The Syro-Malankara Church: Mar Ivanios, the Reunion of 1930 and the West Syriac Rite

IOverview

It is self-governing, with its own synod and a Major Archbishop at its head, seated at Saint Mary's Cathedral in Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram. The current Major Archbishop is Baselios Cleemis, enthroned in 2007 and made a cardinal in 2012. The liturgy is celebrated in Malayalam and Syriac.

IIHistory

After the Coonan Cross Oath of 1653, the Saint Thomas Christians who refused the Portuguese bishops formed an independent Malankara church. In 1665 Bishop Gregorios Abdal Jaleel arrived from the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, and over time the community adopted the West Syriac rite. In the early 20th century the Malankara church was torn by long disputes over authority between those loyal to the Patriarch of Antioch and those seeking autonomy. Against that background a group led by Mar Ivanios sought communion with Rome, on condition of keeping the West Syriac rite intact.

• 1653Coonan Cross Oath
  The Saint Thomas Christian community splits in two.
• 1665The West Syriac rite reaches Kerala
  Bishop Gregorios Abdal Jaleel arrives from Antioch.
• 1919Bethany Ashram
  On 15 August 1919 Geevarghese, later Mar Ivanios, founds the Bethany Ashram, the seed of the Order of the Imitation of Christ.
• 1930Reunion with Rome
  On 20 September 1930 at Kollam, Mar Ivanios, Bishop Jacob Theophilos and three others enter communion with the Catholic Church.
• 1932Hierarchy
  Pius XI creates the Archeparchy of Trivandrum and the Eparchy of Tiruvalla.
• 2005Major archiepiscopal church
  Raised to major archiepiscopal status.
• 2016A North American eparchy
  The exarchate for the United States and Canada is raised to an eparchy.

IIITeachings and Distinctives

In doctrine it believes what the whole Catholic Church believes. In worship the Eucharist is called the Holy Qurbono and follows the Liturgy of Saint James of the West Syriac tradition. Many hours of prayer and hymns match those of the neighbouring Malankara Orthodox churches, since they share a root. Priests may be married, while bishops are chosen from celibate monks in the West Syriac manner and carry the title Mar or Mor before their names.

IVPractice, Liturgy and Life

Monastic spirituality has mattered from the start. The Order of the Imitation of Christ, commonly called the Bethany order, grew out of the Bethany Ashram of 1919, together with the Bethany Sisters, both directly linked to Mar Ivanios. Mar Ivanios died in 1953 and in 2007 was declared a Servant of God, the first step towards canonisation.

Like the Syro-Malabar Church it is active in education. Mar Ivanios College in Thiruvananthapuram is one of its long established institutions. The great feasts include Easter, Christmas and the Dormition of Mary, along with the commemoration of Mar Ivanios.

VOrganisation and Distribution

According to the Annuario Pontificio 2023 the church has 487,247 members. Wikipedia gives some 1,096 parishes and more than eleven eparchies, without stating the year. Most of the faithful live in southern Kerala around Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta and Tiruvalla, with some in Tamil Nadu. Outside India the church has an eparchy for the United States and Canada, along with communities in the Gulf, Europe and Australia.

VIIn Vietnam

There is no significant Syro-Malankara community in Vietnam, and no source was found for a parish or priest of this church here. Under Eastern canon law, faithful living where their own church has no eparchy come under the local bishop, so any Syro-Malankara Catholics in Vietnam would usually attend Mass in a Latin parish.

VIISymbol of the Branch

Saint Thomas Cross

Mar Thoma Sliva

VIIIOther Branches of Catholicism

Latin ChurchEcclesia LatinaThe largest of the 24 churches that make up the Catholic Church, headed directly by the Bishop of Rome.Syro-Malabar Catholic ChurchSyro-Malabar SabhaThe largest Eastern Catholic Church, rooted in the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India.Ukrainian Greek Catholic ChurchУкраїнська греко-католицька церкваThe largest Byzantine-rite Eastern Catholic Church.Maronite Churchالكنيسة المارونيةA West Syriac rite church named after the hermit Saint Maron.Melkite Greek Catholic Churchكنيسة الروم الملكيين الكاثوليكA Byzantine-rite church worshipping in Arabic and Greek, rooted in the See of Antioch.Uses the common symbol of the pathArmenian Catholic ChurchՀայ Կաթողիկե ԵկեղեցիAn Armenian-rite church in communion with Rome, led by the Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia seated in Beirut.Uses the common symbol of the pathChaldean Catholic Churchܥܕܬܐ ܟܠܕܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐAn East Syriac rite church worshipping in Syriac and Arabic, led by the Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon seated in Baghdad.Uses the common symbol of the pathSyro-Malankara Catholic ChurchMalankara Suriyani Katholika SabhaA church of the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala using the West Syriac rite, in communion with Rome since 1930.

IXSources

The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.

1. Wikipedia, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
2. Wikipedia, Eastern Catholic Churches
3. Wikipedia, Geevarghese Ivanios
4. Wikipedia, Saint Thomas Christian cross

?Quick Questions

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