Monday, February 28, 2011

Te Malabar and Malankara Syriac Orthodox Churches--An Introduction

From:  http://www.faswebdesign.com/ECPA/Syria/Chaldean.html

Malabar is a region in Southwest India in Kerala. According to local tradition, St. Thomas the Apostle evangelized the area and was martyred there; because of this these Christians in this area are therefore called Christians of St. Thomas. This Church was under the Assyrian Patriarch and was involved in the schism which occurred shortly after the Council of Ephesus in 431. In 1498 Portuguese missionaries made contact and were received as brothers of the same faith; communion with Rome ensued. But forced Latinization efforts caused many of the St. Thomas Christians to turn away. One branch broke off and joined the Syrian Orthodox Church which accepted the council of Ephesus. They became known as Malankara.

Like the Syrian Church, the Malankar Church employed the Antiochene Liturgical Rite using West Syriac script. In 1926 reestablishment of communion took place involving a bishop and several priests. Today this Malankar Catholic body constitutes about 16% of the overall Malankar Christians population of almost 2 million

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