The oldest churches in the world. How the ancient church treated the Apocalypse of John
Anatoly Ivanovich GERASIMOV
Ancient Christian church of the 3rd-4th centuries. found in the Holy Land
According to the Christian tradition, no one knows the day or hour of the end of the world, just as no one knows the day or hour of his death. But we know where the end of the world should come, where the last battle between the forces of Good and Evil will take place. This place, according to the Revelation of John the Theologian, is called Armageddon.
At Armageddon they worshiped the god Baal, better known as Beelzebub - the Prince of Darkness. Local residents believed in the power of Baal, that he could not only give rain, but also protect from enemies. Cattle and human blood were sacrificed to Baal.
The only image of Baal in Israel was found by archaeologists among the ruins. It is now in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
The latest archaeological finds made on the territory of the Israeli Megiddo prison, which is located next to Mount Armageddon, have become a real sensation. The name of the mountain, by the way, comes from the Hebrew words “har Megiddo” (Mount Megiddo).
According to archaeologists and experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority, the remains of a building and a mosaic recently discovered on the grounds of the Megiddo prison are part of the world's oldest church. Archaeologists believe that this structure could have been built in the third century AD or at the beginning of the fourth century, even before the legalization of Christianity in the territory of the Roman Empire.
Instead of a traditional altar, there was an ordinary table in the central part of the ancient church. Apparently, it was intended for post-prayer meals, like the one that is known throughout the world as the last “Last Supper” with the participation of Jesus and his disciples. Unprecedented archaeological discoveries were made during excavations that accompanied construction work carried out to erect new buildings of the Megido prison complex. Prisoners serving sentences in Megido are participating in the excavations.
During the excavations, a mosaic floor with inscriptions in Greek was revealed, as well as geometric figures and a medallion depicting fish. At that time the Cross had not yet become a symbol of Christianity. In the northern part of the church floor, archaeologists found an inscription made in honor of an officer of the Roman century, a Christian, through whose donations the mosaic was laid. Quotes from the Bible in ancient Greek are carved on the foundations of the ancient church. One of the inscriptions says that the temple is “dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ.” In the eastern part of the mosaic panel, inscriptions made in memory of four women are clearly visible, whose names sound like this: Frimilia, Cyriaca, Dorothea and Christa.
In the opposite, western part of the mosaic floor, the name of another woman is mentioned - "God-fearing Akpatos", followed by the explanation: "In memory of the donation she made to purchase a table for the church of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ancient history specialist at the University of Jerusalem, Dr. Leah Disghani, emphasizes that the "table" inscription, discovered during the excavation of a mosaic floor and used in the same context in which the term "altar" is usually used, could revolutionize our knowledge of the era of early Christianity. Until now, it was believed that at that time Christian worship ended with a collective meal at a symbolic altar - the altar. However, it now turns out that the first Christians gathered after prayer at an ordinary dinner table, just as the participants in the Last Supper did, according to the New Testament.
Before 313 AD Christianity was a forbidden religion in the Roman Empire, and therefore followers of this faith had to meet secretly - in the catacombs or in private houses. One such secret house of worship was discovered in the ancient city of Dora Europos, excavated in what is now Syria, which was destroyed in 257 AD. It is known in literature as the Christian "meeting house" - "domos eclusia" in Latin. In the first half of the 4th century, Emperor Constantine, by two of his decrees - from 313 and 330 - turned Christianity into the official religion of the Roman Empire. Soon after this, three of the oldest churches known to this day were erected in the Holy Land: the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and a church in the Alonei region of Mamre near Hebron.
However, the buildings of these churches were rebuilt several times, and in our time practically nothing remains of the original buildings of the ancient era. Meanwhile, the remains of an ancient church discovered near the Megiddo crossroads have retained their original appearance. The building was built of simple white bricks, it was not, as is customary in today's Christian tradition, oriented to the east and did not contain many traditional elements of interior decoration.
Holy Land. Jerusalem
In Russia there are buildings that saw the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars, terrible fires and great wars, but still survived to this day.
Dormition Princess Monastery
The monastery was founded in Vladimir by Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest at the beginning of the 13th century. People began to call the monastery “Princess” because the prince’s wife Maria Shvarnovna insisted on its construction. Over the years, Boris Godunov’s daughter lived here, there was a hospital for the poor and a handicraft school for girls. The monastery survived the Mongol-Tatar invasion, fires, devastation, was rebuilt several times, but still survived to this day.
Church of St. George in Staraya Ladoga
The Church of St. George appeared in Staraya Ladoga in the second half of the 12th century. Because of its light, slender appearance, local residents called the shrine “the Ladoga bride.”
Spaso-Preobrazhensky Mirozhsky Monastery
The Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery was built in Pskov at the confluence of the Velikaya and Mirozhka rivers in the middle of the 12th century. Today the shrine attracts the attention of pilgrims with a cathedral with a unique fresco mural of the pre-Mongol era.
Svensky Assumption Monastery
The Assumption Monastery was built by the Bryansk prince Roman Mikhailovich on the right bank of the Desna, opposite the mouth of the Svenya River in 1288. You can find this ancient monument four kilometers from Bryansk, in the ancient village of Suponevo.
Church of Boris and Gleb in Kideksha
In the village of Kideksha, 4 km east of Suzdal, stands the Church of Boris and Gleb, built by Yuri Dolgoruky back in 1152. This monument of white stone architecture belongs to the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve and is protected by UNESCO.
Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in Pereslavl-Zalessky
The Transfiguration Cathedral began to be built by Yuri Dolgoruky in 1152. The shrine was completed by Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1157. For more than eight centuries, the white stone temple has been decorating Red Square in Pereslavl.
St. Sophia Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod
St. Sophia Cathedral is one of the main Orthodox decorations of the historical part of Veliky Novgorod. The temple was built by Prince Vladimir, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, in 1045-1050.
Church of John the Baptist in Kerch
The center of Kerch is decorated with a monument of Byzantine architecture - the Church of John the Baptist. The temple was built between the 8th and 9th centuries. Today, the ancient church is complemented by an extension built in the 19th century.
Eastern churches
1. Churches of Ecumenical Orthodoxy:
Ecumenical Orthodoxy is a family of local Churches that have the same dogmas, the original canonical structure, recognize each other’s sacraments and are in communion. Theoretically, all Churches of Ecumenical Orthodoxy are equal, although in fact the Russian Orthodox Church claims the main role (“Moscow is the third Rome”), and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople jealously guards its honorable “primacy of honor.” But the unity of Orthodoxy is not of a monarchical, but rather of a Eucharistic nature, for it is based on the principle of catholicity. Each Church has the fullness of catholicity, i.e. with all the fullness of grace-filled life given through the true Eucharist and other sacraments. Thus, the empirical plurality of the Churches does not contradict the dogmatic unity that we profess in Article IX of the Creed. Empirically, Ecumenical Orthodoxy consists of 15 autocephalous and several autonomous Churches. Let's list them in traditional order.
The Orthodox Church of Constantinople, according to legend, was founded by ap. Andrew the First-Called, who c. 60 he ordained his disciple St. Stachy the first bishop of the city of Byzantium. B. 330 St. imp. Constantine the Great founded the new capital of the Roman Empire, Constantinople, on the site of Byzantium. From 381 - an autocephalous archdiocese, from 451 - a Patriarchate, the center of the so-called. "imperial heresies", fought for primacy with the Church of Alexandria, and then with Rome itself. In 1054, relations with the Roman Church were completely severed and only partially restored in 1965. Since 1453, the Patriarchate of Constantinople has existed on the territory of Muslim Turkey, where it has only 6 dioceses, 10 monasteries and 30 theological schools. However, its jurisdiction extends beyond the borders of the Turkish state and embraces very significant ecclesiastical areas: Athos, the Finnish Autonomous Church, the semi-autonomous Cretan Church, Episcopal sees in Western Europe, America, Asia and Australia (a total of 234 foreign dioceses). Since 1991, the Church has been headed by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
The Alexandrian Orthodox Church, according to legend, was founded c. 67 by the Apostle and Evangelist Mark in the capital of Northern Egypt - Alexandria. Since 451 - Patriarchate, third in importance after Rome and Constantinople. However, already at the end of V - beginning. VI century The Alexandrian Church was greatly weakened by the Monophysite turmoil. In the 7th century It finally fell into decay due to the Arab invasion, and at the beginning of the 16th century. was conquered by the Turks and until recently was in strong ecclesiastical dependence on Constantinople. Currently there are only approx. 30 thousand believers, who are united in 5 Egyptian and 9 African dioceses. The total number of churches and houses of worship is approx. 150. Divine services are performed in ancient Greek and Arabic. The Church is currently headed by His Beatitude Parthenius III, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria.
The Antiochian Orthodox Church, according to legend, was founded c. 37 in Antioch by the apostles Paul and Barnabas. Since 451 - Patriarchy. At the end of V - beginning. VI century weakened by the Monophysite turmoil. From 637 it came under the rule of the Arabs, and at the beginning of the 16th century. captured by the Turks and fell into disrepair. It is still one of the poorest Churches, although it now has 22 dioceses and approx. 400 churches (including in America). The service is performed in ancient Greek and Arabic. It is headed by His Beatitude Ignatius IV, Patriarch of Antioch, whose residence is in Damascus.
The Jerusalem Orthodox Church is the oldest of the Orthodox Churches. The first bishop of which is considered to be the Apostle James, brother of the Lord († c. 63). After the Jewish War 66-70. was ruined and lost its primacy to Rome. From the 4th century is gradually recovering. In the 7th century falls into decay due to the Arab invasion. Nowadays it consists of two metropolises and one archdiocese (the ancient Church of Sinai), has 23 churches and 27 monasteries, of which the largest is the Monastery of the Holy Sepulchre. In Jerusalem itself there are no more than 8 thousand Orthodox believers. The service is performed in Greek and Arabic. Currently, the head of the Church is His Beatitude Diodorus I Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Russian Orthodox Church - founded in 988 under St. Prince Vladimir I as a metropolis of the Church of Constantinople with its center in Kyiv. After the Tatar-Mongol invasion, the metropolitan see was moved to Vladimir in 1299, and to Moscow in 1325. Since 1448 - autocephaly (1st independent metropolitan - St. Jonah). After the fall of Byzantium (1553) and still claims to be the “third Rome”. Since 1589 - Patriarchate (1st Patriarch - St. Job). Since 1667 greatly weakened by the Old Believer schism, and then by Peter’s reforms: the Patriarchate was abolished (Abolition of the Patriarchate) - the so-called The Holy Synod, appointed by the emperor. Councils were not allowed to be convened.
After the fall of the autocracy, the Local Council of 1917-18 was convened, which returned the canonical leadership of the Church (St. Patriarch Tikhon). At the same time, the Church experienced severe persecution from the Soviet regime and underwent a number of schisms (the largest of which, the “Karlovatsky” (“Karlovtsy”), still exists). In the 1930s She was on the verge of extinction. Only in 1943 did Her slow revival as a Patriarchate begin. At the Local Council of 1971, reconciliation with the Old Believers took place. In the 1980s The Russian Church already had 76 dioceses and 18 monasteries. But since 1990, the unity of the Patriarchate has been under attack by nationalist forces (especially in Ukraine). Nowadays the Russian Church is going through a difficult and responsible period of adaptation to post-socialist reality. It is headed by His Holiness Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.
The Serbian Orthodox Church was founded at the end of the 9th century. Autocephaly since 1219. Since 1346 - the first (so-called Pech) Patriarchate. In the XIV century. fell under the yoke of the Turks and into ecclesiastical dependence on the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In 1557 it gained independence, but two centuries later it again found itself subordinate to Constantinople. Only in 1879 did it become autocephalous again.
In the territory of neighboring Macedonia, Christianity has been known since the time of the ap. Pavel. From IV to VI centuries. The Macedonian Church alternately depended on Rome and Constantinople. At the end of IX - beginning. XI century had the status of autocephaly (with its center in Ohrid) and may have participated in the Baptism of Rus.
Montenegro and the so-called had a special ecclesiastical destiny. Bukovina Metropolis.
The unification of all these Orthodox regions into a single Serbian Church took place in 1919. Since 1920, the Serbian Patriarchate has been restored. The fascist occupation and the subsequent socialist period caused significant damage to the Serbian Church. Nationalist tendencies intensified. In 1967, Macedonia separated into a self-imposed autocephaly (under the leadership of the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia). Currently, the Serbian Church is in a state of crisis. It is headed by Patriarch Pavel.
Romanian Orthodox Church. The first dioceses in this territory are known from the 4th century. For a long time they were in ecclesiastical dependence on the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Since the 14th century - under Turkish rule. In the first half of the nineteenth century. temporarily annexed to the Russian Church. In 1865 (3 years after the formation of the Romanian state) the local Church declared itself autocephalous, but the Ecumenical Patriarchate recognized this only in 1885. educated
The Romanian Patriarchate, which now consists of 13 dioceses, has 17 million believers and is headed by the Patriarch of All Romania, His Beatitude Theoctistus.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church was founded in 865 under St. Prince Boris. Since 870 - an autonomous Church within the framework of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Since 927 - an autocephalous archdiocese with its center in Ohrid. This ecclesiastical independence was constantly challenged by Byzantium. Since the 14th century Bulgaria came under Turkish rule and again became dependent on Constantinople. After a stubborn struggle in 1872, Bulgarian autocephaly, declared schismatic by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, was arbitrarily restored. Only in 1945 was the schism lifted, and in 1953 the Bulgarian Church became the Patriarchate. Now She is in a state of schism and crisis. It is headed by the Patriarch of Bulgaria, His Holiness Maxim.
The Georgian Orthodox Church was founded at the beginning of the 4th century. through the works of St. Equal to the Apostles Nina († c. 335). Initially subordinated to the Patriarchate of Antioch. Since 487 - an autocephalous Church with its center in Mtskheta (residence of the Supreme Catholicos). Under the Sassanids (VI - VII centuries) it withstood the fight against Persian fire worshipers, and during the period of the Turkish conquests (XVI - XVIII centuries) - against Islam. This exhausting struggle led to the collapse of Georgian Orthodoxy. The consequence of the difficult political situation of the country was its entry into the Russian Empire (1783). The Georgian Church came under the jurisdiction of the Holy Synod as an exarchate, and the title of Catholicos was abolished. The exarchs were appointed from among the Russians, which in 1918 was the reason for the church break with Russia. However, in 1943, the Moscow Patriarchate recognized the autocephaly of the Georgian Church as an independent Patriarchate. Now the Church consists of 15 dioceses, uniting approx. 300 communities. It is headed by Catholicos - Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II.
The Cypriot Orthodox Church, according to legend, was founded by St. Barnabas in 47. Originally - a diocese of the Antiochian Church. Since 431 - autocephalous archdiocese. In the VI century. fell under the Arab yoke, from which it freed itself only in 965. However, in 1091 the island of Cyprus was captured by the Crusaders, from 1489 to 1571 it belonged to Venice, from 1571 to the Turks, and from 1878 to the British. Only in 1960 did Cyprus achieve independence and proclaim itself a republic, with Archbishop Makarios (1959-1977) as its president. Nowadays the Church of Cyprus consists of one archdiocese and 5 metropolises, has more than 500 churches and 9 monasteries. It is headed by Archbishop Chrysostomos.
Hellenic (Greek) Orthodox Church. Christianity appeared on its territory under the ap. Pavle. From the 4th century Greek episcopal sees were part of either the Roman or Constantinople Church. In 1453, Greece was conquered by the Turks and came under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Only in 1830 did Greece achieve independence and begin the struggle for autocephaly, which it received in 1850. But, barely freed from Constantinople, it became dependent on the king. Only under the Constitution of 1975 was the Church finally separated from the state. It was headed by the Archbishop of Athens and all Hellas, His Beatitude Seraphim.
At the same time (in the 1960s), the so-called Church broke away from the Greek Orthodox Church. The True Orthodox Church of Greece (old style), consisting of 15 dioceses (including in the USA and North Africa), led by Metropolitan Cyprian of Philia.
The officially recognized Greek Church is one of the largest. It consists of 1 archdiocese and 77 metropolitanates, has 200 monasteries and has approx. 8 million Orthodox believers (out of 9.6 million total population of Greece).
Albanian Orthodox Church. The first Christian communities in this territory are known from the 3rd century, and the first episcopal see was established in the 10th century. Soon a metropolitanate was formed, under the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, and from the second half of the 18th century. - under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In 1922, Albania gained independence and gained autocephaly. The communist regime completely destroyed the small Albanian Church, but now it has risen from the dead. It is headed by His Beatitude Archbishop Anastassy.
The Polish Orthodox Church was founded in 966 under Prince Mieszko I. After the division of the Churches, the Orthodox dominated mainly in the eastern regions, where in 1235 they established an episcopal see in the city of Holm (later in Przemysl). But in 1385, Prince Jagiello declared his state Catholic, which was the reason for the conversion of the Orthodox to Catholicism. In 1596, Orthodox bishops, led by Metropolitan Michael (Rogoza) of Kyiv, accepted the jurisdiction of the Pope at the Brest Council. This so-called The Union of Brest lasted until 1875, when, after the partition of Poland, the Orthodox Kholm diocese was restored. In 1918, Poland again became an independent Catholic state, and the Orthodox Church, having become a self-imposed autocephaly, became increasingly degraded. Only in 1948, on the initiative of the Moscow Patriarchate, Polish Autocephaly was recognized, and its position was strengthened. Nowadays this Church numbers no more than 1 million believers (about 300 parishes); It is headed by the Metropolitan of Warsaw and all Poland, His Beatitude Basil.
The Czechoslovak Orthodox Church was founded on the territory of the Czech Republic (in Moravia) in 863 through the labors of Sts. Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius. However, after the death of the Solunsky brothers, the initiative passed to supporters of the Latin rite. Orthodoxy survived only within the Mukachevo diocese. But in 1649 this diocese also entered into a union with the Catholic Church. Only in 1920, thanks to the Serbian initiative, Orthodox parishes of Serbian jurisdiction again arose in the Carpathians. After World War II, they turned to the Moscow Patriarchate for help and were organized first into an exarchate, and then in 1951 into the Autocephalous Czechoslovak Orthodox Church. It has only 200 thousand believers and approx. 200 parishes united into 4 dioceses. It is headed by Metropolitan Dorotheos of Prague and all Czechoslovakia.
American Orthodox Church. Exactly 200 years ago, in 1794, the monks of the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior created the first Orthodox mission in America. American Orthodox believe that St. Herman of Alaska († 1837) is their apostle. Under Archbishop Tikhon (later the Holy Patriarch), the see of the Aleutian diocese was moved from San Francisco to New York. In the very first years of Soviet power, contacts with her turned out to be very difficult. American hierarchs were suspected of having connections with the GPU, and unrest intensified. In this regard, in 1971, the Moscow Patriarchate granted autocephaly to the American Church. This decision conflicted with the interests of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which already had 2 million American Orthodox Christians under its jurisdiction. Therefore, American Autocephaly is still not recognized by Constantinople, but exists de facto and has more than 500 parishes, united in 12 dioceses, 8 monasteries, 3 seminaries, an Academy, etc. The service is conducted in English. The Church is headed by His Beatitude Theodosius, Metropolitan of All America and Canada.
2. Ancient Eastern Churches:
This is basically the so-called. "non-Chalcedonites", i.e. Eastern Churches, for one reason or another, did not accept the Council of Chalcedon (IV Ecumenical) Council. According to their origin, they are divided into “Monophysite” and “Nestorian”, although they have gone very far from these ancient heresies.
The Armenian Apostolic Church, according to legend, dates back to St. Thaddeus and Bartholomew. Historically formed in the 320s. through the works of St. Gregory the Illuminator († 335), whose son and successor, Aristakes, was a participant in the First Ecumenical Council. In its dogmatics, it is based on the decisions of the first three Ecumenical Councils and adheres to the Christology of St. Cyril of Alexandria (so-called miaphysitism). She did not participate in the IV Ecumenical Council for objective reasons and did not recognize its resolutions (distorted by translation). In the period from 491 to 536 it finally separated from the unity of the Universal Church. Has seven sacraments, honors the Mother of God, icons, etc. Currently there are 5 dioceses within Armenia and several others in America, Asia, Europe and Australia. Until 1994, it was headed by the Supreme Patriarch - Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Vazgen I (130th Catholicos); his residence in Etchmiadzin.
Coptic Orthodox Church, from the family of the so-called. "Monophysite" Churches, formed in the period from 536 to 580 among the Egyptian Copts. National isolation, caused by hatred of Byzantium, facilitated its conquest by the Arabs. Forced Islamization led to a significant decline. As a result, Coptic Patriarch Cyril IV († 1860) began negotiations with His Eminence Porfiry (Uspensky) about reunification with Orthodoxy, but was poisoned, and his opponents entered into a union with Rome (1898). Currently, it has actually united with the Alexandrian Orthodox Church of Patriarch Parthenius. Is in Eucharistic communion with the Armenian and Syrian Churches. Consists of 400 communities. Worship in Arabic and Coptic. Osmoglasie. Liturgies of Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and Cyril of Alexandria. It is headed by the Alexandrian Pope and Patriarch His Holiness Shenouda III.
The Ethiopian (Abyssinian) Orthodox Church was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, and then an autocephaly. Under King Sisinius (1607-1632), it entered into a union with Rome, but the next, King Basil (1632-1667), expelled Catholics from Ethiopia. Divine services are distinguished by an extraordinary richness of texts, chants and an abundance of holidays. There are many desert monasteries. Currently, this Church is headed by the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Abuna Mercarios (residence in Addis Ababa).
The Syro-Jacobite Orthodox Church, from the family of “Monophysite” Churches, was formed in the 540s. Syrian Monophysite Bishop James Baradei. Having endured a fierce struggle with the empire, the Jacobites in 610 surrendered themselves to the rule of the advancing Persians. In 630, under the emperor. Irakli, partially accepted monothelitism. At the beginning of the 8th century, fleeing from the Arabs, they fled to Egypt and the North-West. Africa. They also settled eastward throughout Mesopotamia as far as India, where in 1665 they entered into a union with the Malabar Christians. Currently, this Church is headed by the Patriarch of Antioch and the whole East, His Holiness Mar Ignatius Zakke I Iwas (residence in Damascus).
The Malabar Orthodox Church, according to legend, dates back to communities founded in India by the ap. Foma on the so-called Malabar coast. In the 5th century organizationally belonged to the Nestorian Patriarchate "Seleucia-Ctesiphon", whose influence in Arabia and the North. India was dominant. Nevertheless, the “Christians of St. Thomas” did not become Nestorians. After the defeat of Sev. India by Tamerlane at the end. XIV century, the Malabar coast was discovered by the Portuguese (1489 Vasco da Gama) and forced Latinization began (Council of Diampere, 1599). This led to the schism of 1653, when most of the Malabar Christians separated from the union imposed on them by the Spaniards and joined the Syro-Jacobite Church, which dominated the north (1665). This united Church is now called the Syrian Orthodox Church of India. It is headed by the Patriarch-Catholicos of the East, His Holiness Basil Mar Thomas Matthew I (residence in Kottayam).
Syro-Persian (Assyrian) Church, from the so-called. "Nestorian"; formed in 484 on the basis of the Persian ("Chaldean") Church and the Patriarchate of "Seleucia-Ctesiphon" (modern Baghdad). Spread throughout Arabia, North. India and Center. Asia (up to and including China) among the Turkic and Mongolian peoples. In the VII-XI centuries. - the largest Christian Church in territory. In the XIV century. almost completely destroyed by Tamerlane. In Kurdistan alone, approx. 1 million believers under the leadership of the Patriarch with residence in Mosul. In 1898, several thousand Aisors (Assyrian Christians) from Turkey, led by Archbishop Mar Jonah of Urmia, converted to the Russian Orthodox Church through repentance. Currently there are approx. 80 Assyrian communities (in Syria, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, India, USA and Canada), governed by 7 bishops. This Church is headed by the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, His Holiness Mar Dinhi IV (residence in Chicago).
The Maronite Church is the only one with a Monothelite Christology. It was formed at the end of the 7th century, when the Byzantine government resettled the tribe of Isaurian Monothelites from Taurus to Lebanon. The center of the new Church was the monastery of St. Maron, founded in the 4th century. near Apamea. The church existed among the Lebanese highlanders until the era of the Crusades. In 1182, the Maronite patriarch entered into a union with Rome and received the title of cardinal. The remaining communities entered the union in 1215. Therefore, the Maronite dogma is close to the Catholic one, but the priests do not observe celibacy. Divine services are conducted in the Middle Assyrian language.
Whatever country you go to, you will probably want to visit the main attractions and architectural monuments. Today we will talk about the oldest churches in the world - buildings whose atmosphere and setting are always unique and have a special character.
Megiddo Church (Israel)
This ancient church is one of the most ancient church buildings that archaeologists have ever discovered. It is located in the city of Tel Megiddo (Israel), after which it received its name. The remains of this unusual church were discovered relatively recently - in 2005. The archaeologist who was lucky enough to discover this unique find was Yotam Tepper. After a detailed study of the remains found on the territory of the former Megiddo prison, scientists were able to find out that their age dates back to the 3rd century AD. It was during this time that Christians were persecuted and attacked by the Roman Empire. The remains are quite well preserved - a large-scale mosaic was discovered in the church building, the area of which was more than 54 square meters. The mosaic contained an inscription in Greek that said it was dedicated to Jesus Christ. In addition to the inscription, on the mosaic you can see drawings of fish made from geometric shapes. This is another proof of the preaching of the Christian religion in the church.
Dura-Europos Church (Syria)
The founding of the Dura-Europos church, according to scientists and archaeologists, dates back to 235 AD. This unique structure is located in the city of Dura-Europos (Syria), where its name comes from. Like the church itself, its location has a rich history. This ancient city, surrounded by a fortified wall, was discovered by American and French archaeologists during excavations in Syria in the 1920s. Along with the city, scientists were able to discover a church, which today is a real attraction of this place.
Basilica of Saint-Pierre Aux-Nonnet (France)
Located in the city of Metz (France), the Basilica of Saint-Pierre Aux-Nonnet occupies the building of one of the oldest churches in Europe, and indeed on the entire planet. The founding of this church dates back to 380 AD. Initially, the main purpose of the building was to be used as a Roman sanatorium complex, but after a few centuries, in the 7th century, the building was converted into a church. During the renovation work, a nave was erected, but already in the 16th century the church ceased to be used for religious purposes. At first the building served as an ordinary warehouse, and only in the 1970s it was renovated again and today is a popular venue for exhibitions and concerts, as well as a real landmark of the city.
Monastery of St. Anthony (Egypt)
The Monastery of St. Anthony is located in one of the oases of the Eastern Desert (Egypt). More precise coordinates of its location are 334 kilometers southeast of the city of Cairo. It is considered a Coptic Orthodox monastery, which, moreover, is one of the most ancient in the world. Today, this monastery is very popular among pilgrims, hundreds of whom visit it daily. This popularity is explained not only by the age of the building, but also by the significant influence of the monastery on the formation of monasticism in this region.
Danilov Monastery (Russia)
Despite the fact that the building of the Danilov Monastery is not as old as the above-mentioned buildings, it is one of the most ancient and beautiful in Russia. The history of this monastery, located in Moscow, begins in the 13th century - at the time of its foundation by Danila Alexandrovich, the son of the famous commander Alexander Nevsky. It was in honor of the founder that the church received the name St. Daniel's Monastery. Throughout its history, the church has been attacked and attacked more than once, as a result of which it came into the possession of different people. Today, it is the residence of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. If you are planning to visit the sights of Moscow, be sure to include this ancient monastery on your list.
But if in the north and in the central part of the country there were constant clashes with invaders, then southern India, protected from the north by the Vindhya Mountains and from the south by the sea, was almost not disturbed by the nomadic tribes. From here trade routes led to Alexandria and Rome, as well as to other Mediterranean ports. Arab, Syrian, Egyptian, Persian and Greek merchants arrived here, because the rich and fertile country and the indented shores of Malabar, convenient for piers, had attracted the trading world of the West since ancient times. The inhabitants of the country are Dravidians, who later mixed with the Syrian element. The languages are Tamil and Malayalam, with the latter predominant and spoken by about a million people. Currently, Malabar is one of the states of the Republic of India, including Travancore and Cochin.
2. History of the Syrian Malabar Church
This name of the Malabar Church rather shows its connection with the Syrian or Chaldean Church, the liturgical language and rules of worship of which it still adheres to. For centuries, the bishop, sent by the Chaldean Patriarch, exercised spiritual and temporal authority through the administrative person of the Malabar Church - the archdeacon. In ancient times, Indian Christians were also called Marthomites, that is, followers of St. Thomas the Apostle.
The oldest legend about the Apostle Thomas is the “Acts of the Holy Apostle Thomas,” written in Syriac in the 3rd century. According to Acts, the Apostle Thomas was given the lot to preach in India, but he did not want to go there. Then the Lord sold it to an Indian merchant named Habban, who was a close associate of King Guandafar and was looking for an architect to build a palace. Arriving at the king and receiving money to buy building materials, Thomas distributed them to the poor, and he himself began to preach the Gospel in the vicinity of the city. After some time, the king, convinced that there was no palace and that instead he was promised eternal blissful abodes in heaven, became terribly angry and threw Thomas into prison. Meanwhile, the king's brother Gad died and saw a beautiful palace in the sky, which was built by Thomas. He was told that when he returned to earth, he told his brother Guandafar about all this. Both brothers converted to Christianity, so the Apostle Thomas again had the opportunity to preach the Gospel. Then he visited a number of other countries and was killed in one of the cities near present-day Madras (72).
Written apparently between 180 and 230. in Mesopotamian Edessa, “Acts” still has a historical grain. This is confirmed by the gold coins of King Guandafar, found in Kabul and kept in the Lahore Museum (Punjab). Apparently, Guandafar's power extended to the regions of Kandahar (Afghanistan), western and southern Punjab.
Information about the Apostle Thomas is scattered throughout the works of the Fathers and teachers of the Church. Clement of Alexandria in “Stromata” speaks of the martyrdom of the Apostle Thomas, without indicating the place of death. Saint Gregory the Theologian in his 33rd word to the Arians calls Thomas the apostle of India. Saint John Chrysostom, commenting on the Epistle to the Hebrews, says that the remains of the Apostle Thomas, like other saints of God, were buried in a foreign land, although he does not indicate where exactly. Saints Ambrose of Milan, Blessed Jerome, Rufinus, Simeon Metaphrastus, church historian Socrates - all confirm that the Apostle Thomas preached in India. The Monk Ephraim the Syrian, in one of the hymns dedicated to the Apostle Thomas, says that he labored in India, and his relics were then transferred to Edessa. Pseudo-Sophronius, who is mistaken for Blessed Jerome, in his essay “On Famous Men” (De viris illustribus) writes: “The Apostle Thomas, as tradition says, preached the Gospel of the Lord to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians and Margians. He died in the Indian city of Kalamine.” One Syriac manuscript of the 5th–6th centuries contains a list of Equal-to-the-Apostles saints of the 3rd and 4th centuries, which says that India and all the surrounding countries to the sea received ordination from Judas Thomas. He was here the head of the Church, which he founded and established. Thus, the oral tradition of southern India, and the discovery of a large number of Roman coins in Kerala and Madras, proving the possibility of travel from northern to southern India, and the burial place of St. Thomas, and the early traces of Christianity in this country, all convince that St. Thomas the Apostle worked hard here.
However, it must be remembered that the Syrian Church, especially Edessa, was in close canonical relations with the Church of India, which for many centuries took bishops and sometimes priests from the Syrian Church, and shared the same dogmatic teaching with it. From the middle of the 2nd century, the Gospel decisively entered Edessa through Addai in Palestine, and by the beginning of the 3rd century, Christianity was already the official religion of the country. Even after the capture of Syria by the Romans, the number of Christians did not decrease, and Edessa became the center of the national Syrian Church, which actively participated in disputes about the time of celebrating Easter, in the meetings of the First Ecumenical Council, and most importantly - in active missionary activities that went far beyond the country. It was during this period that hostility towards the West was especially acutely felt, and on this basis there arose the need to have our own Christianity, independent of the Greek Christianity of the Roman Empire. During the period of Nestorian and Monophysite disputes, the Syrian Church began to finally separate from the entire Church. However, a split also occurred within the Syrian Church itself: in the western regions almost everyone became Monophysites, and the East became Nestorian. From this moment begins the rise of Seleucia-Ctesiphon on the Tigris, which declared its independence (420) from Antioch and became the spiritual center of the Nestorians. The Nestorian Churches, developing missionary activity, reached the steppes of Central Asia, Tibet and China (8th century). They also exerted their influence on the West, introducing Greek culture into Western Europe through the Spanish Arabs and influencing the Mongols. However, since the Turkish domination, the Nestorian Church has been in decline, and the invasion of the Kurds finally defeated it. Nevertheless, being isolated for centuries from the rest of the Christian world, it still retained its church tradition and liturgical type.
There is very little information about early Christianity in India. The Chronicle of Soort (or Seert) gives very interesting information about Indian Christianity. According to this chronicle, Bishop David of Basra (a city on the lower reaches of the Euphrates) during the time of Patriarch Papa around 295, leaving his diocese, devoted himself to successful missionary work in India, which can be confirmed by the fact that, according to Gelasius of Cysis, among Bishop of Persia and Greater India John also signed the acts of the First Ecumenical Council. And although Gelasius wrote his history of the Council of Nicaea at the end of the 5th century. (475), when one and a half hundred years have already passed since this event, however, there is no reason to suspect a lack of historical authenticity here.
The tradition of the Malabar Church says that, thanks to the preaching of the Apostle Thomas, the local inhabitants of India, who were deprived of the hierarchy for a long time, converted to Christianity, again returned to idolatry. It was revealed to Bishop Joseph of Edessa in a dream that the Indian Church had no shepherd. The Bishop of Jerusalem instructed a merchant named Thomas, who was originally from Cana in Mesopotamia, to find out about the condition of local Christians during his next trip to India. Returning to his homeland, he spoke about the plight of the local Church, and together with a group of Christians of 400 people, among whom were Bishop Joseph of Edessa, elders and deacons, he again arrived in Malabar, landing in 345 in Malankara. Apparently, these Christians of Jerusalem, Baghdad and Nineveh fled Persia to escape the persecution of King Sapor II (309–379).
The colonists were favorably received by the local inhabitants, and from King Sarum they received land and privileges, inscribed on two copper tablets, which, although they died after 1544, their contents have survived to this day in a Portuguese translation kept in the British Museum.
Around the middle of the 4th century, according to the Armenian writer Philostorgius, Emperor Constantine sent Theophilus of India to the Omirites and Saveians. Having visited a number of Indian islands, he corrected much of what the local Christians had distorted. Around 470, Mana, Bishop of Riwardashir, teacher of the Edessa school, wrote church teachings, articles, chants in Pahlavi Persian, and translated the works of Theodore of Mopsuet from Greek into Syriac, then sending all this to India.
The first completely reliable information about the Christians of South India is given by Cosmas Indicopleustes (Indicopleus) in his book “Christian Topography” (VI century), in which he describes the situation of Christians in this country. He found clergy and believers on the island of Taproban (Ceylon), in Malabar, on the island of Dioskoros. A local bishop accepts consecration in Persia. On this basis, it should be assumed that the local Christians, maintaining contact with Persia, were Nestorians, because at the end of the 5th century Nestorianism prevailed in Persia. This connection with Persia was maintained in the 7th century. A letter from the Nestorian Patriarch Isoap III (650–660) to Mar Simeon, Metropolitan of Riwardashir (Persia), is known, where the author speaks about India, which was at that time under the jurisdiction of this metropolitan.
Assemani, who studied the history of India, mentions the arrival in India of Bishop Thomas Canas (825), who had jurisdiction over the cities of Cranganore and Angamaly. The founding of Quilon by Syro-Persian Christians dates back to the same period (823), who arrived in India together with the merchant Marwan Saprisho and the Syrian fathers Mar Sapro and Mar Afras and asked the local king (the last of the Perumal dynasty) for a piece of land on which to build a church , where bishops and metropolitans sent by the Catholicos of the East later came. They also received (878) privileges from the Vanadian king named Agianus on seven tablets, of which only five survive. The place of settlement of these Christians was the southern part of modern Travancore. In 1547, during excavations in southern India on Mount St. Thomas the Apostle, near Madras, the Portuguese found two Persian crosses. Both are carved from black stone, with one depicting a dove on top and around the edges an inscription in Pahlavi, which was used by the Persian aristocracy during the Sassanid dynasty (226–651). Only at the international congress of orientalists in Oxford (1928) were specialist archaeologists able to read this inscription, which reads: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on Afras, son of Kaharbukht the Syrian, who preserved this cross.” Experts attribute these crosses to the 7th or 8th centuries. Apparently, the mentioned Afras kept these crosses and made an inscription when he arrived in India in the 9th century. together with Saprisho. The third cross found there dates back to the 10th century. Found in 1921 and 1924 in the north of Travancore and north of Cochin, two crosses also confirm the early existence of Christianity in this country.
During this period, trade relations between Syria and India were further strengthened, and the permanent settlements of Syrian and Persian Christians on the banks of the Malabar guaranteed a direct connection between the Indian Church and the Church of Syria. The wars between Persia and Byzantium (420–422) caused terrible persecution of Christians in Persia and ultimately contributed to the separation of the Church of Persia from the Patriarchate of Antioch (424). The Catholicos of Seleucia-Ctesiphon headed the Eastern Syrian Church, which included 27 metropolises and 230 dioceses in Eastern Syria, Mesopotamia, Iran, Arabia, South India and China. Thanks to the intensive missionary activity of the Nestorians, Christianity spread among the Turkic and Mongolian tribes. Even Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was influenced by Nestorian teachings. In China, a monument to the Middle Empire has been preserved in the form of the Sin-gan-fu column, erected in 779 and detailing the penetration of Nestorian missionaries into China in 681, and Genghis Khan’s troops included Nestorian Christians. At the Baghdad court, the Nestorian Catholicos was considered the head of all Christians and the representative of all Christianity. Therefore, for India too, he was the spiritual leader for a thousand years.
The Malabar Church accepted Nestorianism into the patriarchate of Vabei, the Babylonian Catholicos (497–502), and preserved it for more than nine hundred years. Some are inclined to believe that Indian Christians for a long time depended on the Metropolitan of Revardashir, whose see was located in the south of Persia. This part of the Chaldean Church was in some way separated from Seleucia from 585 until the patriarchate of Catholicos Timothy I (780-823), who fought for the reunification of this metropolitanate with the whole Church and who brought the Indian Christians out of subjection to the Metropolitan of Riwardashir by giving them a Hindu metropolitan. According to Abdisho (714–728), the Metropolitan of India occupied tenth place in the Chaldean Church and stood before the Chinese.
The increasing influence of Seleucia caused concern among Indian Christians, who tried to maintain some independence. To the attempts of Catholicos Yusuf II (628–646) to return the Church of India under his authority, the Malabar bishops responded: “We are disciples of the Apostle Thomas and have nothing to do with the See of Mar.” This statement, however, is based more on nationalistic reasons than on dogmatic differences, because the aforementioned Catholicos Timothy I, although he gave the Indian Christians a metropolitan, at the same time in his letter to them hinted at the primacy of Seleucia.
The Christians of Malabar did not participate in Christological disputes, and for them Nestorianism remained in fact a dead letter. Living at a distance from the rest of the Christian world, among the overwhelming majority of Hindus and Muslims, they always considered themselves members of a single Church that sought to preserve their spiritual heritage. Without a doubt, through merchants and travelers, they knew about church life in the West, and guessed about the ways of development of theological thought, but the fear of completely getting lost among the darkness of Islam and paganism kept them from a final break with Seleucia. From this it becomes clear why the Malabar Christians warmly received the Portuguese, trustingly looking at them as confessors of the true faith of Christ and trying to find friends and patrons in them.
Many medieval travelers testify to the existence of the Church in southern India. In 594, the Catholic monk Theodore, visiting Mylapore, saw there a large and richly decorated temple in which monks served. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions that in 883 a delegation led by the Bishop of Sherburne was sent to the Malabar Church to fulfill King Alfred's vow at the tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle, through whose intercession he defeated the Danes. These episodic contacts continued in the future. In 1122, the Metropolitan of India, arriving in Rome, received a pallium from Pope Callistus II. In 1252, Pope Innocent III founded a missionary society of Franciscan and Dominican monks to preach the Gospel in the East. Among the many representatives of this society was the famous missionary John of Montcornet, who stayed in Malabar for about a year (1291-1292) during his journey to China. He preached the Gospel to the Hindus at Mylapore, baptizing many hundreds of them. In 1293, the Venetian Marco Polo, returning from China, saw in Mylapore the temple of the Apostle Thomas, which was revered not only by Christians, but also by Muslims. In 1321, the French Dominican monk Jordan of Catalonia from Severac, the Franciscan Thomas from Toledino, James from Padua, Peter from Sienna and the Georgian monk Demetrius, departing from Avignon, arrived at the port of Thane (near Bombay). There was a small Nestorian community here, which told the missionaries about the Christians of Malabar. Jordan was the first to go to Malabar, and the rest were captured and killed for not paying due respect to the prophet of Islam. Jordan of Catalonia, after successful preaching, returned to Avignon, was ordained bishop (1328) and in 1331 returned to India as Bishop of Quilon, building a temple in Quilon in honor of St. George. Italian merchant Nicolo de Conti, who in the period from 1415–1436. been to India more than once, he says that besides Mylapore, Christians are scattered here, like Jews throughout Europe. Finally, Louis de Varthema, who visited the region of India north of Quilon in 1505, says that Christians of St. Thomas live there, and that every three years a priest from Babylon comes there to baptize them. These Christians observe a very strict fast before Easter and perform the liturgy like the Greeks, but in four names: John, James, Matthew and Thomas.
Thus, on the basis of these fragmentary information, it can be judged that in the pre-Portuguese period, the Malabar Church represented a significant organization, semi-dependent on the Babylonian Catholicos, striving for self-determination and at the same time to establish contacts with the West.
3. Malabar Church during the period of Portuguese rule
Striving to enrich their country by expanding foreign trade and at the same time guided by a purely religious feeling in planting the evangelical faith, the Portuguese began to spread rapidly in India from the beginning of the 16th century.
Vasco de Gama sailed from Lisbon on June 7, 1497 and landed at Calcutta on May 14, 1498. He arrived in India for the second time in 1502, visiting Cochin, where local Christians, having learned that he was a subject of the Christian king, sent a delegation to him, asking him to take them under their protection. The delegation, as a sign of submission to the Portuguese king, presented the navigator with a rod, which was considered the scepter of local Christian kings, whose dynasty had ended. This wand was red with silver trim and three silver bells. A surviving document written by four bishops of the Malabar Church gives some information about this joyful meeting given to the Portuguese by Indian Christians.
After the Battle of Cochin (1503) and the capture of Diu (1509), Portuguese rule began in India, which gradually spread to the north, where Islam was strong. At the same time, the activities of Catholic missionaries, who prepared the ground for the subordination of the Malabar Church to Rome, expanded. The most significant of these was the Jesuit Francis Xavier (1506–1552), a student of Ignatius of Loyola, who under Pope Paul III was appointed papal nuncio to India and the Far East. He preached in Goa in 1542, was in Travancore, went twice to Japan and in 1552 to China, where he died. During his stay in India, he founded at least 45 Christian communities, converting several thousand Indians to Christ.
At this time the Syrian Malabar Church was in the process of reorganization. Its hierarchy consisted of Metropolitan Mar Yaballah and three bishops - Mar Den, Mar Jacob and Mar John, who were subordinate to the Catholicos of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. Nothing is known about the first two hierarchs, Bishop John died in 1503, and Mar James continued to rule his Church until 1549, maintaining friendly relations with the Portuguese. He helped the Franciscans found a college in Cranganore in 1546 to train Roman Catholic clerics from the Christians of St. Thomas the Apostle. He adopted Latin customs to some extent and even retired in 1543 to a Franciscan monastery located near Cochin. Francis Xavier spoke of him as a kind and holy old man who served God and the king for forty-five years. He died in 1549 far from his flock.
And at this time, the Eastern Syrian Church, which was the Mother Church for Christians of the Apostle Thomas, was experiencing an internal crisis. After the death of Patriarch Simon VIII Var-Mama (1551), some bishops elected his nephew Simon Var-Denha as their successor, while others considered the most suitable candidate the monk John Sulak, who was elected. However, he did not remain patriarch for long. Returning from Rome, he was captured by the authorities and killed in prison in January 1555. His supporters elected Abdisho to the patriarchal throne. To strengthen his spiritual power (which, naturally, was disputed by Simon Var-Denkh) throughout the Eastern Syrian Church, he instructed Metropolitan Mar Elijah to install Mar Joseph, brother of the last Catholicos, as Metropolitan of Malabar. However, the Portuguese met them in Goa unfriendly, sending them to a monastery, where they stayed for a year and a half (1556). In 1558, Mar Joseph was released and given permission to come to southern Cochin to oppose another Chaldean Nestorian bishop who had arrived in Malabar earlier and did not share sympathy for Rome. Mar Joseph, being able to attend churches again, came into contact with Indian Christians and began to spread the Nestorian teachings, contrary to what he had previously taught. He believed that confession was unnecessary, icon veneration was idolatry, and the Virgin Mary should be called the Mother of Christ. He was eventually captured by the Portuguese and taken to Cochin, where the Jesuits forced him to renounce his errors. He was then sent to Goa, and from there to Lisbon, where he remained for more than a year. In Portugal, Mar Joseph met the queen and the regent of the country, Cardinal Enrico, whom he captivated by the nobility of his conversion and profession of faith. Finally, on June 27, 1564, in a letter from Pope Pius IV, he received the blessing to return again to Malabar and remain faithful to the Catholic Church, according to the promise made in the presence of the Catholic Patriarch Abdisho in 1562. However, after returning to India, Mar Joseph began again profess the faith of the Eastern Syrian Church. Captured a second time in 1567, he was accused of heresy and sent to Portugal, and from there to Rome, where the Roman judges retreated before his piety, recognizing him as absolutely devout. Soon he died suddenly (1569).
During the absence of Metropolitan Mar Joseph (after his first arrest in 1563–1565), at the request of Indian Christians, Patriarch Abdisho sent Mar Abraham to India, who was cordially received in the country. However, at this moment Mar Joseph also returned. There turned out to be two contenders for the throne. Mar Joseph, citing a papal letter, received support from the Portuguese, who captured Mar Abraham and wanted to send him by ship to Lisbon. However, during the voyage, Mar Abraham managed to escape from the ship in the port of Malindi thanks to a strong storm that broke out off the eastern coast of Africa, and arrived in Mesopotamia. Patriarch Abdisho wrote on August 24, 1564 to the Latin Archbishop of Goas that Mar Abraham expressed complete obedience to the Roman Church and that with the blessing of Pope Pius IV, who advised him to temporarily divide Serra between Joseph and Abraham, he would thus restore ecclesiastical peace. However, before the letter arrived in Malabar, Mar Joseph was again captured (1567), and Mar Abraham, who arrived in Goa (1568) with the papal envoy, did not encounter any obstacles from the Portuguese authorities, with whom he tried to maintain certain relations as best he could. However, Mar Abraham, while maintaining relations with Catholics, did not forget about the Patriarch of Babylon, to whom he wrote that his position in India was under threat. Then Patriarch Ilia VII (1576–1591) sent his vicar named Mar Simon, who was soon captured by Catholics and sent to Portugal, where he died (1599).
Catholics, gradually strengthening their influence in the country, did their best to prevent the penetration of clergy of the Chaldean Church. In 1575, a council in Goa, the cathedral city of the Latin archbishop of India, decided that Serra should be governed by a bishop appointed by the Portuguese king, and not by the Chaldean patriarch. Every bishop arriving in Serra must present his credentials to Goa. In addition, the Jesuit seminary in Faypicotta was of great importance in the proselytizing activities of Catholics, where about fifty students studying Latin and Chaldean languages, moral theology, dogmatics and liturgy, led by teacher Francis Rose, later Bishop of Serres, were called to carry out the mission of the Roman Church among Christians in India. At the diocesan council in Goa (July 1585), where Mar Abraham was present, a number of decisions were made, in particular, on the translation of the Latin breviary and liturgy into Syriac and on the correction of the Chaldean liturgical books. Mar Abraham, who signed the minutes of this council, hardly understanding the consequences of this act, returned to his residence, accompanied by the Jesuit Francis Rosa, who was appointed his assistant and adviser in the implementation of these reforms. Subsequently, relations between them became more than once strained, because the first refused to make corrections to the liturgical books of Malabar, which contained the names of Theodore of Mopsuet, Diodorus of Tarsus and Nestorius, did not ordain students of the Faypicotta Seminary in the Latin Rite (1590), and refused to come to the council in Goa on January 27 1595 Then he fell ill and asked for reconciliation from the Jesuits, recognizing submission to Rome. Having recovered from his illness, he continued to govern his diocese until his death (1597), being the last metropolitan of the undivided Church of Christians of the Apostle Thomas. Before his death, he appointed Archdeacon George de Cruz as a representative of the Church and asked the Patriarch of Babylon to send a bishop to India. However, the Portuguese authorities had already received orders from Pope Clement VIII (1592–1605) to prevent any cleric from Persia from landing in India, and, after the death of Mar Abraham, to appoint an apostolic vicar to govern his bishopric. Archbishop Alexius Menezis of Goas, having learned of the death of Mar Abraham, appointed Francis Rosa as head of the Serres Archdiocese, whose see was to be in Angamaly. Roz was considered the most suitable candidate because he had been Mar Abraham's adviser for twelve years and was well acquainted with the affairs of the archdiocese. However, Archdeacon George had already begun to manage the archdiocese, and Menezes, changing his decision, made George the administrator of the archdiocese, and Rosa his assistant and adviser, as well as the director of the Faypicott seminary. However, under pressure from the Christians of Serra, George remained the sole administrator of the archdiocese on the condition that he accept the Latin confession of faith. George postponed the act of accepting confession until Easter, holding out the hope that by then a bishop would arrive from Babylon. Four months later, without waiting for him, George convened the clergy and representatives of the people in Angamaly and demanded from them unquestioning submission to himself, observance of the Syro-Malabar rite and obedience to the Patriarch of Babylon. Soon Menesis himself arrived and demanded a confession of faith from the archdeacon. He repeated the confession he had made before the Franciscans, and mentioned the pope as the head of only the Latin Church, and not the universal. This did not satisfy Menezes, and he undertook a trip to Cochin (February 1599), where he received the archdeacon with great cordiality, hoping to overcome the fear and suspicion of the Indians through peaceful negotiations with George on their own soil. However, the archdeacon and the clergy, who behaved nobly towards the archbishop, decided to explain to him that he was just a guest bishop and had no power over the Christians of the Apostle Thomas.
Archbishop Menezes used the seminary in Faypicotta, whose students, trained by Jesuit teachers, extolled the representative of the Roman Church, to meet with Archdeacon George. The Archbishop, standing in full vestments, spoke about due obedience to the Roman Church, about the fact that until now the bishops of Malabar were not true shepherds of the Church of Christ, but thieves and robbers who did not enter the sheepfold by the door. During the liturgy, he preached a sermon in which he spoke about cleansing fire and anointing according to the Latin rite, a completely new teaching for Christians of the Apostle Thomas. Archdeacon George, who was not present at these celebrations, arrived in Faipikotta two days later, celebrated the liturgy and offered a prayer for the Patriarch of Babylon as the universal shepherd of the Christian Church. Menesis, who was present at this service, after the liturgy gathered all the clergy, seminarians and laity and, in the presence of the archdeacon, pronounced excommunication against anyone who dared to remember the name of the Patriarch of Babylon during the service. The pope should have been mentioned instead. The archdeacon and two presbyters signed the act of excommunication, and then told the believers that the archbishop and the Portuguese had forced them to sign this document. The people demanded punishment for Menezis, but George stopped them, saying that this act was still not valid, since it was signed under pressure. After this, George retired to Angamaly, and the archbishop continued to travel around parishes, preaching everywhere about the law of Christ, calling for obedience to His viceroy on earth. George's indignation reached its peak when Menesis, arriving in Diamper, invited him, as the administrator of the diocese, to attend the ordinations that he was about to perform. George excommunicated everyone who was ordained by the bishop of Goas, telling them that they would never be accepted into the clergy of the Angamal diocese. The archbishop, without attaching any importance to this, ordained thirty-eight priests. And when he performed a solemn service on Holy Week 1599, which made a deep impression on the believers of Katutturutti, the entire church community of this city submitted to the archbishop. The parishes in Molandurt and Diampere followed her example. Taking advantage of this, the Archbishop of Goas, through a proxy, offered reconciliation to George on the following conditions: 1) condemnation of the errors of Nestorius, Diodorus of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia, 2) correction of liturgical books, 3) obedience to the pope, 4) anathematization of the Patriarch of Babylon, 5) recognition of the jurisdiction of the Latin archbishop Goassky, 6) acceptance of the bishop only after appointment by the pope and approval by the Portuguese authorities, 7) preparation for the council and 8) accompanying the archbishop on his trips. Only Archbishop Alexei Menezis, Francis Roz and Archdeacon George were present when the act was signed. It was decided to convene the council on June 20, 1599.
4. Diamper Cathedral
Intensive preparations for the cathedral began: invitations were sent out, the archbishop consecrated antimensions for new parishes, performed fifty consecrations with the help of Archdeacon George, and developed resolutions of the cathedral.
On June 20, 1599, the cathedral opened with a solemn service. It was attended by 113 priests, 20 deacons and 660 lay observers. On June 21, the form of confession of faith set out at the Council of Trent was read, with an anathema against the Patriarch of Babylon and Nestorius. The clergy and laity signed this confession, the content of which in general terms is as follows: “I believe that our Virgin Lady is truly the Mother of God, and as such all believers should honor her, because truly and truly of Her I was born in the flesh and without suffering and painlessly the true Son of God, who truly became incarnate. She always, before and after Christmas, remained a pure Virgin, never being defiled by sin. I condemn and anathematize the satanic and destructive heresy of Nestorius and his erroneous teaching, Theodore (Mopsuestus) and Diodorus (Tarsus) and all their successors or followers, who, having been seduced by the devil, became godless, taking on two faces and two hypostases in Christ Jesus our Lord, saying that the eternal Word never took human nature into Himself, but only dwelt in humanity, as in a house or in a temple, and the Holy Virgin is called not the Mother of God, but the mother of Christ. I reject and condemn all these errors as heresies of the devil, and I believe and acknowledge what the Holy Council of Ephesus decreed about this, at which, on the instructions of Pope Celestine I, the Patriarch of Alexandria, Saint and Blessed Cyril presided. I confess that this Hierarch is holy and pleasing to God, and whoever slanderes him is deprived of eternal life.”
At the third meeting, a doctrine of faith was formulated, set out in fourteen points. The last point contained dogmatic teaching about the pope. “In the whole world there is only one Catholic Church, the head of which is the Pope of Rome, invested with unlimited power, the successor of the oldest of the apostles - St. Peter. Thus, the Roman Church is the Mother, Mistress and head of all the Churches of the world, and the Pope of Rome is the head, father, lord and teacher of all Christians, the patron of all believers in general and in particular of bishops, archbishops, primates and patriarchs of all the Churches of the world. He is the archpastor of all emperors, kings, princes and all believers. Therefore, those who do not obey him as the representative of Christ on earth are deprived of eternal life, and as heretics, schismatics and opponents of the will of the Lord Jesus Christ are subject to eternal condemnation.” Francis Rose, a professor of Syriac, arrived at this meeting to begin, on behalf of the council, to find errors in the text of the Holy Scriptures and liturgical books. Based on the Vulgate, passages in the First Epistle of John were omitted: “the three are those who testify in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one” (5:7), and “every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not from God” (4:3). Many books, replete with erroneous teaching, were collected and burned or prohibited from being read. These were: “The Childhood of Christ”, “The History of the Virgin Mary”, “The First Gospel of James”, “The Pearl of Great Price”, where the Virgin Mary is called the mother of Christ, and not the Mother of God, “The Life of Abbot Isaiah”, which says that the union of two natures in Christ is common to the three Persons of the Holy Trinity, and where St. Cyril of Alexandria is condemned, “The Book of Patriarch Timothy”, which says that in the sacrament of the Divine Eucharist it is not the true Body of Christ that is taught, but an imaginary one, “Interpretation of the Gospel” and many others, which contained Nestorian teaching about Christ and other misconceptions. Within two months, all clergy and people had to hand over all books for correction or destruction under penalty of excommunication. By the twenty-first decision of the council, Malabar Christians were to recognize all the Ecumenical Councils adopted by the Roman Church, especially the Ephesus and Trent Councils. The canon of Holy Scripture has been replenished: the book of Esther, Tobit, the Wisdom of Solomon, the 2nd Epistle of Peter, the 2nd and 3rd Epistles of John, the Epistle of Jude and the Revelation of John the Theologian were previously missing.
There were also changes in worship in about twenty places. The name of the pope must be remembered, the breaking of bread and drinking wine was condemned, kneeling was introduced after the transubstantiation of each type of the Holy Gifts, and the reading of the Nicene Creed was established immediately after the Gospel. The Council wanted to liken the Malabar liturgy to the Latin Mass, adapting all sacred rites to the charter of the Roman Church. The veneration of saints and some other holidays, including Candlemas, were introduced, compulsory celibacy of the clergy was introduced, and some Indian customs, superstitions, the doctrine of metempsychosis and horoscopy were condemned.
At the council, the Serres archdiocese was divided into seventy parishes, the rectors of which received a special act with the decisions of the council for the faithful to read and study its contents. Finally, 153 clergy and 660 laity put their signatures on the protocols and, having received antimensions, a vessel with consecrated oil, liturgical books translated from Latin into Syriac, a catechism in Malayalam and vestments, they left for their parishes. On the eighth day the cathedral closed.
After the meeting of the council closed, Menezis continued his journey through the parishes, explaining the meaning of the council, performing baptisms and publicly confessing to his confessor in order to encourage Christians to celebrate this sacrament. Considering his mission in India completed, he returned to Portugal, where he was received with honor, but soon fell out of favor and died.
5. Dissatisfaction of local Christians with the Portuguese.
Uprising “at the slanted cross”
Archdeacon George was appointed governor of the Serres archdiocese in Paravour, and Francis Rose and the governor of the Faypicott Seminary were his assistants. In 1601, Francis Rose became metropolitan of the affiliated Church with a see in Cranganore, which he transferred from Angamaly in 1605. Rose himself was not an active supporter of the introduction of the Latin rite in India. As the first Latin bishop of the Syrian Christians of India, he managed to prevent the unconditional approval of the decisions of this council from Rome, because Alexios Menesis introduced various elements into the already signed text of the council, and his harsh and compromise decisions subsequently caused a schism in the Malabar Church.
However, the Angamaly bishopric was subordinated to the Goas bishop, and therefore to the Portuguese. Therefore, the Malabar Christians, who for centuries had been governed not by a bishop, but by an archdeacon, expressed dissatisfaction, since they saw that power had passed from the hands of the archdeacon to the hands of a foreign bishop.
On December 22, 1608, Pope Paul V raised the status of the Diocese of Algamal to an archdiocese, dividing the Diocese of Cochin and giving Cranganore, which had previously been part of the Latin bishopric, to Archbishop Francis Rosa. The Latin Bishop of Cochin was dissatisfied with this act, fearing the increasing influence of the Christians of the Apostle Thomas. Relations between the Bishop of Cochin and the Archbishop of Serres became strained. George took advantage of this and convinced the local princes, especially the Cochin princes, that the influence of the Jesuits was harmful to them. Then Rose excommunicated him and reported to the Inquisition, and George, having no support, was forced to surrender, signing an act of repentance and reconciliation on Easter 1615. However, the reconciliation was purely external. The archbishop, forced to leave the diocese twice on his business, appointed not George as the administrator of the archdiocese, but the director of the Faypicott Seminary. The archdeacon refused to recognize the appointment of a European, which he considered a violation of canonical principle. He was supported by the suffragan bishop Stefan de Brito. The archbishop excommunicated George, instructing the local princes to hand him over to the Portuguese. However, two years later (1662), as a result of the uprising, a third of the Christians of the Apostle Thomas took the side of Archdeacon George.
After the death of Francis Rosa (1624), Archdeacon George ruled the archdiocese peacefully until the appointment of Stephen de Brito as Archbishop of the Christians of the Apostle Thomas. In 1625, the new archbishop arrived in Angamale. De Brito was of a peaceful nature and believed that with his kindness he could win the sympathy of George, who, for his part, also maintained friendly relations with the new archbishop, although he more than once tried to use the opportunity to speak out against de Brito. However, the latter did not change his attitude towards the archdeacon; he even consulted with him on all administrative issues and gave him a document on the basis of which his former power was returned to the archdeacon. In 1636, Archdeacon George died.
The archbishop, wishing to further win over the all-powerful family of George, appointed George's nephew, that is, Thomas de Campo, to the vacant administrative position of archdeacon. However, events after the death of Stefan de Brito (December 1641) showed that the tactics of nobility and conciliation failed.
De Brito was succeeded by his suffragan bishop, the Jesuit Francis Gargia, who ruled under very difficult conditions, trying to introduce a purely Latin liturgy into the Malabar Church. The new archdeacon and his supporters, without waiting for the pope's response to their complaint, turned to the Nestorian Patriarch of Babylon, the Jacobite Patriarch of Diarbakir and the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria with a request to send a bishop to Malabar. In response, Bishop Akhatallah arrived from the Nestorian patriarch, who was in communion with Rome, who lived in Mosul. He arrived in Surat in the spring of 1652 and, through Indian Christians, sent a letter to Archdeacon Thomas. However, the Inquisition soon found out about him and captured him. Meanwhile, the Christians of the Apostle Thomas, having received the letter, turned to Gardji with a request to petition the Portuguese authorities for the return of Akhatalla, who called himself Patriarch of All India Ignatius. However, the Portuguese did not give up Akhatallah, despite the fact that about 100,000 Syrians gathered in Cochin to meet the patriarch, whom the Portuguese were taking to Goa. During these tense days, a rumor spread that the patriarch had been killed and thrown into the sea. When the Christians realized that there was no way to free the patriarch, they fell into terrible indignation and, having gathered at the porch of the temple in Mattancher, near Cochin, swore at the huge cross that they would never obey the Archbishop of Goas, that their head was Archdeacon Thomas until then. until they receive a bishop from the Eastern Church. This event went down in history under the name “Uprising at the Inclined Cross.” There were other performances in Faypicott and Manat. Of the 200 thousand, 40 thousand remained loyal to Garji.
Following this, Archdeacon Thomas began to organize the Church. He presented a letter from Ahatallah, who authorized the Syrian Churches of Malabar to elect a bishop for themselves, and on May 22, 1653, on the day of Pentecost, he was ordained metropolitan by twelve priests with the title of Mar Thomas I. However, the anti-canonical consecration of Mar Thomas made it possible for the Latin clergy to once again subjugate many rebels.
Pope Alexander VII, taking advantage of the good attitude of the Christians of the Apostle Thomas towards the Carmelites, decided to send the Carmelite monks Joseph and Matthew under the leadership of the Italian Jesuit Jacinthos to Malabar. Joseph, avoiding the Jesuits, arrived in Edapally in 1657.
Meanwhile, serious political changes were taking place in India itself. Portuguese dominance at sea was ending. As early as 1595, when the first Dutch fleet of four ships under the command of Gutmann set sail for the East, the way was opened for regular Dutch traffic to India. And a few years later (1604), an agreement was already signed between the Malabar emperor Samorin and the Hague admiral S. van der Hagen with the aim of expelling the Portuguese from India. In 1640 there was still joint domination of the Portuguese and Dutch in Ceylon, and on May 7, 1654, the Dutch, with the support of the King of Ceylon, captured Colombo and then the entire island. In 1658, they captured a number of cities in mainland India (Manar, Tuticorin and Negapatan), moving north. In 1661 they captured Quilon, in 1662 Cranganore fell, and after a fierce battle on January 6, 1663, the Dutch took Cochin. Only Goa remained in Portuguese hands until 1961.
6. Gradual formation of the Syro-Catholic and Monophysite groups
Meanwhile, the missionaries who arrived in Malabar convinced Christians to obey the pope, since the archdeacon’s consecration as bishop was non-canonical and to rectify the situation he needed to go to Rome and there ask for the pope’s blessing for the consecration. Gargia also acted, ordering that all Christians obey the archbishop on pain of excommunication. Some heeded his threats and went over to the side of the archbishop. Among them was the archdeacon's cousin Alexander de Campo, who later became the first Indian bishop to be ordained by the Roman Catholics. The Portuguese authorities, concerned about the Dutch threat, gave the Carmelite monks free reign in their peacekeeping mission. However, the Carmelites did not reveal to anyone that they were bound by the Pope’s order to return the Church to the jurisdiction of Archbishop Gargia, and, winning parish after parish from Mar Thomas, they said everywhere that they had received from the Pope the right to ordain a bishop for the Archdiocese of Serres, who would be completely independent of Archbishop Gargia. Mar Thomas, for his part, pursuing the idea of independence from Roman rule, convinced his supporters that the supreme head of the Malabar Church was not the pope, but the Patriarch of Babylon, and that these monks had no right to ordain. As a result of the sharp division of Christians into those who supported submission to the Holy See and those who supported a return to the previous ecclesiastical position, great discord arose between both groups. Then it was decided, at the suggestion of the Portuguese, to organize a meeting of all church communities in Cochin and read the message of the pope handed to the Carmelite monks, which said that the Malabar Christians should be subordinated to Archbishop Gargia. If this message had been read in its entirety, then everything would have been lost, so at the meeting on September 23, 1657, only the part of the message that spoke about their appointment was read. The deposition of Mar Thomas was not discussed. The Christians agreed that Joseph should become their church leader. By the end of this year the majority of the Christians had joined Joseph, who on December 25 presided over a farewell meeting at Cochin among forty-four priests representing the twenty-eight communities of the south, and conferred temporary authority on Matthew until the arrival of the monk Jacinthos in Serra with his credentials. At this meeting, the Christians of the Apostle Thomas declared their submission to Rome and presented Joseph with a document outlining the reasons why they could not submit to the Jesuit archbishop, as well as a request to send them an archpastor. Joseph left Malabar in January 1658 and arrived in Rome a year later. Meanwhile, Archbishop Gargia, who looked with hostility at the work of Iacinthos to attract Christians to his side by violent measures, died in September 1659, and a few months later the Carmelite Iacinthos also died. In Rome, the question was discussed whether to appoint a Portuguese bishop to India, thereby causing discontent among the Portuguese authorities, or an Indian, satisfying the ambition of the Malabarians and ending the strife. After much discussion, Pope Alexander VII decided to return Joseph to Malabar as vicar apostolic governing the archdiocese of Cranganore, ordaining him titular bishop of Hierapolis on December 25, 1659, under the strictest secrecy.
Having landed in Cochin on May 14, 1661, he decided to immediately expel Mar Thomas. To this end, acting with the help of gifts and promises, he persuaded the Cochin prince to become an arbitrator for both sides, citing violence on the part of his opponents as the reason for the trial. The court required both parties to present credentials. Joseph presented them without difficulty, while Mar Thomas's representative could show nothing to the Cochin court except a copy of Akhatallah's letter. Joseph Sebastiani was recognized as the legitimate bishop, and Mar Thomas barely managed to escape to the mountainous regions of the country, from where he continued to lead the Church. And Joseph, as a result of the episcopal journey he undertook in August 1661, finally subjugated 84 parishes, and only 32 remained with Mar Thomas. But the days of Portuguese rule in India were already numbered. After the capture of Cochin, the Dutch ordered all foreign clerics to leave the country. Joseph on February 1, 1663 ordained Alexander de Campo as Bishop of Megara, taking from him an oath promise to accept any representative of the Church coming from the Pope and not to ordain his cousin Thomas as a bishop without permission from Rome. Then, leaving the monk Matthew as a special adviser to Bishop Alexander, he finally left Malabar, barely escaping arrest in Goa, where a royal order came from Lisbon to seize him and Jacinthos, whose death was not yet known. With great difficulty, on May 6, 1665, he arrived in Rome.
Bishop Alexander, already at an advanced age, turned to Rome with a request to send himself a successor. He wanted to elect his nephew Matthew, but four Carmelite monks who arrived from Rome elected on March 3, 1676 the Indo-Portuguese mestizo Raphael Figuedo Salgado, a Latin Catholic from the Cochin bishopric, who was ordained bishop in 1677. However, this election of a half-foreigner offended the national feelings of the Syrians, and as a result of aggravations, the Carmelites, with the consent of Rome, appointed Custodio de Pino as Brahmin bishop (1684), subordinating Bishop Raphael to him as the apostolic exarch of Malabar. Two years later, Bishop Alexander died, on October 12, 1695, Raphael Figuedo died, and soon Pino (1697).
By the end of the 17th century, there were already two main groups of Christians in Malabar: Syro-Catholic, which attracted many Christians to its side, using the argument of the invalidity of the consecration of Mar Thomas and acquired the first native bishop in the person of Alexander de Campo, and Monophysite, which arose from the Nestorian one due to the lack of theological education of Christians by the Apostle Thomas after the arrival in 1665 of the Jacobite Bishop of Jerusalem Gregory in Malabar.
7. Jacobites in Malabar
Mar Gregory arrived in Malabar in response to Mar Thomas's letters to the Syrian patriarchs of the East. He abandoned unleavened bread and Catholic vestments and introduced leavened bread and Eastern sacred vestments after the Eucharist, abandoned the doctrine of purifying fire, insisted on the anathematization of Nestorius and the Pope, and on the removal from the Creed filioque and on the introduction of former church customs, condemned by the Council of Diamper. It is believed that he performed the canonical consecration of Mar Thomas as bishop. During his short episcopal activity in Malabar, he managed to introduce Monophysite teaching instead of the Nestorian one in that part of the Church that was subordinate to Mar Thomas, and ensure that the Jacobite Church of Antioch was recognized as the “Head and Mother of the Universe.” He died in 1672, and a year later Thomas de Campo died, whose successor Thomas II ruled the Church until 1686.
In 1685, two Jacobite bishops arrived in Malabar - Mar Basil and Mar Ivanius from the Mosul monastery of Mar Mattai. Mar Basil soon died, and Mar Ivanius, continuing to rule the Church, tried to replace Roman customs with Jacobite ones, rejected the IV Ecumenical Council and tried to reintroduce a married priesthood. Some time later he ordained Mar Thomas III (1686–1688), and then Mar Thomas IV (1688–1725 or 1728), dying in 1694.
As already mentioned, the Dutch prohibited all missionary activity by foreigners in India. However, Pope Innocent XII, through the German Emperor Leopold I, having ensured religious freedom for the Calvinists of Hungary, achieved freedom of action for Roman missionaries in India. In this regard, a concordat was concluded between the Dutch and Portuguese in 1698. In February 1700, the director of the Carmelite Seminary of Verapol, Angelo Francis, was temporarily appointed Vicar Apostolic of Malabar until the Bishop of Cochin and the Archbishop of Cranganore took up their sees. Without waiting for episcopal consecration from either the Bishop of Cochin or the Archbishop of Goas, he turned to the Chaldean Bishop Mar Simon, who was at that time in Malabar, who ordained him as a bishop on May 22, 1701. However, some time later, on December 5, 1701, the Holy See appointed the Jesuit John Ribeiro (1701–1716) as Archbishop of Cranganore. This appointment aroused strong opposition from Indian Christians of both Churches. The Dutch, noticing the unrest among the Christians, forbade John Ribeiro to remain on their territory, and the Christians to recognize him. Thus, Angelo remained the head of the Malabar Syro-Catholics, ruling his flock from Verapolis.
However, the situation became complicated again after the arrival in Malabar of Metropolitan Gabriel of Azerbaijan, whom the Nestorian Catholicos Ilia XI (1700–1722) sent to find the lost Nestorian flock. Mar Thomas sent a letter to the Jacobite Patriarch, outlining the Nestorian errors of Gabriel and demanding that bishops be sent to condemn him. However, a letter sent by a Dutch official reached Rome, which was interested in preventing the arrival of Jacobite bishops in Malabar. Gabriel delivered the confession of faith to Bishop Angelo, who soon, convinced of its insincerity, tried to expel it from his jurisdiction. But Gabriel managed to win over 42 parishes that were in communication with Rome and, after his death (1730), mostly transferred to the Jacobite Church.
Mar Thomas IV (†1728) was succeeded by his nephew Mar Thomas V, who continued the struggle against Mar Gabriel and the Roman Catholic missionaries and at the same time repeatedly appealed to the Dutch to help him obtain a bishop from Syria. In 1747, with the help of the Dutch, Jacobite Bishop Ivanius arrived, who, however, soon deceived the hopes of Christians and caused general indignation with his “reforms.” He was eventually expelled from Malabar (1751) by a group of bishops sent by the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius XXVIII.
The names of these bishops are: Basil (1751–1753), who received the title of Metropolitan of Malabar, Gregory (1751–1773) and John (1751–1794). Chorebishop Gregory and two priests also arrived with them. They would have ordained Mar Thomas, but first asked him to resolve a number of issues and, in particular, to pay them the expenses associated with their move from Syria to Malabar. Disagreements arose and the Dutch government was forced to intervene, reaching an agreement for Mar Basil to ordain and appoint priests, but with the permission of Mar Thomas. Syrian rites and church customs were to remain unchanged. However, misunderstandings continued until the death of Mar Thomas V (1765), who ordained his nephew (1760), also Thomas, who became his successor with the name Thomas VI, without receiving consecration as a bishop from the bishops sent by the Patriarch of Antioch.
The second half of the 18th century was full of political events that took place in the country. The Sultan of Mysore, Tippu, invaded the southern regions of India, causing destruction and death all around. Many temples, especially in the north of Malabar, were destroyed, about ten thousand Christians were killed, and many were taken captive and forcibly converted to Islam. However, he was defeated by English troops, who from 1750 to 1780. were between Madras and Bengaluru and were waiting for an opportune moment to oust the Dutch from India. Such a moment later turned out to be Napoleon's annexation of Holland to France. Thus, Dutch domination in India, which lasted from 1663 to 1795, was replaced by English.
8. Dutch schism. Influence of Protestantism
During this period, despite the fact that Mar Thomas VI was consecrated by the Jacobite bishops with the name Mar Dionysius, relations within the Church remained strained. Mar Gregory, dissatisfied with Dionysius, ordained one monk as a bishop without his consent with the name Cyril I (November 28, 1772), which was then recognized by the Cochin authorities (Dutch). Soon Gregory died (1773). Mar Dionysius and Mar Ivanius protested this uncanonical ordination without the approval of the Church, ordering Cyril to submit to Mar Dionysius. However, he fled to British Malabar, where he ordained his brother as bishop with the name Cyril II (1794). Since then, an independent Church has existed in Annur (Toliur), which today numbers up to 3,000 members; each of its bishops, after his election and consecration, elects and ordains his successor. This is how the second division of the Church arose.
Mar Dionysius sought the reunification of all Christians of the Apostle Thomas, but the first step towards this should be submission to the pope. The Syro-Catholics, with whom Dionysius maintained good relations, gathered in 1787 for a meeting in Angamaly to discuss the issue of uniting with the Jacobites. They demanded that in the future they no longer accept foreign bishops, but rather have their own. However, the general bishop's commissioner of the Carmelites, having arrived in Trivandrum with a Dutch official for a trial on this issue, ensured that a fine was imposed on the Syro-Catholics and henceforth such speeches were prohibited. Mar Dionysius, for his part, also made all sorts of attempts to achieve recognition from Rome, but each time he was punished with a fine for failure to fulfill those conditions that served as a guarantee of the sincerity of his intentions. Having failed to achieve recognition from Rome, he ordained his nephew Matan as bishop (1796) with the name Mar Thomas VII. In an effort to eliminate the schism in the Church (the so-called Annorianism), Dionysius legally ordained Cyril II, who turned to him, appointing him to the Mulanthurutti Church; after him were Mar Philoxenus I (1802) and Mar Philoxenus II (1811).
New political events had a strong impact on the life of the Malabar Church. In 1795, Cochin was captured by the British, who appointed a governor here, who was essentially the ruler of the country. Through the offices of the East India Company in Madras, the penetration of English missionaries into South India begins. The first Anglican priest to visit the Syrian Church in 1806 was Dr Kerr. In the same year, the priest Dr. Claudius Buchanan arrived in Travancore, then visiting a number of Syrian churches. In Kandanath, he talked with Mar Dionysius about the need to translate the Holy Scriptures into Malayalam (this translation was made and printed in Bombay (1811) and later presented to Mar Thomas VIII), about the possibility of uniting with the Church of England for the sake of the progress of Christianity in India and about other reforms in Churches.
After the death (May 13, 1808) of Mar Dionysius, Mar Thomas VII ruled for some time, who died due to illness in 1809. Opinions regarding his successor were divided. Some wanted Thomas VII's cousin as head of the church, while others wanted his nephew, who was ordained bishop by the hand of the dying Thomas VII with the name Mar Thomas VIII. This raised doubts about the authority of his consecration. Nevertheless, Mar Thomas VIII was recognized as metropolitan. His assistants and advisers were Rabbi Joseph and Rabbi Philip, who at first worked closely with the new metropolitan. But in 1810, when Colonel Munro became the new governor, Rabbi Joseph submitted to him a report in which he denied the authority of the episcopal consecration of Mar Thomas VIII. However, Munro was unable to settle the issue, and the dispute continued until the death of Thomas VIII (10 January 1816). And Rabban Joseph, not having the episcopal rank, turned to the Annorian Philoxenus II, who ordained him bishop with the name Dionysius II on March 9, 1815. The reign of Dionysius II was short-lived: on November 24, 1816, he died. Then the Annorian Philoxenus II arrived in Travancore and, with the help of the local government, was proclaimed Metropolitan of Malabar. In October 1817, his archdeacon George Punnatra was elected to the post of metropolitan, ordained with the name Mar Dionysius III. Philoxenus II, having resigned, returned to Toliur. Mar Dionysius III, realizing the illegality of his ordination, turned to the Patriarch of Antioch with a request to send a metropolitan to perform canonical ordination over him, but he soon died (May 5, 1825). Professor Philip was elected as his successor, who was ordained by Philoxenus II with the name of Dionysius IV and who worked as a suffragan bishop until the death of Philoxenus II (1829).
Returning to the question of the influence of the Anglican Missionary Society in India, mention should be made of the activities of the Anglican Bishop L. Brown, who for a number of years was the director of the theological seminaries in Trivandrum and Travancore. Having become closely acquainted with the life of the Malabar Church, in his book “The Indian Christians of St. Thomas” he speaks of the enormous contribution made by the English governors, especially Colonel Munro, to the Christianization of the country. At the request of Colonel Munro, the English missionary Thomas Munro soon arrived, who believed that for the successful development of Protestantism in the country it was necessary to introduce English education. Through the governor, he achieved the liberation of Syrian Christians from political oppression, from the obligation to pay duties and taxes to Buddhist temples, and achieved the appointment of Christian judges to government courts. The Holy Scriptures were published in Malayalam in 1811, 1817 and 1830. In 1815, a seminary for Jacobite clergy was opened in Kottayam, the director of which was Rabban Joseph - later Bishop Mar Dionysius II. The missionaries taught in various parochial schools of primary and secondary education, helping Christians understand the text of the Holy Scriptures. On May 8, 1816, missionary Thomas Norton arrived in Aleppo, followed by Benjamin Bailey, who labored until 1850, then Joseph Fenn (1818) and Henry Becker (1819). Trying to cleanse the Malabar Church of Nestorian and Catholic influences and customs, in their sermons during Syrian worship they spoke about the need for reforms in faith and in church practice. Mar Dionysius III was pleased with the assistance provided to him both from the English government and from the Anglican missionaries in the matter of preparing candidates for the priesthood and providing clergy with appropriate salaries. Mar Dionysius III abolished the celibacy of the clergy, allowing clerics to marry after completing the seminary course. Nevertheless, fearing the sharp influence of Protestantism, which sought reform in the Church, Mar Dionysius III, and then his successor Mar Dionysius IV, began to be more restrained towards Anglican missionaries.
In November 1825, Bishop Athanasius Abed al Massih arrived from the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch, George V, declaring himself the legitimate metropolitan of the Syrian Church of India. He excommunicated Dionysius IV and Philoxenus II, then re-ordained nineteen priests, tried to seize the seminary, but was repulsed in time. The British, seeing that a schism was brewing again, expelled Athanasius and, after the death of Philoxenus II (1829), proclaimed Dionysius IV metropolitan.
However, Mar Dionysius IV never sympathized with the missionaries, and when they began to reproach him for greed and the ordination of minors as deacons (this custom had existed since ancient times), the Metropolitan forbade Christians to pray with the missionaries and Anglicans, who had shortly before installed their first bishop of Calcutta, Daniel Wilson. Having decided that the time had come to finally establish whether the Syrian Church would remain under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch or would go over to the side of the reformation, in January 1836 he convened a meeting in Mavelikkara, which was attended by Mar Cyril, the new bishop of Toliur, where, gratefully acknowledging the help, received from the British, rejected all the reforms proposed by Wilson and proclaimed the devotion of Christians to the Apostle Thomas the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch. This meeting marked the end of official relations between the Missionary Society and the Syrian Malabar Church. Unofficial relations continue through the Church Missionary Society Seminary and Grammar School in Kottayam, where many Syrian Christians are educated.
9. Marthomite schism
However, the seeds of Protestantism, sown by Anglican missionaries during the period of official relations with the Syriac Church, contributed to the emergence of a group of reformers, which initially consisted of four priests led by Abraham Malpan, a professor of Syriac at the Kottayam Seminary. He revised the Syriac liturgy, translated it into modern Malayalam, omitting prayers for the dead, invocation of saints and the Mother of God, and retained only the external form of worship. Mar Dionysius IV excommunicated him along with his associates. Then Abraham, seeking to ensure that Dionysius's successor was a supporter of the Reformation, sent his nephew Deacon Matthew, who was studying at the Madras gymnasium, to the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius XXXI-Elijah II, who was in a monastery near Mardin. Despite the protests of Dionysius, the patriarch ordained this deacon on February 2, 1842, first as a presbyter, and then as Metropolitan of Malankara, giving him the title Mar Athanasius Matthew. Arriving in Malabar (March 1843), Mar Athanasius went to Trivandrum, where he achieved recognition from the authorities who were favorable to the reformation. In September of the same year, supporters of Mar Athanasius gathered for a meeting near Kottayam, declaring him the legitimate metropolitan, and the consecrations of Dionysius and his predecessors invalid. Dionysius, in turn, sent a letter to Patriarch Ignatius XXXII, where he accused Athanasius of Protestantism. The Patriarch excommunicated Athanasius as a heretic and sent Mar Kirill to India to investigate the matter, providing him with blank sheets of paper with his signature. He, taking advantage of the opportunity, declared himself Metropolitan of Malabar, and Dionysius IV, exhausted by constant disputes and anxieties, not wanting to recognize Athanasius, resigned. But the British governor in 1852 recognized Mar Athanasius as the legitimate metropolitan and made sure that he was given a royal decree confirming him as metropolitan of Malabar. Kirill was forced to leave Travancore and Cochin. Soon Mar Dionysius died in one of the rural churches. After some time, the Antioch Patriarch James II sent Mar Stephen to India to resolve the situation, despite all his efforts in Calcutta and London to resolve the church issue, the situation did not change. He was eventually banned from entering Cochin and Travancore and was forced to return to Mardin (1857) in failing health.
Mar Athanasius, remaining the only head of the metropolitan throne in Malabar, still felt guilty before the patriarch and asked him for forgiveness. The Patriarch lifted his excommunication on February 2, 1856. However, the repentance was insincere and therefore short-lived. Under the influence of Protestantism, he introduced some innovations in the Church, in particular, he allowed widowed priests to marry, although he was afraid to fully implement the reform program drawn up by his uncle Abraham Malpan. After the death of the Annorian Cyril III of Toliura (1856), Athanasius ordained Joseph as his successor.
In 1857, Mar Joachim-Kirill, who was in disgrace, filed an appeal in the Calcutta court, where he argued that he was the only legitimate metropolitan of the Syrian Malabar Church, since he was appointed by the Patriarch. The court decided that this was an intra-church matter, which depended on the members of the Church themselves. The Travancore government allowed him to have his own followers. In 1861, he turned to Patriarch Jacob with a request to send two bishops and four monks to Malabar. The Synod allowed clergy to be sent from Malabar. Wanting to restore the ancient family of Pakalomattam, which until 1813 had the privilege of electing an archdeacon from among itself, priest Philip summoned one of the members of this family, priest Joseph Pullicott, and, providing him with a forged letter allegedly from Bishop Mar Joachim-Cyril, sent him for episcopal consecration to the patriarch. April 18, 1865 he was ordained bishop as Mar Dionysius V. However, the Aleppo court raised the question of the legality of the election of the metropolitan depending on his recognition by the state, and the decision was in favor of Athanasius, who, to strengthen his position in 1868, ordained his cousin Thomas as bishop, proclaiming him his successor with the title Mar Thomas Athanasius. Conservative circles became worried, fearing the influence of Protestantism. Dionysius also had many communities and churches that stood in opposition to Athanasius, whose actions greatly irritated the Patriarch of Antioch, Peter IV, who was elected on June 4, 1872. The latter recognized Cyril-Joachim and Dionysius-Joseph, excommunicating Athanasius-Matthew and the two bishops ordained by him. Fearing foreign influence in the Malabar Church, the patriarch personally went to London to ask for the assistance of church and state authorities in resolving the situation in Malabar. Meanwhile, on August 20, 1874, after 28 years of management, Cyril-Joachim died. The Patriarch, having received an invitation from Mar Dionysius, set off from London to India and on May 15, 1875 was already in Madras, and then in Travancore. Despite, however, respect for the patriarch, some of the clergy and believers, including members of the Missionary Society, took the side of Mar Athanasius Matthew, while the northern communities joined the patriarch, who immediately began decisive action. First of all, he achieved the repeal of the government decree of September 1, 1875 recognizing Mar Athanasius as Bishop of Malabar, then on May 19, 1876 he convened a council in Mulanthurutti, at which relations between the Jacobite Church of India and the Antioch Patriarchate were established. In accordance with the definition of the council, the Malankara Archdiocese occupied the same position in relation to the Patriarchate as the other bishoprics of Syria occupied. The content of the document, signed by the superiors of all communities, was aimed at unconditional submission to the Patriarchate of Antioch, the exclusion of any discussions regarding the legality of the bishops sent by the patriarch, and the stabilization of the financial system of the patriarchate in India on reliable foundations. Under the so-called “Christian Syrian Society,” a special administrative commission was established consisting of 8 priests, 16 laymen, one secretary and a treasurer to control all ecclesiastical and administrative matters. Its head was to be the Metropolitan. The Patriarch divided the Church into seven dioceses, ordaining several priests for this. Mar Dionysius V was appointed to the Kilon diocese, Julius-George - to Tompon, Gregory-George - to Niranam, Cyril-George - to Angamaly, John-Paul - to Kandinada, Dionysius-Simon - to Cochin, Athanasius-Paul - to Kottayam . In addition, he ordained another 120 priests and 17 deacons, returning to Mardin on May 16, 1877. Besides Cochin, the number of believers in these dioceses reached 300,000. The court of 1889 handed over to Dionysius V the seminary in Kottayam and almost all the churches that had once belonged to Matthew Mar Athanasius († July 15, 1877), whose consecration was declared invalid. As a result, Thomas Athanasius, who succeeded Matthew Athanasius, was left with several churches. However, the latter did not lose hope. They built new churches instead of those that were forced to be left to the Jacobites, created the “Missionary Evangelical Society of Mar Thomas” (1889), strengthened their ties with the bishopric of Toliura, whose bishops ordained (1894) for them Bishop Mar Titus, the younger brother of the deceased in 1893 .Mar Thomas Athanasius, and founded two colleges. After Mar Titus I (1894–1911) there were Mar Titus II (1911–1944), Mar Abraham (†1947) and Mar John.
The number of believers reaches 200,000. Three bishops are located in Tiruwella, Chekanur and Katara Kara. The church is well organized. Four dioceses, consisting of 226 parishes with 140 clergy, are subordinate to the Metropolitan. There is a seminary in Kottayam, which cooperates with the union of theological seminaries of Kerala and Trivandrum. The Church has communion in the sacraments with the Anglicans and is a member of the World Council of Churches. Together with the Annorian Church, it carries out great missionary, catechetical and charitable work. She preserved the Jacobite liturgy, however, without prayers for the dead and without invoking the saints and the Mother of God; communion is performed under two types. The elimination of Syriac and the introduction of colloquial Malayalam into liturgical life, the abolition of icons and the introduction of clergy marriage marked a break with the past, indicating the abandonment of the ancient Syriac tradition. The Mar-Thomite schism is the third division in the Malabar Church as a result of the strong influence of Protestant missionaries.
It should not be forgotten that during the period of official relations between the Church Missionary Society and the Syrians, the latter, experiencing the strong influence of Protestants, completely abandoned their Church and accepted Anglicanism. They introduced the Anglican liturgy, translated into Malayalam, into worship, and some became clerics of the Anglican Diocese, created in 1879, with its center at Kottayam. Now it is part of the Church of South India, founded on September 27, 1947, which includes the Anglican Diocese of South India, the Methodist Church and the United (Protestant) Church of this country.
10. Split of Rokkos and Mellos
However, the Syriac Church of India, which was in communion with Rome, was also tested in the last century, because the desire of the Syro-Catholics was to receive their own church head independently of the Syro-Chaldean Patriarch, whose see was in Mosul. On June 1, 1853, the Propaganda of the Faith in Rome received a letter signed by thirty Syro-Catholic priests of India with a request to appoint a bishop of the Syrian rite for their church, because their flock of two hundred thousand was without an archpastor, while Christians of the Latin rite, much more small in number, had three apostolic vicars in Verapole, Quilon and Mangalore. The Chaldean Patriarch Joseph VI Avdo, who was in communion with the Roman Church, supported the initiator of this movement, Anthony Fandanatta. Contrary to the advice of Rome not to interfere in the affairs of the Malabar Church, in September 1860 he ordained Bishop Mar Rokkos with the title of Basra. 116 church communities joined the new bishop. However, the vicar apostolic was instructed to excommunicate Rokkos, who was staying at Cochin, if he did not leave Malabar. Patriarch Joseph, summoned to Rome, was forced to excommunicate Rokkos, who left Malabar in March 1892 along with Anthony Fondanatt. The believers asked Anthony to be their bishop, but he, ordained bishop by the Nestorian patriarch Simeon XVII Abraham, met opposition from the Goan Portuguese and Catholics and was forced to retire to the Carmelite Syrian monastery in Mannanam.
The Patriarch made repeated attempts to restore the privileges of his Patriarchate both at the Vatican Council (1870), the decisions of which he signed without much desire, and in 1873, turning to the “Propaganda of the Faith” with a request to ordain one or two bishops for Malabar. However, it was all in vain. Then he, being outside the sphere of influence of the Dominican missionaries in the Alqosh monastery (40 km from Mosul), appointed Mar Elijah Mellos Bishop of Malabar, informing the Syro-Catholics of Malabar on July 2, 1874 and asking for assistance from the British authorities of India. On October 30, Bishop Mellos, in his district message, already called on the Syro-Catholic communities to submit to the Patriarch and leave the jurisdiction of the Latin hierarchy. A year later, he asked the Patriarch to ordain a second bishop for him, and on July 25, 1875, one monk named Abraham was ordained Bishop of Uragas with the title of Mar Philip James. At first about forty churches joined Mellos, then he ordained about fifty more priests in northern and southern Malabar. The number of Mellos' supporters during this period reached 24,000. However, in February 1882, Rome issued an ultimatum to Patriarch Joseph to recall Mellos and Mar Philip-Jacob from Malabar under pain of ban by the Holy See. Mellos left India that same year, but before leaving he ordained many young people from among his supporters and again consecrated Bishop Anthony Fondanatus, who led this group until 1900. Returning to Mosul, Mellos did not want to become the successor of Patriarch Joseph. In 1889 he finally submitted to Rome and died as Archbishop of Mardin in February 1908. The followers of Mellos in India have the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows in Trikhura and since 1907 have been under the jurisdiction of the Nestorian Patriarch of Babylon: Patriarch Simon XIX Benjamin in 1908 . ordained Bishop Mar Timothy Abimelech (†1945) for them. This small Church today numbers approximately 5,000 believers, has one bishop, eight priests, six deacons and about ten churches. The Chair of the Nestorian Catholicos has been located in Chicago (USA) since 1933. In the canon of Holy Scripture, the Mellosians do not include the non-canonical books of the Old Testament, the 2nd Epistle of Peter, 2nd and 3rd John, the Epistle of Jude and the Revelation of John the Theologian, they recognize the procession of the Holy Spirit only from the Father, and they accept only the first two Ecumenical Councils. Their Christology and Mariology are Nestorian. Baptism, the Divine Eucharist and the priesthood are considered sacraments; Confirmation is performed symbolically, that is, without holy chrism. The ancient custom of agape is associated with the Divine Eucharist. The liturgy is celebrated in Syriac. Icons of Christ and saints have been abolished, and a simple cross is placed before believers for worship. Clerical marriage was reintroduced, as well as some Nestorian customs, which led to the return of many members of this Church to the Roman Catholic Church.
Pope Leo XIII, for the final settlement of the church issue and the creation of a local hierarchy, by a bull of May 29, 1887, removed the Syro-Catholics from the jurisdiction of the Carmelites of the Verapolis archdiocese, uniting them into two bishoprics - Trihur and Kottayam, but headed by foreign bishops. However, the Syro-Catholics continued to seek their bishop. Ten years later the same pope appointed to them three apostolic vicars of the Syrian liturgical rite. They were Mar John Menacherry, Vicar Apostolic of Thrikhur, Mar Alois Parem Parambil, Vicar Apostolic of Ernakulam, and Vicar Apostolic Thomas Matthew Malik of Khanganakheri. On August 29, 1911, Kottayam was allocated to a special apostolic vicariate by a bull of Pope Pius X. Finally, on December 20, 1923, on the eve of the feast of the Apostle Thomas, Pope Pius XI, by the bull “Romani Pontifice,” created an independent Syro-Malabar Church, establishing the Ernakulam archdiocese with three dioceses : Trikhurskaya, Kottayamskaya and Khanganokherskaya. In 1950, the Hanganoher bishopric was divided into two dioceses, as a result of which the Patai bishopric arose. In 1953, the sixth bishopric, located in the state of Madras, was created in northern Malabar with the see of Tellyherri, and three years later (1956) the seventh bishopric, Kothamangalam, was created, and the Hanganaheri diocese was elevated to an archdiocese. According to 1972 data, there are more than 7.9 million Catholics in India. More than 60% is concentrated in two southern states - Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The number of Syro-Catholics in Malabar reaches 1.2 million. The church has 678 churches and 577 chapels, in which 1,172 priests serve. There are 439 seminarians studying in seminaries in Puthenpally, Mangalore and Ceylon; there are many schools, boarding houses, 4 monasteries and 16 monasteries, and various periodicals. The connection with Rome is carried out in these eight dioceses through the Carmelite monks.
11. Later disagreements
Returning to the events within the Jacobite Malabar Church after the Mar-Thomist schism, it should be noted that internal problems and disagreements once again led to sad divisions within this Church. They arose immediately after the Council of Mulanthurutty (19 May 1876). Bishop Dionysius-Simon of Cochin, citing local tradition, opposed the division of the Church into dioceses, while Dionysius disputed the validity of Simon's consecration, which was carried out without the consent of the people. The court supported Simon. He was also supported by the patriarch, who wrote that he has the power to ordain at his own discretion whomever he wants. Events developed. In 1905, the Turkish government deposed the Jacobite Patriarch Abdullah Messiah, in whose place Gregory Abdullah II, who had once accompanied Peter IV on his trip to India, was elected on August 15, 1906. It was to him, just before his death, that Dionysius V sent two monks, George and Paul, in 1908, as candidates for bishops. Together with the Christian Syrian Society, he asked that George be ordained with the right of succession to the metropolitan throne. The Patriarch ordained the first with the name Dionysius, and the second with the name Kirill. In addition, he ordained a Syrian monk named Mar Eustathius as a bishop and sent him to India as his personal representative. In Dionysius's charter, he did not mention the right of succession. After the death of Dionysius V (1909), at the request of Syrian Christians and with the consent of Mar Eustathius, George Dionysius VI was appointed metropolitan, whose election was approved by the patriarch.
Patriarch Gregory Abdullah II, in order to strengthen his influence in India, comes there in 1910. However, the meeting, at which decisions are made on the spiritual rights of the See of Antioch in the Malabar Church on the basis of the canons, decisions of the council in Mulanthurutty, the royal court of appeal of 1889, as well as local church customs, opposed the subordination of the Malabar Church to a foreign patriarch. The Patriarch condemned this meeting and excommunicated Dionysius VI, accusing him of disobedience. He then appointed Mar Cyril chairman of the Christian Syrian Society and Metropolitan of Malankara, and ordained two more bishops, Mar Paul Athanasius and Mar Sevira, in the bishoprics of Angamaly and Knanai. All three signed the patriarchal document of obedience. By the way, the Christian Syrian Society declared the patriarchal excommunication of Dionysius VI invalid and, having re-elected its members, rejected the power of the patriarch and his jurisdiction over the Church.
Thus, the Church was again divided into two parts: into the patriarchal Jacobite, which is mainly located in the north of Travancore, and into the metropolitan, or Hindu-Orthodox, headed by the Catholicos of the East, located in the south of Travancore.
Nevertheless, Mar Dionysius VI sought to streamline his position. He invited the former Patriarch Moran Abdullah Messiah, who had been deposed by the Turkish government, and who did not recognize the Sultan’s decision on his deposition. However, the Travancore authorities banned him from entering the country, fearing new unrest. Then Messiah came to the ancient temple of Niranama and there on July 14, 1912 he proclaimed Bishop Paul-John of Candinada Catholicos with the title of Mar Basil I. The new Patriarch of Malankara had to recognize only the spiritual superiority of the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch, but not his jurisdiction over the Malabar Church. Messiah gave the Malankara bishops the power to ordain a new Catholicos every time. But Dionysius continued to remain the actual head of the Church even after this. Thus, the Church was granted autonomy.
Nevertheless, the controversy continued because many were concerned about the question of whether Abdullah Messiah was the bearer of canonical patriarchal power in view of the special position in which he found himself or not. The issue of church property, considered at the trial in 1913, was decided in favor of Dionysius VI, whose excommunication was considered invalid and explained by the patriarch's claim to civil power, and not by the canonical violation of the excommunicate. Negotiations between Mar Dionysius VI and Patriarch Elijah, the successor of Gregory Abdullah II, did not yield any results. The death of these two husbands (Elijah died in 1932, and Dionysius in 1934) also did not entail any changes in the issue of reconciliation of both sides.
After the death of Dionysius, Catholicos Mar Basil II paid a visit to Patriarch Ephraim in Homs (Syria), however, apart from the patriarchal anathematization, he received nothing. In 1935, representatives of the Antiochian Jacobite Malabar Church elected Mar Athanasius as their metropolitan. The legal battle began again on the issue of the legitimacy of the heads of both Churches, which proceeded with varying degrees of success. Public opinion, tired of these endless trials, forced representatives of both sides to meet and come to an agreement on many points (1950). The regulations and statutes of the Malabar Church were aimed at the approval of the patriarch. The most important of all points was the introduction of the so-called. mafrianate, which meant recognition of the Malabar Church as semi-autocephalous, and the patriarch as the spiritual head of the World Syrian Church.
The problem of unification was finally resolved in 1962 by Patriarch Ignatius James III of Antioch, who recognized the Malabar Syrian Church as autonomous and himself as its spiritual head.
12. Current situation
Thus, starting from the Council of Diamper, the Christian Church of Malabar is divided into the following parts: 1) the Syro-Catholic Church, in communion with Rome, and the Roman Catholic Church of India of the Latin rite, which arose thanks to the missionary activities in this country of the monastic orders of the Western Church, with See of the Apostolic Vicar and Archbishop of Verapole; 2) “Independent Orthodox Syrian Malabar Church” headed by the Catholicos of the Apostolic See of the East; 3) the Jacobite Church led by the Patriarch of Antioch; 4) the Toliura Church, which broke away from the Patriarchate of Antioch in the last decade of the 18th century, and essentially consisted of a single bishopric of the same name; 5) Reformed Jacobite Church of Thomas, which arose in the second half of the 19th century. as a result of the influence of Protestantism; 6) the Anglo-Syrian Church, which arose as a result of the transition of Christians of the Apostle Thomas to the Anglican Church; and the Mellosian Church (or Nestorian), which arose as a result of a schism among the Syro-Catholics, with a see at Trichura. It should be noted that Bishop Mar Ivanius, ordained in 1912, in September 1930, together with Mar Theophilus, and part of his flock of 30,000 believers, transferred to the Roman Church. In the same year, another 180 clergy and laity joined him, and a year later - another 4,700 believers. The Pope appointed him Archbishop of Trivandrum, and the entire church community was called the “Syro-Malankara Church” (350,000 souls).
Let us move on to the current situation of the Syro-Jacobite Malabar Church, numbering 1,250,000 believers.
The Church is headed by His Holiness Catholicos of the East Mar Basil Augen I, whose residence is Kottayam (South India). Recognizing only the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch as the spiritual head, he, together with the Synod, consisting of diocesan bishops, governs the Church. In addition to the Synod, there is a committee for the management of the Church, elected from clergy and laity for a period of one year. It has ninety members, a third of whom are clergy. The Plenum meets once a year, while 8-9 people carry out permanent work between sessions. The Catholicos and bishops are elected by the executive committee of the “association” (electing body), which includes the bishops, as well as one clergyman and two laymen from each parish. The Synod deals with issues of faith.
The Church consists of ten dioceses governed by bishops.
1) Angamal (90 parishes, 124 clergy, department in Alwaya, Kerala).
2) Cochin (76 parishes, 63 clergy, Koreti).
3) Kandanadskaya (70 parishes, 66 clergy, department in Muvatopuzha, Kerala).
4) Kottayam (110 parishes, 85 clergy, department in Kottayam, Kerala).
5) Malabar (66 parishes, 35 clergy, cathedra in Kailikarta, Kerala).
6) Niranamskaya (86 parishes, 90 clergy, department in Pattanapuram, Kerala).
7) Kilonskaya (181 parish, 65 clergy, department in Berteni Ashram, Kerala).
8) Thumpanon (120 parishes, 84 clergy, see in Pattenamthit, Kerala).
9) Knanai (38 parishes, 40 clergy, department in Chingavanam, Kottayam, Kerala).
10) Management of parishes outside Kerala (in the cities of Madras, Bombay, Calcutta, New Delhi, Hyderabad, etc.; 40 parishes, 48 clergy, department in Kottayam, Kerala).
Recently, the Church has been in a stage of spiritual revival. Now not only representatives of certain families, but also those who want to devote themselves to this service become clergy. Besides the seminary at Kottayam, which was founded in 1815 and reconstituted in 1942, the Church runs seven colleges, 61 secondary schools and many primary and catechetical schools. There is an association of Sunday schools, which provides education to children in parishes, various youth movements, missionary societies and missionary organizations. Four printing presses publish books and magazines in English, Syriac and Malayalam. There are fourteen monasteries in the Church and four monasteries for women, with about 70 monastics.
13. Dogmatic teaching
As is known, by the decision of the Council of Diamper, many church and liturgical books of Malabar from the pre-Portuguese period were destroyed or corrected so that it became impossible to read them. The extreme hatred of the Malabar Christians for icons and the worship of only the cross confirms the assumption that this Church was indeed Nestorian. However, Nestorianism flourished because the majority of the people were completely ignorant of Christian teaching. Many clergy did not even know the Ten Commandments and were completely ignorant theologically. Therefore, the Jesuits, while observing the external form of worship, gradually and carefully replaced its dogmatic content (for example, instead of “Ave Maria” they introduced “Most Holy Theotokos, save us”), mainly through the Jacobite bishops of Syria, who arrived in the 17th century. to Malabar and introduced the rite, revised and corrected by the Roman Catholics. That is why the transition from the Nestorian to the Roman Catholic, and then to the Jacobite Church did not cause much theological controversy among the Malabar Christians, who did not have their own clearly formulated dogmatic teaching.
At present, the dogmatic teaching of the Syrian Malabar Church does not differ from the teaching of the Syrian Jacobite Church. She recognizes the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, three Ecumenical Councils, rejecting the IVth and at the same time anathematizing Eutyches as a heretic; has seven sacraments. Filioque she doesn't admit it. Nevertheless, there are differences in the Creed, although insignificant:
“... and Mary the Virgin (Mother of God) and became human.”
“... and suffered (and died) and was buried.”
“... and rose again on the third day (of his own free will).”
“... the Lord (the life-giver of all).”
“...who spoke the prophets (and apostles).”
In the matter of Christology, she adheres to a moderate Monophysite formulation, believing that Christ is perfect God and perfect man without sin, Who was born according to the flesh, being in an indivisible and unfused union in one Person and one Nature of the true God. The two natures in Christ exist without confusion, alteration or diminishment, entering into one another like wine and water. In his book “The Truths of the Holy Faith” (1950), Bishop Augen Mar Timothy, setting out the teaching of his Church on the basis of St. Cyril of Alexandria, rejects the Nestorian position, according to which man became God (gegљnhtai), but accepts Christ who was born God and Man (gegennhmљno from gegљnnhmai ). The Malabar Jacobites believe that the Divinity never abandoned the God-man Christ from the moment of his conception until his Ascension into heaven. God was the first to descend into the womb of the Virgin, taking on flesh, therefore the Virgin Mary is truly the Mother of God. Two natures, having united like wine with water, became one, which confirms the mutual unity of both natures in one. The two natures after the union are no longer two natures, but one nature, one person, one parsuppa (= an image corresponding rather to the Latin word persona), one will and One Christ. Bishop Timothy, in the above-mentioned book, denouncing Eutyches, says that he fell into heresy by accepting Christ, who was neither a perfect God nor a perfect man, because if the two unite and mix, then their properties will be violated and something third will result. At the same time, he opposes the division of the nature of Christ, comparing the inseparability of the union of two natures in Christ with the union of soul and body in man and warning against a possible error that could lead to the veneration of the quaternity, since nature cannot be thought of separately from the person in which it finds its existence and expression. Hence his distrust of the IV Ecumenical Council.
The main difficulties in formulating Christology lie in the correct interpretation of the terms kyono'nature' and knuma‘face’, but most likely – ‘personification’.
In their teaching about the Church, about the sacraments through which the grace of the Holy Spirit is given, and other dogmas, the Malabar Jacobites follow the teaching of the Orthodox Church. In the sacrament of baptism, grace is given for spiritual rebirth, and in the sacrament of confirmation, the baptized becomes a child of God. In the Eucharist they acknowledge the actual presence of Christ, but reject transubstantiation in the Roman sense. There is private confession, the effectiveness of the prayers of the Mother of God and the saints is recognized. The Pescito translation, the text of which until recently remained incomprehensible to the general public, became accessible thanks to English missionaries in the last century.
14. Worship
Obviously, before the Council of Diamper, the Syrian Church of Malabar used the liturgy of the Eastern Syrian Church, which was subsequently corrected by the decision of the Council of Diamper and published by Gouveia. Despite the fact that the aforementioned council introduced about twenty corrections to the liturgy (removal of the names of Nestorius, Diodorus and Theodore, the introduction of “Mother of God” instead of “Mother of Christ”, commemoration of the pope, etc.), local priests managed to preserve most of the liturgy in its original form . The envoy of the Jacobite Patriarch Mar Gregory, who arrived in Malabar in 1665, wanted to first introduce the Jacobite liturgy, but Mar Thomas I, fearing unrest, was forced to use the East Syrian corrected rite for a number of years. Even today, the Malabar Catholic Church uses the East Syriac liturgical language, although in some places it also uses Malayalam.
The Church recognizes 16 liturgies, the oldest of which is the Liturgy of Saint James. In addition, there are the liturgies of the apostles Matthew and Mark, the Twelve Apostles, Saints Ignatius the God-Bearer, Clement of Rome, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, and others. The liturgy of the Apostle James is in general use. The bread prepared on the day of the Eucharist is leavened and salted. Wine is made from grapes on the eve of the liturgy, which is usually celebrated daily, and on Great Pentecost - only on Saturday and Sunday. The main points of the liturgy are Prumion(beginning), usually with the exclamation of the deacon “Let us become good” and the response of the people “Lord, have mercy,” followed by a long and short prayer and “Bless, Lord.” After kaumas(common prayer) - “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts...”. The kiss of peace is taught by the priest through the deacon to all the people in this way: the deacon places his hand first on the right hand of the priest, and then on the right hand of the parishioner, who, pronouncing the word “peace,” in the same way conveys the kiss of peace to the person standing next to him. During the consecration of the Honest Gifts and until the end of the liturgy, organ music is played.
The sacrament of baptism is performed no later than two to three months after the birth of a child in the presence of recipients. The priest performs the renunciation of the baptized person, anointing him with oil, blessing the water in the name of the Holy Trinity, after which, turning the baptized person to face the east, he immerses him in the font. Confirmation takes place immediately after baptism. Churching for boys takes place on the fortieth day, and for girls on the eightieth day.
The fasts are the same as in the Jacobite Church of Antioch: weekly on Wednesday and Friday, four periods of fasting per year and the so-called. small fasts on special days. The Lord's and Mother of God holidays are similar to Orthodox ones.
15. Sacred vestments
The everyday vestments of clerics consist of a cassock with wide sleeves and a spacious button-down collar at the back. Priests wear this vestment with a hemispherical cover on their heads, and monks wear it with a “kukul”. The deacon's liturgical vestment consists of a surplice and an orarion made of red silk, decorated with crosses. The priest wears an epitrachelion, a phelonion and a belt on top of the surplice (or vestment), which supports the phelonion in the desired position. There are guards in his hands. Bishops, on top of the bishop's phelonion, which has a look intermediate between the priestly phelonion and the Orthodox bishop's mantle, wear an omophorion that falls onto the epitrachelion. The bishop has a panagia and a cross on his chest. He has a ring on his right hand, with which he holds a cross of blessing or a staff. Bishops and monks wear a black covering (schima) on their heads, on which bishops and archimandrites have crosses embroidered. The bishop's usual vestment consists of a black cassock trimmed with red material, which he wears over a red cassock. Clerics wear a beard and shave their heads.
16. Canon law
The ecclesiastical order in the Malabar Church before the arrival of the Portuguese was determined by the bishops sent by the Patriarch of the Chaldeans. During the period of Latin influence, Roman Catholics took their canonical definitions for Malabar from the decrees of the Council of Trent. And in the Syrian Jacobite Church the canon law of the Jacobite Church of Antioch was subsequently introduced, which is based on the Nomocanon of Bar-Gebreus. However, this Church preserved many provisions of ancient Chaldean canon law, as well as local legislation, reflected in the Portuguese legislation of 1653.
17. Temples
The Christian faith in the ancient Indian Church was passed on from generation to generation thanks to worship, which was the only means of maintaining the divinely commanded religion in this country, which miraculously preserved the legacy of St. Thomas the Apostle.
Not a single temple from the pre-Portuguese era has survived to this day, because they were made of wood. As a rule, the model for Syrian temples in India was the Portuguese style of ancient church architecture. The temple, usually surrounded by a wall on four sides, begins with a vestibule on the west. There are no seats in the temple. The Solea is separated from the main temple by a small partition about a meter high. In its southern part there is a font. Lamps are hung on the sole in the center, under which there is a small table with a wooden cross, candles and a bell. Liturgical books are also located here. The singers usually stand around this table. The altar is several steps higher than the middle part of the temple and is separated from it by a curtain. The throne is made of stone in the form of a cross. There are steps leading up to it in front and behind. In the center of the throne there is usually a cross, candles, and artificial flowers. The throne most often does not adjoin the eastern wall, so that the clergy can walk around it. On top it is covered with a silk blanket, on top of which is placed tablito, that is, a small stone or wooden tablet, consecrated by the bishop and serving as an antimension. Without tablito a priest does not have the right to perform the Divine Liturgy. Behind the throne there is something similar to an edicule, in which a cross is placed on Good Friday and holy water is stored. The altar has a lectern on which the priest or deacon places the Gospel to read the prescribed conception in front of the altar, “Calvary” - a raised platform on which stands a cross, two candlesticks, a censer and ripids with bells. Ripides are used for the consecration of Honest Gifts. They are held above the priest's head, waving slightly. Malabar Christians do not have an iconostasis or icons, but recently icons have gradually begun to be introduced in churches. In the middle of each temple hangs a chandelier, in the lamps of which nut oil burns.
18. Contacts with the Orthodox Church
Until recently, contacts with the Malabar Church were very limited and sporadic. In 1851, representatives of the Malabar Church turned to the Russian consul in Constantinople with a request to assist in establishing fraternal relations with the Russian Orthodox Church, but the Russian-Turkish war prevented the realization of this dream. At the end of the last century, the Urmian Christians reunified with Orthodoxy through the Russian Orthodox Church. At the same time, 15,000 Malabar Christians turned to the Holy Synod with a request for reunification, but the events of the early twentieth century prevented this. In 1933, Metropolitan Eulogius sent Hieromonk Andronik (Elpidinsky) to India to get acquainted with the Malabar Church, and then he himself met with Catholicos Vasily more than once to discuss pressing problems. Being himself unable to resolve the issue of reunification, Metropolitan Evlogy turned to the Patriarch of Moscow. Gradually, relations began to improve. In December 1952, the representative of the Greek Church, Archimandrite Panteleimon Karanikolas, later Bishop of Achaia, visited the Syro-Orthodox Church to participate in a meeting of the youth department of the World Council of Churches in India. He received an excellent opportunity to come into contact with official representatives and ordinary believers of the Malabar Church.
During the period from October 24, 1953 to March 1954, informal discussions took place between representatives of the Malabar Church and Prof. Oxford University by Dr. Nikolai Zernov.
The main obstacles that arose on the path to rapprochement were recognized as: 1) different theological language of Byzantine (Orthodox) and Eastern (Oriental) Christians in the formulation of the Christological question, 2) disagreement on the number of Ecumenical Councils, 3) disagreement regarding the veneration of each Church of her fathers, as well as other canonical and liturgical differences. This meeting can be called an attempt to probe both sides of the position, and at the same time can be considered as a useful contribution to the rapprochement of both Churches.
In February 1956, Bishop Jacob of Miletus, representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the World Council of Churches, having visited the Pre-Chalcedonian Churches, stopped in India, where he was received by the Catholicos of the “Syrian Orthodox Church,” with whom he had a conversation on a number of issues. In parting, the Catholicos said to the guest: “Before my eyes close, I want to see the land of promise, peace and the union of the Eastern Churches.”
In 1961, the period of Pan-Orthodox Conferences began, at which issues of rapprochement with the Ancient Churches of the East were discussed. The commissions are preparing materials for the upcoming dialogue with the Oriental Churches, in particular with the Malabar Church, whose representatives often visited the heads of the Orthodox Churches and were guests of our Church more than once. In response, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church led by Archbishop Alexy of Tallinn and Estonia (now His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus') participated in December 1965 in the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Seminary in Kottayam. In January 1969, our delegation led by Archbishop Anthony of Minsk visited the Malabar Church at the invitation of the Catholicos, after the participation in May 1968 of the delegation of the Malabar Church led by Metropolitan Abraham Mar Clement of Knanai at the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church.
Metropolitans of the Malabar Church
Until the beginning of the 16th century. The Malabar Church was under the jurisdiction of the Nestorian Church, which in turn traces its hierarchy to the apostles Peter and Thomas. Since the 17th century The Malabar Church entered the jurisdiction of the Syro-Jacobite Church, where it remains to this day, being in principle independent.
Jurisdiction of the Nestorian Patriarchate
| John †1503 | Francis Rose 1599–1624 |
| Jacob 1503–1549 | Stephen de Britto 1625–1641 |
| Joseph 1556–1569 | Francis Gargia 1641–1659 |
| Abraham 1567–1597 | Thomas I 1653–1673 |
Jurisdiction of the Jacobite Patriarch
At the beginning of the 20th century. There was another split in the Malabar Church into a patriarchal group and a Catholicos group headed by Dionysius VI.
Since 1962, both groups have united under the leadership of the Catholicos, recognizing the Jacobite Patriarch as their figurehead:
↩ Clementina Vaticana. T. 4. Roma, 1719–1728. - P. 306 (see ‘Arban...th ‘A. K. Op. cit. - S. 56). ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
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