THE ORTHODOX CHURCHES IN KERALA - the Jacobite and the Malankara

The Christian community in India remained as a single body for several centuries since its very inception in 52 A.D. They were not having any direct relations with the Pope in Rome. On the contrary they were considering themselves as of Eastern origin and, therefore, tried to maintain direct relations with the Persian Church and to function under the Patriarch of Antioch. But, consequent on the arrival of the Portuguese and their establishment of political power, there were efforts towards bringing the Kerala Christians under the Pope's control. They succeeded in their efforts in 1599 with the Synod of Diamper. The representatives of various parishes who attended the assembly were forced to accept the Papal authority. Following the Synod, the Malankara Church began to be governed by Portuguese prelates. They were generally unwilling to respect the integrity of the local church and started forcibly converting the Syrian church as Latin. This resulted in disaffection which led to a general revolt, and under the leadership of Thomas Arkadiyakon (archdeacon), who was then giving leadership to Malankara Church, Christians in and around Cochin gathered at Mattancherry church on Friday, January 24, 1653 (M.E. 828 Makaram 3) and took an oath declaring that they and their future generations will never be loyal to the throne of Antioch, and also vowed to fight against the atrocities of the Roman/Latin Catholics. This is known as the Great Oath of Bent Cross (Coonan Cross Oath). The section that followed Arkadiyakon began to be known as the Malankara Church. They also demanded administrative autonomy for the local church. Since it had no bishop, it faced many serious difficulties and it appealed to several Eastern Christian churches for help. The Antiochene Syrian Patriarch responded and sent Metropolitan Mar Gregorios of Jerusalem to India in 1665 and Malankara Church became the integral part of The Syrian Orthodox Church. Later, relations between the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchs and the local leadership were worsened.  In 1912, a Synod led by the Patriarch, who had been controversially deposed by the Ottoman Government, consecrated one Baselios Paulose I as the Catholicos of the East. This was not agreeable to a faction of the Church. The faction that supported Baselios Paulose I became the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, while those who supported the Patriarch became the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. The two sides were reconciled in 1958 when the Indian Supreme Court declared that only the autocephalous Catholicos and bishops in communion with him had legal standing. On 16th of December 1958, the Catholicos and the representatives of the Patriarch exchanged documents accepting each other at the Old Seminary Chapel, Kottayam and thus the Malankara Church once again became united as one Malankara Church, both spiritually and administratively.

But in 1975, the community again faced split and unity could not be achieved despite repeated attempts.  The Church named Jacobite Syrian Christian Church is often referred to as the Bava-kakshi (the Patriach faction) to distinguish from the other group, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church or the Methran-kakshi (the Catholicos faction). The Jacobite Syrian Church has its headquarters in Puthencuriz, while the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church has it in Kottayam.