Jacobite Syrian Christian Church
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Divine Liturgy of Saint James | |
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Headquarters | Patriarch Ignatius Zaka I Iwas Centre (Patriarchal Centre) Puthencruz Kochi India |
Origin | 52 AD by tradition[2][3] 1665 (Introduction of Oriental Orthodoxy in India) 1876 (as Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church) 2002 (as Catholicate of India)[4][5] |
Branched from | Saint Thomas Christians Malankara Church[1] |
Separations | Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (1912)[6] |
Members | 480,0000 in Kerala[7] |
Official News Portal | J.S.C. |
Part of a series on |
Christianity in India |
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Part of Oriental Orthodoxy |
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The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church ,
Name
In the aftermath of the
Headquarters
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
It is believed that
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.[22] 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
As part of the Syriac Orthodox Church, the church uses the
Hierarchy
The highest rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy is the
Three ranks of hierarchy
There are three ranks of priesthood in the Syriac Orthodox Church:
- Episcopate: patriarch, catholicos, archbishop and bishop.
- Vicariate: archpriest (corepiscopos) and priest(Kashisho).
- Deaconate: archdeacon, deacon, subdeacon, lector (ooruyo) and acolyte (mzamrono).
The Church
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.[24]
The Church believes in the faith as proclaimed by the three Ecumenical
Relics
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.[25] The church of India also has relics from other saints including St. George the Martyr, St. Cyricus the Martyr, as well as other saints.
Liturgy
The
Holy Bible
The official Bible of the church is the Peshitta or its Malayalam translation, Vishudhagrandham(വിശുദ്ധ ഗ്രന്ഥം) translated by Fr. Kurien Kaniamparambil.
Prayers
The Jacobite Syrian Christians pray from the Shehimo during canonical hours in accordance with Psalm 119. In 1910, Reverend Konattu Mathen Malpan translated the prayer book of the Syrian orthodox church into Malayalam, known as Pampakuda Namaskaram, with permission from Ignatius Abded Aloho II.[27][28] It is the common prayer book of Syrian Orthodox Christians in India.
Theology
The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church officially accepted
In punishment by the cross (was) the suffering on this one; He who is true Christ and God above, and Guide ever Pure
— Inscription of St. Mary's Knanaya Church, Kottayam[30]
Nasrani Cross
The Nasrani Cross (Persian cross) is used by Syrian Christians of India, which spread in the early fourth century.[31]
Dispute with Malankara Orthodox
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.[32] 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.[33]
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.[34]
Sacramental relationships
Catholic Church
According to the Agreement of Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I and Pope John Paul II, the Catholic Church and Syriac Orthodox Church have a relationship between sacraments of Penance, Eucharist and Anointing of the Sick for a grave spiritual need.[35][36]
Marthoma Syrian Church
The Mar Thoma Syrian Church also known as Malankara Mar Thoma, or Reformed Syrian church of Malabar and Jacobite Syrian Church attend prayer meetings and marriage ceremonies together. They continue their synods in recognition of theological acceptance and Holy Communion from their understanding. The Holy Myron was given by Ignatius Elias II in 1842. The Mar Thoma church does not use the ecclesiastical title of Ignatius and Baselios to honor the Syriac Orthodox Church.[37]
Catholicate
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.
Catholicos of India
The Maphrian of India(Catholicos) is an ecclesiastical office of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the local head of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. He is the head of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, which is a part of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The jurisdiction of Catholicos is limited to India so to avoid disambiguation and avoid legal issues. The Syriac Orthodox Church uses the title Catholicos of India, distinct from Catholicos of the East.[38]
Fathers of the Church
The following saints from Malankara are included in the 5th Diptych(Canon of the Church Fathers):
- Manjanikkara Dayaraat Omallur
- Baselios Yeldo: entombed in Kothamangalam cheria pally
- 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
Dioceses
Dioceses in Kerala
- Kollam Diocese[39]
- Thumpamon Diocese[40]
- Niranam Diocese[41]
- Kottayam Diocese[42]
- Idukki Diocese[43]
- Kandanad Diocese[44]
- Kochi Diocese[45]
- Angamaly Diocese
- Angamaly
- Perumbavoor
- Pallikkara
- Muvattupuzha
- Kothamangalam
- Highrange
- Thrissur Diocese[46]
- Kozhikode Diocese[47]
- Malabar Diocese[48]
Dioceses outside Kerala
- Mangalore Diocese
- Bangalore Diocese
- Mylapore Diocese[49] (formerly Chennai Diocese)
- Mumbai Diocese
- Delhi Diocese[50]
Bishops of the church
- Gregorios Joseph
- Severios Abhraham
- Alexandrios Thomas
- Thimotheos Thomas
- Thimotheos Mathews
- Ivaniyos Mathews
- Aprem Mathews
- Theodosius Mathews
- Anthimos Mathews
- Athanasius Elias
- Yulios Elias
- Philoxenos Zacharias
- Athanasios Geevargees
- Divanasios Geevargees
- Coorilos Geevargees
- Barnabas Geevargees
- Meletius yuhanon
- Dioscorus Kuriakose
- Theophilose Kuriakose
- Clemis Kuriakose
- Eusebios Kuriakose
- Anthonios Yakkoob
- Osthatheos Issac
See also
- 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
- Manarcad church
References
- ^ a b Brock (2011).
- ^ History of Jacobite Syrian Church
- ^ Malankara Church
- ^ "Syriac Orthodox Church". Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ "Jacobite Syrian Christian Church Constitution 2002 (in Malayalam) The official Constitution of the Church" (PDF).
- ISBN 978-0-19-513886-3.
- ^ K.C. Zachariah, "Religious Denominations of Kerala" (Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India), Working Paper 468, April 2016, p. 29
- ^ "JSC News - The Official News Portal of the Holy Jacobite Syrian Christian Church". Archived from the original on 7 October 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Pastoral message of H.B Thomas I, Maphrian of India, Jacobite Church Head in India". Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ "Official Publication of Jacobite Syrian Christian Church". Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ "Jacobite Syrian Christian Church Constitution 2002 (in Malayalam) The official Constitution of the Church" (PDF).
- ^ "India – Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch". syrianorthodoxchurch.org. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ "Metropolitan's from the Syriac Orthodox Church of India Visits Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II". 21 October 2016.
- ISBN 9781387922284.
- ^ "Saint Thomas Christians- Chronological Events from First Century to Twenty First Century". Nasranis.
- ISBN 9780838610213.
- ISBN 9781438408064.
- ^ "Mor Ya'qub Burdono (St. Jacob Baradaeus)". www.syriacchristianity.info. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ Joseph, Thomas. "Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church". Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition.
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: First Council of Nicaea". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ "Catholicate of the East". www.syriacchristianity.info. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ Frykenberg 2008, p. 93; Wilmshurst 2000, p. 343.
- ISBN 0-8028-2417-X.
- ^ Nicea Synod Canon 6
- ^ "St.Mary's Jacobite Syrian Cathedral, Manarcad". Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ Patrologia syriaca: complectens opera omnia ss. patrum, doctorum scriptorumque catholicorum, quibus accedunt aliorum acatholicorum auctorum scripta quae ad res ecclesiasticas pertinent, quotquot syriace supersunt, secundum codices praesertim, londinenses, parisienses, vaticanos accurante R. Graffin ... Firmin-Didot et socii. 1926.
- ^ http://www.pampakudavaliyapally.com/details.php?page=1&id=4 [bare URL]
- ^ "Konatt Mathen Corepiscopo".
- ^ Kottayam Valiyapally Mural Painting
- ^ Burnell, Arthur Coke (1874). On some Pahlavī inscriptions in South India. p. 314.
- ^ "Nasrani Cross". www.seiyaku.com. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ Explained | The Piravom church stand-off and the century-old rivalry among two Christian factions in Kerala
- ^ "Sacramental Relationship". Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ Cemetery Ordinance News
- ^ Agreement
- ^ Common Declaration
- ^ "CONSTITUTION OF THE SYRIAC ORTHODOX CHURCH OF ANTIOCH". malankaraworld.com.
- ^ "Catholicate of the East". catholicose.org. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
- ^ "Kollam Diocese of Jacobite Syrian Church". Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ^ "Official site of Thumpamon Diocese". Thumpamon Diocese. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ^ "Niranam Diocese of Jacobite Syrian Christian Church". Niranam Diocese. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
- ^ "Kottayam Diocese". Kottayam Diocese. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
- ^ "Official website of Idukki Dioces". Retrieved 26 September 2017.
- ^ "Kandanad Diocese - Jacobite Syrian Christian Church". Kandanad Diocese. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
- ^ Kochi Diocese of Jacobite Syrian Church Retrieved 26 September 2017.
- ^ "Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church". Thrissur Diocese. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
- ^ "Kozhikode Diocese - Jacobite Syrian Christian Church". Kozhikode Diocese. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
- ^ "Official Website of Malabar Diocese, Jacobite Syrian Christian Church". Malabar Diocese. Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
- ^ "Mylapore Diocese - Diocese of Jacobite Syrian Christian Church". Mylapore Diocese. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
- ^ "Delhi Diocese of Jacobite Syrian Church". Delhi Diocese. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
Sources
- 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.
External links