Special Introductions
INDIVIDUAL AUTHORS /WORKS INTRODUCED

1. GEDDES

A Short History of the Church of Malabar
together with the Synod
of Diamper

This book, The History of the Church of Malabar from the Time of Its Being First Discovered by the Portuguese in the Year 1501, reproduced in this volume was compiled by Michael Geddes. At the time of its publication (A.D. 1694) the author was Chancellor of the Cathedral Church of Sarum. Earlier, from A.D. 1678 to 1688, he had been Chaplain of the English Factory in Lisbon. During these ten years of stay in Portugal he mastered the Portuguese language so well that he could faithfully translate Portuguese documents into English.

The book has two parts : 1. The history of the St. Thomas Christians of India from the time of their first encounter with the Portuguese till 1599, in which year was held the well-known assembly at Udayamperur (Diamper) in Kerala, which came to be called the `Synod of Diamper'; 2. the English translation of the Acts and decrees of the `Synod'.

The pagination of the original book is faulty, for the first part ends on page 108 and the second part begins on page 89. This is evidently an anomaly. In between the two parts there are a few unnumbered pages in which we find the following items : 1. a catalogue of the Portuguese Viceroys and Governors of India from A.D. 1505 to 1599; a catalogue of the prelates, Bishops and Archbishops of Goa and Bishops of Cochin (Kochi) during the sixteenth century; 3. the Preface of the Acts and Decrees of the Synod of Diamper; 4. a list of the doctrines in which "the Church of Malabar agrees with the Church of England and differs from that of Rome"; 5. an account of the doctrines of the Church of Malabar culled from the 18th chapter of the first book of Gouvea's Jornada; 6. the title pages of the Acts and Decrees of the Synod of Diamper.

From page 89 on the author gives the letter of Archbishop Alexis de Menesis addressed to the Archdeacon of the St. Thomas Christians, convoking the `Synod'. There follows [from page 97 on] the text of the Acts and Decrees of the Synod. At the end of the book we find a letter of the Bishop of Cochin addressed to the `Synod' and the answer of the latter to the Bishop. Then there are four unnumbered pages in which Geddes gives the English translation of the `Preface to the Mass Text' of the St. Thomas Christians, as corrected and revised by the `Synod'.

Geddes compiled the book in the 17th century when Roman Catholic - Protestant polemics characterized the approach of the Europeans to any question of religion. Geddes' anti-Catholic and anti-Papist bias can be detected all through the book. The first part, as the very title indicates, is an "account of the persecutions and violent methods of the Roman prelates, to reduce them (the St. Thomas Christians) to the subjection of the Church of Rome". One of the specific aims of the author, in publishing the book in English, is to prove that "the faith and doctrine of the Christians of St. Thomas in the Indies" agree "with the Church of England in opposition to Rome". It is to illustrate this thesis, the author gives a list of doctrines in which "the Church of Malabar agrees with the Church of England and differ from that of Rome". With the same end in view Geddes enumerates the doctrines of the Church of Malabar as described by Gouvea in chapter 18 of the first book of the Jornada and reproduces in English the `Preface' of the reformed Mass text. The many notes given by the author to the various decrees of the `Synod' also have this polemic purpose.

Though the interpretation which the author gives is very much one-sided and biased, the value of the book as an historical document in English is great indeed. Perhaps this is the first book ever published in English about the St. Thomas Christians. In it we find the only English translation of the Acts and Decrees of Diamper. It is the only source for students of history who have no access to sources available in other European languages. Good authorities have convincingly proved that the `Synod' was canonically invalid and lacked force of law (cf. Jonas Thaliath, Synod of Diamper, Rome : 1958). But the `Decrees' are of great historical importance as they throw much light on the socio-religious and religious life of the St. Thomas Christians, as they lived it prior to the 17th century.

About Geddes' English translation of the Acts and Decrees of the Synod of Diamper, James Hough, in his History of Christianity in India, Vol. II (1839) says : "Dr Geddes' translation will be found faithful and perfectly to agree with the Latin translation of Raulin." Hough himself has reproduced the translation from Geddes, by way of an Appendix to his work, adding appropriate titles to the decrees and marginal notes (Vol. II, pp. 511 - 683).

Scaria Zachariah has recently published a slightly modernized Malayalam version of this translation, with a long introduction of his own and a bibliography. The title of this publication is The Acts and Decrees of the Synod of Diamper (1994). Dr. Zachariah leaves out pp. 414-432, i.e. the large part of what is given in Geddes' book as `Decree XXV'. The reason for this omission must be clear from what we say below.

Evidently the `Acts and Decrees' discussed and passed in the Assembly were in Malayalam. Geddes' translation is from the Portuguese text which Gouvea published in 1606 and which contained more matter than in the Malayalam original. Jonas Thaliath has convincingly established that after the `Synod' was over Archbishop Menesis added a few things to the original text which the Assembly had passed. What is given as part of `Decree XXV' (Geddes, pp. 414-431) contains not only certain actions taken by the archbishop immediately after the `Synod' concluded, but even information about the visitations he made after the `Synod'. This, of course, could not be part of the original text. Scaria Zachariah marks 35 decrees with asterisks. They are considered later additions to or revisions of the original. Geddes not knowing these discrepancies followed the Portuguese text which Gouvea published in 1606.

The post-assembly additions and revisions were unauthorized. But they also have some historical value. As said above Geddes' is the only English translation of the `Synod of Diamper' and it is a reliable translation, though it contains more matter than in the original Malayalam text. It is an extremely rare book which one may find only in a very few libraries. Hence the republication is timely and all concerned will eagerly welcome it.

Dr. A.M. Mundadan

Dharmaram Vidyakhetra

Bangalore

2. MACKENZIE

Christianity in Travancore

G.T. Mackenzie's Christianity in Travancore is a monumental work on the history of Christianity in Kerala, especially, the history and traditions of the St. Thomas Christians. Even today, ninety-six years after its publication in 1901, it remains a very valuable work. During the last hundred years many advances have been made in researches and studies on the history of Christianity in Kerala. Many scholarly works have appeared and much documentation has been published, some of which much more exhaustive and scientific than Mackenzie's work. Still Mackenzie's Christianity in Travancore remains even today a classical piece. Its greatest merit is that it was a pioneering work on the history of Christianity in Kerala. We will understand the value of this work only when we consider the fact that it was written at a time when researches on Christian history in Kerala was still in its infancy. And that precisely is the value and merit of this work.

Mackenzie's Christianity in Travancore was written to be integrated in the Travancore State Manual of 1906. Nagam Aiya, the editor of the State Manual requested G.T. Mackenzie, the British Resident in Travancore and Cochin, to write an article for the State Manual. When Mackenzie had finished his work, the editing of the State Manual was still incomplete. Hence Mackenzie decided to publish it as a book and with the permission of the Maharaja of Travancore he printed it at the Travancore Government Press and published it from Trivandrum in 1901. What we have here in this volume is the text of Mackenzie's work as published in 1901.

What any one with an observing eye will notice in Mackenzie's Christianity in Travancore, is the brevity and succinctness of the text and the extensiveness of the end-notes. Mackenzie has succeeded in putting together the history in a very interesting and readable way, integrating into it the history of the St. Thomas Christians, the history of the Latin missions of the middle ages, the missionary enterprises of the Portuguese on the Pearl Fishery Coast and the work of Francis Xavier on the Travancore Coast, the early CMS missions - first among the Jacobites and Marthomites in the beginning of the last century and later the CMS missions proper in Central Kerala - and the LMS missions of Ringletaube and others in South Travancore.

Mackenzie has not made any division of the book into chapters or sections. There are no side headings or subheadings. However, we can identify two main sections. The first section that we mark starts with the origins of Christianity from St. Thomas the Apostle until the end of the 19th century. This part deals with the early history of Christianity, the relation of the Malabar Church with the Persian Church in the early and middle ages, the Latin missionary endeavours during the middle ages, the struggle of the St. Thomas Christians to keep their identity under the Portuguese Padroado rule and the Propaganda rule during the Portuguese and Dutch periods, with special mention of the origins of Christianity on the Paravas Coast and the work of St. Francis Xavier. This section ends with the beginning of the rule of the indigenous bishops in the Malabar Church in 1896. The second section deals with the history of the Jacobite or Syrian Orthodox Church and the history of the missions of the Protestant Churches, especially of the CMS and the LMS in central Kerala and South Travancore.

If we look for the content of the book and its organization, what we notice at the outset, as mentioned before is that the book is not divided into chapters or sections. However, we can mark two sections. The first deals with the early history of the catholic community, both St. Thomas Christian and Latin, from the first century to the end of the 19th century [pages 1-34 ]. The second treats the history of the Jacobite and the Marthomite Churches and the CMS and LMS missions [pp. 35-55 ( )]. We can mark the following phases of history in the book: 1.the early history of Christianity up to the time of the Copper Plates, 2.the Latin Missionary Enterprises in the middle Ages, 3.the Indian Church before the Arrival of the Portuguese, 4.the Arrival of Vasco da Gama and the Portuguese Period, 5.Dutch period and the Carmelite Period and 6.the 19th Century Catholic History, 7.the History of the Jacobite and the Marthomite Churches, 8.the history of the Church Mission Society and the London Mission Society missions.

The Table given in the last part of the description of the catholic history reveals the extent of the treatment. The table gives the data regarding the three Latin dioceses of Cochin, Verapoly and Quilon, shows that the author had in mind both the Latin and Syrian Christians from Thrissur to Kanyakumari. The Syrian Catholic dioceses mentioned are those of Thrissur, Ernakulam and Changanasserry. Similarly, the tables given at the end for the CMS missions of Central Kerala and the LMS missions of south Travancore are greatly valuable.

The end-notes and explanations reveal Mackenzie's scholarship and the extent of his knowledge and his aquaintance with the ancient sources and contemporary documentation. The long end-notes are greatly valuable mines of historical knowledge and give us a glimpse into the extent of the sources. Great expertise is shown in the presentation of the many tables given in the end-notes like the succession of the Catholic bishops and the succession of the Jacobite bishops. The end-notes and explanations are more valuable than certain materials given in the body of the text of the book. They make Mackenzie's Christianity in Travancore a scholarly work and a real source book of Christian history even for us today.

The book was later integrated in Volume II of the three-volume Travancore State Manual of 1906. It forms Section C of Chapter VIII on Religion in Volume II of the State Manual, with four sections A through D, Section A, Hinduism, (pp. 39-109), Section B, Mohammedanism (pp. 110-113) Section C, Christianity (pp, 114-223) Section D, Minor Religions (224-227) Section C on Christianity begins on page 114 with an introduction by Nagam Aiya (pages 114-134). The text of Mackenzie begins on p. 135 (Vol II) with the title, History of Christianity in Travancore, contributed by G.T. Meckenzie Esquire ICS (Retired), Late British Resident in Travancore and Cochin.

Though the original work of Mackenzie does not have any subtitles, when Nagam Aiya edited and integrated it into the State Manual, he added subtitles of his own. The subheadings that Nagam Aiya added to Mackenzie's draft are the following, The Ancient Church (p. 136), The Portuguese Period (p 148), the Dutch Period (p. 193), Cranganore (p.197), the Carmelite Mission (p.194), Portuguese Patronage (p.201), the Separated Syrians (p. 202), the Episode of the Nestorian Bishop Gabriel (p. 207), the English Period (p. 211), the Church Mission Society (220), the London Mission Society (p. 221). He integrated many of the end-notes into the body of the article. The index given in the book after the end - notes is omitted in the State Manual.

In reading or evaluating the work of Mackenzie, we should bear in mind that the book was written in the beginning of this century, when researches on history of Christianity in Kerala was in its initial stages. The immense historical documentation brought out by researchers in Christianity in Kerala during the last hundred years were not available to Mackenzie when he set out on this work. Hence some of his positions may not be tenable, some may have to be corrected and some others need to be supplemented. This is true both of the text and the notes.

Dr. Antony Vallavanthara

Rishi

Mannanam

3. GEORGE CATHANAR

The Orthodoxy of the St. Thomas Christians

The Infancy of the present century witnessed many controversies dealing with the origins, traditions, and doctrines of the Malabar Christians. The pages of many a magazine were converted into battlefields where divers scholars, pseudo-scholars, and fanatics indulged in heated polemics. Where mere articles did not suffice, the writers' energies overflowed into pamphlets and `treatises'. This publication by George Cathanar at first signt would appear to be no different. It looks like a thread which precariously holds together many beads and flowers of differing hues and sizes of the polemic art culled from the periodical press. But on a closer examination it proves to be something much more weighty and useful, and of lasting significance.

The Rev. C.J. George Cathanar is the `publisher'of this book. Although the cover page and the title page inform us that it includes "A review of Some Elucidations by the bishop of Cochin," and the `Contents' indicates that part I of the book is exclusively devoted to this review (pages 1-16), in fact not a single copy of the book examined contains the said review or the said pages. Instead we see part II (Some Vatican Documents) occupying page 1 onwards. The introduction to the work has a curious item on page II:

"We find the following information published in O Vinte E Tres De Novembro (No. 5, May 1903, p. 58.), a Portuguese organ of the Cochin Diocese: "The same Sacred Congregation of Propaganda has sent a kind of circular to the Rt. Rev. Vicars Apostolic of the Syrian rite of Malabar in order to endeavour to force to refrain the writings and style of some priests of the same rite on the celebrated question of their pretended Catholicity uninterrupted." This perhaps has something to do with the last minute dropping of the said review from the book?

Part II is entitled "Some Documents from Giamil's `Genuinae Relationes Inter Sedem Apoltolicam et Chaldaeorum Ecclesiam" This is further elaborated by the publisher thus: viz: We here reproduce some of the numerous documents recently taken from the Vatican archives and published in 1902, Rome by Very. Rev. Fr. Samuel Giamil, General Procurator of the Chaldean Patriarch to the Holy See. From pp.69-100; 604-610." This part is a mine of essential documentary information, probably for the first time made available to readers in India, because the publication of this book in 1904, followed hard on the heels of theappearance of Giamil's book in 1902. And among books devoted to the history of the St. Thomas Christians The Orthodoxy has paved the way for many better known works and authors.

Most of the documents reproduced in this part belong to the second half of the sixteenth century, spanning a period of less than two decades, preceding the synod of Diamper. Among these are letters between the Roman Pontiff, the Patriarch of Babylon, the King of Portugal, the King of Cochin, the Archbishop of Goa, the Archbishop of the Malabar See, the Archdecon, ... which shed a great deal of light on the actual goings-on in Malabar, and their real significance.

Many of the documents reproduced here have been largely utilised by authors writing on this and allied topics subsequently. It was many decades later that Indian scholars came to have direct access to original Vatican sources. Even today certain of these documents are eye-openers for many researches. The synopses of the various documents rendered into English in the `Contents', even allowing for the inadequacies and inaccuracies, have served many Indian scholars to make their first aquaintance with the treasures of the Vatican libraries and archives.

Parts III and IV contain a considerable quantity of interesting information culled from various sources, foreign and indigenous. True, the documentary support here is often enough inadequate, unequal, and sporadic in nature. Much could however be gathered about the divergent views regarding the orthodoxy etc. of Mar Abraham, Mar Joseph, Mar Simeon; and on a plethora of other topics too varied to be clubbed together, except in a book that resembles nothing so much as the famous Kerala dish Aviyal; and yet there are many pieces of information that could be weaned from the book which could be of immense assistance even to the modern historians of this ancient Christianity.

The objective of the publisher in bringing out this volume is clearly outlined at the outset in the introduction. These paragraphs give us an insight into not only the compulsions under which this publication was undertaken, but also something about Mr.Mackenzie's efforts to write his chapter on Christianity in the Travancore State Manual. It also affords us a peep into the state of Syrian - Latin polemics at the dawn of the cantury, in the early years after the Syrians had obtained their own Vicars Apostolic.

Since the publisher himself has given an adequate outline of his intentions, and the circumstances of the publication of this book, in his introduction(pp.150,151), and has further described in detail what the book has to offer in the elaborate contents (pp.149,150), the best that could be done is perhaps to refer the reader to these two items.

As a good deal of what is contained in this publication is difficult to come across elsewhere the utility of a reprint cannot be gainsaid.

Maggy G. Menachery

4. a. e. medlycott

India and the Apostle Thomas

India and the Apostle Thomas by Adolf E. Medlycott is an important contribution to the evaluation of the apostolate of St. Thomas in India and the origin of Indian Christianity. It remains still a standard book on the question, though a number of writers have made further contributions to the subject in the last half century. The approach of the author is that of a consummate scholar, harnessing all the available documents spread over may centuries and several ancient records. He was also well acquainted with the St. Thomas Christian community as he was the Vicar Apostolic of Thrissur over a period of ten years, 1887 to 1896. He could speak from his first hand experience of the community.

The tradition universally accepted by the Saint Thomas Christians of this coast attest the following points :

The writer feels bound to lay strong emphasis on this tradition in support of the claim of Mylapore to hold the tomb of the Apostle. He is thoroughly convinced - even apart from all the evidence adduced in the preceding pages - that if the claim of Mylapore to be the place of the martyrdom and of the burial of the Apostle was not based on undeniable fact, the Christians of Malabar would never have acknowledged their neighbours' claim to hold the tomb of the Apostle, neither would they ever be induced to frequent it by way of pilgrimage [p. 30; cf. also footnote 18 annexed to this passage].

Medlycott is the author of a well-documented article, "St. Thomas Christians" in the Catholic Encyclopaedia, Vol. XIV (New York: The Gilmary Society, 1912/1914, pp. 678-88).

The author was born on 15 June (January?) 1835 (1838?) of European parents (his father was an Englishman) in Chittagong belonging to the Apostolic Vicariate of East Bengal (now Bangladesh). At the age of 15 (13?) we find him in Rome for ecclesiastical studies. He studied from basic grammar to theology in the Propaganda (Urban) College and took his doctorate in philosophy in 1858 and received priestly ordination on 17 March 1861. Sometime after returning to India he worked in Punjab as military chaplain. In 1887 Rome decided to separate the Catholic St. Thomas Christians of Kerala from the Latin jurisdiction and established two vicariates apostolic for them, Kottayam and Trichur. The Holy See appointed this alumnus of the Propaganda Vicar Apostolic of Trichur.

The book envisages two classes of readers: 1. those who have accepted in a general way the tradition that St. Thomas preached the Gospel in India but would like to see it based on solid historical basis; 2. those who look upon the tradition as legendary and are not concerned about any further inquiry. Medlycott feels that the result of the researches he has made as given in the book might interest both classes and help the formation of a correct opinion. It is with this object in view he closely examines all records that were available to him both in the East and the West.

There are six chapters and an appendix. The first chapter speaks about the connection of St. Thomas with Gondophares in North West India. In the second the author examines the ancient witnesses and the evidence the various Churches provide. Chapter three inquires into the authenticity of the tomb of Mylapore. For this the author produces the testimonies of various visitors to the place from the sixth to the sixteenth century. Chapter four treats about the relics transferred to Edessa and the various versions of the martyrdom of the Apostle. He quotes not only the medieval travellers but also the 16th century Portuguese writers and refers to the traditions of the St. Thomas Christians. At the end of the chapter he gives a summary of the findings and concludes :

The foregoing brief sketch will enable the reader to know how the various traditions regarding the Apostle mutually hang together. We have only to remark, further, how unreasonable it is to suppose that tradition converging from various points, and mutually self-supporting, can be the outcome of legendary imaginings. It is for those who contest them to prove that they are inconsistent with any known facts, and consequently baseless. Until then, they hold the field.

After this Medlycott examines the place names, Calamina and Maliafra attempting to identify them

Chapter 5 scrutinises the claims regarding other alleged apostles of India: St. Bartholomew, St. Frumentius and Theophilus `the Indian'. After a careful study of these claims the author convincingly proves that they are untenable. There is a short account in Philostorgius on the visit of Theophilus to the western coast of South India. Medlycott quotes the passage and arrives at the conclusion:

The statement implies (1) a resident congregation of the faithful, (2) church services regularly held at which the gospels were read, and (3) consequently a ministering clergy. This discloses a Christian community constituted in parochial form; and if there be any doubt as to whether the congregation be indigenous or foreign, such doubt (4) ought to be set aside by the peculiar custom found among them, mentioned by the historian, and referred to below, which Theophilus is said to have reformed.

At this period the Christians on this coast must have held the faith unadulterated.

In the context of the present controversy about the Manichean origin of the so-called `St. Thomas Cross', chapter six is of special interest. In it Medlycott treats about the question of a confusion that has arisen between Thomas the Apostle and "Thomas, a disciple of Manes" whom Manes is alleged to have sent to India. The author, by scholarly examination of pertinent documents resolves this confusion. However, one may not be fully convinced when he says that there are no grounds for the supposition that `Thomas, the disciple of Manes' ever went to India.

The Appendix is an elaborate critical analysis of the Acts of Judas Thomas. It is valuable in itself, though recent studies on the Acts may have made this study somewhat outdated.

As mentioned above many more advanced studies have appeared in the twentieth century. Yet this remains a sort of source book, a reference work, as it deals with and quotes from records as no other studies have done. Its re-publication can stimulate new interest on the apostolate of St. Thomas in India and the origin of Indian Christianity.

Dr. A. Mathias Mundadan

Dharmaram Vidyakhetra

Bangalore

5. A SYRIAN CATHOLIC

A Synopsis of theHistory of
The Syrian Churchin Malabar

This is a well researched historical treatise on the history of Christianity in India by an erudite scholar. The history of the St. Thomas Christians has all along been a matter of great interest for historians and hence we come across several publications about this community by the best historians both inside and outisde the country. But the non-availability and inaccessibility of the authoritative sources led several writers to incorrect and erroneous conclusions regarding the origins, traditions, history, of this ancient community. Hence there arose a number of controversies about the different and important historical aspects of the question such as the ones dealing with the apostolic origin from St. Thomas, relations with the Eastern Churches, Nestorian connections, Immigrations, the Apostle Bartholomeo, the term Nazrani Mappila, conflicts with the Jesuits and Carmelites, establishment of oriental vicariates, establishment of the Syro-Malabar hierarchy, etc.

A new era was opened up to the historians by the beginning of the century when means of communications improved between different parts of the old world, and accessibility to the sources increased enormously. Now began to appear several well researched and adequatelydocumented historical treatises about Christianity in India. The book before us was one of the best among such.

The author, `A Syrian Catholic', from the authentic, newly discovered, and well studied ancient sources and documents answers the many questions, raised by controversialists, so conclusively that no one could easily challenge or refute the conclusions and assertions put forward by him in this treatise. The author appears to have consulted all the important works and documents available with an impartial and unprejudiced mind. The following facts are among those dealt with and established by the author :

1) St. Thomas is the apostle of India

2) St. Bartholomeo has never been to India

3) The St. Thomas Christians had never been Nestorians, in doctrine or practice

4) The beginning of the Latin community and liturgy was only after the arrival of the Portuguese

5) The Thomas Christians are known as Nazrani Mappilas

He also deals with the question of the establishment of Vicariates for Syrians and the Syro-Malabar hierarchy.

The author treats each topic briefly but his arguments are weighty. The uniqueness of this treatise is that the reader finds no word unnecessary or unimportant - every word used is worthy.

The careful preservation of historical documents and publications is indeed praiseworthy, as in the present volume. Almost all important early historical treatises about Christianity in India are out of print or totally lost. Hence any amount of praise showered on the pioneering efforts of the publishers will not be out of place.

Dr. George Vithayathil

Pontifical Institute,

Alwaye

6. J.C. PANJIKARAN

THE SYRIAN CHURCH IN MALABAR

The Syriac Christianity in India is today divided into various ecclesial communities. Malabar or Kerala was its traditional centre. Until after the 16th century, this very ancient Christianity of apostolic origin kept unity of faith. Historically this Christianity belonged to the Syriac tradition, the first of the three original ecclesial traditions - the others being Greek and Latin - which constituted the early Church. The Semitic pole of Syriac Christianity, which may be designated East Syriac, is authentically Asian and has inherited the characteristic features of the original Church which itself was of semitic origin.

The Syriac Christianity of India was traditionally known as Christians of Mar Thoma Shleeha or Mar Thoma Nasranikal. Their history has been a subject of great interest for historians and we have a mass of literature on the subject. At the same time it is unfortunate to note that very often the history of this Oriental Christianity has been misinterpreted and its orthodoxy questioned. J.C. Panjikaran in his work The Syrian Church in Malabar deals with the history of this Church with special attention on her orthodoxy. The author with scientific historical analysis of facts and documents convinces the reader that the atribution of Nestorian heresy to the Malabar Church is unfounded and

unjustifiable. His concern is the undivided Church of the St. Thomas Christians until the beginning of the 17th century giving particular attention to the Synod of Diamper 1599, which event was a turning point in the history of this Church.

The treatise is divided into four chapters. Chapter I deals with the apostolic origin of the Syriac Christianity in India. With various arguments the author concludes that St. Thomas the Apostle is the founder. He points to the possibility of two missionary journeys made by the apostle touching several places in the Asian Continent. According to him the apostle might have started his first missionary jouney in A.D. 35. During this first priod he preached the gospel to the Parthians, Medes and Persians and visited the countries to the North-West of India, the kingdoms ruled by the Indo-Parthian King Gondophares who lived before A.D. 50. It could be that the apostle reached Kodungallur in A.D. 52 as part of his second missionary journey. The saint suffered martyrdom at Calamina, which is the Little Mount and it was traditionally known in the local language as Shinnamalai.

The first community of the Syriac Christians probably included converted Nambudhiris. As evidence for this the author cites certain Nambudhiri customs practised by the Syriac Christians (women) especially at Kunnamkulam. The mode of wearing clothes, giving a mixture of honey, ghee and gold to the newly-born child within 36 hours after birth, Annaprasanam, Pulakuli on the 10th or 11th day after the death of a person etc. are examples of such customs.

Accusation of Nestorian Heresy

As mentioned above the chief concern of the author in this treatise is to prove the baselessness of the accusation of Nestorian heresy against the Malabar Church, and to establish that the Church has always kept the apostolic faith. This is dealt with in the rest of this treatise.

The first work which explicitly speaks of the Nestorianism of the Christians of St. Thomas is the Jornata of Gouvea, published at Coimbra in 1606. Both Menezes and Gouvea belonged to the same religious congregation. Naturally he would be inclined to give an account of the synod that would go to the credit of his Congregation and the Portuguese. It is a fact that nearly all the works written by the Protestants and the Latin Catholics assert that after the first centuries the Malabar Church fell into Nestorian heresy and that it was Archbishop Dom Menezes who purified her by means of the Synod of Diamper 1599. The author in this work makes it clear that their source is ultimately the work of Gouvea. To the English-speaking world Gouvea's work was introduced by Michael Geddes in the last decade of the 17th century.

Another source of the said accusation is pointed out to be a confusion of terms. The Syro-Chaldean language used in the Eastern countries underwent certain changes when Nestorianism spread to these places. Consequently the people who spoke this language came to be called Nestroians. Nestorian and Chaldean became convertible terms. As the Catholics too were improperly called Nestroains, they in 1445 sent a petition to Pope Eugenius IV, and the Pope ordered under pain of excommunication, that in future they should not be called Nestorians, but Catholic Chaldeans. In 1553, Cardinal Maffeus in his declaration on the state of the Chaldean Church, said, "The Chaldeans seem to have had but the name of Nestorians, but not to have held any Nestorian error".

In 498 the Catholicos of Seleucia became Nestroian. But not all bishops, priests and people followed him. The Primate of Persia was one among those who held fast to the ancient faith. Refusing to subject himself to a superior who had deviated from the traditional faith of the Church, the Primate of Persia relied on apostolic succession direct from St. Thomas. The Indian Church was linked to the Primate of Persia to get bishops. In A.D. 800 the Metropolitan of Persia submitted to the Nestorian Patriarch of Seleucia. This does not mean that from this time onwards all the Syrians were Nestorians. There were also instances when several bishops, priests and faithful abjured Nestorianism and embraced the Catholic faith. Studies have revealed that since the 8th century there have been Catholic Patriarchs on the throne of Seleucia. This is especially true of the period from 1490-1599. At the confirmation of Sulaka as Patriarch of Seleucia in 1553, Pope Julius III referred to the approval his predecessors had given to the discipline and liturgy of the Syrians.

The Church in India from A.D. 800 to 1599

We have seen that the Church in India had hierarchical relation with the Church of Persia, and that until A.D. 800 the Persian Church had Catholic Metropolitans. Therefore, there is no room for doubting the orthodoxy of the faith of the Church of India until A.D. 800. There followed a long period during which we find no record of bishops coming from Persia except once in 880 when two bishops came to Quilon. We have definite information of the next arrivals of Syrian bishops only from 1490. Our souces of information about the faith of the Syriac Christianity in India during this long period of obscurity are the letters and writings of the missionaries and travellers and the inscriptions on certain granite crosses. The author in this treatise analyses these sources and concludes that they in no way support the accusation of Nestorian heresy against the Thomas Christians. We have ample sources belonging to the period after 1490. An objective study of these sources will only prove the orthodoxy of the faith of the Thomas Christians until 1599.

The author then goes on to a critical analysis of the Synod of Diamper which is said to have purified the Malabar Church from Nestorian heresy. But the study only convinces one that the said accusation was unfounded. The decrees of the synod actually revealed the intention of the Portuguese, which was to put the Malabar Church under Latin jurisdiction and then little by little substitute the Latin Rite for the Syriac. Soon after the synod the Church of the Thomas Christians was given a Latin Bishop in the person of Francis Ros S.J. and on 4th August 1600 Portuguese Padroado jurisdiction was extended over this Apostolic Oriental Church. Under the Latin rule the project of latinization of the Church gradually progressed with far reaching consequences to be felt and manifested in the course of history.

Dr. Joseph Perumthottam

Paurastya Vidyapitham

Vadavathoor, Kottayam

7. BERNARD

A Brief Sketch of the History of the

St. Thomas Christians

A Brief Sketch of the History of the St. Thomas Christians needs no special introduction, when it carries the name of Fr. Bernard of St. Thomas TOCD, the Church Historian of the St. Thomas Christians. He was author of the monumental work Marthomakristhianikal (St. Thomas Christians), for which he was awarded a Gold Medal in 1916. Eighty years have elapsed since the publication of Bernard's Marthoma-kristhianikal (St. Thomas Christians) in two volumes. Still, it reamins a classical work, a scholarly study and a rich source book, which is to be seriously consulted in any study of the history and traditions of the St. Thomas Christians of Malabar. A Brief Sketch of the History of the St. Thomas Christians is an abridgment of this magnum opus of Fr. Bernard, Marthomakristhianikal.

Anyone who has read Bernard's Marthomakristhianikal (St. Thomas Christians) or his History of the CMI Congregation will have nodoubt about his erudition and scholarship, his historical methodo-logy and love for documentation and, above all, his sense of history. We will know the value of Bernard's works only if we take into account that he made his researches and brought out his results at a time when researches on Kerala History, especially on the history of Christianity in Kerala were in their infancy. It was Bernard's Marthomakristhianikal, that gave a real momentum to the study of the history and traditions of the St. Thomas Christians in the first half of this century.

A Brief Sketch of the History of the St. Thomas Christians is short and succinct, but highly documented. The rich documentation that is found in this work is unique. We should remember that such documentation was very rare at the time when it was published. In this Fr. Bernard was a pathmaker. Today with the publication of source materials and many scholarly studies much documentation on the history and traditions of the St. Thomas Christians is easily available. The situation a hundred years ago was very different. For that reason, the documentation found in A Brief Sketch makes the book singularly interesting.

A Brief Sketch of the History of the St. Thomas Christians becomes more valuable and refined by the touch of another scholarly hand and a master mind, Fr. Romeo Thomas T.O.C.D., the editor of the book. Fr. Romeo Thomas was a cotemporary of Fr. Bernard. Basically, he was an educationist. For many years he was a member of the Senate and Syndicate of the University of Kerala. To his credit Fr. Romeo Thomas has many articles related to the history and traditions of the St. Thomas Christians. He was very much involved in the scholarly debate on the history, traditions and faith of the St. Thomas Christians, in the first half of this century when the questions about the origins of Christianity in Kerala, the Apostolate of St. Thomas and the Orthodoxy of the St. Thomas Christians were very much discussed. He was a contemporary of Dr. P.J. Thomas and Fr. Heras SJ who were very much interested in the St. Thomas Christian history and traditions, and were very much involved in the contemporary debate. Fr. Romeo Thomas' articles on the question of the Apostolate of St. Thomas, the feast of Dukrana and the history of the Syriac Language and Literature are of great value even today.

A Brief Sketch of the History of the St. Thomas Christians was edited by Fr. Romeo Thomas. It was printed at the St. Joseph's Press, Trichinopoly under the care of Fr. Romeo Thomas and was published from Trichinopoly in 1924. As is clearly said on the title page, A Brief Sketch was published as a Souvenir of the Restoration of the Syrian (Syro-Malabar) Hierarchy, in 1923. The book was dedicated to the first Metropolitan of the Syro-Malabar Church and the head of the Syro-Malabar Hierarchy. We read in the book as follows, "To His Grace, the most Rev. Augustine Kandathil D.D., Archbishop of Ernakulam and Metropolitan of the Malanakara Syrian Church this book is humbly dedicated by the author."

In the eight chapters of A Brief Sketch Fr. Bernard deals with all the important epochs of the history of the St. Thomas Christians. The last part of the book is an appendix where the author treats the question of the social and political status of the St. Thomas Christians. In A Brief Sketch, Fr. Bernard presents the historical events and documents with a clear theological perspective and objective. Through this book Fr. Bernard wanted to defend the orthodoxy of the St. Thomas Christians and he has greatly succeeded in this purpose.

Fr. Romeo Thomas, the editor of the work, very well presents the purpose of the book and what the author had in mind in writing A Brief Sketch. Fr. Romeo Thomas writes, "It emphasizes certain aspects and especially the Nestorian question. The author has confirmed the long standing continuous and unanimous tradition of the catholic Syrians about their uninterrupted orthodoxy. Certain modern writers have taken the liberty to condemn the contention of Syrian orthodoxy as a novel claim brought forward by the younger generation among the Syrians. They would not have made such an erroneous assumption if they had tried to ascertain the tradition of the Syrians." The main objective of the work is to present this St. Thomas Christian tradition of Orthodoxy, before the coming of the Portuguese. This he achieves through A brief Sketch, especially through chapter two and three of the book.

Chapter 1 deals with local sources and local traditions, especially with the traditions in relation to the feast of St. Thomas, known as Dukrana, the traditions in the breviary, the traditions in the local folklore and songs, the traditions about the seven Churches and the pilgrimage to Mylapore. Even though the St. Thomas Christian studies have advanced very much during the last seventy-five years, not much systematic research has been done on the local sources and local traditions, especially oral traditions. Even today we remain still at the stage where Fr. Bernard has brought the question by his reasearches and publications.

Chapter 2 deals with the Churches of Mesopotamia and Malabar in the middle ages. Here again, Fr. Bernard is unique in his treatment of the subject from the standpoint of the orthodoxy of the St. Thomas Christians. Strongly convinced of the uninterrupted orthodoxy of the Malabar Church, Fr. Bernard positively affirms and defends that the St. Thomas Christians were never Nestorians. He analyses the history of the Mesopotamian Church and its relation to the Malabar Church from the 4th century to the 16th century to show that the Malabar Church was never Nestorian. Here Fr. Bernard mentions how the St. Thomas Christians protested against the first draft of Mackenzie's monograph on Christianity in Travancore in the State Manual for completely ignoring the Malabar tradition of uninterrupted orthodoxy and presenting only the Portuguese position.

After preparing the background through chapter 2, Fr. Bernard makes, in chapter 3, a defence of the faith and orthodoxy of the St. Thomas Christians before the coming of the Portuguese. This chapter is the most important part of the whole book. Here the author presents 24 very valuable historical documents on the basis of which he proves again the contention of many historians that the St. Thomas Christians were never Nestorians.

The next three chapters deal with the history of the three centuries after the Synod of Diamper. They deal with the great schism of 1653 (the Coonan Cross Oath and its aftermath), the beginning of the Propaganda rule and appointment of Bishop Alexander Parampil, and the Carmelite rule under the Propaganda. These chapters have the value that they form part of a pioneering work and that they come from the pen of an author of the calibre of Fr. Bernard.

Then chapter seven on the Restoration of the Syrian Hierarchy has the touch of freshness of treatment by a contemporary. However, we have to affirm that we have better studies on the question, like the monumental work of Chevalier I.C. Chacko's malayalam `Life and Times of Mar Louis Pazheparampil' and other documented studies on this period.

Chapter eight on Jacobite history has done justice to the question. Perhaps Mackenzie's Christianity in Travancore has a better treatment of certain aspects of the question. However, Bernard's analysis has the special value that it is a study and analysis of the question from a Catholic stand point made at a time when there was not much dogmatic sympathy between the Catholics and Jacobites/Marthomites.

Finally the appendix on the Social and Political Status of the St. Thomas Christians is an area where a few good studies have come out during the last few decades. Still there is the need for further studies and researches on the social status of the St. Thomas Christians with the contemporary understanding of sociology and history.

With the immense research materials that have been unearthed and published by scholars during the last three quarters of the century, like J. Wicki's Documenta Indica and the studies, monographs and doctoral theses from the different Universities in India and abroad, much documentation on the history and traditions of the St. Thomas Christians are accessible today. Still, the documentation that Bernard presents in A Brief Sketch is of immense value for us. They will remain as the basic sources for the further studies also in the future. Again with all the studies on the history, traditions and theology of the St. Thomas Christians during the last seventy-five years, we can affirm that Fr. Bernard's documents and arguments are still valid and useful in our understanding of the dogmatic question of the orthodoxy of the St. Thomas Christians.

As indicated elsewhere, in evaluating A Brief Sketch by Fr. Bernard, we should bear in mind that this book comes from the hand of a veteran historian of all times and that it is the resume of his monumental work, Marthomakristhianikal. Through A Brief Sketch Fr. Bernard brought out for the English speaking world the results of his fifty years of researches and studies on the history, traditions and orthodoxy of the St. Thomas Christians. For that reason it is to be considered a classical work. In fact A Brief Sketch is a pathmaker in the study of the history and traditions of the St. Thomas Christians. Its brevity and documented clarity are to be specially mentioned. With all the advances in researches and studies on the history and traditions of the St. Thomas Christians made during the last hundred years, Bernard's work remains monumental.

Dr. Antony Vallavanthara

Rishi

Mannannam

8. j. n. farquhar

the apostle thomas in north india

9. J. N. FARQUHAR

the apostle thomas in South india

The Apostle Thomas in North India and The Apostle Thomas in South India are two studies by Dr. J.N. Farquhar, M.A., B.D., D.Litt. (Oxon), who was the Professor of Comparative Religion at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. The first is an amplification of the lecture delivered in the John Rylands Library in October 1925 and published in the Bullettin of the John Rylands Library in 1926 (Vol. 10, No.1). The second work appeared for the first time in the same Bullettin in the following year. By publishing these in this form, I believe, the editor has once again made available these ever-valid studies to the modern research student, who on account of inaccessibility or unavailability of previous editions could not peruse them.

Farquhar's studies on the North Indian and South Indian apostolate of Thomas are very important analyses of the text of the Acts of Thomas.

The apostolate of St. Thomas in India, his martyrdom there, and the transference of his relics to Mesopotamia form the matter of traditional belief among the Christians of India. Dealing with the Malabar tradition about the apostolate of St. Thomas, Msgr. Texeira, Co-adjutor bishop of Madras, said, "The Malabar tradition is not written on hard stone or sheets of parchment, but in the hearts and memories of men, assuredly as enduring a monument as those of granite and the like." The earliest document which supports this tradition is the Acts of (Judas) Thomas, a Syrian Apocryphal book, of the early third century.

Manuscript Sinai 30 of the 5th/6th century is the early extant text of this apocryphal. The Doctrine of the Apostles, originated in the fourth century, resembles the idea of the Acts : "India and all its own countries, and those bordering out even to the farthest sea, received the Apostles' Hand of Priesthood from Judas Thomas who was Guide and Ruler in the church which he built there, and ministered there."

The use of the Acts of Thomas among the Gnostics is testified by Epiphanius(315-403), and among the Manicheans by St.Augustine (354-403). St Ephrem(306-373) knew the story of the preaching of St.Thomas in India. The Spanish pilgrim, Egeria, who visited the shrine of St.Thomas in Edessa in 384 A.D., "read, in addition some passaages concerning St.Thomas/." there, and, according to Baumstark and Wilkinson, those passages were probably from the Acts of Thomas. Actually the Acts of Thomas enjoyed great favour in orthodox circles, "as Christian literature for edification and entertainment, as shown by its manifold textual history and in particular by the tendency recognisable in it towards the expunging of Gnostic elements and assimilation to Catholic doctrine."

The original Syriac and early Greek version of the Acts underwent several modifications in the course of centuries. From the Syriac and Greek texts were formed different versions, partial or complete, of the Acts in several languages, e.g., Arabic, Armenian,Coptic, Latin and Georgian. Most of these versions were edited several times.

As other apocryphal Acts of the early centuries, like the Acts of Paul, John, Andrew and Peter, the Acts of Thomas deals with the evangelisation, miraculous works, and martyrdom of the Apostle. The Acts couches the mystery of redemption in the form of stories, sermons, hymns and litergical services. It enables us to know the doctrine and liturgical usages of a particular region in a particular time provided we are able to know the region of the origin and the modifications the Acts underwent in course of time.

Evangelisation of India is attributed to the Apostle Thomas in the very beginning of the Acts where the apostles are said to have divided the countries of the world among themselves. "And India fell by lot and division to Judas Thomas the Apostle" (para 1). The Acts goes on to say that the Apostle was sold to a merchant named Habban sent by the Indian king Gundaphar who sought a skilled carpenter. It is interesting to note that in the nineteenth century, coins of a certain king Gundaphar of the first century A.D. have been unearthed in India.

Habban and Thomas embarked for India (para 3). Many miracles, prayers and sermons of Thomas are given in the Acts. He converted several people, including those of the royal family. He is believed to have travelled extensively. According to the Acts, Thomas was martyred by the order of the king. He was buried in a royal tomb (para 159-69). The narrative ends with a miracle which informs us that the bones of Thomas were transferred to Mesopotamia (para 170). Recent excavations have shed new light on the tomb of Thomas.

Even those who agree that St.Thomas preached in India do not agree in details. Thus, for example, J.N.Farquhar thinks that the Acts speaks about the North Indian and South Indian apostolate of St.Thomas, whereas A.F.J.Klijn holds that "for the present Acts Thomas went to South India only." It seems that the Acts consists of two textual traditions, Edessan for the South Indian apostolate and Alexandrian for the North Indian apostolate.

It is a fact that the Acts contains several legendary narrations. At the same time, there is no doubt that its background is historical. We have already indicated above that the king Gundaphar, mentioned in the Acts, is proved to be a historic person. Medlycott points out a few of the typical Indian customs narrated in the Acts: sitting in palanquin, taking bath before evening meal, saluting the king in the early morning by the members of the court, paying homage by prostrating at the feet of another etc. He further analyses the proper names used in the Acts and tries to show the Indian origin of a few of them.

We have to admit that the Acts of Thomas in the present form is a complex composition. This is mainly because of the double traditionwhich pictures the Apostle preaching in both North and South India. The scenes of India were put into writing in Syria or Mesopotamia with the effect that certain non-Indian flavour affected the Acts (e.g.,a few names). Again, we have to remember that the Acts was composed about 150 years after the events. Nevetheless, the Acts gives us a glimpse into the life of the Apostle Thomas.

I am sure these two works are still able to create in the reader the curiosity to study more about this interesting subject.

Dr. Jacob Velliyan

St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Vadavathoor

10. F. A. D'CRUZ

St. Thomas the Apostle in India

As the very title St. Thomas the Apostle, in India by F.A. D'Cruz, K.S.G., indicates it is an investigation based on the latest researches in connection with the time honoured tradition regarding the missionary activities of St. Thomas in South India. F.A. D'Cruz K.S.G. was a Retired Superintendent of General Records, Government Secretariat, Madras. He was also editor of The Catholic Register, San Thome, Mylapore. His experience in the archives seems to have enabled him to make an easy organization and logical analysis of the documents. This book demonstrates also his attachment to the home diocese that is proud to bear the name of St. Thomas the Apostle.

This book was first published in 1921 and the second edition came to light in 1929 with two more topics. The author himself specified that his intention was "to show that there is no justification for confining St. Thomas' labour to the North and ignoring the weight of evidence in favour of the Apostle's connection with the South." The mission of St. Thomas in India was a subject of hot discussion in the first three decades of the twentieth century. George Milne Rae, a former professor of the Madras Christian College took a very sceptical position regarding the mission of Apostle Thomas in India. The very bibliography of F.A. D'Cruz gives a good list of contemporary authors as J. Kennedy, J.N. Farquhar, T.K. Joseph, P.J. Thomas, A. Mingana, Msgr. Medlycott, Richards, Zaleski, Raulinson, A. Vaeth and so on. In the preface of the second edition, D'Cruz gives the context of discussion among the scholars about the Apostle's mission in India. D'Cruz gives a good synopsis of the question of the mission of St. Thomas in South India. As Msgr. A.M. Teixeira, states in the introduction to the second edition, "The task of building up evidence in favour of St. Thomas' sojourn in India at a distance of two thousand years - is certainly more difficult than the job of destroying it by simply declaring without sufficient reason that the evidence does not satisfy the critics. " Yet, analysing the latest findings and conclusions D'Cruz has succeeded in establishing to a great extent the tradition so dear to the Catholics of South India as well grounded.

The first part of the book originally deals with St. Thomas in the Bible and tradition. A discussion about the transferring of the holy remains of St. Thomas to Edessa is added to the second eidtion. In the third section of the first part, the author brings to light the tradition collected from the Roman Breviary and the Roman Martyrology. In the second part of the book, the author considers the work and martyrdom of St. Thomas in India analysing the opinions of various authors, confuting some and commending others. He tries to locate places and recognize persons mentioned especially in the Acts of Judas Thomas. The Malabar tradition is made use of to ascertain the mission of the Apostle in South India. The third part narrates the miracles narrated by Camoes, the eminent Portuguese poet in his epic poem, the Lusiads along with two legends. The fourth part of the book provides a bibliography, and in the second edition the author has added appreciations of the first edition along with a discussion of the Malabar liturgy.

The discussion about the Malabar liturgy which is rather long, seems to be out of context. The author looks preoccupied to justify and praise the deeds of Archbishop Dom Menezes for what he did in Malabar, especially in connection with the Synod of Diamper. It is entirely a different subject and it gives the impression that the author's intention is somewhat polemical. He is naturally and justifiably very enthusiastic in establishing the fact that St. Thomas suffered martyrdom in the neighbourhood of Madras.

As D'Cruz tries to analyse the handling of possible evidences by all the principal authorities and to arrive at conclusions deducible from the given known data, it is a very valuable book. One gets the arguments of the scholars of that time in a nut shell. His arguments are logical. Hence the republication of the book will be quite helpful.

Dr. Cherian Varicatt

Kothamangalam Seminary

11. PLACID

The Syrian Church of Malabar

For students of the history of Christianity in India Prof. Dr. Placid J. Podipara (1899 - 1985) needs no introduction. Twelve years have elapsed after the death of Fr. Placid J. Podipara whose happy memory lingers long in the memory of all those who came into contact with this great son of the Church in India. As a student, as a close friend, and as one who maintained intimate mutual sharing of views with him until his death at Chethipuzha on April 27, 1985, it is with deep convictions resulting from my personal experience that I write a few words of introduction to his early work `The Syrian Church of Malabar'.

Historical Context

By the middle of the twentieth century the time was ripe for a change. At the political level the Afro-Asian countries became increasingly aware of their identity and autonomy and colonialism was rejected as an organised exploitation which denied equality and violated fundamental human rights. Any kind of claim of superiority on the basis of colour, creed or nationality was denounced and became unacceptable.

The general background in the Church too was favourable for revival and renewal. Various studies were going on in Sacred Scripture, history, patrology, and liturgy which made the intellectual world aware of the great need to return to the authentic sources of Christian tradition. The results of these studies did have a great impact on the Church which gave birth to important movements ultimately paving the way for the Vatican II.

Context of the Syro-Malabar Church

The role of Fr. Placid can be rightly understood only in its historical context. Though the struggle for political independence was quite intense the ecclesiastical colonialism continued even under the native bishops! Fr. Placid wrote this book The Syrian Church of Malabar when India was a colony of the British Empire and the Syro-Malabar Church under its own bishops was blindly following the western practices imposed on them during the period of religious colonialism. The seminary formation was exclusively under the Latin missionaries who were promoting the theological, philosophical, liturgical and spiritual traditions and practices of the western Church. As a result the clergy and the people of the Syro-Malabar Church were alienated from their own ecclesial roots! The foreigners claimed monopoly in political as well as ecclesiastical fields. It was in such a context that Fr. Placid began to expose the various historical data behind the colonial exploitations in India.

Ecclesiastical Colonialism

The Church of the Thomas Christians also was undergoing a centuries old struggle to restore its identity and heritage which were being systematically and consistently suppressed during the Latin rule which began in 1599. Its liturgy was Latinised, spirituality became a carbon copy of the medieval Latin devotional practices, discipline was made to conform to the western canonical system, theology shaped after the Latin scholasticism and their traditional administrative system to a greater extent uprooted from their own indigenous traditions. In short the Church of the Thomas Christians became almost a carbon copy of the Latin Church.

Though the Church of the Thomas Christians had spread into different parts of India and even outside, during the Latin rule this Church was restricted into a very narrow territory in central Kerala between river Pampa in the south and river Bharathapuzha in the north. Even within this limited territory parallel dioceses of the Latin rite were also established. The Roman Church alone was presented as the Universal Church while the Oriental Churches were mere `rites' with restricted territorial jurisdiction. The Syro-Malabar Church could not make use of its missionary vocations and as a result many of them joined the dioceses and Religious Orders of the Latin Church. Thus a Church as old as Christianity itself was denied its rightful existence and was obstructed in the exercise of its fundamental rights for evangelization and pastoral care. Clerical formation which came exclusively under the Latin missionaries did succeed to keep the leadership subservient to the colonial system. Fr. Placid with his deep study of the historical background and penetrating insights became profoundly convinced of the sad situation which provoked his Christian conscience. He began to teach and write on this problem and brought this tragic situation to the attention of many. As a man of great vision Fr. Placid can rightly be called the pioneer who gave intellectual and spiritual leadership to free the Syro-Malabar Church from such an unjust situation created during the colonial period.

The following data of the restricted area of the Syro-Malabar Church in 1962 reveal the gravity of the unjust situation.

Total area of India : 31,25,944 sq. kms.

Total area of Kerala : 38,855 kms.

Restricted area of the

Syro-Malabar Church : 14,613 sq. kms.

Percentage compared to the total Indian territory : 0.47%

Contributions

Fr. Placid was a historian, canonist, theologian, ecumenist and liturgist. Therefore his studies project a more comprehensive vision of the problem. His historical studies unveiled the unjust situation of the Catholic Orientals of India. As a canonist he clarified the juridical character of the problems and as a theologian he explained the importance of the ecclesial traditions especially the importance of the liturgical patrimony which is intimately linked with the faith traditions.

His numerous books and articles manifest his systematic and comprehensive vision of the various problems. The following list of his books helps us to understand his deep insights on various subjects.

(1*. Antiochian Patriarch, (Mannanam, 1928)

2*. Oriental Churches (Mannanam, 1930)

3*. The Pope of Rome and the Council of Ephesus (Mannanam, 1931)

4. The Syrian Carmelite Congregation. (Trichinopoly, 1932)

5. Council of Ephesus (Ernakulam, 1932)

6. Ritus et libri Liturgici Syro-Malabaresnes, (1933)

7. The Primacy and Infallibility of the Pope (Mannanam, 1933)

8.* The Church and the Pope, (Tiruvalla, 1934)

9.* Elucidation of Principles (Changanacherry, 1935)

10. De Fontibus Juris Canonici Syro-Malankarensium (Vatican, 1937)

11. The Syrian Church of Malabar, Its Catholic Communion (Changanacherry, 1938)

12. Fontes Juris Canonici Syro-Malankarensium (Vatican, 1940)

13.* Before the Coonan Cross (Tiruvalla, 1940)

14. Has Antioch Universal Primacy ? (Tiruvalla, 1946)

15.* Lucky are our eyes, (Tiruvalla, 1946)

16. St. Thomas and the Church of Palayur (Choondal, 1951)

17. * Our Rite (Mannanam, 1951)

18. Die Thomas Christen (Wurzburg, 1966)

19. St. Thomas Christians (London/ Bombay 1970)

20. The Varthamanapusthakam (Travalogue of Paremmakkal Thomma Kathanar) transl. (Rome, 1971)

21. The Hierarchy of the Syro-Malabar Church (Alleppey, 1976)

22. Ritus et Libri Liturgici Syro-Malabarici (Thevara, 1933)

23. St. Thomas Christians and their Syriac Treasures (Alleppey, 1975)

24. The Individuality of the Malabar Church (Palai, 1972)

25. The Syrian Church of Malabar (Rome)

26* The Nativity of Our Lady, Prayer Service for the Assumption of our Lady (Changanacherry, 1982)

27. Reflections on Liturgy (Kottayam, 1983).

28. The Rise and Decline of the Indian Church of the St. Thomas Christians, (Kottayam, 1979)

29. The Malabar Christians, (Alleppey)

30. Four Essays on pre-Seventeenth century Church of Thomas Christians of India (Changanacherry, 1977)

31. Mariology of the Church of the East (Rome, 1980).

(*) Books in Malayalam)

As we have already seen above until 1953 the Syro-Malabar Church was confined to a restricted area of less than half a percent of the Indian territory. The establishment of the diocese of Tellicherry was an cpoch making event. Cardinal Tisserant who was the head of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches visited India in December 1953. He chose Fr. Placid as his official secretary who had already brought the unjust territorial restrictions to the attention of the Holy See. It is said that when Cardinal Tisserant was going from Changanacherry to Trivandrum he had to cross the ferry across the river Pampa. Fr. Placid wittingly told the Cardinal that the river Pampa is so deep to the Oriental Catholics that by crossing it they lose their ecclesial heritage! The Cardinal understood the deep historical implications of the timely remark of Fr. Placid. Cardinal Tisserant had already begun the necessary preparations in Rome to lift at least partially these territorial restrictions. The diocese of Tellicherry was established without delay by lifting the restrictions in the north. This new diocese of the immigrants has already given birth to two other dioceses Mananthavady and Thamarasserry. Similarly the territories of the diocese of Trichur were extended to the neighbouring areas of Coimbatore, of Changanacherry in the South up to Cape Comorin and of Tellicherry to Mysore and Mangalore. The personal jurisdiction of the Sudhists was extended to all the Syro-Malabar dioceses. Though up to 1950 there were only five dioceses for the Syro-Malabar Church now it has grown to twelve dioceses in Kerala and nine dioceses outside in central and north India. The effective presence of Fr. Placid in Rome as the Consultor (1953-1980) of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches produced great positive results in the growth of the Oriental Churches of India.

His Contribution to Vatican Council II

Fr Placid has made a unique contribution to the Vatican II especially in the formulation of the decree Orientalium Ecclesiarum for the Oriental Churches. The commentators of this decree have already pointed out the background of the OE No. 3 which was formulated taking into account the unjust situation in India. As an eye-witness of the events which took place on the Council floor this author considers it useful to

bring them to the attention of the readers. During the discussion of the draft of the Decree on the Oriental Churches, archbishop Dominic Athaide of Agra spoke against the possible extension of the Eastern Churches into the Indian missions. He argued that if equality of the rights of the Orientals for evangelization is acknowledged it would cause divisions and adversely affect the Indian missions. Such an intervention in the Council provoked many bishops including many Orientals. According to the regulations of the Council the reply can be given only if the request for intervention is supported by the signatures of fifty bishops. On the same day in the after-noon more than fifty signatures were collected and the request was submitted to the Secretariat of the Council. Permission was granted to give a reply on the following day. There was nobody competent to prepare this scholarly paper. At this juncture Fr. Placid came forward and promised to prepare the paper to be delivered on the following day. On the same evening he prepared a paper refuting the arguments of archbishop Athaide of Agra and proving the legitimate claim of the Oriental Churches of India to undertake missionary activities. This paper was presented in the Council by H. E. Mar Sebastian Vallopilly of Tellicherry who was a junior member of the Syro-Malabar hierarchy. In this paper the historical, canonical, missionary and ecclesiological aspects of the problem were convincingly exposed. This timely intervention did have decisive influence on the Conciliar deliberations. As a result Nos. 3 and 4 of the Decree of the Oriental Churches were formulated as follows :

"Such individual Churches .... are consequently of equal dignity, so that none of them is superior to the others by reason of rite. They enjoy the same rights and are under the same obligations, even with respect to preaching the gospel to the whole world (cf. Mk. 16:15) under the guidance of the Roman Pontiff" (OE 3).

"Therefore, attention should everywhere be given to the preservation and growth of each individual Church. For this purpose, parishes and a special hierarchy should be established for each where the spiritual good of the faithful so demands. The Ordinaries of the various individual Churches which have jurisdiction in the same territory should, by taking common counsel in regular meetings, strive to promote unity in action" (OE 4).

The commentators on Nos. 3 and 4 of the Decree on the Oriental Churches have not failed to point out the real Indian background behind this decision of the Council.

"The real reason why the right to preach the gospel, that is, the right to engage in missionary activities especially mentioned among the rights and obligations of all the individual Churches is to be traced to the situation of India, where the Malabar Church, which has a large surplus of priests, was until recently only permitted to convert people to the Latin rite" (Commentary of the Documents of Vatican II, edited by Herbert Vorgrimler, Vol. I, London, 1967, p. 315; The same kind of observation is made by two other commentators as well: Cfr. Victor Pospishil, Orientalium Ecclesiarum, The Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches of the Council of Vatican, New York, 1965, pp. 113-14; Walter M. Abbott, (ed) The Documents of Vatican II, London, 1966, p. 375, foot note No. 7).

Nos 3 &4 of OE officially acknowledge the principle of equality of the rights and obligations of the Churches. The most fundamental obligations and rights of the individual Churches are evangelization and pastoral care. The Catholic Church is the communion of individual Churches. All are of equal dignity and no Church can claim superiority over the others. The denial of the rights is sinful. The paper prepared by Fr. Placid and presented in the Council by Bishop Sebastian Vallopilly is of great importance in the history of the Church in India. The Syro-Malabar Church which was confined to a very narrow territory has now crossed over the borders. Up to 1962 there were only seven dioceses in Kerala and one exarchate in Maharashtra. At present there are twelve dioceses within Kerala and 9 dioceses outside. The Syro-Malabar Church and the Indian missions are indebted to Fr. Placid and Mar Sebastian Vallopilly for this achievement. The ecumenical Councils are rare occasions where the different individual Churches have the right and obligation to present their own liturgical, pastoral, spiritual and disciplinary heritage of the churches to the direct attention of the episcopate of the Universal Catholic Church. If such occasions are not properly made use of, the Catholic Church especially the Individual Churches which their bishops represent will lose their rightful share in the decision taking process of the Council! The presence of Fr. Placid as a Peritus (official expert) of the Council has made great contribution to the Church.

Evangelization and pastoral care are the essential right and obligation of every Church. As an individual Church the Syro-Malabar Church enjoys the right and obligation to undertake missionary activities. The territorial restriction was an obstacle to exercise this right. As soon as Fr. Placid was made Consultor of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches he presented a detailed report of the Indian situation to the immediate attention of the Holy See. In 1962 even before the Vatican Council II, the Holy See erected an exarchate at Chanda which was the first mission centre entrusted to the Syro-Malabar Church.

Guide of Research Scholars

The guidance of Fr. Placid was very helpful to many scholars who were doing doctoral research in the various universities of Rome. The pioneering leadership of Fr. Placid had helped his students to go further. As his student this author remembers with gratitude the inspiration received from him to go further and deeper into the ecclesiology of the Thomas Christians. The professors of the Roman universities used to acknowledge publicly the expertise of Fr. Placid in the subjects related to the Church in India. Fr. Placid realised the unique improtance of the Major Seminaries in the formation of the clergy of each Individual Church. The St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary at Vadavathoor is the fruit of the efforts of Fr. Placid in the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. His expert guidance was providential in the erection of the autonomous Faculty of Paurastya Vidyapitham. There was objection from the Latin hierarchy and this author has seen some of the documents sent to Rome against the establishment of this autonomous Faculty. In this context Fr. Placid convincingly pointed out that each Individual Church within the Catholic communion has the legitimate right and obligation to have its own Theological Faculties. It is on the basis of this claim (ratione ritus) that the autonomous Faculty of Paurastya Vidyapitham was erected by the Congregation for Catholic Education,Rome.

Conclusion

The ecclesial vision of Fr. Placid is quite in harmony with the ecclesiology of Vatican II. The Vatican II was convened for the renewal and reconciliation of the Churches. This Council rediscovered the true nature of the Catholic Church as the communion of Churches which are equal in dignity enjoying the same rights and obligations for evangelization and pastoral care. Fr. Placid brought to the attention of the Christian world how these fundamental rights were denied to the Catholic Oriental Churches in India. He followed the method of the Vatican II of returning to the authentic sources and substantiated his arguments with the necessary historical, canonical and theological foundation. His studies have contributed to the better understanding of the concept of the communion of Churches especially in the Eastern perspective which has got great ecumenical importance. The Churches which are not in communion do object to a structure of the Church which is highly centralised after a monarchical pattern as it developed in the West. But the apostolic Church of the Thomas Christians was not at all centralised. Fr Placid brought out to the attention of the Christian world that this indigenous Indian Church of the Thomas Christians has got its own ecclesiology.

Fr. Placid's deep insights into the unique importance of the authentic ecclesial traditions of the Thomas Christians among the Individual Churches of the Eastern and Western traditions which developed within the Roman Empire inherited many elements from the imperial set up as the official religion of the Empire. The administrative centralisation and loss of the sense of coresponsibility and lay participation are some of these elements of unhealthy imperial and monarchical influence. But the Thomas Christians who lived far away from the influence of the Roman Empire and western Christendom were able to preserve and foster their early Christian traditions free from such an influence. The participation of the laity as well as the sense of coresponsibility of the entire community at the local level were the main characteristics of the ecclesiology of the Thomas Christians. Fr. Placid has succeeded in giving enlightened guidance to bring to light these aspects which are certainly helpful to the other churches in their process of rediscovery.

The contribution of Fr. Placid in rediscovering the true nature of the Indian religious culture is also equally important. He has proved that the roots of Indian culture are not confined to the present Indian political and territorial reality. They go far beyond, extending to the neighbouring countries. He showed how the St. Thomas Christians developed their ecclesial identity together with their form of worship in the wider Asian perspectives of the Indian culture. Fr Placid has shown that narrow nationalistic perspectives under the pretext of indianization are doing harm to the catholicity of the Church especially in the Indian context where the Church of the Thomas Christians has developed an authentic indigenous catholic identity. The importance of the studies of Fr. Placid becomes obvious in the strange context where some enthusiasts go about as "agents" and "salesmen" of Indian Culture and Indianization without taking the least pains to understand and appreciate the genuine asceticism and spiritual insights enshrined in the Indian cultural and religous heritage. Taking into account the unique contribution of Fr. Placid he can rightly be called a Great Father of the Indian Church of the Thomas Christians. His early work The Syrian Church in Malabar has thus to be assessed in the light of his later contributions on the same subject.

Dr. Xavier Koodapuzha

Paurastya Vidyapitham

Vadavathoor, Kottayam

12. K. E. JOB

the syrian church of malabar

Mr. K.E. Job, the author of "The Syrian Church of Malabar", was a historian and teacher of high reputation. He belonged to the Catholic Syrian Community which traces its origin to St. Thomas the Apostle. As an ecclesiastical historian he had a special love of history and he brought to his task a christian feeling and a christian spirit. He investigated thoroughly the history of the Syrian Christians of Malabar and presented it skilfully making use of the historical method.

In his book the author gives a historical analysis and survey of the culture of the Syrian Christians of Malabar from the early centuries up to our own times. He points out the salient points of their culture and traditions and analyses the cultural changes that took place in the course of time resulting from foreign contacts.

The book, besides a preliminary section, has four parts. The first part deals with the early period, from the apostolic period to the 4th century. Here the author speaks of the origin of the Church of the Syrian Christians of Malabar from the Apostle Thomas. He states that the culture of the early Syrian Christians of Malabar differed little from that of their Hindu brethren.

In the second part the author deals with the history of the Syrian Christians of Malabar from the 4th century to the 16th century. He speaks of the relationship of the Syrian Christians with the Persian Church and the migrations from Persia. He mentions especially two immigrant groups. One associated with Thomas of Cana in the 4th century and the other arriving in the 9th /10th century. The origin of the division into twoendogamous groups, northists and southists, in the Syrian Christian community is traced by tradition to the arrival of Thomas of Cana in Kerala.

During this period the Syrian Christians of Malabar enjoyed a high social status similar to that of high caste Hindus. The secular rulers granted them special privileges. The Christians were clever in art, education, literature, military service etc. They were highly esteemed by their Hindu brethren. They were faithful and trustworthy. The author asserts clearly that the Syrian Christians of Malabar till the 16th century had an individuality of their own, christian in faith, oriental in liturgy and Indian in culture.

Part III treats about the culture of the Syrian Christians during the Portuguese period from the 16th century onwards. The author states that there occurred a change in the social and cultural history of the Syrian Christians by the arrival of the Portuguese. The Syrian Christians hated the Portuguese not because of their Roman Catholic faith, but because they interfered with the national culture and oriental liturgy of the former. Therefore the conflict between them was not a conflict of faith but that of culture.

The excessive innovations of the synod of Diamper in 1599, the introduction of Latin rite, the abolition of the native customs, traditions and national festivities etc. created among the Syrian Christians an antipathy to the Portuguese. It ended in a division in 1653. In fact it was the result of the offended nationalism of the Syrian Christians.

Part IV deals with the history of the Syrian Christians from the latter half of the 17th century to our own times. The Portuguese power in Kerala declined in the 17th century. The author concludes that its main cause was the anti-Syrian policy of the Portuguese. He says that if the Portuguese had not totally alienated the Syrian Christians, the Dutch would not have defeated the former. Because so long as the Porutguese and the Syrian Christians were allies even the Moors and native princes respected, and were even afraid of, them. He points out that the Portuguese failure was a great blow to the christian culture in Kerala. The expulsion of the catholic missionaries by the Dutch was another blow to the christian culture. Later the western catholic domination over the Syrian Christians was revived and the catholic missionaries like Ernest Hanxleden SJ, Paulinus of St. Bartholomeo OCD & c. made great contributions to the literary development of Kerala.

During this period the Syrian Christian community was split into various groups and denominations due to the influence of foreign churches. As a result both catholics and non-catholics adopted foreign ways in life style, church architecture, liturgical ceremonies etc. And gradually the individuality of the Syrian Christians of Malabar was affected and lost to a certain extent.

Mr. K.E. Job had written this book at a time when research was very difficult. Although there was no access to important archives and libraries, he has made use of all available sources about the Syrian Christians of Malabar. He critically analysed and evaluated the history and culture of the Syrian Christians. The presentation of the facts is historical and methodical. The conclusions drawn by the author are logical and manifest the mind of a true historian. The book is very useful and relevant even today because of its short, clear and impartial presentation of the facts about the Syrian Christians of Malabar.

Dr. Thomas Pallippurathukunnel

Pontifical Institute

Alwaye

13. Philip Kaithanal

Christianity in Malabar

"Christianity in Malabar" possibly written in 1942 or 1943 is a tract on the "Thomas Christians'' (Syriac Christians) of Kerala, written by Rev. Philip Kaithanal, a cleric belonging to the Archdiocese of Trivandrum. Later on he left the Archdiocese and got ordained for the Madura Archdiocese. The author calls this tract a thesis with three parts : (1) St. Thomas did come to India, (2) Thomas Christians were Catholics before the Synod of Diamper, and (3) the state of the Syrian Church (the Christian Churches) in Malabar at present. As the first two parts are controversial, the author attempts to prove them and that somewhat convincingly.

In the third part the author describes briefly the Churches of Kerala. This part for the most part, is a historical description and so understandably is somewhat out-dated for the present-day reader.

The author attempts to prove the Apostolic origin of the Church in India in Part I of the tract. He begins by quoting from J.N. Farquhar writing in 1927 in the Bulletin of the John Rylands Library (Manchester): "Thirty years ago the balance of probability stood absolutely against the story of the Apostolate of St. Thomas in India. We suggest that the balance of probability today is distinctly on the side of its historicity". Kaithanal goes on to show that St. Thomas came to India, and that the tradition of the Thomas Christians is irrefutable.

After giving citations from many ancient writings to show that St. Thomas came to India the author asks a question : "But what about the coming of St. Thomas to Malabar?" Then he goes on to answer this question thus: "Hear what Fr. Albert Gille says, in his Christianity at Home: "One may discuss or doubt the arrival of St. Thomas in South India; but it is not safe to do so in Malabar, unless a man wants to be knocked on the head. This is exactly the reason why I believe it. Reduced to logical terms, the knock is nothing but a striking form of the argument of tradition". " Msgr. Teixeira writes : `This tradition is written not on hard stones, or sheets of parchment but in the hearts and memories of men, assuredly as enduring a monument as granite.'

The purpose of the author in giving these quotations seems to be to show that the coming of St. Thomas to Malabar even if not proved by the actual historical testimonies such as those of monuments, parchments, and stones, is proved by a living tradition among the Thomas Christians of Malabar. To show the consistency of the tradition the author brings forward sixteen items manifesting the tradition prevailing among the Thomas Christians. I should say that the author admirably succeeds in his attempt to establish his position.

In the second part the author makes an attempt to show that the Thomas Christians always remained Catholics. For the dissemination of the opinion that the Thomas Christians were Nestorian the author says that Fr. Antony Gouvea, a Portuguese Augustinian friar, and a confidant of Archbishop Menezes, who wrote the "Jornada" is to be held responsible. He also thinks that the fact that the major part of the Christians of the Eastern Syrian Church became Nestorians to be an added reason for considering the Thomas Christians as Nestorians. Kaithanal asserts that no solid evidence has ever been brought forward to prove that the Thomas Christians became Nestorians. After giving a series of possible evidences to show that the Thomas Christians were Catholics he concludes the second part of his treatise with the words of Fr. J.C. Houpert, "The crusaders of Western Christendom to Palestine (1099-1291) failed to break through the double wall of Schism and Islam. Yet the Indian Church stood firm, probably up to 1653. With the exception of some later immigrants from Persia tainted with Nestorianism, there was no Christian in India, at least no Indian Christian, but was a Roman Catholic."

In the third part Kaithanal describes the present state of Christianity in Kerala. He gives a short account of the Catholic Christians belonging to the three Rites or Churches, viz. the Catholics of the Syro-Malabar rite, the Catholics of the Syro-Malankara rite and the Catholics of the Latin rite. The statistics given by Kaithanal is certainly and understandably "outdated", the statistics being that of 1936.

Then the author proceeds to give a short account of what he calls the schismatic churches, consisting of the Jacobites, the Nestorians, and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church. It may however be noted that the Mar Thoma Syrian Church cannot be strictly called a schismatic Church, they having admitted the theology of the Protestant Churches of the Reformation.

A lot of Syrians from the Jacobite Church have joined the groups which the author calls "The Protestant sects", such as L.M.S., C.M.S., Basel Mission, Missouri Evangelical Lutherans, Seventh-day Adventists, and a number of other sects including the Pentecostals and the Jehovah Witnesses.

I should say that the treatise gives a good, but brief account of the fate of the Thomas Christians of Malabar. This treatise possibly written in 1943 will have to be brought up to date for a revised assessment of the state of the Thomas Christians today.

In general, Kaithanal succeeds in giving an overview of the Syriac Christianity in Malabar in his monograph. The reader may not be able to agree with him on all the minor details. But the coming of St. Thomas to India and the view that Thomas Christians before the Synod of Diamper were Catholic are convincingly defended. This does not mean that the view that the Thomas Christians were not Nestorians before the council of Diamper is proved beyond all doubt. This is because it is not possible to bring forward any clear-cut documentary historical evidence to that effect. As for the present state of Christianity the author's position has to be revised because of the passing of years. The author wrote this in 1943 or so. But now at least fifty years have passed, and Christian sects have increased in number; and in Malabar among Thomas Christians one will find people belonging to all the possible denominations and sects of Christianity.

Dr. Geevarghese Panicker

St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute (SEERI)

Kottayam

14. I. DANIEL

The Syrian Church of Malabar

Author and his works :

Rev. Itty Daniel born on July 24, 1905 served the Malankara Orthodox Church till his death in August 1988. He was a native of Cheppad in the Alleppy district of Kerala state. Ordained to the priesthood on 27th Sept. 1936 and elevated to the dignity of cor-episcopos in April 1975 he served as a parish priest for 43 years at various parishes including his own native parish at Cheppad.

Along with his parish ministry he did remarkable service in the literary field. Besides the present work on the history of his own ancient church in India, he is author of The Malabar Church and other Orthodox Churches. The present work earned for him the DD from the Erasmus Theological College, California. Moreover, he has published scholarly articles in various periodicals and for an essay on Philosophy of Budhism the Philosophical Society of England had honoured him with the degree FPLS.

This Work and its Contents :

The book The Syrian Church of Malabar (Hereafter briefly referred to as SCM) published in 1945 from Madras, is a succinct historical presentation of the story of his own church till 1945. Although written entirely from a perspective of his own, which only

could be expected from the writers of history of the SCM at that time, this presentation is clear and the language flexible. The convictions of the author are definite and conclusive: That the SCM was orthodox all through the past in its history; that it was autonomous in its church administration; and, that the institution of the Catholicate in 1912 in it was valid and in accordance with the true traditions found within the West Syrian Church.

The author writes that the SCM was founded by St. Thomas. It came into close connection with the Persian Church; but this connection in its later stage was not with the Nestorian section but with the Maphrianate in Tigrith which was West Syrian in Orthodoxy. Only between 1490 and 1599 the SCM was in close contact with the Nestorian Church, which however, was not due to a right understanding about the true nature of that tradition but due to mistakes. Nevertheless, the connection had not in any way jeopardized the orthodoxy of the SCM. The Roman Catholic attempt under the Portuguese was to bring the SCM under the Roman fold and the event of 1653 was a total reaction against it. With the arrival of a bishop in 1665 the SCM came for the first time in direct contact with the West Syrian Patriarchate which so far had been indirectly maintained through the Maphrianate of Tigrith. Through this event the ancient orthodox faith of the SCM was once again restored. The Anglican connection was again another threat to damage the orthodoxy of the SCM which however, was remedied with the coming of the West Syrian Patriarch in 1876 causing the separation of the reform party.

It was due to the short - sightedness of the Patriarch of Antioch, Abdulla that a dissension emerged within the SCM as the Catholicose and Patriarchal parties. The establishment of the Catholicate is valid and legitimate, and according to the canons of the church.

The book concludes with a hope that sooner or later a reconciliation is possible in the SCM and the same apostolic faith and practices as they were in the beginning will be restored.

Circumstances of Publication :

As the writer states in his preface, the work was originally intended "at presenting in a condensed form the principal facts in the growth and development of the Syrian Church of Malabar founded by St. Thomas the Apostle ..." for the western readers. Other aims and circumstances behind its publication can easily be deducted from the reading of the book.

The circumstances of its composition and publication were these : There were two parties within the SCM since 1912 as the Catholicose and Patriarchal parties. They were contesting in the courts on the validity of the Catholicate and the Catholicate party was moving ahead in their proceedings for reconciliation. But the main hindrance against such moves was an attitude of total refusal from the Patriarchal side to accept the validity of the Catholicate established in the SCM by Abdul Messiha. This book was written against such a background, defending the validity of the Catholicate and its historical semi-independent position with a supposed claim of connection with the Maphrianate in Tigrith.

The author's aims are two fold by arguing in this way: On the one hand, he is trying to establish a historic connection between the SCM and the Maphrianate in Tigrith refuting at the same time the connection of the SCM with the Nestorian church which it had till 1599. On the other hand he is trying to establish the validity of the Catholicate established in 1912 in the SCM. He says that it was done according to the true tradition of the West Syrian Church found in the Maphrianate of Tigrith. By arguing in this way the author's assumption seems to be: that there lies no point in their contentions one against and the other in favour of the Catholicate. They must stop all their quarrels and reconcile. Therefore, the writer gives much emphasis to the first contact of the SCM with Antioch in 1665. He underlines it as the first direct contact, which the SCM did not have earlier. Moreover, it is a mistake from the part of the Antiochene Patriarchate, claiming absolute control over the SCM particularly in matters relating to the temporalities of it, which the church never experienced in its ancient relation with the Maphrianate of Tigrith. The SCM all along in its history had been enjoying a semi-independent status in its internal administration.

Hence the author's primary aims were the defence of his ownchurch's apostolic origin, description of the various struggles in its history, and the establishment of its claim to orthodoxy and autonomy.

Quality, Utility and Special Features of this Work for Present day Researches :

Undoubtedly this work is scholarly, persuasive and concise, easy to read and digest even by ordinary readers interested in the history of the SCM. Historical sequence is also there. Readers from the SCM do highly appreciate the author's defence of , and explanation given to various vital issues in the book especially to, the orthodoxy, autonomy, the Catholicate and to various struggles against the Nestorian, Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. Others may also be sympathetic with some of these issues. But as a historical piece of writing this work in some of its contents displayed is basically defective and do considerable harm to historical studies.

With reference to the history of the SCM, basically, the attitude of the author is distortive and misleading. The author had presupposed many things and had explained them with a wrong conception as the history of the SCM, which in fact were not historical facts. E.g. the author presupposes that the SCM had close relations with the Persian Church and those relations were with the Maphrianate from the 6th century. We have no historical documents to say so neither from the side of the Maphrianate of Tigrith nor from the side of the Antiochene Patriarchate nor from the side of the SCM nor from any other church traditions all over the world. All the available records till the synod of Diamper 1599 say that the Indian church's close connection was with the Nestorian church of Persia. Eminent historians accept this position. Therefore, the position maintained by Daniel in this regard without any documentation is totally unhistorical and untenable.

Again his supposition that the SCM had deep connections with the Antiochene Patriarch from 1665 is also historically untrue. Because this connection was developed and deepened only from the middle of the 19th century in the SCM and the transition of the SCM purely as a church in the West Syrian Church traditions was to be ascribed only from the synod of Mulanthuruthy 1876 and not before. Before that time its ecclesiastical position was definitely not Antiochene; it was a mixture of Nestorian, Roman Catholic and Antiochene elements as proved by the later researches done by Cyril Malancharuvil, V.C. Samuel, and T.I. Varghese.

Therefore, the author's position on the subjects like the Persian and West Syrian connections of the SCM is to be treated with extreme caution. This book is a mere defence of the Catholicate of 1912 and for this defence the author has adduced some popularly present assumptions as historically sound, which however were not the facts.

Although the book is mainly intented for the ordinary readers, to be considered a historic work and useful for historic research, it needs documentations. As a reliable historic work the value of this book is not considerable. However, this can be used by the historians to assess the kind of historical knowledge present within the SCM during the first half of this century, which was introduced and propagated without proper historical basis in defence of a new crisis in the SCM.

Especially at a time when a distorted and historically inaccurate understading about the St. Thomas Christians in general and particularly about its foreign connections was prevailing within the SCM, this work was brought out. Therefore, the readers must take necessary precautions while reading this account of Daniel about the SCM with the sympathetic consideration that the author had his own limitations as an historian due to the backward and unenlightened ecclesiastical condition found within his own church. This book was a product of his own time with limitations and distortions. However, the present official position of the SCM about its history is not this.

Dr. T.I. Varghese

Orthodox Theological Seminary

Kottayam

15. JUHANON MAR THOMA

the Mar Thoma Syrian Church

The ancient Syrian Church of Malabar has a chequered history and the history of the Mar Thomas Syrian Church of Malabar is an integral part of it. The aim of the author, late His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Juhanon Mar Thoma Metropolitan, of this small book Christianity in India and a Brief History of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, is to provide a short and concise history of the Church. However, it includes within its scope a considered but brief discussion of six Episcopal Churches that have emerged during the varying stages of the long history of Syrian Christinaity in Kerala. The book also brings to light the many factors that caused divisions in the Syrian Church.

The book, as the author puts it in the preface, is a compilation of a series of lectures given by him to the Mar Thoma Youth. But in print it is addressed to the public in India and abroad. The author admits that the book is not a treatise either on the history of Christianity in India or that of the Mar Thomas Syrian Church and therefore the treatment of the subject is not exhaustive but precise and clear. It is composed of a preface followed by ten chapters and three appendices.

In the first Chapter the author gives a comparatively short analysis of the St. Thomas apostolate of Christianity in India. He also makes a mention of the St. Bartholomew tradition of founding the Indian Church. But he argues mainly on the pros and cons of the St. Thomas tradition and finally upholds the same as true on the plane of strong probability.

The second and third chapters deal with the relation of the Syrian Church with the Persian Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Here again the author traces the traditions and historical foundations of these contacts. These Chapters provide an overview of different incidents related to these connections such as the visits of Pantaenus, Cosmas and other foreign travellers, the first and second immigrations from Persia, the dynasty of Villarvatta, latinization of the Syrian Church and so on. The main issues in Chapter 3 are the Synod of Diamper 1599, and tis the salient features of the Syrian Church of this period. In the light of historical evidences the author affirms that up to the sixteenth century the Syrian Church was an independent Church with its own doctrines and practices.

Chapter Four is devoted to a simple narration of the Mughal Mission to the court of Akbar. The aftermath of the Synod of Diamper is the subject of the next Chapter. The description begins with the story of Coonen Cross Oath which marked the declaration of freedom from the Roman Catholic Church by the Syrians. It also includes in its purview the advent of the Jacobites from Antioch and the rise and growth of the Independent See of Thozhiyur.

The CMS Mission of Help from the Church of England arrived in Malabar in the second decade of the 19th century. The Mission rendered marvellous services to the society in general, and the Syrian Church in particular. But its missionaries were, later on, led to organize the Anglican Diocese of Travancore and Cochin. The work and the efforts of Abraham Malpan and Geevarghese Malpan for a reformation aiming to restore the pristine purity of the ancient Syrian Church also ended up in further splits. The result was the emergence of two denominations, viz, the Jacobite Church and the Mar Thoma Church.

Chapters Six and Seven illustrate the history of the origin and development of these Churches and particularly of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church.

Chapter Eight entitled `The Mar Thoma Syrian Church: What does it stand for?' sets forth in detail a modest estimate of the changes made in the St. James Liturgy. It is the revised liturgy which is now in use in the Mar Thoma Church. The Chapters further attempt to throw light on the special features of the Church. The Nineth Chapter brings out well the `sad spectacle' of the divisions of the St. Thomas Christians of Malabar and proceeds to look into the future possibilities that are placed before them for united action.

The last Chapter on a secession from the Mar Thoma Church illustrates the factors that led to an unfortunate division in the Church in 1961. The author closes this Chapter with the following note,

The controversies which formed the background of the secession have brought home to the members of the Mar Thoma Church, once again the fact that the principle of comprehension of seemingly divergent points of view in the interpretation of doctrines makes for the healthy and progressive growth of the Church. The Christian Church, as some one has said should not become a partisan platform, but should be a school of charity, and a place where men of differing tastes will find a spiritual home.

The book ends with three useful appendices. The first one makes clear the stand of the Mar Thoma Church with respect to unity with other churches in India. The second appendix is meant only to be a brief exposure of Nestorianism, Jacobitism and the Chaldean Syrian Church. The final appendix takes a glance at the split in the CSI and the birth of the Kerala CMS Church. He concludes this appendix with a thought - provoking statement that the Kerala CMS "will remain as a monument to the difficult caste problem, which the Church in India faces".

To conclude, the author has made use of his profound knowledge of the history of Christianity in India in general and in Kerala in particular in writing this book. This is a valuable source as it presents before the reader almost all the important episodes in the life and work of the Syrian Church. But it is to be noted that it is written from a `Mar Thoma point of view'. However, the author has taken sufficient care not to distort the historical facts in any way.

As one who has spent about seventeen years in teaching the History of Christianity, the writer of this introduction, deems it a great privilege to commend this book to research scholars and all others for careful reading and reflection.

Dr. T. P. Abraham

Mar Thoma Theological Seminary

Kottayam

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