Thomas of Cana
Knāy Thoma is a figure in the history and traditions of the Saint Thomas Christian community of Kerala, India. He is said to have led a migration of Syriac Christians from the Middle East to India sometime between the 4th and the 9th century; the Thomas of Cana story factors into traditions of the divide of the community into Northist and Southist factions. Written accounts of Thomas of Cana date to the India's Portuguese period. Different versions give different dates for the events; the meaning of the Cana epithet is unclear. However, scholar Richard M. Swiderski states that none of these etymologies are sound. Knanaya priest and scholar Jacob Kollaparambil argues that the "Cana" form is a corruption introduced by European scholars in the 18th century based on the Malayalam form Knāy and its variants found in the folk tradition of the Knanaya and the common parlance and literature of the people of Malabar; this may be a reference to the Christian community of Kynai, in Bét Aramayé in Persia.
In most accounts, Thomas is said to have been a Syrian merchant, distinct from Thomas the Apostle, who preceded him in evangelizing in India. According to the traditions, Thomas of Cana led a group of 72 families, as well as clergymen, to the Malabar coast. There they met and supplemented the Saint Thomas Christians, evangelized by Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. Copper plates referring to this story exist, but are of a later date. Though some scholars doubt the veracity of the Thomas of Cana tradition, others suggest it may reflect a historical migration of East Syriac Christians to India; this may have been the era. Stephen Neill suggests that East Syriac Christians may have come to India because there was an established Christian community, to whom they imparted East Syriac traditions; the arrival of Thomas of Cana figures into traditions concerning the division of the Saint Thomas Christians into "Northist" and "Southist" factions. In these versions, the Southists or Knanaya are the direct descendants of Thomas of Cana and his followers, while the Northists descend from the pre-existing local Christian body converted by Thomas the Apostle.
In some versions, Thomas of Cana had two wives or partners, one the ancestor to the endogamous Southists, the other the ancestor to the Northists. All these stories are apocryphal, though both Southist and Northist groups use variants to claim superiority for their faction. Baum, Wilhelm; the Church of the East: A Concise History. Routledge. P. 52. ISBN 0-415-29770-2. Retrieved 8 June 2012. Neill, Stephen. A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-54885-3. Retrieved 8 June 2012. Kollaparambil, Jacob; the Babylonian origin of the Southists among the St. Thomas Christians. Pontifical Oriental Institute. ISBN 8872102898. Swiderski, Richard Michael. "Northists and Southists: A Folklore of Kerala Christians". Asian Folklore Studies. Nanzan University. 47: 73–92. Doi:10.2307/1178253. JSTOR 1178253. Swiderski, Richard Michael. Blood Weddings: The Knanaya Christians of Kerala. Madras: New Era. Retrieved 8 June 2012. Vadakkekara, Benedict. Origin of Christianity in India: A Historiographical Critique.
Delhi: Media House. Media related to Knai Thomman at Wikimedia Commons
Saint Thomas Christian denominations
The Saint Thomas Christian denominations are traditional Christian denominations from Kerala, who trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. They are known as "Nasranis" as well; the Syriac term "Nasrani" is still used by St. Thomas Christians in Kerala. For the first 15 centuries, they had their own leaders to whom they were obedient and who were well respected by both the people and the rulers of the country. In AD 190, Pantaenus from Alexandria visited these Christians, he found. Around AD 522, an Egyptian monk, Cosmas Indicopleustes, visited the Malabar Coast, he mentions Christians in a country called Male, where pepper grows, in his book Christian Topography. This shows. In AD 883, Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, England sent gifts to Mar Thoma Christians of India through Sighelm, bishop of Sherborne. Around AD 1292, Marco Polo on his return journey from China visited Kerala, mentions that, "The people are idolaters, though there are some Christians and Jews among them".
It is believed that in AD 768, Christians from Edessa arrived in Kerala under the leadership of Thomas of Cana, in 825, another group joined them. They had their own bishops visiting them from Persia. Though the Saint Thomas Christians welcomed them, these bishops had not made any effort to subjugate them. Saint Thomas Christians remained as an independent group, their bishops coming from the Church of the East until the 16th century. Saint Thomas Christians were affected by the arrival of the Portuguese in India in 1498; the Portuguese attempted to bring the community under the auspices of Latin Rite Catholicism, resulting in permanent rifts in the community. Assyrian Church of the East Chaldean Syrian Church Eastern Catholic Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Syro-Malankara Catholic Church Oriental Orthodox Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Malankara Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church Independent Oriental Orthodox Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church Malabar Independent Syrian Church Their traditions go back to first-century Christian thought, the seven "and a half" churches established by Thomas the Apostle during his mission in Malabar.
These are located at Kodungalloor, Palayoor, Niranam, Nilackal and the Thiruvithamcode Arappally in Kanyakumari district. The Nasranis are an ethnic people, a single community; as a community with common cultural heritage and cultural tradition, they refer to themselves as Nasranis. However, as a religious group, they refer to themselves as Mar Thoma Khristianis or in English as Saint Thomas Christians, based on their religious tradition of Syriac Christianity. However, from a religious angle, the Saint Thomas Christians of today belong to various denominations as a result of a series of developments including Portuguese persecution, reformative activities during the time of the British and missionary zeal influence (division of Mar Thoma Syrian Church and Malankara Church and Patriarch/Catholicos issue. St. Thomas Christian families who claim their descent from ancestors who were baptized by Apostle Thomas are found all over Kerala. St. Thomas Christians were classified into the social status system according to their professions with special privileges for trade granted by the benevolent kings who ruled the area.
After the 8th century when Hindu Kingdoms came to sway, Christians were expected to abide by stringent rules pertaining to caste and religion. This became a matter of survival; this is why St. Thomas Christians had such a strong sense of caste and tradition, being the oldest order of Christianity in India; the Archdeacon was the head of the Church, Palliyogams were in charge of temporal affairs. They had a liturgy-centered life with days of abstinence, their devotion to the Mar Thoma tradition was absolute. Their churches were modelled after Jewish synagogues. "The church is neat and they keep it sweetly. There are mats but no seats. Instead of images, they have some useful writing from the holy book."In short, the St. Thomas Christians of Kerala have blended well with the ecclesiastical world of the Eastern Churches and with the changing socio-cultural environment of their homeland. Thus, the Malabar Church was Hindu or Indian in culture, Christian in religion, Judeo-Syriac-Oriental in terms of origin and worship.
According to the 1st century annals of Pliny the Elder and the author of Periplus of the Erythraean sea, Muziris in Kerala could be reached in 40 days' time from the Egyptian coast purely depending on the South West Monsoon winds. The Sangam works Puranaooru and Akananooru have many lines which speak of the Roman vessels and the Roman gold that used to come to the Kerala ports of the great Chera kings in search of pepper and other spices, which had enormous demand in the West; the lure of spices attracted traders from the Middle East and Europe to the many trading ports of Keralaputera — Tyndis, near Kodungallur, Bacare and Comari long before t
Saint Alphonsa
Saint Alphonsa, F. C. C. was educator. She was the first woman of Indian origin to be canonised as a saint by the Catholic Church, the first canonised saint of the Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern Catholic Church based in Kerala, her feast day is observed on July 28. St Alphonsa was born as Anna Muttathupadathu in a Syro-Malabar Nasrani family to Cherian Ouseph and Mary Muttathupadathu in Kudamalloor, near Kottayam, on 19 August 1910, she was baptised on 27 August. Alphonsamma, as she was locally known, was born in Arpookara, a village in the princely state of Travancore within Kerala, India; this lies within the Archdiocese of Changanassery. Her parents nicknamed her Annakkutty, she experienced loss and suffering early on in life. Anna's mother died when she was young, so her maternal aunt raised her. Hagiographies describe her early life as one of suffering at the hands of her stern foster mother and the teasing of schoolchildren. Anna was educated by Father Joseph Muttathupadathu; when Anna was three-years-old, she suffered for over a year.
In 1916 Anna started school in Arpookara. She received her First Communion on 27 November 1917. In 1918 she was transferred to a school in Muttuchira. Anna was from a rich family and because of that she received many marriage proposals from reputed families, her foster mother wanted her to become a perfect housewife in a rich household. During that period Theresa of Lisieux told her that she will become a saint. There is too much similarities in the life of the saint, her all time favorite person and roll model is Theresa of Lisieux. Anna wanted to dedicate her life to Jesus Christ. In 1923, Anna's feet were burnt; this accident left her permanently disabled. When it became possible, Anna joined the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, a religious congregation of the Third Order of St. Francis, through them, completed her schooling. Anna arrived at the Clarist convent at Bharananganam, Kottayam district, on Pentecost Sunday 1927, she received the postulant's veil on 2 August 1928 and took the name Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception in honour of St. Alphonsus Ligouri, whose feast day it was.
In May 1929 Sister Alphonsa was assigned to teach at Malayalam High School at Vazhappally. Her foster mother died in 1930, she resumed her studies at Changanacherry, while working as a temporary teacher at a school at Vakakkad. On 19 May 1930 Alphonsa entered the novitiate of the congregation at Bharananganam. On 11 August 1931 she took her first vows; the period 1930–1935 was characterised by grave illness. Sister Alphonsa took her permanent vows on 12 August 1936. Two days she returned to Bharananganam from Changanacherry, she taught high school at St. Alphonsa Girl's High School, but was sick and unable to teach. For most of her years as a Clarist Sister she endured serious illness. In December 1936, it is claimed that she was cured from her ailments through the intervention of the Kuriakose Elias Chavara, but on 14 June 1939 she was struck by a severe attack of pneumonia which left her weakened. On 18 October 1940, a thief entered her room in the middle of the night; this traumatic event weakened her again.
Her health continued to deteriorate over a period of months. She received extreme unction on 29 September 1941; the next day it is believed. Her health improved over the next few years, until in July 1945 she developed gastroenteritis and liver problems that caused violent convulsions and vomiting. During the last year of her life she came to know Father Sebastian Valopilly who brought her communion; this bishop became famous in Kerala for championing the cause of poor people from all religious backgrounds who had come to live in Thalassery as a result of shortages elsewhere. After a series of serious health problems, she died on 28 July 1946, at a young age of 36, she was buried at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Travancore (present day in the Diocese of Palai. Claims of her miraculous intervention began immediately upon her death and involved the children of the convent school where she used to teach. On 2 December 1953, Cardinal Eugène Tisserant inaugurated the diocesan process for her beatification and Alphonsa was declared a Servant of God.
In 1985, Pope John Paul II formally approved a miracle attributed to her intercession and on 9 July she became "Venerable Sister Alphonsa". Venerable Sister Alphonsa was beatified along with Father Kuriakose Elias Chavara, T. O. C. D. at Kottayam, on 8 February 1986 by Pope John Paul II during his Apostolic Pilgrimage to India. During his speech at Nehru Stadium, the Pope said: From early in her life, Sister Alphonsa experienced great suffering. With the passing of the years, the heavenly Father gave her an fuller share in the Passion of his beloved Son. We recall how she experienced not only physical pain of great intensity, but the spiritual suffering of being misunderstood and misjudged by others, but she accepted all her sufferings with serenity and trust in God. … She wrote to her spiritual director: "Dear Father, as my good Lord Jesus loves me so much, I sincerely desire to remain on this sick bed and suffer not only this, but anything els
Geevarghese Mar Gregorios of Parumala
Saint Geevargese Mar Gregorios, popularly known as Parumala Thirumeni, was a bishop of the Malankara Syrian Church. He became a deacon at the age of 10, a priest at the age of 18, a bishop when aged 28, he died at the age of 54 and was buried at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Parumala, in Kerala, India. In 1947, he was declared a saint by the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, making him the first canonised Christian saint from India. In 1987, the Syriac Orthodox Church recognised him as a saint. Gregorios was born as Kochu Ipeora Gheevarghese in the priestly family of'Pallathattu Thanagattu in the village of Mulanthuruthy near Cochin, India on 15 June 1848, his parents were Mariam Gheevarghese. Geevarghese’s mother died when he was a small boy and since he was under the loving care of his elder sister Mariam. At a young age itself Geevarghese had shown keen interest in spiritual matters, his devotion and above all his ability to sing the traditional Syriac hymns beautifully and came to the notice of his uncle Malpan Geevarghese Kassiso.
The uncle wanted his nephew to be raised to priest-hood and the family members who knew Geevarghese's character too agreed to the Malpan's request. At the age of 9, on the'Sleeba Perunnal' day of the year 1857, the Malankara Metropolitan Palakunnath Mathews Mar Athanasius ordained the young Geevarghese, a'Kooroyo', at St. George Jacobite Syrian Cathedral, Karingachira. Gregorios was taught by his uncle Kassisso Geevarghese Malpan and was ordained as a deacon on 14 September 1858 at the age of ten, he continued his training with Malpan. Gregorios was infected with smallpox but survived, he was ordained as a priest in 1865 and as a Ramban by Joseph Mar Dionysios in 1872. On 10 December 1876, the Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius Peter IV, promoted the 28-year old Gregorios to be a bishop, at which point his official name became Geevarghese Mar Gregorios, his youth caused him to be referred to as Kochu Thirumeni. In his bishopric, the Niranam Diocese, Gregorios established various churches and was the motivator to establish schools in different parts of Malankara.
In the late 1890s, many educational institutions were started by the Malankara Church under the initiative and guidance of him and Joseph Mar Dionysius. Examples of these include St. Thomas School at Mulanthuruthy, St. Ignatius School at Kunnamkulam, the Syrian English School at Thiruvalla. Following the death of fellow Metropolitans, the administration of Thumpamon and Kollam dioceses passed to him. In 1887 the first block of the Parumala Seminary was consecrated. By 1895, Gregorios had made Parumala his main spiritual centre; the church that he founded there in that year was consecrated in the names of St. Peter and St. Paul, he would wake at 4 am for prayer and he fasted on Wednesday and Fridays, as well as during Lent. Geevarghese visited Jerusalem in 1895, he visited all the important places of Christendom and led the Passion Week services at Syrian Church in the Holy City. On his return, he collected a certain amount from all the Parishes in Malankara and sent a Silver Cross as offering to the Holy church in Jerusalem.
Gregorios had stomach ulcer and it became chronic in 1902. Treatments proved futile and he died on 2 November 1902; the funeral was conducted at Parumala Church on 3 November 1902. In 1947, he was declared a saint by the Catholicos of the East, Baselios Geevarghese II. In 1987, he was declared a saint by the Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius Zakka I Iwas. Official Site for Parumala Church Official Site of Syrian Orthodox Church on Parumala Thirumeni
Geevarghese Dionysius of Vattasseril
Saint Geevarghese Mar Dionysius of Vattasseril, born Geevarghese was the Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Orthodox Church. Vattasseril Geevarghese Mar Dionysius is popularly known as "Malankara Sabha Bhasuran", a title which the Church bestowed on him in recognition of his contribution to Malankara Church. Vattasseril Thirumeni was a man of prayer and dynamism, he was the greatest advocate of autonomy of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Geevarghese was born in Vattasseril family, the fifth child of Joseph Vattasseril of Mallappally and Aleyamma, Kolathu Kalathil of Kurichy, on 31 October 1858. Among his siblings, Ouseph Punnoose was a priest. Following his elementary education at C. M. S. Middle School in Mallappally he completed his high school education from C. M. S. High School, Kottayam. On 12 October 1876, while still a high school student, he was ordained as a sub-deacon by Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Peter III at Puthuppally St. George Church, he studied at Kottayam for four years.
He acted as the secretary to Mar Gregorios Geevarghese of Parumala. Geevarghese soon became a great Syriac scholar under the careful tutelage of St. Gregorios, who taught him at Parumala Seminary, he learned Theology and Syriac language from Metropolitan Paulose Mar Ivanios at Vettikkal Dayara. On 16 October 1879, the sub-deacon Geevarghese was ordained as a full deacon and on 18 January 1880 he was ordained to priesthood by St. Gregorios himself. For some time, Fr. Geevarghese oversaw the theological education at Parumala Seminary; as per the existing tradition, he had been ordained for Parumala Seminary. During the period 1881–1908 he was the manager of the Seminary. In 1895, Fr. Geevarghese accompanied St. Gregorios on his visit to the Holy Land. By 1880, Rev. Fr. Geevarghese had become an authority in the Syriac language, Canons of the Church, Church History and Doctrine, the Church Fathers and Theology. In recognition of his expertise in Syriac and theology he was designated as Malankara Malpaan.
In 1887, he was appointed the Syriac teacher at the Old Seminary. Malpan Fr. Geevarghese spent his spare time reading and thinking which translated to his many writings, such as the book Doctrines of the Church, he used his scholarship to edit and publish the order of Church worship to be used by the laity as an aid for participation in worship. He published a book titled Syriac - Chapter I for students of the language. During this period, he authored the book Doctrines of the Church which remains one of the most authoritative and popular works describing Orthodox dogma and ecclesiastical traditions with thorough Scriptural explanations. In 1903, he translated the Holy Service book from Syriac to the local language Malayalam and published it with the blessings of the Church authorities. In 1896, by the decision of Managing Committee of the Church, he was appointed as Principal of M. D. Seminary School, Kottayam, he served as the Principal for eight years, while teaching at the Old Seminary at the same time.
His colleagues at the Seminary include the eminent Syriac scholar Rev. Fr. Mathen Malpan of Konat; the Malankara Association meeting which convened at Parumala Seminary on 2 December 1902 nominated Fr. Geevarghese and Kochuparampil Paulose Ramban to the office of Metropolitan Bishop. On 2 November 1903, Fr. Geevarghese Malpan was blessed as a Ramban at Parumala Seminary by Mar Dionysius V. Following this, he moved to the Old Seminary; the Malankara Association meeting of 14 February 1908 elected him along with Kochuparampil Paulose Ramban for consecration as Metropolitan. In the same year, the Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Abded Aloho II asked the two elected monks to reach Jerusalem during the Great Lent for the ordination; the two-week-long journey began on 13 April 1908. The party which included Kallasseril Punnoose Ramban, Karottuveetil Fr. Yuyakkim and Dn. Mathews Paret arrived at Jerusalem on 23 April. After some delay, the Patriarch Ignatius Abded Aloho II arrived from Turkey. On 31 May 1908, the ordination took place at Sehion House.
Fr. Geevarghese was enthroned as Geevarghese Mar Dionysius Metropolitan by the Patriarch; the ceremony was attended by representatives of Greek Orthodox Churches. Mar Dionysius was appointed as the Bishop of the Malankara Church in general and as the assistant to the Malankara Metropolitan Mar Dionysius V The newly ordained bishop served as the Assistant Malankara Metropolitan for a year. On 26 November 1908, the Malankara Association convened at the Old Seminary and elected Geevarghese Mar Dionysius as the successor to Malankara Metropolitan Mar Dionysius V; the next year he assumed full office of Malankara Metropolitan following the demise of Mar Dionysius V and served and led the Church in that capacity until his death in 1934 when he and the Church triumphed in establishing the official constitution of the Malankara Orthodox Church. He was an outstanding orator, well aware of the importance of the vitality and Christian persuasiveness of the Bible when delivering the speeches to the faithful.
Prayers and fasting were the pillars of his spiritual foundation. In addition to the liturgical hours of prayer, he spent much time in private prayers and silent meditations behind closed doors. In spite of his busy schedule, he wa
Kollam
Kollam pronunciation known by its former name Quilon pronunciation and Coulão and Desinganadu, is an old seaport and city on the Laccadive Sea coast of the Indian state of Kerala. The city is on the banks Ashtamudi Lake. Kollam has a strong commercial reputation since the days of the Romans. Fed by the Chinese trade, it was mentioned by Ibn Battuta in the 14th century as one of the five Indian ports he had seen during the course of his twenty-four year travels. Desinganadu's rajas exchanged embassies with Chinese rulers while there was a flourishing Chinese settlement at Kollam. In the 9th Century, on his way to Canton, Persian merchant Sulaiman al-Tajir found Kollam to be the only port in India visited by huge Chinese junks. Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller, in Chinese service under Kublai Khan in 1275, visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast, in his capacity as a Chinese mandarin. V. Nagam Aiya in his Travancore State Manual records that in 822 AD two East Syriac bishops Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, settled in Quilon with their followers.
Two years the Malabar Era began and Quilon became the premier city of the Malabar region ahead of Travancore and Cochin. Kollam Port was founded by Mar Sabor at Tangasseri in 825 as an alternative to reopening the inland sea port of Kore-ke-ni Kollam near Backare, known as Nelcynda and Tyndis to the Romans and Greeks and as Thondi to the Tamils. Kollam is a coastal city on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake that took the title God's Own Country without much demur; the Ashtamudi Lake lie about 71 kilometres north of Thiruvananthapuram. The city hosts the administrative offices of Kollam district and is a prominent trading city for the state; the proportion of females to males in Kollam city is second highest among the 500 most populous cities in India. Kollam is the least polluted city in India. Four major trading centers around Kollam are Kottarakara, Punalur and Karunagapally. Kollam is an ancient trading town – trading with Romans, Chinese and other Orientals – mentioned in historical citations dating back to Biblical times and the reign of Solomon, connecting with Red Sea ports of the Arabian Sea.
There was internal trade through the Punalur Pass connecting the ancient town to Tamil Nadu. The overland trade in pepper by bullock cart and the trade over the waterways connecting Allepey and Cochin established trade linkages that enabled it to grow into one of the earliest Indian industrial townships; the rail links established to Tamil Nadu supported still stronger trade links. The factories processing marine exports and the processing and packaging of cashewnuts extended its trade across the globe. Kollam is the fifth largest in terms of corporation area, it is known for cashew coir manufacturing. Ashtamudi Lake is considered the southern gateway to the backwaters of Kerala and is a prominent tourist destination at Kollam; the Kollam urban area includes suburban towns such as Paravur in the south, Kundara in the east and Karunagapally in the north of the city. Other important towns in the city suburbs are Eravipuram, Kottiyam and Chavara. Kollam appeared as Palombe in Mandeville's Travels, where he claimed it contained a Fountain of Youth.
During the stages of the rule of the Chera monarchy in Kerala, Kollam emerged as the focal point of trade and politics. Kollam continues to be a major business and commercial centre in the Southern Kerala. In 825 CE, the Malayalam calendar, or Kollavarsham, was created in Kollam at meetings held in the city; the present Malayalam calendar is said to have begun with the re-founding of the town, rebuilt after its destruction by a fire. The name Kollam is believed meaning pepper; as the ancient city of Quilon, Kollam was a flourishing port during the Chera dynasty, became the capital of the independent Venad or Kingdom of Quilon on its foundation in c. 825. Kollam was considered one of the four early entrepots in global sea trade during the 13th century, along with Alexandria and Cairo in Egypt, the Chinese city of Quanzhou, Malacca in the Malaysian archipelago Along with Pattanam, Quilon was an ancient seaport on the Malabar Coast of India from the early centuries before the Christian era; the city had a high commercial reputation from the days of the Phoenicians and Ancient Romans.
Pliny the Elder mentions Greek ships anchored at Nelcynda. There was a land route over the Western Ghats. Spices, pearls and silk were exported to Egypt and Rome from these ports. Pearls and diamonds came to the Chera Kingdom from Ceylon and the southeastern coast of India known as the Pandyan Kingdom. Cosmas Indicopleustes, a Greek Nestorian sailor, in his book the Christian Topography who visited the Malabar coast in 550, mentions an enclave of Christian believers in Male, he writes, "In the island of Tabropane, there is a church of Christians, clerics and faithful. At Male, where the pepper grows, in the farming community of Kalliana there is a bishop consecrated in Persia in accordance with the Nicea sunnahadose of 325 AD." The Nestorian Patriarch Jesujabus, who died in 660 AD, mentions Kollam in his letter to Simon, Metropolitan of Persia. The port at Kollam known as Quilon, was founded in 825 by the Nestorian Christians Mar Sabor and Mar Proth with sanction from Ayyanadikal Thiruvadikal, the king of the independent Venad or State of Quilon, a feudatory under the Chera kingdom.
It is believed that Mar Sapor Iso also
St. George's Church, Kadamattom
Kadamattom Church is an ancient Christian church located in Kadamattom near Kolenchery, Kerala, India. The church is believed to have been established in the 9th century by Mar Sabor. Kadamattom church is situated next to National Highway 49 between Kolenchery and Muvattupuzha towns in the Ernakulam District. While traveling from Kochi towards the east, the church is seen on the north side of the road 2 kilometres beyond the Kolenchery Medical College Junction. While traveling from Muvattupuzha towards Kolenchery, the church lies 1 kilometre after the Peruvammuzhi Junction. On entering the church, on the left there is a photograph of Mar Sabor Metropolitan, the Reverend Paulose, the mentor of Kadamattathu Kathanar, it is believed that Mar Sabor, a Persian high priest established the church with the help of Kartha, the local ruler of Kadamattom. Mar Sabro was not only a theologian but a conjurer, he stayed in a hut with her only son Paulose. Paulose assisted Mar Sabor for years and Paulose was ordained a priest.
The tomb of Mar Thoma IX lies on the left side just outside the altar room. A 9th-century stone Persian cross with four equal-size arms sits on the right wall of the Madbaha or altar room; the arms is claimed to have been made by Mar Sabor. Around the cross is engraved a Pahlavi inscription. Kadamattom feast is one of the major festivals observed held during the January – February period, it marks the death anniversary of Kadamattathu Kathanar. Church website maintained by Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Church website maintained by Jacobite Syrian Christian Church
