socotra and 'Masina
Since the metropolitans were foreigners, a local priest was appointed to the position of archdeacon to oversee the administration of the church and the community. An archdeacon was an unmarried priest. He was also known as a .
A Saint Thomas Christian priest was known as a. Roz suggests that the word comes from the Syriac word, which means priest. A priest was also known as. A deacon was called the. The priestly title was conferred in two stages, first the positions of lector, subdeacon, and deacon together, and secondly the presbyterate.
Like other Eastern churches, the priests of the Saint Thomas Christians also led a married life. However, unlike other traditions, in the East Syriac tradition, marriage was permitted even after receiving the priesthood. For this reason, in addition to married people being ordained as priests, there was also a practice of remarriage among priests whose wives had died. The wife of a priest was known as. Roz records that priests' wives assisted in ceremonies such as the baptism of women.
The Portuguese strongly opposed the married priesthood of Syrian priests. They forbade priests who graduated from the seminaries they founded from marrying. The Udayamperoor Synod recommended that married priests completely abandon their wives and children.
The Portuguese introduced Latin-style priestly ordinations instead of the traditional East Syriac rite, and began the practice of clerical tonsure instead of the traditional kudumi''.
Baptism
Among the Christians, there was baptism of infants and adults. Baptism was usually given on the 40th day after the birth of a child. Those adults who were not baptized in this way were baptized when they had the opportunity. Baptism was administered by priests. During the baptism of infants, an adult male and female relatives were selected as and respectively. They recite the prayers for the infant being baptized and maintain a spiritual connection with the infant.The ritual of baptism also included anointing with oil. This was performed in the baptistry located to the south of the inside the church. The baptismal font is filled with water and the blessed in the name of the Holy Trinity. After this, ordinary oil is applied to the child's body and the child is immersed in the baptismal font thrice. Then the child is wiped dry and the sign of the cross is drawn on the forehead, arms, legs, chest, and back with holy oil of unction. The child is then dressed in white. After this, another prayer is said over the water remaining in the baptismal font and it is drained off. The baptism ceremony was performed during Holy. After the baptism, the baby was also given Holy Communion. The same ritualistic rules are followed when baptizing adults. Roz records that the wives of priests assisted during the baptism of women.
The Portuguese, accusing the Christians of inadequacies and superstitions in their baptismal rite, imposed the Latin-style baptismal rite on them and prohibited Holy Communion and anointing oil to their children. Portuguese missionaries prohibited giving Holy Communion to children until they received their first communion. They also implemented the practice of placing the baptismal font near the entrance, away from the south side of the sanctuary.