PART TWO: THE CONDITION OF THE INDIAN

CHURCH UNTIL THE DEPARTURE OF THE

PORTUGUESE FROM INDIA IN 1663

CHAPTER ONE: THE SYRIAN EMIGRANTS OF EDESSA

By the middle of the fourth century Christianity in Malabar almost faded
away.99 But it was revived by Syrian emigrants from Edessa headed by Jo-
seph, a venerable Edessan bishop, and a distinguished merchant called Tu-
ma (Thomas) the Canaanite or Jerusalemite.100
Tuma was a prominent notable who carried out business with India. It
is also reported that when he once journeyed to the coast of Malabar, he
saw people adorning their chests with crosses. He thought they were Chris-
tians and began conversing with them. He learned that they were in a dire
need for priests. It is probable that the second persecution of Christians
waged by Persian King Shapur II and and that lasted for forty years (339–
379), had distracted the Metropolitan of Persia from looking after them.
Upon returning to his homeland Joseph spread the news about India.

99 Some say that the remnants of the Christians of the Apostle Thomas num-

bered 46 tribes in the middle of the fourth century.

100 There is no credibility to the claim of Butrus Nasri in his Dhakhirat al-

Adhan, 1: 364, and Rev. Sulayman Sa’igh in his novel Yazdandokht, 317, that these
emigrants were Babylonians, that is, from the country of Athur and Babylon (Iraq).
They immigrated by order of the Persian King Shapur II to India. This claim is an
invalid Nestorian tradition. The historians of Malabar assert that the emigrants were
from the region of Edessa. Furthermore, there is no truth to the statement of the
author of Yazdandokht, 314–317, that Bishop Joseph was ordained by the Catholi-
cos Bar B’ashmin in 343. Joseph was an Edessan subject of the Patriarch of An-
tioch and not Bar B’ashmin. The historians of Malabra, and even Butrus Nasri in
his Dhakhrat al-Adhhan, 1: 364, state that Joseph was delegated with the Edessan
emigrants to India by the patriarch.

23
24 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

Shortly, however, he returned to India in the company of the emigrants.101

Rev. Philip Edavazhikal mentioned that the merchant Tuma came to India
first in 339 and traveled through Malabar, Mylapore, Chenum, Bengal and
Mankom.102
The emigrants numbered 400 souls belonging to seven clans and 72
families. Among them were priests and deacons. They landed in the city of
Kodungallor near Cochin around the year 345 in the time of Cheraman Pe-
rumal, king of Kondungallor (341–378).103 The king received them with
alacrity in order to revive business in his country. On February 29, 345, the
king granted them seventy-two exclusive privileges which enhanced the po-
sition of the Christians and raised them to the status of the Hindu caste.
These privileges were inscribed on a copper tablet in the name of Tuma
who also received great social privileges with slaves and land in Kodungal-
lor. Unfortunately, the original of this precious relic is lost but has survived
in many copies owned by ancient families of Malabar. It is said that the tab-
lets were still intact until the Portuguese occupied Malabar. They were
handed to them and then they were lost. When the British controlled Co-
chin, they searched for the tablets and found some of them. They handed
them over to the Syrian metropolitan. The tablet containing the privileges
granted Tuma was never found until this day.104
The small Christian community of Malabar welcomed the emigrants
with joy but did not intermarry with them. The emigrants lived in the

101 There is no credibility to what Sa’igh said in Yazdasndokht, 213–314, that

“Tuma’s mission was to convey to the Catholicos of the East the need of India for
a metropolitan and clergymen and promised to carry the reply of the catholicos
back to his own people.” The question is where was this catholicos in the first half
of the fourth century in order that the Christians of India would appeal to him to
provide them with a metropolitan and clergymen? If the Metropolitan of Persia was
administering the church of India on behalf of the catholicos as the narrative says,
would it not be more appropriate that this metropolitan should respond to the
needs of the church of India since he was closer to it than the catholicos? Further-
more, if the perils of travel and the persecution in Persia prevented the metropoli-
tan to supervise the affairs of the Christians of India, why should the Syrians of
India appeal to the catholicos for help, who was in the midst of the fire of persecu-
tion much more than the Metropolitan of Persia. Or, this so-called catholicos did
not even exist in the fourth century?
102 For more on Tuma see E. M. Philip, The Indian Church of St Thoams, Chapter

VIII, pp. 67–70. TRANS.

103 For this king see Day, Land of Perumal, 43.
104 E. M. Philip, pp. 67–70.
 PART TWO 25

southern part of Kodungallor (Mahadyor) and were called “southerners”

while the natives lived in the north and were called “northerners.” Until this
day, these appellations and other social traditions distinguish the two
groups.
The emigrants’ community grew and spread throughout Malabar to
the point that a diocese was established called the Canaanites Diocese, as
shall be seen later.105 Rev. Philip mentioned that they built houses to the
north of the king’s temple of idols. They also built a church. They assisted
the king in his warfare with other Indian kings. When he triumphed, he
conferred upon their men the title of Mahapillimar (nobles) and their wom-
en, Pilpillimar “noble women.”
This community exerted considerable effort to spread Christianity in
India. In 394, they had the relics of St. Thomas transported from India to
Edessa in the time of Qura, its metropolitan. In sum, the coming of this
community of emigrants from Edessa to India impacted the history of the
church of Malabar and yielded profitable results. First, it enhanced the so-
cial status of the Christians in that country. Second, it consolidated the rela-
tions between the church of Malabar and the Apostolic See of Antioch.
Third, since that date the Christians of India were called Syrians and their
church The Syrian Church. Rev. Philip continues to say that members of
this community spread into Chenam, Bengal and other parts of India to
evangelize the heathens. Tuma died in Bengal.

CHAPTER TWO: THE IRAQI SYRIAN COMMUNITY

The learned Photius of Constantinople mentioned that in 354, the Emperor
Constantius106 dispatched a delegation headed by Theophilus the Indian to
Saba’, Ethiopia and the Island of Ceylon. In the Island of Socotra and the
coast of Hindustan, Theophilus saw some Amonoeans (Eunimians) and
Arians,107 and that the natives of Socotra were praying in Syriac.108

105 In the history of Malabar the Canaanites were called “the southerners. But
after Patriarch Peter IV visited Malabar in the second half of the nineteenth cen-
tury, they called themselves Canaanites.
106 Constantius II 337–361. TRANS.
107 Arius was born in Libya in 256 A. D. He studied in Alexandria and was or-

dained a deacon and then a priest. He is known for Arianism, a heresy which bears
his name. Arius taught that God, meaning God the Father, was unique, transcen-
dent, self-existent. He is alone, eternal and ingenerate. In this sense, God the Father
cannot be shared or communicated. In other words, He cannot have a partner.
26 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

According to the history and tradition of Malabar, a group of Iraqi

Nestorians immigrated to India around 825. They were headed by two bi-
shops: Sapur and Aphrahat and a merchant named Sabar Yeshu’. They lived
in Kollam.109 The King of Kollam, Sthanu Ravi Gupta, permitted them to
build a Thrista, an orthodox church in Kurakkeni Kollam. He also con-
ferred upon them some privileges including social ranks, authority over
some pagan caste, an estate and tax exemption. He authorized the officers
of their church to administer civil and penal cases in their province. The
privileges, written in Malayalam and Tamil, covered seven pages except two
written in Pahlavi and Arabic.110
The emigrants intermarried with the Malabarian Syrians and together
proceeded to revive the Gospel in India with the result that Christianity
grew and flourished. By the tenth century, the Christians who enjoyed full
freedom, rejected their pagan king and installed a king of their own from

Here Arius sounds as a proto-Muhammad of Islam. Arius’s main problem, how-

ever, was how to deal with Christ, the Son of God and his relation to the Father.
Following his former premise, Arius used his favorite phrase, “There was a time
when the Son was not.” By this he meant that as a Son, He was not eternal and that
God the Father created him and brought him into existence. Thus, the Son is a
mere creature whom God the Father has formed out of nothing. In other words, as
a creature, the Son must have a beginning. This is why according to Arius the cre-
ated Son cannot comprehend the infinite and ineffable God. Although Arius and
his heresy were condemned by the Council of Nicaea in 325 A. D., by the middle
of this century this heresy was promoted by radical Arians mostly Aeitus and Euno-
mius, known as Anomoeism. They affirmed the system of Arius but added some
ideas of their own. They maintained that since the Father designated the activity by
which the Son was created, the Son, in turn, brought into existence the Holy Spirit,
and subordinate to Him the whole creation. Unlike the Arians, the Anomoeans
admit that since the Son possesses creative power, He, likewise, possesses a relative
divinity. In sum, both Arians and Anomoneas reached the conclusion that Christ
was a demigod, thus falling into the blasphemy of polytheism. Their heresy has
been regenerated in modern times by Jehovah Witnesses. See J. N. D. Kelly, Early
Christian Doctrines, revised edition (New York: Harper and Row, 1978), 226–231 and
249–251. TRANS.
108 Al-Durar al-Nafisa. The reference here is to Patriarch Aphram Barsoum, al-

Durar al-Nafis fi Tarikh al-Kanisa (Matba’at al-Salama: Homs, 1940), 393, TRANS.
109 The Catholic writer Placid, who is known to the Malabarians, says in his

book Tarikh al-Kanisa al-Hindiyya, that these two bishops were sent by the Maphry-
ono of Takrit.
110 Philip, The Indian Church of St. Thomas, 84.
 PART TWO 27

the Syrian family of Villiarvattom from the city of Udayamperor where he

placed his throne. As there were no more heirs to this throne, this small
kingdom became subject of the king of Cochin. But the Syrians kept pre-
serving the scepter of their king with esteem until the Portuguese came to
India in the sixteenth century. They offered it to them as shall be seen
shortly.111

CHAPTER THREE: THE NESTORIANS PENETRATE THE INDIAN

CHURCH IN THE NAME OF THE SEE OF ANTIOCH
In 1502, the Nestorian Catholicos Iliyya (Elijah) V, dispatched the above-
mentioned Bishop Tuma with three other Bishops: Dawud (Yab Alaha),
Denha and Yaqub from the Monastery of Mar Awgen. Bishop Yuhanna
was then still living. In 1504, they reported to the catholicos the following:
“Those associated with our faith here are estimated at thirty thousand souls.
They pray for your good health. They are now engaged in building more
churches. Praise God, every thing here is plentiful and the people are quiet
and love peace. The Church of St. Thomas has regained its glory through
the Christians who live in Mylapore, a twenty days distance, on the sea coast
and in Ceylon. There are twenty towns in this province called Malabar
where Christians live. Most famous of these are Kondungallor,112 Palur and
Kollam. There are other cities almost equal to these. In all these towns are
found Christian churches and houses. Nearby, there is a big and rich city
called Coriciot (Calicut) inhabited by heathens.113 The city of Angamali was
the seat of metropolitans. According to some Malabarian writers these met-
ropolitans built fifty-six churches in Malabar whereas there were only seven
in the past.”114
Upon leaving Malabar, the previously mentioned Yusuf (Joseph) jour-
neyed to Europe in the company of the Portuguese governor Pedro Alvarez
Cabral.115 He visited Lisbon, Rome, Venice and other cities. In 1507, a book

111 Philip, 85. Philip Says that in his Commentary on the Eucharist, Bar Salibi men-
tioned orthodox kings in India.
112 The Indian Syrian Priest Curien calls it Cranganofre. See Curien corepis-

copa Kanaiamprampil, The Syrian Orthodox Church in India and Its Apostolic Faith (Ker-
ala: National Offset Press, 1989), 49. TRANS.
113 Assemani, Bibliotheca Orientalis 3: 587, 589.
114 Rev. Philip Idodikal, History of the Church of Malabar.
115 General Pedro Alvarez Cabral (1467–1520), a Portuguese navigator. He was

friend of Vasco da Gama and Bartolomeum Dias. In 1500, he was sent by King
Immanuel at the head of a fleet to India . TRANS.
28 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

entitled Travels of Joseph the Indian116 was published in Europe containing in-
formation derived personally from Joseph himself.
What should concern us most, however, is whether the church of Ma-
labar received these metropolitans just because they were Nestorians. We
have already said that when the Nestorians could not control the church of
Malabar under the guise of Nestorianism, they used the name of the See of
Antioch as a stratagem to deceive and control this church. And this is ex-
actly what happened.
The Nestorians penetrated the church of Malabar in the name of the
See of Antioch, as the above mentioned Joseph said in his book. In fact,
when Pope Alexander VI asked him, “By what authority does the Nestorian
patriarch administer Malabar?” Joseph answered, “The Apostle Peter first
administered the Church of Antioch. But when the evil heresy of Simon
Magus spread in the Church of Rome, Peter went to Rome to defeat Simon
and help the distressed Christians. Before he left, however, he appointed a
deputy. The present patriarch is his successor.” By this means, the Nes-
torian catholicos extended his authority over the church of India for a time.
Joseph’s words remained firm in the minds of the Malabarians until
the arrival of orthodox metropolitans to Malabar for the second time. We
read in a Syriac manuscript that the Malabarian Abraham, priest of the
Church of Angamali, wrote in 1702, to Paul, priest of Parur that, “The Ca-
tholicos of the East is the same Patriarch of Antioch whose authority ex-
tends from Antioch to the farthest end of the East.”

CHAPTER FOUR: THE PORTUGUESE IN INDIA

The Portuguese were the first Ifranj (Franks)117 to colonize India as a result
of the discovery of America by Columbus and the voyages of Spanish and
Portuguese navigators. This motivated King Manuel I to marshal a big fleet
in 1489 to explore India headed by Vasco da Gama who was known for
seafaring skill. Sailing from Lisbon, da Gama finally rounded the Cape of
Good Hope which he also discovered. Capturing Malindi,118 he found in it
Indian merchants. He took some of them to show him the route to India.

116 Novus Orbis. See Curien, 51. TRANS.

117 Since the Crusades’ time the term Ifranj (Franks) was used by Muslim-Arab
writers for Europeans. It is still used by some Middle Eastern writer today.
TRANS.
118 A city in east Kenya on the Indian Ocean. TRANS.
 PART TWO 29

In 1498, he arrived at Calicut on the coast of Malabar. Its King Samudri119

would not let him establish a merchant colony in it. After remaining in In-
dia for some time and exploring its conditions, da Gama returned to Portu-
gal reaching it in September, 1499.
Shortly after da Gama’s arrival in Portugal, Pedro Alvarez Cabral, the
discoverer of Brazil, led a fleet of thirteen ships to India. Arriving at Calicut,
he founded a Portuguese merchant colony. Before returning home he left in
it some Portuguese. In 1500, the governor of Calicut issued an order killing
all of them. The Portuguese government responded by dispatching a fleet
of ten ships commanded by da Gama. He was granted the title of “Em-
peror of India.” He sailed from Portugal at the beginning of 1502, and upon
reaching Calicut, he stormed it with cannons. Upon landing, he attacked its
inhabitants ferociously and departed to Cochin. He was visited by a Syrian
delegation who offered him the scepter of their king. They appealed to him
to save them from the tyranny of their non-Christian enemies. In turn, da
Gama presented them with gifts and promised to rescue them from their
enemies’ oppression. After signing merchant treaties with King Konjura-
men of Calicut and with other cities on the coast, he returned to Lisbon in
September, 1503.
In this year (1503), King Samudri (Zamorin), for mere revenge, de-
clared war on the king of Cochin for signing treaties with the Portuguese.
His troops entered Kodungallor destroying and pillaging. The Christians
fled and scattered. He captured Cochin whose king and the Portuguese in it
sought asylum in the citadel of Palliborum. A year later, six Portuguese
ships arrived in the port of Cochin and expelled Samudri. The king of
Cochin offered the Portuguese a piece of land on which they built a citadel
calling it “Immanuel’s Citadel.” In it they built a church, a monastery and a
seminary. They also recruited a Latin metropolitan to instruct the Syrians.120
Having expanded their conquest to parts of India, the Portuguese made
Goa a capital of their colony. Later, however, they suffered disorder which
impelled King John III, who succeeded Manuel, to summon Vasco da Ga-
ma and name him his Viceroy of India. Da Gama, then 64 years old, sailed
from Lisbon in April, 1524 to receive his new position. He arrived in Goa.

119 Curien writes the name of this king as Zamorin. See Curien, Ibid., 51.
TRANS.
120 The metropolitan was to instruct and convert the Syrians into the faith of

the Roman Catholic Church. TRANS.

30 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

While taking care of some matters in Cochin, he was attacked by fever and
died on Christmas Eve, 1524.
Having no knowledge whatever about Westerners, the Syrian church
of India was surprised to know that the Portuguese were valiant Christian
people. On their part, the Portuguese were surprised to learn that those
Christians who had been once pagans still performed the rituals and teach-
ings of an orderly Episcopal church. They also learned that the Indians re-
ceived, without interruption, metropolitans from the Patriarch of Antioch.
Dr. Claudius Buchanan, who visited the Church of Malabar at the begin-
ning of the nineteenth century,121 mentioned this matter in the dialogue he
recorded between the Indians and the Portuguese concerning the faith and
hierarchy of the church. When the Portuguese learned that these Indian
Syrians had more than a hundred churches in Malabar, they told them that
these churches belonged to the pope. The Indians said, “And who is the
pope? We have not heard of him.” They went on saying, “Whatever your
faith may be, and we are true Christians, we have come from the place
where the Apostles of Christ were first called Christians.”122 No doubt, this
dialogue confirms what the previously mentioned Joseph of Malabar has
said.
At the beginning, the Syrians and the Portuguese treated each other
with respect and affection The Portuguese attended the Syrians’ religious
ceremonies as stated by the letter addressed by the Nestorian bishops to
their Catholicos Iliyya (Elijah) V in 1504 or 1505. But when the Portuguese
established foot in India, they proceeded to sow the seed of their Roman
faith in the Indian soil.

CHAPTER FIVE: THE NESTORIAN SCHISM

The Nestorian Catholicos Simon III, Basidi (1480–1502), issued a decree
that no one but a member of his own family should become a catholicos.
Since then, the catholicoses were raised to this position by heredity until
1551. Upon the death of Catholicos Simon V (1525–1551), he was suc-
ceeded by Simon VI Bar Mama who was the only metropolitan left in that
family. He was challenged by the three bishops of Arbil, Salmas and Azer-
bayjan together with a group of priests, monks and notables. They em-
braced the Roman faith as an act of revenge. They chose a monk, Sulaqa123

121 About 1806. TRANS.

122 Claudius Buchanan, Christian Researches in Asia, 147.
123 A Syriac term meaning ascension. TRANS.
 PART TWO 31

of the Ballo family of ‘Aqra, and sent him to Rome. Pope Julius III or-
dained him a catholicos in April, 1553. Upon his return to the East, he was
accompanied by the Dominican Ambrosius de Monete Celli, bishop of
Arene, and the priest Anton. Both these men had knowledge of the Syriac
language. Sulaqa arrived at Amid124 on November 12, 1552 where he estab-
lished a center of activity. With Sulaqa begins the present Chaldean de-
nomination and catholicate. However, Sulaqa’s group did not remain faith-
ful to the authority of Rome. For this reason, the pope reordained Metro-
politan Ibrahim who was already ordained by the Catholicos ‘Abd Yeshu’
for Malabar. The Pope did this because Roman Catholic theologians
doubted the legitimacy of Abraham’s ordination.125 As to Yab Alaha (1567–
1580), the third Chaldean Catholicos, he never thought of obtaining the
pallium of confirmation from the pope like his two predecessors.126 The
reason is that the Chaldeans did not join Rome because of genuine belief,
but for sheer dissension.
Pope Julius III granted Sulaqa absolute authority over all the East, In-
dia and China.127 When Sulaqa was murdered in 1555, he was succeeded by
Yeshu’ who was confirmed by Pope Pius IV in 1562. In a private proclama-
tion, the pope urged him to send bishops and clergymen to Malabar. Also,
he entreated the Portuguese government in India to extend assistance to
him.128 The truth is that Sulaqa’s successors intended to receive the pallium
from the pope in order to satisfy their selfish aims. Also, they intended to
extend their authority to the diocese of India which has been controlled by
the Latin bishops of Goa who never allowed bishops not of their own to
set foot in Malabar. This is made clear by the petition of Hormiz Iliyya As-
mar, metropolitan of Amid addressed in 1580 to Pope Gregory XIII on
behalf of Denha, the Chaldean catholicos. In this petition, the metropolitan
of Amid asked the pope to treat Malabar graciously and provide it with
bishops who know their peculiar rituals, language and denominations. He
also entreated the pope to address letters to the Portuguese Viceroy of India
instructing him to assist the Chaldean bishops who are delegated by the
patriarch and allow them to pass through Goa after they have presented a

124 Diyarbakir in modern Turkey. TRANS.

125 Butrus Nasri, Dhakhirat al-Adhhan, 2: 155.
126 Nasri, 2: 151.
127 Nasri, 2: 141.
128 Nasri, Dhakhirat al-Adhhan, 2: 145.
32 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

statement of their faith to him.129 The reason is that although the Chaldeans
outwardly expressed their submission to Rome, they inwardly adhered to
the Nestorian heresy. This is made clear in the case of the bishops who
were sent to Malabar following Sulaqa which impelled Rome to cut off their
relations with the church of India as shall be seen later.

CHAPTER SIX: THE BISHOPS YUSUF (JOSEPH), ABRAHAM AND

SHIM’UN (SIMON).
Of the bishops the Catholicoses Shim’un III, Basidi and Iliyya dispatched to
Malabar in 1490 and 1502, none remained except Jacob. He was an old man
at the end of his life. Therefore, the Latin missionaries did not pay much
attention to him. However, one of them, Francis Xavier, established strong
friendship with him. In a letter Xavier addressed to the king of Portugal in
1546, he enumerated his virtues saying, “Our father Jacob, the Aramaean
metropolitan, has been in this country for forty-five years serving God and
your Majesty. As much as you and all the governors of India hold him with
contempt, God is pleased with his virtues and holiness.”130 After prolonged
strife of serving the church of Malabar, he passed away in 1549.
In 1555, ‘Abd Yeshu’, successor of Sulaqa, ordained Joseph, Sulaqa’s
brother, a bishop for Malabar. Joseph proceeded to India in the company of
Elijah Asmar, metropolitan of Amid and the Dominicans Ambrose and
Anton. Shorty afterwards, Asmar returned to Amid. As to Ambrose, he first
stayed in Goa teaching theology in the Monastery of the Preaching Fathers,
but then moved to Cochin where he passed away in 1557. Joseph, being

129 The Chaldean bishops reverted to the Nestorian fold and cut off their rela-
tions with the See of Rome. The reason is that a Chaldean bishop quarreled with a
Latin bishop of the Capuchin Order who was sent by Rome to administer the
Chaldean denomination. The rift was not redressed until 1840 in the time of Patri-
arch Isaiah Jacob who succeeded Yuhanna Hormiz because Pope Leo XII, has
since 1827, eliminated the dichotomy between the Patriarchate of Mosul and that
of Amid (Diyarbakir). He decreed that a single patriarch, designated as the Patriarch
of Babil (Babylon), should sit in Mosul. For some personal reasons, Isaiah Jacob
abdicated his position in 1848 and was succeeded by Yusuf VI, Odo. In Odo’s time
the Chaldeans attempted once more to split from the church because of the con-
stant interference of the Church of Rome in their affairs and the changes it made in
their Eastern rite. In addition, it placed them under the absolute authority of Rome.
Later, however, they returned to the Chaldean fold having totally submitted to
Rome.
130 E. M. Philip, The Indian Church of St. Thomas, 92–93.
 PART TWO 33

Nestorian, opposed the seminary founded by the Portuguese in Kodungal-

lor and was deported to Lisbon.
When the Malabarians lost patience and hope in having Bishop Joseph
return to Malabar, they wrote to Catholicos Iliyya (Elijah) VI to send them
another bishop. In 1558, Elijah sent a Nestorian Bishop Abraham of ‘Ayn
Kawa.131 At first the Malabarians resisted him because of his faith which is
contrary to theirs. After spending three years in Lisbon, Bishop Joseph ma-
naged to return to Malabar having received the favor of Queen Catherine of
Portugal. He promised her to bring Malabar under the authority of Rome.
But no sooner he arrived in Goa than the Portuguese arrested him because
they suspected his faith. When Abraham continued his episcopal activity in
Malabar, the Latins who sought an opportunity to achieve their aim, re-
leased Joseph in order to have him help them in Malabar. But he faced op-
position by Bishop Abraham. Thus, the fire of controversy rekindled and
the congregation split into two factions. Using this schism as a pretext, the
Portuguese deported Bishop Abraham to Europe. Feeling free, Bishop Jo-
seph returned to the Nestorian faith. In 1567, the Portuguese deported him
for the second time to Portugal and then to Rome where he passed away.
Having escaped the clutches of the Portuguese, Bishop Abraham jour-
neyed to Rome. Being a prevaricator, he condemned the Nestorian heresy
and was reordained. For his disgraceful submission to Rome, the pope
permitted him to return to Malabar as the head of the Syrians in Goa. But
the Dominicans arrested him and cast him into prison on the grounds that
he had deceived the pope and thus he was unworthy of a pallium. Abraham
fled prison and went to Malabar where he was received by the people with
great joy. In his letter to the Catholicos Elijah VI, Abraham explained how
his tumultuous affairs had finally turned peaceful. He says, “Like a hammer
pounding a stone the Portuguese tried to pound my head.” He asked the
catholicos to dispatch a bishop to assist him in his work. The catholicos
responded, and in 1579, sent a bishop called Simon whom the Portuguese
arrested and deported to Europe. In 1599, Simon died in the prison of the
Franciscan Friars. Abraham’s enemies tried by several means to arrest him
but he fled their dragnet. In 1599, they invited him to attend a council con-
vened at Goa presided by Archbishop Matthew, but he excused himself for
being ill or too old.
When complaints against Abraham reached Pope Clement VIII, he, on
January 27, 1595, ordered his deputy Alexis da Menezes, archbishop of

131 Ayn Kawa is at present a part of the city of Arbil in Iraq. TRANS.
34 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

Goa, to examine his faith. When Menezes found that Abraham was still an
adherent to the Nestorian heresy, he condemned him. But on February 24,
1597, Abraham ordained a man named Gurgis (George) from the ancient
family of Pakalomattom as an archdeacon and entrusted to him the admini-
stration of the church of Malabar. Gurgis accepted this arrangement on
condition that he should not relinquish his orthodox faith.132 However,
Abraham died still adhering to the Nestorian faith and was buried in the
church of Angamali.
It should be admitted that despite his prevarication, Abraham labored
much in serving the church of Malabar. He defended the rights of the Ma-
labarians who were oppressed by the Latins. He also built many churches.
The Malabarian Rev. Philip Edavazhikal mentioned that the pagan king of
Korthuruthy antagonized the Syrians of his kingdom. They left for other
provinces where they built churches in Mulanthuruthi, Kottayam, Chonu-
kam, Kallicherry and Parum. Shortly afterward, he pardoned them and they
left Mulanthuruthi and returned to Korthuruthy.
The library of Timothy Abimalek, Nestorian metropolitan of Tarchur
in Malabar, contains a Syriac manuscript transcribed in the time of Bishop
Abraham. It escaped the hands of the tyrannical Menezes. The copyist con-
ferred upon Abraham super qualities like, “Vigilant Administrator, Good
Shepherd, Wise Counselor and Prudent Skipper.” He also called him “Bi-
sop Abraham, metropolitan of India.” The manuscript is actually a fanqitho
(Service Book) for the whole year, containing a collection of church services
according to the tradition of the Monastery of Gabriel and Abraham near
Mosul also called the High Monastery. The Malabarian copyist, priest Matta,
son of Joseph Ponnur Koden, finished its transcription on Friday Septem-
ber, 1585 at the church of the Virgin in Kottamankulam. The manuscript
belongs to the Nestorians and not to the modern Chaldeans for the follow-
ing reasons. First, it contains a metrical hymn about the Annunciation to
the Virgin Mary beginning with verses from the Psalms. Of these is a metri-
cal hymn beginning with verse “The Host” in which the author seeks the
intercession of the leaders of the Nestorian heresy. It says, “O partisans of
Deodore, Theodore and Nestorius, pray for us that the Egyptians’ darkness
would not enter the church.” By the “Egyptians’ darkness,” he meant the
teaching of St. Cyril of Alexandria of One Nature and One Qnumo (Syriac
for person) of Christ. Second, the author does not use the phrase of
“Mother of God.” Instead, he says in conformity with the Nestorian tradi-

132 See the tract of the Chorepsicopus Matta Konat still in manuscript form.
 PART TWO 35

tion that, “This book was transcribed at the church of Mart (Syriac for Lady
or Saint) Mary the Virgin Mother of Light. Third, he says that he tran-
scribed this book in the time of Simon the Catholicos and Metropolitan of
the East.” This Simon is, the Nestorian Catholicos Elijah (1558–1591) who
was also called Simon.133 The church in this context is the ancient and Or-
thodox Church of the Virgin in the town of Kottamankulam.

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE SEMINARIES OF KODUNGALLOR AND

VIAPICOTTA
Juan da Albuquerque was the first metropolitan of Goa. He established in it
a special place for torturing the heretics. In 1539, he sent a Franciscan friar
named Vincent da Laco to entice the Syrians to bear the Roman yoke, ie. to
embrace the faith of the Church of Rome. The first thing Vincent did
shortly after his arrival in Malabar was to set up an orphanage for Syrian
orphans. Realizing that teaching was the best means to sow the seed of his
Roman faith in that fertile soil, he converted the orphanage into a seminary
in 1546. He succeeded in attracting many Syrian children by offering them
gifts, food and free education in addition to other means of enticement.
Rome intended to treat the Syrians with charity at the beginning. Thus, the
school flourished for seven years without a problem. In 1549, it had about a
hundred native students according to the letter of Francis Xavier addressed
in the same year to the Prior of the Franciscan Order.
Bishop Joseph, previously mentioned, who was inwardly Nestorian,
declared shortly after arriving in Malabar, that he will not confer the office
of priesthood upon the graduates of Vincent’s school unless they mastered
the Syriac language. Since this language was not taught at the school, the
Syrians declined to send their children to it. Thus, Vincent miserably failed
because he could not implant the Papal principles among the Syrians.
Faced with this problem, the Latins thought of contriving another
means to ensnare the Syrians. They arrested Bishop Joseph in Goa on the
pretext that he was Nestorian and deported him to Europe to be tried in
Lisbon, capital of Portugal, as said earlier. In 1577, they set up a press and
disseminated their faith among the Syrians in both the Malayalam and the
Tamil languages.
In 1581, the Jesuits founded a seminary at Viapicotta in which they
taught the Syriac language. Also, they allowed the clerics to use their own
vestments. Students began to join the school for some time, but then quit

133 Kottamankulam Nasri, Dhakhirat al-Adhhan, 2: 150.

36 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

by the instigation of Bishop Abraham. His deputy, Archdeacon Gurgis

(Gevargese), went a step further preventing the schools’ staff from entering
Syrian churches. This time, too, the Latins failed to accomplish their pur-
pose.

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE FIRST PERSECUTION

The plan Albuquerque devised to attract the Syrians to the faith of Rome
failed. To rectify the failure, Pope Clement VIII, sent in 1594, the Augustin-
ian Alexis da Menezes, as an archbishop of Goa. He provided him with the
necessary means to force the Syrians to embrace the faith of Rome. Mene-
zes was courageous and able to challenge any power that stood in his way.
The first thing this tyrannical man did was to prevent Syrian bishops to
come to India by stationing guards all over the Portuguese ports in India
and Iran. He even succeeded in preventing a certain Syrian bishop at a place
called Hormoz from entering India. Meantime, he enticed Archdeacon
Gurgis promising to make him the head of the church of Malabar, but Gur-
gis scoffed at him. He went on to convene a large council of clergymen and
laymen at the town of Angamali which decided that no bishop will be ac-
cepted unless sent by the Nestorian patriarch. Moreover, Gurgis forbade
the Latin friars and the teachers of Viapicotta seminary from entering Syrian
churches.
When things worsened, Menezes decided to travel to Malabar in order
to weaken the archdeacon and subjugate the Syrians to his faith. He arrived
in Cochin on February 1, 1599 accompanied by armed soldiers. First, he
thought it was necessary to win the friendship and assistance of the native
kings. As the raja of Cochin was then more famous and powerful than
other rajas, and was also a friend of the Portuguese, Menezes bribed him
with thirty thousand pieces of silver, or according to others, forty thousand
pieces of gold. The raja promised to help him accomplish his objective.
Thus, Menezes proceeded with his agenda. He issued an order to Archdea-
con (Gurgis) to meet him in Cochin. After seeking the advice of his men
Gurgis consented. He proceeded to Cochin accompanied by three thousand
Syrian men to protect him. Menezes expressed desire to visit the Syrian
churches provided that Gurgis accompany him. Noticing the wrathful signs
on his face, Gurgis at first unwillingly agreed but then rejected his demand.
But Menezes would not change his plan. He decided to visit the churches
alone. First, he first visited the seminary at Viapicotta. At the church of Ay-
dapelli he delivered a sermon beginning with the words of the Lord Christ,
“I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate,
but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.” (John 10: 1).
 PART TWO 37

Menezes went on saying that their patriarch134 is a thief and a robber, and
that the only way to salvation is through the Church of Rome. His words
provoked the resentment of the congregation. When the raja of Cochin
heard what happened, he feared that people would attack Menezes and tear
him into pieces. He advised him not to say such a thing anymore. But
Menezes would not listen to his advice or heed the resistance of the arch-
deacon and the congregation. Whenever he found himself successful, he
offered the children the Sacrament of Confirmation. He also convinced the
archdeacon to call a council to be attended by delegates of churches to dis-
cuss doctrinal issues. He promised that he would not oppress the Syrians.
But Menezes was not trustworthy in keeping promises. Indeed, while offer-
ing the Confirmation Sacrament, and delivering sermons in the churches, he
ordained many priests in order to support him in the forthcoming council.
When the archdeacon learned of his intention, he issued a proclamation to
all the churches warning them not to accept the dignity of the priesthood
from Menezes.
What shows Menezes’s shrewdness in attracting the Malabarians is that
wherever he went he distributed plenty of gold to influential parishioners.
Also, he granted the priesthood to their sons and relatives and whoever
asked for such a privilege. All of this was done with the intention of win-
ning the majority votes in the forthcoming council. Furthermore, he at-
tended to the patients at home offering them monetary aid and declaring
that helping the poor and the needy were the foremost duty of the clergy.
Unfortunately, the bishops of Malabar were indifferent to his calculations.
Moreover, Menezes won over the heathen rajas whether through promises
or threats. The rajas circulated proclamations showing their approval of
Menezes’s actions and willingness to subjugate their Christian subjects to
his authority. Thus, those heathen rajas turned against Archdeacon Gurgis
whom he fully trusted for support. This led some principal churches and
influential friends to cease supporting him. Furthermore, he was opposed
by the newly ordained priests who numbered about a hundred. All doors
were now shut before the archdeacon threatening his own position. Even-
tually, he had no alternative but to submit to Menezes.

134 Meaning the Nestorian Catholicos. TRANS.

38 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

CHAPTER NINE: THE COUNCIL OF UDAYAMPERUR (DIAMPER)

OF 1599
The Reasons for its Convening. The notorious Council of Udayamperur
has a bad legacy in the history of the church of India. It forcibly subjugated
Archdeacon Gurgis to the will of Metropolitan Menezes, who handed him a
document containing some items to sign. They are as follows:
1–Condemn the Nestorian heresy 2–Declare that there are no two separate
dogmas, one of the Apostle Thomas, and the other of the Apostle Peter.
But there is only One Gospel and One Christ. 3–Accept the creed of faith
which Menezes sent from Goa. 4–Hand over all the Syriac books to Mene-
zes for either correcting them or setting them on fire. 5–Recognize the uni-
versal authority of the pope. 6–Condemn the Nestorian patriarch and sever
relations with him.7–Receive only the bishops sent by the pope and recog-
nized by the archbishop of Goa. 8–Endorse the archbishop of Goa as the
only religious leader. 9–Convene a council of all the Syrian churches. 10–
The archdeacon should accompany the Archbishop of Goa upon visiting
the dioceses without armed men. To the document were attached harsh
orders of the rajas of Cochin and Alangad to Gurgis to submit.

Convening the Council When the archdeacon found no alternative but to

yield, he unwillingly signed the document. He also appealed for the conven-
tion of the council in Angamali, not because of the zeal of its Syrian natives
to protect the doctrines and traditions of the church, but because Portu-
guese authority was not as strong in Angamali as in other parts of the coun-
try. He reasoned that Angamali was far from the influence of that tyrannical
(Portuguese) government. But the farsighted Menezes rejected the archdea-
con’s appeal. He ordered the council to convene in Udayamperur near Co-
chin which was the center of Portuguese activity. The invitation was ad-
dressed in the names and signatures of both Menezes and the archdeacon.
It contained the following, “On June, 1599, a council will meet in the town
of Udayamperur to discuss the means of disseminating the Catholic faith
among the Syrians, to eradicate the heresies planted among them by the
heresiarchs, to cleanse their books from impure teachings and render them
suitable and acceptable, to accomplish their submission to the Catholic
Church and to the Pope of Rome, the successor of the Apostle Peter and
the vicegerent of Christ on earth whose authority they have rejected since
time immemorial, to terminate the use of Simony,135 to set in order the

135 Offering church offices for money. TRANS.

 PART TWO 39

celebration of the mysteries, and to discuss the church’s affairs, its traditions
and the condition of the clergy and the dioceses. Therefore, every church
should delegate four members to the council provided with an authoriza-
tion to accept its resolutions and sign on behalf of their churches.”

Opening of the Council. The day June 20, 1599, on which the Council of
Udayamperur opened, was a bad omen for the Syrians of Malabar. Dele-
gates of churches, priests, deacons, prominent Latin Jesuits of Cochin and
the newly ordained priests arrived at the council. They numbered eight
hundred thirteen including thirty-three priests, twenty deacons and six hun-
dred sixty laymen. The archdeacon Gurgis and the delegations of two
churches were late attending the council. But no delegates from Travancore
and Kunamkulam attended. In order to insure victory, Menezes urged the
Portuguese governor in Cochin to dispatch a number of officials with
armed troops to intimidate the members.
When quorum was obtained, Menezes opened the council with a
speech on the offering of the Sacrifice136 and on heresies. The members
were forced to sign on their behalf and on behalf of those who delegated
them. They endorsed the council’s resolutions which have been already
prepared. Then, the resolutions were read. Certainly, Menezes did not invite
the Syrians in order to discuss or consult with them, but to force them to
endorse the resolutions. Indeed, no delegate was given the opportunity to
present his opinion on any issue; he only had to agree. Worse still, the newly
ordained priests approved the presented issues. Naturally, this was Menezes’
objective in promoting more than fifty young men to the dignity of the
priesthood since the invitations were sent out to convene the council until it
actually met. Adding to this, the bribes of rings, gold crosses inlayed with
gems and precious stones, Menezes offered the rulers of Malabar. Also, he
conferred on the two Rajas of Purkad and Kundara the title of “Brother in
arms of the King of Portugal.” who supported him with utmost power to
accomplish his purpose.137
Historians mention that the priests Francis and Jacob were most fa-
natical in supporting Menezes. Jacob read the form of the oath expecting
the members of the council to accept it. Some did and some did not. Other
members swore to endorse only the bishop delegated by the Patriarch of

136 The Holy Eucharist. TRANS.

137 E. M. Philip, The Indian Church of St. Thomas, 103.
40 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

Baghdad that is Antioch. In sum, the council criticized the Malabarian Syri-
ans for not maintaining the doctrine of two natures in Christ.138
Two observations are in order in this context. First, The Syrian
church of Malabar was formerly subject to the Patriarch of Antioch. But the
bishops who were sent by the Nestorian patriarch distorted the truth saying
that they were delegated by the Patriarch of Baghdad who is the Patriarch
of Antioch. Second, the Syrian church of Malabar maintained the same
dogma of the See of Antioch that is the union of the two natures of Christ.

The Council’s Resolutions

The council continued its deliberations for six days during which it issued
267 resolutions concerning matters of dogma, rituals and administration.
Some of them are lengthy. They were divided into nine categories. They
were hastily read giving the members no time to comprehend or scrutinize
them which indicates that the council was a sham. It was only intended to
approve what Menezes had prepared beforehand. No wonder that its reso-
lutions served a coup de grace to the rites and traditions of the Syrians of
Malabar. Indeed, the council altered the substance and form of the Eucha-
rist, the shape of the altars and the vestments. All of this was intended to
Latinize the church of Malabar. The council replaced the use of the leav-
ened bread in the Mass (Eucharist) with unleavened bread, the Wednesday
fasting into Saturday and moved the observation of fasting in the evening to
midnight. It also converted the Syrian festivals into Latin festivals. Fur-
thermore, the council instituted the belief in purgatory and the Indulgences,
the worship of images of saints and of mentioning the name of the pope in
the Mass and prayers. Also, it forbade the marriage of priests and forced the
already married priests to shed their wives. It granted the Jesuits full free-
dom to preach in the churches without the permission of their clergy. Fi-
nally, each of the council’s members was forced to accept only the bishops
and priests appointed by the pope. Those who refused to recant their faith
were made victims of the Inquisition of Goa.
Menezes proceeded to set on fire the Syrian books used by the church
of Malabar. Nothing was left of them except the Liturgy of the Apostles
which, in turn, was distorted. However, Menezes permitted the use of Sy-
riac language in the church. He went on to divide the church of Malabar
into sixty-five chorepiscopates. To each one he assigned a chorepsicopus
and supplied him with a book of catechism.

138 The History of Awgen.

 PART TWO 41

The council placed the church of Malabar under the protection of the
King of Portugal. In return, the king would send about fifteen thousand
silver cruzadoos to the priests as a gift for the celebration of the Mass. He
also sent great quantities of wine for the Eucharist. The council ended its
deliberations on June 26, 1599.

CHAPTER TEN: THE SECOND PERSECUTION

The Syrians of Malabar were not pleased with being forced to accept the
acts of the Council of Udayamperur. Immediately after it dispersed, they
held a meeting confirming on oath that they would always adhere to the
traditions of their elders. They were right. In fact, prior to the meeting of
the council, they did not profess the imaginary supremacy of the pope. Ac-
cording to the historian Gouveya, they considered the pope of Rome and
the Church of Rome as enemies of the Christians For this reason, for a
half-century following the meeting of the council, the period is designated
as “The period of the struggle of the Church.” Throughout this period, the
church patiently endured hardships and calamities until God replaced them
with peace. It was then that the church began to savor the sweet taste of its
patience.
When the council ended, Menezes went throughout the dioceses with
indefatigable rigor to insure the implementation of the decisions of that
Robber’s Council by force and by money. At the village of Kallarkat, he
offered the children candy stuffed with pieces of gold which attracted the
villagers. He became exemplary in this sordid action.
Menezes continued to control the Syrian churches. He installed in
them images of saints and forced the people to worship them. Some of
these images could still be seen in some of the churches even after they
were reclaimed by their orthodox congregations. Wherever he went, Mene-
zes committed books and manuscripts to fire to the extent that not a single
document was left containing information about the condition of the
church of Malabar in the Middle Ages.139 Having spent ten months in Mala-

139 In his book The Nestorians and Their Faith, 1: 13, George Percy Badger says

that, “The Latin priests treat the Nestorians (Chaldeans) the same as those who had
embraced their faith in Iraq. They cast thousands of their books which were in their
Library in Mosul into the Tigris River.” What is ridiculous, however, is that the
Papist priest Ishaq Armala, has distorted this truth by attributing this sordid act to
the Syrians themselves because of their religious zeal. He says, “In latter times, reli-
gious zeal impelled the Syrians in Iraq, India and other countries to commit their
42 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

bar and having achieved his aim, Menezes ordained in 1600 the Latin Fran-
cis Roz, a bishop for Angamali by order of Pope Clement VIII, and the
request of King Philip VIII of Spain. He returned home triumphant. Mean-
time, Roz transferred his seat from Angamali to Travancore close to the
Portuguese colony. In 1601, he translated for the Malabarians the Orders of
Baptism, Matrimony and Unction from Latin into Syriac. In 1616, the
Chaldean Catholicos Iliyya (Elijah) addressed a letter to Pope Paul V, asking
him to confirm his faith. The reason is that he was intending to visit Mala-
bar and tried not to disturb those Syrians in Koma and Hormiz who were
researching the veracity of the faith of Rome. In his letter Iliyya says, “Not
all the natives of our country are knowledgeable of religious matters. This is
why those who research the faith oppress them or rob their money. Indeed,
a priest of Amid (Diyarbakir) died because of their oppression.”
In 1617, Francis Roz passed away and was succeeded by Jerome Xa-
vier who died at Goa in the same year. He was succeeded by Stephen de
Pritto 1624. In 1634, as Stephen had advanced in age, Francis Caria was
appointed his deputy. He ran the church with an iron rod. He stopped the
use of the Syriac language during the worship and compelled the clergy to
use Latin instead. However, the Syrians who perforce succumbed to the
yoke of the Church of Rome remained adamant in observing the traditions
of their ancestors. They did so despite injustice, plunder and fire inflicted
upon them. Meantime, they tried to find a propitious opportunity to free
themselves from Rome.

books to fire because they contained the teachings of heretics. However, the Syri-
ans of the village of Qaraqosh, who rejected Monophisitism and embraced Catholi-
cism in 1780, cast into the well of the Tahira (Virgin Mary) church in Mosul all the
books containing heretical teachings. Many of these volumes contained historical
and scientific information covering every discipline of knowledge.” See Ishaq Ara-
mala, al-Suryan fi al-Qutr al- Misri, 47–48. However, Armala feigns sorrow over the
Library of the Shaghura Monastery in Saydanaya and ascribes the burning of its
books to the stupidity of the nuns. He also feels sorry for the Library of the Lady
Saint Thecla, whose books were committed to fire by a Rum (Byzantine) Orthodox
bishop for his hatred of the Syriac language. Likewise, he regrets the burning of
libraries by the Muslims. Armala, Ibid., 48.
 PART TWO 43

CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE BELIEF OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF

INDIA UP TO THE ASSEMBLING OF THE COUNCIL OF
UDAYAMPERUR
The Syrian Church of India was an integral part of the orthodox dioceses
subject to the legitimate Patriarch of Antioch. This is explicit from its belief
in the unity of the Natures of Christ.
It is an established fact that the dogma of One Nature in Christ pre-
vailed in the Christian church before its division. The belief of Two Natures
in Christ was first proclaimed by Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople140
and was condemned by the First Council of Ephesus (431). Leo 1, bishop
of Rome, supported Nestorius’ belief in his notorious Tome approved by
Emperor Marcian for political reasons.141 Marcian and his wife Pulcheria
were partisans of Leo and enemies of Dioscorus of Alexandra.142 Thus, the
Council of Chalcedon (451) endorsed this faith contrary to the decisions of
the Council of Ephesus presided by St. Cyril of Alexandria.143 Indeed, in its
seventh canon, the council condemned anyone who adds or diminishes
from its formula of faith.
Ascribing the miraculous actions of Christ to his divinity and the
earthly actions to his humanity is instituted in Leo’s Tome. Leo says, “Christ
is in two natures, God and Man. The God in him performs the divine acts
while the Man in him, the lowly acts.” This invalidated the Nicene Creed
which ascribed the divine and the lowly actions to One who is alone the
Incarnated Word of God. It says “True God from True God, who de-
scended from heaven, was incarnate, crucified for us, suffered, died, buried
and resurrected according to the Scriptures.”
Based on this essential belief before the division of the church univer-
sal, the Syrian Church chanted the Trisagion as follows, “You who was cru-

140 See Gieseler, I: 391 and Metropolitan Jirjis Shahin, Nahj Wasim, 16. The full

title of Gieseler’s book is Text-Book of Ecclesiastical History, translated by Francis

Cunningham, I (Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, and Blannchard, 1836). TRANS.
141 Michael Rabo, Chronicle, 168 and Bar Hebraeus, Chronography, 72.
142 See Gieseler, 1: 408.
143 It seems that the members of the Council of Chalcedon were not convinced

of the veracity of St. Cyril’s belief. Still, they proclaimed his orthodoxy in order to
win the Egyptians as John Gieseler made clear in his history, 1: 408. Gieseler said
that the weakness that the dominating party was not convinced of the belief of St.
Cyril is clear from the fact when Gennadius, patriarch of Constantinople, refuted
Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas in 458.
44 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

cified for us.”144 The Chaldean Bishop Addai Scher says about Rabula, met-
ropolitan of Edessa (412–435), that, “According to Rabula’s teaching, there
is one nature and one qnumo (person) in Christ. He goes on to say that in his
letter to Andrew, bishop of Samosata, Rabula says, “To say that in Christ
there are two natures after the Incarnation disturbs me a great deal.”145
Now, if Rabula was the one who added the phrase of “You who was cruci-
fer for us,” to the Trisagion, it follows that Rabula was partisan of St. Cyril
of Alexandria.146
The Syrian church of India, being one of the orthodox dioceses, ad-
hered continuously to the belief of the unity of the natures of Christ. It used
the phrase, “You who was crucified for us.” as affirmed by Bar Salibi (d.
1172).147
We have already seen that the Udayamperur Council criticized the Sy-
rians of Malabar for not maintaining two natures in Christ.148
There are still three stone crosses bearing inscriptions in the Pahlavi
language of the Sassanids. One is at the Latin chapel in Mylapore discov-
ered by the Portuguese in St. Thomas Mountain near Mylapore in 1547.
The other two are deposited in the new Syrian Cathedral in Kottayam.
These crosses are similar in form and bear the same inscription. But, in ad-
dition to the Pahlavi inscription, the cross at the Cathedral of Kottayam
bears a Syriac inscription in the Estrangelo script of St. Paul’s saying, “May
I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”149 According to
Dr. Burnel, this cross is more recent than the other two, and dates back to
the tenth century; the other two date back to the seventh or the eighth cen-
turies. The Pahlavi inscription was scientifically examined and translated by
European experts. Generally, Brunel’s translation is more reliable. It is as
follows, “By the punishment done on the cross, the suffering of this One

144 For a full analysis of the origin of the Trisagion and its introduction to

church rite, see Matti Moosa, The Maronites in History (Syracuse University Press,
1986), reprinted Gorgias Press, Chapter 8, 69–73. TRANS.
145 See Overbeck, S. Ephraemi Syri, and Opera Selecta, 2230.
146 Addai Scher, Tarikh Chaldo wa Athur, 2: 135.
147 See Bar Salibi, The Tenth Chapters, especially Chapter Two on signing of the

Cross and Chapter Ten on the Trisagion.

148 What the author intends is that they did not hold the belief that the two na-

tures of Christ, the divine and the human, were united in one person but were still
separate and distinct from each other. TRANS.
149 St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, 6: 14. TRANS.
 PART TWO 45

who is True God and God on high, a perfect guide and of ever sanctity.”150
No doubt, that more than any other church, what has been said above ap-
plies to the Syrian Orthodox Church. This is not to mention that the Syriac
Estrangelo script belongs specifically to this church.
It is evident from the above that the Syrian church of India was, con-
cerning the faith, in total agreement with the Apostolic See of Antioch up
to the meeting of the Council of Udayamperur. Consequently, it was within
the Eastern dioceses subject to this See.

CHAPTER TWELVE: THE MALABARIANS MAKE A COVENANT

BEFORE THE CROSS OF COONEN
In 1637, Archdeacon Gurgis passed away and Archdeacon Tuma took his
place. Malabar historians say that around 1652, an Eastern bishop came to
Malabar. Upon his arrival in Surat, the Latins arrested him and cast him into
the prison of Mylapore. His fate was to be decided by the Goa Inquisition.
It happened that two deacons, one Itty that is Abraham, from Chegannoor
and Curien or Quryaqos, from Kuravilangad, visited the tomb of St. Tho-
mas in Mylapore. They met the Eastern bishop who related to them the
problems his church was suffering. He provided them with a decree ap-
pointing archdeacon Tuma a metropolitan. He stipulated that Abraham
should exercise no episcopal authority until he was lawfully ordained. A few
days later, the Eastern bishop was sent to Goa via Cochin. Crowds congre-
gated in front of the king’s palace beseeching him to have the Portuguese
authorities set him free. While the king was deliberating the case, he was
silenced by the bribes he received (from the Portuguese). Meanwhile, thou-
sands of men thronged around the citadel of Cochin in order to rescue the
eastern bishop. Since there was no more than three hundred Portuguese in
the citadel, the guards became scared and, closing the gates, they secretly
smuggled him out of the citadel and sent him to Goa. Afterwards, nothing
was known about him.
Sources differ about how archdeacon Tuma died. The Latin writers,
Jerri and Paulo, say that he was burned in Goa by order of the Inquisition.
Others claim that a big stone was tied around his neck and was thrown into
the sea. When the people learned of his fate, they were grieved and angered.
They met at Mattancheri, a town near Cochin, on Friday, January 3, 1653,
and installed a stone cross at a place called Coonen. They tied to it a long

150 Burnel, Indian Antiquity, 3: 308–316 and E. M. Philip, The Indian Church of St.

Thomas, 10.
46 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

rope, and holding unto it, solemnly swore to renounce any association with
Rome. They signed a covenant containing their pledge. Meantime, one of
the laymen in the crowd said that this covenant will be readily denounced.
But a zealous priest, Itty Thoman, a Canaanite from the Anjilimootil family
of Kallissery, picked a dry reed and broke it into two halves saying, “If these
two halves can be pieced together again, it will be possible for us to remain
united with the Franks.” The news of this affair spread like a lightening.
The Syrians of Malabar rejected the faith of Rome. Their number increased
to two hundred thousand except for four hundred who remained loyal to
Rome. Those who rejected Rome came to be known as the new group and
the others as the old group. The Cross of Coonen can still be seen.
When the king (raja) of Cochin learned about the fate of the eastern
bishop, he fell down from the steps of his palace dead with a broken neck.
The natives of his kingdom stood on the shore of the gulf lamenting his
death. As to the eastern bishop who was unjustly murdered, the Catholic
missionaries themselves testified that he was Orthodox.151
The history of Malabar mentions that the eastern bishop was a Patri-
arch, but does not say that his title was Ignatius.152 There is also a Syriac
letter by archdeacon Tuma addressed to Ignatius Simon, patriarch of An-
tioch, dated Tuesday 21, December, 1660, that is seven years after the inci-
dent of the martyred bishop. It was delivered by Deacon Stephen of Amid
(probably Stephen Asmar), containing the episode of the martyred bishop
and requesting the patriarch to send a patriarch or a cleric of the same rank
to Malabar well-versed in Syriac. Following is a brief text of the letter:
“From Mar Tuma, bishop of India and all the presbyters, administra-
tors, periodeutses (visiting clergy) and the faithful sons of the blessed
church of St. Thomas, to Patriarch Simon who presides over Nineveh and
the great city of Antioch. You are the head of this diocese and its good
shepherd. We would like to inform you of the following incident which
happened in India. Pope Ignatius, who enjoys full authority, sent us the one
called patriarch Ignatius. Ignatius boarded a ship and without his knowledge
went through enemies, robbers, murderers, heathens and Muslims. Finally,
he reached the city of Mylapore. When monks from the Monastery of the

151 Hough, Christianity in India, 2: 301 and E. M. Philip, 142.

152 See the letter of Tuma V addressed to the Patriarch of Antioch around
1747, and the letter of Dionysius III, Bonnatra dated 1821 addressed to Lord Cam-
ber. It is translated from the Syriac into English and published by Professor Samuel
Lee. Ignatius is the exclusive title of the Syrian Patriarchs of Antioch who assume it
at their ordination. TRANS.
 PART TWO 47

Jesuits saw him, they captured him like wolves and drove him by force to
their abode. Following his capture, we know not what happened to him or
the adversities his holiness suffered. In those days some deacons were
found there. When the patriarch saw them in the church he called them
secretly saying, “Here is my letter and the letter of the pope. Take them and
depart immediately.” When the deacons came to us, we learned from them
what had happened. We were struck by great fear. Now we are abiding by
the instructions of Mar Ignatius, patriarch of India and China. We were es-
pecially delighted by seeing the deacon Stephen Asmar. Since he was
adorned with great faith, pure soul, abundant grace and fear of God, he was
delivered from the hands of our enemies. We beseech you to send us a pa-
triarch well-versed and efficient in Syriac. Written on Tuesday, December,
1660. We have sent Stephen of Amid from India.”153
Although this letter distinguishes Mar Ignatius, patriarch of Antioch
from the murdered Patriarch Ignatius, the historians of Malabar maintain
that the murdered patriarch was the Patriarch of Antioch. Still, some of
them claim that he was Patriarch Simon himself who died at Diyarbakir in
1660.154 Another Malabarian tradition maintains that he was a patriarch
named ‘Abd Allah or Ignatius ‘Abd Allah. This tradition was sustained by
the Anglican Bishop Heber of Calcutta and his secretary Andrew Robinson
(around 1825). Others say that, based on this tradition, he was probably
‘Abdu of Midyat, an illegitimate patriarch of Tur ‘Abdin, who was still living
in 1628. In the aftermath of the disaster of the Muhalamiyya clans, he left
his homeland and may have journeyed to Malabar.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, some Western historians
called the murdered bishops as ‘Ata Allah and made him a Nestorian. In his
book, Oriens Christanus, the Dominican Lequien strangely makes him a Syr-
ian orthodox, a Copt and a Nestorian simultaneously.155

153 See the epistolary collection written at Malabar in Syriac at the beginning of

the nineteenth century, which at present is in my possession.

154 Gabriel Dolabani, The Continuation of the History of Patriarchs at the Patriarchal

Library.
155 This source is as follows. Michel Lequien, Oriens Christianus. 3 vols. Paris:

Typorgraphia reguis, 1730. The author, Patriarch Jacob III, gives no number of the
volume or the page. TRANS.
48 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE ELECTION OF TUMA I, AND THE

ZEAL OF ITTY THOMAN
When the Syrians had sworn the oath before the Cross of Coonen rejecting
communion with Rome, they went to the church of Alangad and held a
general meeting of clergy and lay people. Twelve priests read to archdeacon
Tuma, the proclamation of the murdered bishop and the patriarch’s letter.
They addressed him with the title of “Tuma. Bishop of India.” But they
kept waiting for the arrival of a metropolitan from the Patriarch of An-
tioch.156 They also created an advisory committee to assist him in the ad-
ministration of the church. The committee consisted of the priests Itty
Thoman of Anjilimootil, from Kallissery, Chandy of Pallivitil of Kuravalan-
gad, Chandy of Kuduthuruthy and Gurgis (Gevargese) Vendoor of Anga-
mali. They issued a covenant which they signed and handed it to Tuma.
By taking this important step, the Syrians of Malabar displayed a ve-
hement religious zeal. Still it was not satisfactory because they did not yet
have a lawful bishop. The priest Itty Thoman, in his capacity as chairman of
the committee, addressed a letter to the Patriarch of Antioch requesting him
to send a metropolitan to legitimize Tuma’s episcopal office. But, in those
times it was not so easy to have a metropolitan sent by the patriarch. The
nominal episcopate of Tuma offered the Latins an opportunity to dupe the
Syrians into believing that, “They will never obtain through Tuma the spiri-
tual results necessary for salvation.” Thus, they were able to attract many
Syrians to their side. When Itty Thoman noticed the vacillation of those
who joined the Franks’ fold, he advised Tuma to ordain priests and deacons
lest the true faith perish. Tuma did, but his action was wrong.157
In 1656, Pope Alexander VII sent Carmelite missionaries to India to
subjugate once more the Syrians to his authority. The missionaries held
many meetings but had no pretext to convince the Syrians except that Tu-
ma was an unlawful bishop. This created serious doubts in the minds of
many Syrians who eventually joined them. They also succeeded in attracting
two members of the advisory committee by offering them money. This
urged Itty Thoman to address to one of them, Chandy of Kaduthuruthy,
the following letter from Chonkunenpelli recorded by Philip, the historian
of Malabar: “Dear Rev. Chandy: It is well known that the Patriarch of An-
tioch, head of the Malabar, sent archpriest to perform the Sacraments.
While this was the case, behold Roman priests said that this act was unlaw-

156 This indicates that Tuma was proclaimed a nominal bishop. TRANS.
157 Philip Edavazhikal, History of the Church of Malabar.
 PART TWO 49

ful. So, we opposed him. We met at Mattancheri and swore the well known
oath. Afterwards, some laymen said that this act will be revised. It was then
that I took a dry reed and broke it saying ‘if it was possible that this broke
reed could be put together, it would also be possible for us to unite with the
Franks.’ You yourself said at that time, ‘Brother, there will be no change
because Itty Thoman said this.’ I wish I have touched the tongue which
uttered these words. Indeed, the covenant which we issued and signed all of
us still exists.”158 No need to explain more these already clear passages.
They no doubt tell us of Itty’s true zeal to preserve the traditions of the eld-
ers. They also demonstrate the attitude of the Syrians of Malabar regarding
the administration of their church since time immemorial. Although, at
times, they were controlled by bishops sent by the Nestorian patriarch, still
they kept their belief that they were under the authority of the See of An-
tioch. It was this See which delegated these bishops to Malabar. However,
the Syrians of Malabar thought that the Nestorian patriarch was only a dep-
uty of the Patriarch of Antioch, as said above.
Indeed, the papists used Tuma to revile the Syrians saying that he was
only a layman in the guise of a bishop. They went on to say that he was an
eastern bishop with no authority to ordain, celebrate the Mass or consecrate
the Holy Chrism. Indeed, if it were not for the zeal of the Canaanite priest
Itty Thoman, the Syrian church would have not been saved from papal
danger, as shall be seen later. It was Itty who organized the Syrians into
group in order to resist the Latins. He instituted the oath before the Cross
of Coonen, and he, as a chairman of the advisory committee, advised Tuma
to do what was good for the church. And when two of his collaborators
betrayed the Syrian church, he never despaired but continued struggling for
the cause of the church under many hardships. He reunified the Syrians
while they were scattered and saved them from the Carmelite intrigues.
Moreover, when the majority of the people separated themselves from Tu-
ma because of the adversities inflicted by the Latins, Itty was the one who
consoled Tuma and shared him the bane of imprisonment. Indeed, if it
were not for the divine providence which sustained him, he and Tuma
would have been offered as a sacrifice on the altar of Popism in Goa, as
shall be seen later. It is Itty who communicated with the Patriarch of An-
tioch asking him to delegate a metropolitan to legitimize Tuma’s office. Re-

158 See Philip, History of the Indian Church of St. Thomas, paragraph 14, p. 146.
Evidently, the author took much liberty in translating this passage. The original is
found in Philip, Ibid., 137 of the English version. TRANS.
50 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

grettably, he did not enjoy the consequences of his labor. He passed away
on April 27, 1659 and was buried in the Canaanite church of Mattancheri.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE CARMELITES AND THE THIRD

PERSECUTION
The Carmelite Order slowly began to spread. It gained so much strength
that eventually it overwhelmed the Jesuits. At the outset, the Portuguese
deceitfully feigned enmity toward the Carmelite. They intended to show the
Syrians that there was a difference between the Carmelite and the Jesuits in
matters of dogma in order to have them embrace their principles. They did
so knowing that the Syrians had an aversion to the persecuting Jesuits and
their bishops. This is why many Syrians deserted the Jesuits and joined the
Carmelites who found them more tolerant. In 1659, Garcia died at Cochin.
With his death the chain of bishops of Malabar belonging to the Jesuits was
interrupted. Afterwards, however, the pope ordained some of them bishop-
ric of the diocese of Kodungallor, but they were replaced with bishops from
the Carmelite Order known as the bishops of Hierapolis.
At the beginning, the Carmelites pursued peaceful methods in dealing
with the Syrians. They cajoled them and aroused doubts about the legiti-
macy of Tuma’s office. Later, however, they resorted to force to have the
Syrians embrace the faith of Rome. This happened when Pope Alexander
VII sent Joseph Maria the Carmelite as his legate to Malabar with the desig-
nation of the Bishop of Hierapolis.159 Maria continued the work of Alexis
da Menezes and even outstripped him in persecuting the Syrians and forc-
ing them to submit to Rome. He chose this method rather than a peaceful
one. He used sweet talk and expensive gifts to have Tuma join Rome, bur
failed. Seeing that he was unsuccessful, he tried Meneze’s method of seek-
ing the support of local rajas. Many of the rajas responded, especially King
Purkad, who forced their subjects to submit to the Apostolic Legate. With
their help Joseph went throughout the churches intending to arrest Tuma.
The king of Cochin issued a proclamation to the faithful parishioners of the
churches of Mulanthuruthi and Kandanad threatening them with severe
punishment if they did not deliver Tuma to the Portuguese. When the king
of Cochin learned that Tuma was hiding in one of the churches, he dis-
patched a contingent of troops to surround it. Meantime, Joseph Maria ar-
rived at the church with another contingent of troops. They arrested Tuma

159 Some called him Sebastian, the Italian Carmelite. See Hierarchy of the Chris-

tians of St. Thomas, 4.

 PART TWO 51

and his assistant the priest Itty Thoman, a man who had done much for the
well being of the church of Malabar. They sent them to Cochin where they
were cast into prison. They waited for an opportunity to deliver them into
the hands of the Portuguese.
Meanwhile, two elder men of Mulathuruthi visited the prisoners. They
expressed their willingness to rescue them regardless of the cost. Itty Tho-
man suggested that he should exchange clothes with them. They did and
Tuma and Itty sneaked out of prison under the eyes of the inept heathen
guards who could not recognize them. A few days later, they were captured
and delivered to the hands of the Portuguese. When the Portuguese gover-
nor learned about their case, he ordered them severely beaten and then re-
leased. Tuma and the priest Itty made their way to some mountains where
they hid for fear of the Portuguese. In the meantime, Joseph the persecutor
went to Mulanthuruthi to confiscate Tuma’s possessions. He gave some of
the gold and silver jewels to the raja of Cochin as a gift. But he set on fire
Tuma’s books, the Holy Chrism, the vestments and Tuma’s chariot. As they
were ablaze, Joseph felt sorry because he did not do as well to Tuma. On
April 27, the priest Itty departed this life to be with Lord to enjoy eternal
rest as a compensation for his continuous strife for the cause of the ortho-
dox faith. A year later, Tuma sent a letter with the deacon Stephen Asmar
of Amid, addressed to the Patriarch of Antioch Simon requesting him to
send a bishop to validate his office as has been said earlier.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: GOD’S PUNISHMENT OF THE CHURCH’S

ENEMIES
The Syrians of Malabar endured adversities with patience for their love of
the orthodox faith. In a short while, however, the vengeance of divine prov-
idence fell upon the persecutors. It happened that the Dutch entered India
at the beginning of the seventeenth century and, like the Portuguese, set up
markets in that country. Their power increased while that of the Portuguese
waned until they vanquished the Portuguese and drove them out of India.
In 1663, Cochin, the impregnable port of west India which was under
Portuguese control, was lost to the Dutch. With its fall the Portuguese
power along the coast of Malabar, vanished. The Syrians rejoiced for this
change of authority, and Tuma was now free to visit his churches. The Jesu-
its, Carmelites and the persecuting Joseph who worked against the Dutch,
were cleared completely out of Malabar.
Before Joseph departed, he, following orders from Rome, ordained the
priest Chandy of Parampil of the village of Kuravilangad, a bishop to suc-
ceed him. Chandy was called Alexander de Campo. He signed his letters as
52 HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN CHURCH OF INDIA

“Alexander, Bishop of all India,” following the practice of the bishops who
administered the church of India prior to its control by the Latins. Because
like Tuma, Alexander (Chandy) belonged to the ancient family of Pakalo-
mattom, many Syrians followed him because of the respect they held for
the office of the archdeacons who came from that family. Mostly, however,
they suspected the validity of Tum’a dignity as a bishop. In a letter ad-
dressed by Alexander de Campo to the persecuting Joseph who ordained
him, and who was then at Goa, it was said, “We only need money to eradi-
cate the name of the Archdeacon Tuma from the world.”
This was indeed the sharp religious weapon Alexander used to entice
the Syrians, who swore the solemn oath at the Coonen Cross, to renounce
that oath. Those who followed Bishop Chandy were called “The Old Par-
ty,” and the others “The New Party.” This took place fifty-five years since
the arrival of the oppressor Bishop Alexis da Menezes in India.
As to Tuma, he found himself in a difficult situation, especially that he
personally entertained doubt about his ordination. He failed to retrieve the
churches which had been usurped by the Carmelites in the third persecu-
tion. Finally, they joined Alexander and became subject to Rome.