The Mar Thoma Syrian Church is an independent Reformed Eastern Church which arose in the 19th century after the Anglican Church had worked in Kerala among the St. Thomas Christians belonging to the Independent Jacobite Church of India (those who did not accept the Roman Catholic authority). Some of these Christians were impressed by the theological and doctrinal tradition of Anglicanism and decided to accept some principles of Reformation. Abraham Malpan (1796-1845) was a Jacobite priest from Maramon who initiated this Reformation Movement. He translated the Syrian Liturgy into Malayalam and began celebrating the sacred rites in that language. He also modified the liturgy so as to confirm to the tradition of the Reformers while keeping his spiritual roots in the St. Thomas tradition. His idea was to remove all the corruptions in the Faith and practices that were introduced in the original St. Thomas Christian tradition by the Jacobites and the Roman Catholic missionaries. Kaithayil Geevarghese Malpan of Kottayam was another priest who worked for the Reformation movement. These two Malpans, who were joined by 12 priests, submitted a Memorial to the British Resident in Travancore, leveling serious charges against their Bishop Cheppat Mar Dionysius and enumerating about 23 points concerning the corrupt church practices that were abhorrent to them, like the practice of prayer for the dead, keeping the relics of saints in Churches, and failure to use Scripture for instruction, etc. Because of this Abraham Malpan is remembered as the Martin Luther of Kerala. This Memorial to the Resident in 1836 was considered ‘the trumpet call of reformation’ in the St. Thomas Christians of Kerala although nothing worth mentioning had come out of this, except that in course of time Abraham Malpan’s very ordination was questioned, and he was sent to jail for flouting the authority of the Jacobite Bishop, Mar Dionysius, and later he was excommunicated from the Jacobite Church. However, Abraham Malpan’s viewpoints attracted the attention of the European missionaries who engaged him in the Kottayam Seminary as a teacher of Syriac. After the missionaries left the Seminary, Abraham Malpan took the leadership of the reformation movement, and he had many a followers.
But Malpan, having been disowned by the Jacobite Church for his faith and convictions, and himself neither willing to join the Western Church nor to retrace his steps and go back to the Jacobite fold, decided to remain in the old St. Thomas Syrian Christian traditions as much as possible and bring about reforms in the light of the Bible and to correct the corrupt practices of the Jacobite Church of Kerala. For this, Abraham Malpan wanted the retention of the Apostolic tradition for his reformed group for which he sent his own nephew, Deacon Mathew, to the Patriarch of Antioch in Mardin who after one year’s teaching and preparation ordained him as the Metropolitan of Malabar in1843 with the name Mathews Mar Athanasius. There were many difficulties for both the Malpan and the new Metropolitan to circumvent until Mar Athanasius was got confirmed by Royal Proclamation as the Metropolitan of Malankara in1852. Abraham Malpan by then had been called to eternity, in the year 1845. However, Metropolitan Mathews Mar Athanasius carried forward the reform movement. He was the first person to get direct consecration at the hands of the Jacobite Patriarch and who could transfer the Episcopal tradition to his successors. At first he consecrated Abraham Malpan’s son as Thomas Mar Athanasius in 1868. Mathews Mar Athanasius ruled as Metropolitan of the Malankara Church till 1876 when the Royal Proclamation of 1852 was withdrawn giving grounds for prolonged litigations and even excommunication of even the Metropolitan. In the course of another hundred years the Malankara Mar Thoma Church had many a trials and tribulations, and nevertheless the Church has grown as per the divine Providence. The Evangelic Association founded in 1888 has extended its activities to the different parts of India and direct missionary work is carried on widely. The Maramon Convention begun in 1896 has now become world famous and without any denominational differences about 50,000 or more people gather on the beautiful sand bed of the river Pampa to hear the Word of God once a year. This convention has greatly influenced the spiritual life of the Church.The supreme head of this Church is the Valia Metrapolitha.
References: JUHANON MARTHOMA, Most Rev. Christianity in India and a brief history of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Madras, K.M. Cherian, rev edn. 1993. 89 pp.)
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