Local traditions among the Christians include the Rambaan Paattu or Thomma Parvom"- a song about the Acts of Thomas written around 1600 by Rambaan Thomas. Rambaan Thomas of Malyakal Family descends from the first Bishop whom St. Thomas is said to have ordained. The poem is the oral tradition handed down through generations. It is said to have been originally written by the Rambaan Thomas, the Bishop Bishop. Margom Kali and Mappila Paattu are series of songs of the Acts of Thomas and the history of the Malabar Church. They are sung in consonance with dance forms that are typical of the syrian Christians. Some of them are dance dramas performed in the open as part of the festivals of the church. These have no specific origin, but grew up in the course of hisotry. Veeadian Paattu is sung by a local Hindu group (called Veeradians) in accompaniment of Villu - a local instrument - during Christian festivals. This form of art also dates back to unknown period handed down through generations and modified in that process.

Tradition has it that the Apostle Thomas ordained two bishops, Kepha and Paul, respectively for Malabar and Coromandal (Mylapore). This is supposed to mark the beginnings of the first hierarchy in India. The Christians were called Thomas Christians. The Church of the Thomas Christians was one of the four great "Thomite Churches" of the East. The three others were the Edessan, the Chaldean (of Mesopotamia or Iraq) with Seleucia-Ctesiphon as its center, and the Persian (of Persia proper or Iran). These four Churches were "Thomite" in the sense that they looked to St. Thomas as to their Apostle. Among these Churches the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon emerged as the organizational centre, mainly owing to the political importance of this place as the capital of the Persian Empire. The Indian Church had close contact with these Churches. A connection to the East Syrian Church (Chaldean) was established after the arrival of another Thomas (Knai Thomman) and several families from Cana in the year 345 A.D. This infused new blood to the sagging old church established by St. Thomas. Later, we cannot say when but certainly in or before 7th century, it became hierarchically subordinated to the Chaldean Church, and the succession of indigenous prelates came to an end. In their place the East Syrian prelates started to rule. The apostolic Church of India was thus reduced to a dependent status. This dependence, which lasted until the end of the 16th century, prevented it from developing an Indian theology and liturgy with an Indian culture. During this long period, not a single indigenous bishop ruled over the Thomas Christians. Until the rise of Islam, Aramaic (Syriac) was the commercial language throughout the East, including India. The Jews who spoke this language were very powerful in India. Aramaic (language of Jesus) was also the vehicle of evangelization. It came to be called Syriac, after Syrus who ruled over Mesopotamia, and became the official language of the Persian Empire around 550 B.C. When the East-Syrian Church began to exercise control over the Indian Christians, the Malabar Church became Syrian in rite with Syriac as the ecclesiastical language. It is to be noted that even though the Persian prelates headed the Thomas Christians in India more than a millennium, their contribution to the ecclesial and cultural growth of the Malabar community seems to be insignificant; nevertheless, by its contact with the Western Church from the 16th century the Thomas Christian community was enriched by Western theological thinking and mission spirit which helped the ancient Christians of India to enter into a meaningful communication with the world of Christianity. Even today, there are some who dream about restoring the Chaldean "golden age!" For them, the Latin Church is foreign, but the Chaldean Church is indigenous to Indian Christians!

The St.Thomas Christians had accepted the social structure which was built on the network of castes and subcastes. One's position in society was determined by the social customs one followed. The rulers of the country considered the Thomas Christians as high-caste and granted them great privileges and honours in written documents in the form of copper plates which became the Magna Carta of the Thomas Christians. These Christians were respectfully addressed as "Nazarani mappilas", "sons of kings" or "first kings". They were of high rank and greatly reputed, well formed and of good behavior. According to Antony de Gouvea, no other caste was of similar value and esteem among the Malabarians as these Syrian Christians. A. Ayyar asserts that they were almost on a par with their sovereigns and were even allowed to have a military force of their own, using this military power to safeguard their special privileges. They were also protectors of certain low-castes and were called "Lords of seventeen castes". They could try all the cases of their subjects and even inflict capital punishment on them. Gouvea says that the Christians supplied the Raja (king) of Cochin with an army of fifty thousand gunmen, and the success of the king in war often depended on the number of his Thomas Christian subjects. This led non-Christian kings to build churches and endow them with tax-free lands. Many Christians served the kings as ministers and councilors. Rulings of kings that went contrary to their religion or privileges were not obeyed. Indeed, they would all, as a "Christian Republic", join together to protect their rights. The characteristic note of the social life of the early Christians of India was that though Christian in faith, they remained strictly attached to the Hindu way of life. They have been described as "Hindu in culture, Christian in religion and Oriental in worship", a formula which was an adaptation and amplification of a slogan launched by Catholic lay leaders, urging Catholic involvement in India's struggle for independence. Towards the middle of the 16th century, one of the priests assumed the role of a leader of the whole community of Malabar, and he was called the "Archdeacon". Etymologically, the term means "chief minister", and it gradually began to be used for the chief assistant of the bishop in the administration of the diocese. Though the bishop was sent from Persian Church, he was only the spiritual head who administered only the sacraments. Administration was in the hands of the archdeacon, and he was "the Prince", the civil head, of all the Christians of St. Thomas. He had great influence over kings, and was accorded the same status as the military political chiefs of the country. According to custom, he was the one to crown the king in order that the latter might indeed be recognized as such. The life of the Christians was centered on the church. A good many of them settled around the church in rows of houses called angaties (bazaars) which later became business centers. Around the year 1600 there were some 64 churches, 168 Christian villages and 80,000 families. The administration of the Church was carried on by the assembly of the Thomas Christians called yogam (a sort of blend between a synod and a pastoral council, and also a significant expression of ecclesial communion and co-responsibility.) of which there were 3 kinds: the parish assembly, regional assembly and general assembly. The parish assembly looked after the temporalities of the church, as well as the whole Christian life of the local community. This assembly decided cases of public scandal, inflicting punishments which sometimes amounted to excommunication. The assembly exercised ample powers in administering justice, in punishing delinquents, etc. Priests were ordained for a parish church. The assembly presented to the prelate, candidates for ordination with the implicit promise that it would maintain them. The assembly formed a structure similar to both the assembly of the caste Hindus (local or regional) and the assembly of temple administrators called ooralma which means "administration by the people of the place."
Matters that concerned more than one church of a region were dealt with by the representatives of those churches. Regional yogam was often constituted for the administration of justice. Thomas Paremmakal says, "According to the ancient custom of the Malabar Church, no punishment could be inflicted unless the crime was proved before the representatives of four churches." Matters of a general interest of the whole Church or community (social, political and religious) were decided by general assembly of the representatives of all the churches, wherein the Archdeacon played a special role. They were practically supreme, and in fact no higher ecclesiastical authority questioned their decisions.
The Christian way of life brought by the Apostle Thomas was called "Law of Thomas" and in the vernacular Thoma Marga. The term marga means "way", and has been used to denote the Christian way of life. Christianity as a "Way" (hodos) is also a biblical expression. It was originally a Buddhist term meaning "Buddhism as a way of life - the way of salvation or nirvana". When Christianity was introduced to South India, where Buddhism and Jainism were then the prevalent religions, it was considered to be the new "way" or marga. Christians were called margakkar or margavasi (those of the way). In recent times this word is often used to designate "the newly converted" and has a bad connotation in the background of the caste system. When people of low castes were converted to Christianity, those of the high caste began to look down on them - the new converts - with contempt. The Thoma Marga was the sum total of the Christian life and heritage, a mixture of Dravidic, Buddhist, Jainist, Jewish, Persian and Hindu influences.

A certain sorcerer called "Manikka Vachakar" came to Kollam and converted back to Hinduism 116 persons belonging to 72 families from Puhur, 4 of about half a dozen families subsequently came from Coromandel Coast (perhaps from Puhur itself) and 20 families of local Christians (presumably from Quilon).

At this time the Christological discourse and controversies were raging in the West. The Council of Nicea was held to draw up the Nicean Creed in order to establish the cannon of faith. 318 bishops attended it among them was a Bishop Johannes, the Persian, for the churches of the whole of Persia and Greater India. The Indian Church had ties with the Persian Churches right from early period. It is assumed that Indian Churches invited Persian priests to teach the Bible. The earliest bibles translated from Greek are found in Syriac. Malayalam did not have bible until recently. So it was necessary to have priests from Syria to reach and explain to the believers. The church administrations were completely controlled by the local elders while the clergy who were brought into the country provided the ecclesiastical services and doctrinal teachings.

The story as stated briefly in a letter written by Mar Thoma IV, one of the bishops of the Syrian church in the eighteenth century is as follows: - "From this date (i. e. St. Thomas's death) the faithful diminished little by little in our country. At that time (4th century) St. Thomas appeared ill a vision to the Metropolitan of the town of Edessa, and said to him: "Wilt thou not help India?" and he also appeared to Abgar, king of Edessa, who was the king of the Syrians; and then by order of the king a nd the bishop three-hundred and thirty-six families composed of children and grown-up people, clerics, men and women, came to India under the leadership of Thomas, the Canaanite, from Canan, which is Jerusalem. All these sailed in the sea and entered Kodungalloor (Cranganore) our country. They inhabited it by special permission from the King Cheraman Perumal, who was ruling the country at that time. All this took place in A. D. 345. From that time the church of our country spread in all directions, to the numbers of 72 churches." Another and a more detailed account of tile arrival of Thomas of Cana given by a 19th century writer belonging to the Syrian Christian community is given below: -- Christians of Malayalam (i.e. Malabar') were in a state of disorder for about 300 years from the time that Apostle Mar Thomas (i. e.. St. Thomas) visited Malayalam and established the Faith, as it had neither head nor shepherd. But by the Grace of the Lord, the Episcopa of the Syrian land called Uraha had a vision in his sleep, in which a person appeared to him and said, Grieve ye not for the flock that suitor and collapse in Malayalam, which I won even at the sacrifice of my life'? The Episcopa hereon awoke and at once announced the important tidings to the holy Catholic a of Jerusalem He thereon called together learned real arts (i. e., priests who are theological teachers) and others, and consulted them; and it was resolved that the respected Christian merchant Thomas of Cana residing in Jerusalem should be sent to Malayalam and the particulars ascertained through him. And thereon, lie was sent to Malayalam on a trading enterprise.

The Text of the Copper Plates of Cheraman Perumal, Ruler of Cranganoor conferring of privileges to Thomas Cana and the Christians May Coquarangon be prosperous, enjoy long life and live one hundred thousand years, servant of God, strong. True, just, full of good works, reasonable, powerful, over the whole earth, happy, conquering, glorious, and rightly prosperous in the ministry of God, in Malabar, in the great city of the great idol. While he reigned at the time of Mercury of February, on the seventh day of the month of March, before the full moon. The same king, Coquarangon being in Carnelur, there arrived in a ship Thomas Cananeo, a chief man, who had resolved to see the uttermost part of the east. And some men, seeing him, as he arrived, went to inform the King. And the King himself came and saw and called the said chief man Thomas, and he disembarked and came before the King, who spoke graciously to him. And to honour him he gave him in surname his own name, calling him Coquarangon Canneo. And he received this honour from the king and went to rest in his place. And the king gave him the city of Maggodayarpatanam forever. And the said king, being in his great prosperity, went one day to hunt in the forest, and the same king surrounded the whole forest. And he called in haste for Thomas, who came and stood before the King in a lucky hour. And the king questioned the soothsayer, and the king afterwards spoke to Thomas, saying that he would build a city in that forest. And he answered to the king, first making reverence, and said, "I desire this forest myself." And the king granted it to him and gave it fore ever. And at once, the next day, he cleared the forest and cast his eyes on it the same year, on the eleventh of April, and gave it as an inheritance to Thomas at the time and year aforesaid, in the king's name, who laid the brick for the Church and for the house of Thomas Cananeo, and made there a city for all of them, and entered the Church and there made prayer the same day. After these things, Thomas himself went to the king's palace and offered him presents, and afterwards he asked the king to give that land to him and to his descendants; and he measured two hundred and sixty four elephant cubits, and gave them to Thomas and his descendants for ever; and at the same time sixty two houses which immediately were erected there; and gardens and tress, with their enclosures, and with their paths and boundaries and inner yeards. And he granted them seven kinds of musical instruments, and all honors, and to speak and walk like a king, and that at weddings the women may give signal with their finger in the mouth, and he granted him distinct weight, and to adorn the ground with carpet and he granted the royal fans, and to double the dandal mark on the arm, and a royal tent in every part of the kingdom forever, and besides five tributes to Thomas and to his lineage and to his confederates, for men and for women, and for all his relatives, and his children of his law for ever. The said king Signed Witness these people Codaxeri canden Cherucara protachaten comeren - King's Chief door keeper Areunden counden - King's councsellor Amen Atecounden guerulen - Captain of the Army Chirumalapro taitiriuicramen Comeren - Registrar f East side of Malavar Preu i ualaitiataadi - singer of the King's Court Perubal atia tacottocoude - Guard of the Gate Bichremen Chinguen -King's Chamberlain.

Bishop Theophilos was a native of Maldive Islands, off Kerala coast. Emperor Constantine took him as a hostage so that the Maldive people will not plunder Roman ships as it passed that way. In Rome he became a Christian and became a Bishop. He visited India and noted that their worship practices differed considerably from those of other parts of the world. Particularly he noticed that Indians sang, heard the gospel and worshipped sitting down (which is the Hindu tradition) he thought they were outrageous and ordered it changed. Probably the practice of worship standing was introduced from that time onwards.

It may be assumed that Indians sent their priests for training and studies to Syria. There was one Daniel who translated the commentary on the Epistle to the Romans from Greek to Syriac in Edessa. He signed it as Daniel, the priest, the Indian. Ecclesiastical language of India was probably Greek and Syriac as the teaching of Bible came from there. Greek inscriptions are found on the bells of several churches. Until very recently the liturgy was mainly in Syriac. We maintain the flavor of this liturgy even today by retaining several Syriac phrases like Amen, Kurialaison, Brakomor,Sthaumenkalos et. and several Syrian chants.

Around AD 522, Cosmas Indicopleustes,a rich Christian merchant from Alexandria visited this coast. He says that in "Male" where the pepper grows, there are Christians and that at "Kalliana" there is a bishop, usually ordained in Persia. It is supposed that Male here means Malabar and Kalliana seems to be not Quilon but Kalyan near Bombay, but in order to form an opinion it is necessary to read his book called "Universal Christian Topology".He describes his visit:
"We have found the church not destroyed, but very widely diffused and the whole world filled with the doctrine of Christ, which is being day by day propagated and the Gospel preached over the whole earth. This I have seen with my own eyes in many places and have heard narrated by others. I as a witness of truth relate: In the land of Taprobane (Srilanka), Inner India, where the Indian sea is, there is a church of Christians, with clergy and congregation of believers, though I know not if there be any Christians further in this direction. And such also is the case in the land called Male (Malabar), where the pepper grows. And in the place called Kallia (Kollam) there is a bishop appointed from Persia, as well as in the island called Dioscores (Socotra) in the same Indian Sea. The inhabitants of that island speak Greek, having been originally settled there by Ptolemies, who ruled after Alexander of Macedonia. There are clergy there also ordained and sent from Persia to minister among the people of the island, and the multitude of Christians...."

The fight went on and in AD 451 the Nestorians claimed a victory in the council of Chaldeons in the year 451. In this council it was declared that in Christ the two natures were hypostatically united, without mixture, confusion and divisibility. Cyril the Patriarch of Alexandria and John the Patriarch of Antioch finally reconciled. Nestorians adopted the name Chaldeon Church and the Patriarch took the title of Patriarch of Babylon. These in fights in the Middle East and Europe had its repercussions in India too. There exists a Chaldean church with few followings even today, though majority of the Christian churches remained faithful to the declarations of Nicea and Ephesus.

The coming to this coast of bishops from Persia seems to have been interrupted in the seventh century by a revolt of the Persian Metropolitan against the Nestorian patriarch of Babylon, the Metropolitan of Seleucia. In "Asseman",is a long letter from the Patriarch Jesujabus Adjabenus who was Patriarch from 650 to 660. The Patriarch says:- "Not only India, which extends from the shores of the kingdom of Persia as far as Quilon, a space of more than twelve hundred parasangs, but also your own country of the Persians lies in darkness, deprived of the light of divine doctrine which shines forth through bishops of the truth." About this date one of the bishops in India obtained the rank of Metropolitan. From the passage in "Asseman", it appears that this dignity was conferred by Saliba- Zacha who was Patriarch of Babylon from 714 to 728. The names of the Indian bishops have not been preserved, except in the case of two bishops, Mar Sapir and Mar Prodh, who landed at Quilon. The Council of Nicea laid down a rule that all bishops should meet the Patriarch in an annual synod. This rule was from time to time relaxed and finally in a synod held under Theodosius, who was Patriarch from 852 to 858, the obligation upon the more distant Metropolitans was reduced to sending a letter and funds every sixth year. The words of the Synod are quaint:- "But other Metropolitans, that is to say, of the Chinas, of India, of Persia and of Samarcand, situated in very distant countries, hindered by mountain ranges infested with robbers and by seas fatal with shipwrecks and tempests, so that they cannot come to us so often as they otherwise might wish, shall take care to send, every sixth year, letters of consent and union and in the same letters to set forth any business of their countries which requires an opportune remedy: and they shall take trouble that from all cities, great and small, be sent to the Patriarch what is right according to the ability of each man and the the Canons of the Fathers for the expenses of the patriarch's house."

The Saxon Chronicle relates that in 883 King Alfred the Great of England sent to India alms for St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew. Le quien, in his Orient "Christ", says that about the year 1129 the Catholicos of Bagdad sent to Malabar a Nestorian bishop, Mar John III. The Venetian traveler, Marco Polo, about 1295 speaks of Nestorian Christians in Malabar and narrates the tradition of the death in India of St. Thomas the Apostle. He says: - "The Christians who have the administration of the church possess forests of trees that bear the Indian nuts and from them they draw the means of their livelihood. As tax they pay monthly to one of the Royal brothers a groat for each tree."

The first Latin missionary who is known to have visited India was John of Monte Corvino, afterwards Archbishop of Cambalec in Cathay. Sent out by Pope Nicholas IV as a missionary to China, he on his way halted in India about the year 1291. In a letter which he wrote from Pekin in 1305 he says:- "I remained in the country of India, where stands the church of St. Thomas the Apostle, for thirteen months and in that reign baptised in different places about one hundred persons." In a letter dated 1306 he speaks of Malabar and says:- "There are a very few Christians and Jews and they are of little weight. The people persecute much the Christians and all who bear the Christian name. The next Latin missionary was a Dominican Friar named Jordanus, a Frenchman from near Toulouse. Perhaps as early as 1302 with other Dominican and Franciscan Friars he found his way to the Bombay coast where the Mahomedans put his companions to death. After various adventures Friar Jordan returned to Europe and wrote a small book called Mirabilia in which he briefly mentions the wonderful things he saw in the East. The only mention of Christians is as follows:- "In this India there is a scattered people, one here, another there, who call themselves Christians but are not so, nor have they baptism nor do they know anything about the faith. They believe St. Thomas the Great to be Christ! There, in the India I speak of, I baptised and brought into the faith about three hundred souls." In 1328 Pope John XXII at Avignon consecrated Friar Jordan as bishop of Quilon and sent him in 1330 with a Latin letter addressed to the chief of the Nazarene Christians at Quilon. The letter asked the goodwill of the Nazarene chief towards Bishop Jordan and his missionaries and ends by inviting these Christians to abjure their schism and to enter the unity of the Catholic Church. Bishop Jordan set out for India with this letter but it is not known if he reached his destination or if he had any successors in the See of Quilon. Another traveller, Friar Odoric, collected the bones of the martyred companions of Friar Jordan and in 1321 passed down this coast and touched at Quilon, where there were Christians, and at Mailapur, where were fifteen houses of Nestorian Christians.

A new era dawned in the religious horizon in India, by virtue of the discovery of the new sea-route to India by the Portuguese Admiral Vasco de Gama who landed in Calicut in 1498 and made friends with the Zamorin, the ruler of Calicut. Gama was followed by Cabral who had with him priests both secular and Franciscan. In Calicut they set up an Oratory in 1500 and began evangelization with the help of a Brahmin convert by name Michael a S. Maria. A fortress was built in Cochin in 1505, and Cochin became the seat of the Portuguese Viceroy from 1505 to 1530 when it was shifted to Goa. When the Portuguese came to India, the Malabar Christians spontaneously welcomed and treated them as brothers in faith. The Portuguese soon realized that the Thomas Christians were a powerful community and their support would be essential to their commercial, political and religious interests. The King of Portugal sent more priests to Kerala for missionary activities and they tried to rejuvenate the faith and religious practices of the ancient Christians of St. Thomas. Leading a Jesuit group to India, St. Francis Xavier, landed in Goa in 1542, and arrived at Cochin in 1544. His mission in Travancore was a splendid success, converting several thousands of people to Christianity in the sea-coast. Although the Portuguese missionaries were happy to meet Christians in the midst of Hindus and Muslims, they very soon noticed the differences in ritual and liturgy which were intolerable to them. They wanted unity in the Kingdom of God and decided to take measures to achieve this goal. From the beginning of the 16th century the Portuguese began to exercise their power in India. They baptized several thousands of non-Christians in the Latin rite. Cochin in Malabar, and Goa, outside Malabar, were their politico-ecclesiastical centers. Goa became a bishopric in 1534, and a metropolis in 1558 with Cochin as its suffragan see erected in the same year. Both these sees were under the Padroado (Patronage) of the Portuguese crown. With certain obligations the Portuguese crown had the privilege to nominate Prelates for these sees. Goa's jurisdiction extended from the cape of Good Hope as far as China. Cochin's jurisdiction was roughly from Canannore down to the south and up to the south east. With the rise of Goa as the chief seat of Portuguese political and ecclesiastical power in the East, they wanted to bring the Syrian Church directly under Rome and thus under Goa. The Portuguese adopted several coercive measures, including the kidnapping of Syrian bishops, accusing the Syrian Church of heresy and imposing sea blockades to prevent the importing of prelates from the Eastern Patriarchs. Although the Portuguese clergy contributed much to the spiritual uplift of the faithful here, the ancient Christians could not appreciate the Latinising policy of the Portuguese. The policy was so intolerable to the native Christians that it led to an open rupture. For the Portuguese in general the ideal of a "true" Catholic was to be of the Latin rite. The Padroado was their idol. They, therefore tried every means, even illegal and unjust, to Latinise the Thomas Christians and to reduce them under their Padroado jurisdiction. They trained some Thomas Christian youths in their seminary at Cranganore according to the Latin rite, and sent them to Portugal. In the beginning there was some mutual understanding. But gradually, step by step, the Portuguese, became aggressive. They had by then with them some Thomas Christian priests who were trained in their seminary at Cranganore, and who were ordained in the Latin rite. They contended that the Prelate of Goa was the Prelate of All-India in opposition to the All-India of the Metropolitan of the Thomas Christians. They could not suffer the existence in India of the jurisdiction of the Chaldean Patriarch. The Thomas Christians however, would not part with the "Law of Thomas". i e., the Chaldean liturgy and rite with the Christianized Indo-Malabar customs, nor would they give up their Chaldean Patriarch and the Chaldean Prelates. The Portuguese smelt Nestorian heresy and schism in everything even in the liturgical and social peculiarities of the Thomas Christians, while the Chaldean Prelates became their special target. The division of the Chaldean Church under the Patriarchs of the line of Sulaqa, and under those of the line of Sulaqa's rival worsened the situation in favor of the Portuguese. The Thomas Christians were legally under the Prelates who were sent by the Patriarchs of the line of Sulaqa who had Roman confirmation. There appeared in Malabar some Prelates who were from under the Patriarchs of the other line. This and books that contained passages dealing with St. Cyril, Nestorius etc., as well as with Christological doctrine which they did not understand properly, gave the Portuguese ample matter for self justification. The Chaldean Prelates in spite of explicit or equivalent Papal recommendations, were imprisoned, or expelled from Malabar as Nestorian heretics. After Mar Jacob's death (1950-52), the Thomas Christians had no bishop for a few years. Having despaired of getting bishops from the Seleucian Patriarch they showed themselves inclined towards the Portuguese. The Portuguese exerted all their influence in Rome, and by the end of the 16th century, and by the beginning of the 17th century they gained much of what they were trying for. Synod of Diamper. The Portuguese missionaries wanted to do away with Chaldean jurisdiction over Malabar and wield their politico-religious power over the Thomas Christians. The archbishop of the Thomas Christians, Mar Abraham, sent by the Catholic Chaldean patriarch, was found guilty of heresy by the Portuguese missionaries. In the light of the report of the missionaries, in 1595, Pope Clement VIII sent two apostolic briefs to Archbishop Dom Menezes of Goa. These were only to inquire into the life and doctrine of Abraham and, if he was found guilty or if he died, to appoint a Vicar Apostolic. Mar Abraham died in 1597, and then Dom Menezes, the Portuguese archbishop of Goa, and the ex-officio political ruler during the absence of the Portuguese Viceroy of Goa, entered Malabar, claimed he had authority from the Pope, and visited the churches of the Thomas Christians exercising jurisdiction. Using force, he opened churches and exercised jurisdiction over them by giving confirmation. He did not mind the excommunication served to him by the archdeacon. Visiting churches, he held three ordination services and ordained at least a hundred, making them condemn Nestorianism. He thus gained to his side those who were ordained and their relatives. The Malabar kings, especially the one of Cochin, also were threatened and won over. Dom Menezes made hasty preparations for his synod to which, sub poena excommunicationis latae sententiae, were summoned all priests and other clerics and four lay men elected from each church, even from the churches he had not visited. Around 153 priests and 671 laymen (elected ones and specially invited ones) from some 64 churches in 168 villages met at Diamper (Udayamperoor) in the territory of the king of Cochin. The synod was held in June (20-29), 1599, at which the Thomas Christians had to sign the Profession of Faith at the beginning, and the decrees at the close of the synod. They were also to condemn the Patriarch as a heretic and schismatic and to swear they would not accept any bishop except the one immediately nominated by Rome. The Patriarch thus condemned was Denha Simon who was in explicit communion with Rome being also honored with the sacred Pallium from the Pope. Menezes passed decrees using force which practically converted the Malabar Church into a branch of Latin Church. The synod enacted fundamental changes in the rite, liturgy and ecclesiastical laws of the Thomas Christians. Portuguese and Latin laws and customs supplanted all others. This Latinization was mainly based on the discipline of the Council of Trent. The Synod cut the link of the Malabar Church with the Mesopotamian Church which was at that time in full communion with the Church of Rome. This Synod was publicized in the west as the conquest of heretics for the Catholic faith. It should be noted that there is a contradiction between this notion and the fact that the Thomas Christians were summoned to the Synod under the pain of "excommunication"!. On the other hand, the laws of the Synod of Diamper had no binding force as it was not a lawful synod because of lack of authority on the part of those who convoked it, absence of intention on the part of those who attended it, lack of form in the manner of conducting it and lack of integrity in the text promulgated. It is Possible that the laws concluded by the prelates who ruled the Malabar Church and which were all Latin in form and content were made under the erroneous assumption that Latin laws were universal. Roz S.J. and Campori S.J. who were present at the synod, clearly state in their letters to the General of the Jesuits and his Assistant in Portugal that the "synod" was not "in forma". According to these letters 1) the Thomas Christians were not consulted in the "synod", 2) they understood nothing of all that was decided upon there, 3) there was no synod, but only reading of regulations which were not understood by those concerned, 4) Dom Menezes said he behaved like that just to show the way of salvation to the assembled without hindrance, 5) there were many things in the decrees unacceptable to the Thomas Christians, 6) those who assembled put their signature to the acts only at the insistence of Roz S.J., 7) the zeal of Dom Menezes was preposterous, 8) Dom Menezes made additions to the acts after the "synod" was over, 9) Dom Menezes obtained from Roz S.J. the signatures of the assembled detached from the original and had them attached, to his copy prepared to be sent to Rome for approbation, 10) the authors of the letters pray that the Pope may not approve the synod to rectify which they say, Roz S.J. (as bishop) had celebrated a synod at Angamaly "in forma" with the satisfaction of all, undoing certain things which Dom Menezes had ordered at Diamper. Such is the "synod" of Diamper, the acceptance of which was later on insisted upon even as a condition for the reunion of non-Catholic Thomas Christians. There is no document which says that the Holy See ever approved the "synod" of Diamper. The Synod of Diamper, although not legitimately and properly conducted, is the first formal and canonical endeavor in Malabar Church on such a large scale. It has great historical value. It brings to light many ancient practices of the Thomas Christians. This has become the unique and sole important document in this respect because many of their other books were burned after the synod. The synod helped the organization of the diocese into parishes and their administration. It helped the evangelization of the low castes and also the raising of their social status. Many of the canons and decrees of the synod were just reproductions of the Councils of Trent, Lateran and Florence. Unfortunately the Synod of Diamper effected Latinisation in the Malabar Church, and later the Latin jurisdiction was imposed over this Church.

We at last come to the period for which there is some documentary evidence. In 1504 certain Nestorian bishops in India wrote a report to the Nestorian Patriarch of Babylon and this Syriac report is in the Vatican library with a latin translation dated 1533 of the report and of an addition to the report, which addition gives the history of these bishops and of their companions. From this document we learn that in 1490 three faithful Christian men set out from the remote regions of India to ask Mar Simeon, Patriarch of the East, to give bishops for their provinces, One of the three travellers died but the two survivors, Joseph and George, appeared before the patriarch and stated their errand. Two monks were selected from the monastery of St. Eugene and were consecrated by the Patriarch under the names Thomas and John. The Patriarch furnished the two bishops with letters under his signature and seal and sent them forth with prayers and blessings to seek the shores of India. The four arrived safely and were received with great joy by the Christians who ran to meet them and carried before them the book of the Gospels, the Cross, torches and a thurible. The two bishops consecrated altars and ordained a large number of priests, because for a long time there had been no bishop there. Mar John remained in India but Mar Thomas, with Joseph, returned to the patriarch taking first fruits and offerings. In 1493 Joseph returned to India but Mar Thomas remained for some years in Mesopotamia. The Patriarch Simeon died in 1502 and was succeeded by Elias, who chose three monks from the monastery of St. Eugene to be consecrated as bishops for India. Of these three, David, who took the name of Jaballah, was Metropolitan. The others were George, who took the name of Denha, and Masud, who took the name of Jacob. The four bishops journeyed to India, found Bishop John still living and in 1504 they wrote a long report to the Patriarch, in the following words:- "There are here about thirty thousand families common in faith with us and they pray God for your prosperity. Now they have commenced to build more churches and there is abundance of all things and they are mild and peaceable. Blessed be God. Also Christians now again inhabit the Church of St. Thomas. It is distant a journey of 25 days, situated on the sea near a city called Meliapor in the Province of Silan. Our province in which the Christians dwell, is called Malabar and has about twenty cities, of which three notable and firm cities are Carangol, Palor and Colom and others nearly come up to them. In all these the Christians live and churches have been built. Near by there is a large and rich city, Calecut, which the infidels inhabit". The report then gives a narrative of the fighting at Calecut between the Mahomedans and the Portuguese and then continues. "About twenty Portuguese live in the city of Cannanore. When we arrived from Ormuz at Cannanore we presented ourselves to them, said that we were Christians and explained our condition and rank. They received us with great joy, gave us beautiful garments and twenty drachmas of gold and for Christ's sake they honored our journey more than it deserved. We remained with them for two and a half months and they ordered us that on a fixed day we also should perform the holy mysteries, that is, should offer the Oblation. They had prepared a fitting place for prayer and their priests every day sacrifice and complete the holy Oblation, for that is their custom and rite. Wherefore on Nosardel Sunday, after their priest celebrated, we also were admitted and performed the holy rite and it was very pleasing in their eyes.Setting out thence we arrived at our Christians who dwell at a distance of eight days from that place." Joseph, one of the two men who went to the Patriarch in 1490, took passage for Europe with the Portuguese admiral Cabral, sailing from Cochin on January 10th 1501. Arrived at Lisbon this Joseph was an object of much interest. He traveled to Rome, where he had an audience of Pope Alexander VI, to Venice, to Jerusalem, again to Lisbon and so back to India. From the information obtained by persons who talked to Joseph a book was published. Gouvea, p.5, says that it is in Latin and appended to Fasciculus Temporum. An Italian version appeared at Vicenza in 1507 called Paesi novamente retrovati, it is cited also as Novus Orbis or as The travels of Joseph the Indian. It gives a description of the Thomas-Christians which may be taken for what it is worth. Joseph says that the Church was under the control of a supreme head "summus antistes", who had under him twelve Cardinals, two Patriarchs, and many Archbishops and bishops. From one passage he seems to say this of the Patriarch of Antioch although Asseman says that he must have meant the Nestorian Patriarch. Joseph goes on to say that there were priests, deacons and sub-deacons. The priests shaved the whole of the upper part of the head as a tonsure. The churches were buildings similar to those in Europe, with vaulted roofs and adorned by a cross but by no pictures. The faithful were called to prayer not with a bell but by the voice. Baptism is administered when an infant is fourteen days old unless there is danger of death. Unfermented bread is used in the Eucharist. They have confession but not extreme unction. Both Advent and Lent are kept as strict fasts. Their festivals are Sundays, the festivals of the Apostles, Ascension, Trinity, Christmas, Epiphany and the Purification, Assumption and Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Their greatest festival is the Octave of Easter, because on that day St. Thomas put his hand in the wounded side of Christ. There are monasteries, a supply of books and eminent teachers. In the palace of the Zamorin at Calicut are four large halls, one for Hindus, one for Mahomedans, one for Jews and one for Christians. Many writers with an authority, which it cannot deserve, have cited this description by Joseph of the Christians. There is no certainty that the persons who spoke to Joseph clearly understood what he said or accurately remembered it.

The Portuguese became powerful in certain areas of India especially in Goa and Bombay. In Jan. 1599, Alexiyodi Menessis, the Archbishop of Goa came to Cochin. Geevarghese Archdeacon was in charge of the churches in Kerala at that time. Menessis Archbishop with the colonial power behind him used the power to put Geevarghese Archdeacon arrested and put in prison under the orders of the King of Cochin. Then he traveled extensively and influenced the leaders and people. In July 5, 1599, he called the famous Udayam Perror Council (Sunnahadose). There were 153 leaders and 660 laymen were represented in that council. Under the yoke of the Portuguese Colonial force they, accepted the supremacy of the Pope of Rome. However the sailing was not smooth for Roman church. This domination continued for over five decades. Through political influence the Synod of Diamper (Portuguese name for Udayamperoor) was held in 1599 and most of the St: Thomas Christians were brought under the Pope. During this period the Malabar Church assimilated many of the teachings and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. Roz S.J. was nominated as the first Latin Bishop of Angamaly as successor to Mar Abraham, on Nov. 5, 1599. The Metropolitan see of Angamaly was reduced to a suffragan see of Goa under the Padroado on Dec. 20, 1599, and the title of Angamaly was changed into that of Cranganore. On Aug. 4, 1600, the Padroado of the king of Portugal was also extended over Angamaly. The Thomas Christians were thus placed under Latin jurisdiction. Thus the Portuguese gained all that they ware trying for. If Roz, S. J., had respected and kept intact the liturgy of the Thomas Christians, and had left the Archdeacon to govern according to the "Law of Thomas", things would have proceeded peacefully. But, retaining the Syriac language, he Latinised and mutilated the liturgy adding to it translations from the Latin liturgy. He curtailed the time-honored powers of the Archdeacon treating him as a Vicar General of the Latin Church. Quarrels and unrest, excommunication and absolution of the Archdeacon etc., were the consequences. The Latin-oriented policy of the prelates and the subsequent restless state of the community, which saw several of its customs and privileges disregarded, caused discord and tension. This held back the laity from several positive contributions which they could offer. As a result of the forced Latinization, an open revolt of Thomas Christians broke out against the Jesuit Latin bishops, which led to the vertical split of the community itself in 1653. The dissension after the oath (in 1653) of non-allegiance to the Latin prelates, caused a wound still unhealed in the community. Efforts were concentrated, first, to reconcile the split, and when that failed either group tried to gather more adherents to its side.

Those who kept away from the Synod of Diamper continued as a small separate church in Trichur and were called the Chaldean Church. In 1653, the Nestorian church in Persia sent a bishop to Kerala. Knowing this the Portuguese authorities captured the bishop before he could land in Cochin and was imprisoned there where he died in duress. As soon as this was known, the enraged Christians in Malankara gathered under the leadership of Thomas Archdeacon at Mattanchery Church in Kochi and the nearby market on 1653 (Makaram 3rd, Friday). They took an oath proclaiming that "We or our children and their children to all generations to come will have nothing to do with the Roman Catholic Church nor the Pope of Rome from now on." There were over 2000 Christians at the (Church compound. They took the oath touching the cross in the front yard of the Church. Since all the people could not touch the cross, they tied ropes from the church and every one of the 2000 held the rope or touched the cross to take the oath. Since the cross had a slight bent, this historic oath came to be known as the Koonan Kurisu Sathyam. Thus ended the five decades of supremacy of the Roman church in Malabar. This shaking away of the yoke of Roman Catholicism was accelerated by the fact that Portuguese supremacy in the Indian Ocean was broken by the Dutch. Dutch were Protestants and gave their full support to this change over. As a result Thomas Archdeacon was ordained as the Bishop of Malabar under the name of Mar Thoma I by Mar Gregoroius the Patriarch of Jerusalem. (The Patriarchate of Jerusalem was part of the Patriarchate of Antioch. Mar Gregorious was the last of the Non-Chalchedonian Patriarchs of Jerusalem. He came to Malankara for this ordination. He is still remembered in the first dyptsych of the Orthodox Liturgy along with Mar Ignatius, the Patriarch of Antioch, and Mar Baselius the Catholicos of the East.) Since the Antiochian Patriarchate was known to have believed the theology of Jacob Burdhana, the church came to be known as the Jacobite Church of Malabar. A minority faction still remained faithful to the Roman pontiff.

In 1772 Mar Gregorios consecrated Abraham Mar Koorilose as bishop. This was not appreciated by his fellow bishop, who hindered his ministry. Mar Koorilose eventually retired to Thozhiyur where he led a life of prayer. This church continued as an independent church since then. Three time during its life time the main Malankara Syrian Church found themselves without a bishop. The Thoziyur Independent Church provided bishops for it to maintain its apostolic succession. Later it also provided a bishop for Mar Thoma Church when it found itself without a bishop even though the doctrines of Mar Thoma Church and the Thozhiyur Church are different. In return when the Thozhiyur Church was without a bishop, Mar Thoma Church provided a bishop for it. Thus Thozhiyur church became an instrument of maintianing the apostolic succession without break within the sister Malankara churches. Until recently Thozhiyur was the only church under this Biashopric. With the increased membership additional churches are being built. Cochin currently has a new church.

The next wave of colonizers came in the East India Company. Later when the colonization became wide, the crown took over with Viceroy at New Delhi. This opened up a wave of British missionaries to India. Kerala, which now formed three Kingdoms Thiruvithamcore, Kochi and Malabar also, came under the influence of the British. There was a resident at the capitals of these states. Along with them came the Missionaries. One of the firsts to be involved with the Malabar Churches was Claudius Buchanan. Mar Divanyous was the Metropolitan of the Jacobite Church at that time.

He gave a copy of the Syriac Bible to Buchannan (one of the chaplains of the East India Company employees) who got copies of it reprinted and distributed them mainly among the clergy. Finding the impact of the Bible Mar Divanyous I translated the gospels into Malayalam, which Buchanan got printed in Bombay. William Baily translated the New Testament by 1829 and the whole Bible was available in Malayalam by 1841. The word of God in the hands of the common people made an impact and a surge of revival and reformation took place. This was accelerated by the presence of the British Missionaries. Among those was Dr. Hermen Gundort (Bassel Mission) who studied Malayalam and wrote the first grammar book for Malayalam. 4 European Missionaries

The European Missionaries opened up several Missions fields. They Included the Danish Mission in Tamil Nadu under the leadership of Berthealonmese Segan Balgue; Baptist Mission in Calcutta under the leadership of William Carey (who started the Serampore University); London Mission Society (LMS) under the leadership of Tingle Tob in Trivandrum area, Tamil Nadu; and Bengal; Basal Mission (1834) under Samuel Hebic and Gundort in Mangalore and surrounding areas, and in Malabar. Church of Scotland Mission and many others.

The first wave of Missionary thrust to India was by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in 1816. Though many of the Jacobite theology was at variance with the Protestant theology there was lot of cooperation between the two groups. Among the prominent missionaries were Thomas Norton, Benjamin Bailey, Joseph Fenn and Henry Baker, who were famous among these C.M.S. missionaries. They started the CMS Press in Kottayam in 1821, and began to publish Malayalam Bible and Christian literature for the use of common people. 1825, they published the gospel of Matthew, and in 1828, the New Testament, and in 1841, the complete bible. The church leaders of Malankara Syrian Christian Church and C.M.S. worked together from 1816 to 1836. The Bishops of Malankara Syrian Christian Church, Pulikkotil Mar Dionysius (1817-18), Punnatra Mar Dionysius (1818-27) and Cheppadu Mar Dionysius (1827-52) along with the CMS missionaries started the Seminary now known as Pazhaya Seminary (Old Seminary) for the training of the clergy in 1818.. The theological differences came to surface and in January 16, 1836 there was clear rift between the Missionaries and the Syrian Churches, and CMS and the Church separated. CMS then turned to evangelization among the Hindus. In 1835 Bishop Daniel Wilson of Calcutta visited Travancore and at once saw that the system was unsuccessful. He made a proposition that the Syrian church should reform itself and at the same time keep its independence. Others in vain attempted to induce the Syrians to come to terms. A synod of the Syrian church was held and a majority of those present carried a resolution dissolving connection with the missionary society. The Travancore Darbar, with the approval of the government of madras, appointed arbitrators who divided the endowments of the Syrian college. With the portion allotted to the society, a new college and chapel were erected at Kottayam and English education was continued in it. Towards the end of 1838 the committee of the C.M.S. sent out directions to their Travancore missionaries, that, with the consent of bishop Wilson, they should commence direct missionary work. this they did and thus commenced the second period of the society. The separation resulted ultimately in more friendly intercourse with the Syrians. Some thousands of them have joined the C.M.S. congregations and from them have been chosen and ordained the majority of the clergy of the Anglican Mission. In the C.M.S. Travancore Mission several eminent missionaries have laboured. Besides the trio already mentioned, Benjamin Bailey (1816-1850), Henry baker (1817-1866), and Joseph Fenn (1817-1826), there were Joseph peet (1833-1865), John Hawkesworth (1840-1863) and Henry Baker Jun. (1843-1878), all of whom died at their posts. Peet founded the mission at Mavelikara, Hawkesworth that at Thiruvalla and Henry Baker jun. the interesting mission to the hill Araans. John Chapman, (1840- 1852), fellow of St. John's college, Cambridge, was the principal of the college. He was succeeded by Richard Collins M.A. (1854-1867). Girls' schools were conducted by the wives of most of the early missionaries but chiefly by Mrs. Baker Sen. who managed a school from about 1820 until her death in 1888. Another school was conducted by Mrs. Baker Jun, which was continued by Miss baker and is still managed by the misses' baker. Mr. and Mrs. Lash started another school by the name of the Buchanan institution at Pallam in 1891 for educating native girls and training school mistresses. This has several Branch Schools connected with it. The present principal is the Rev.E. Bellerby The principal station of the society is at Kottayam. Here is the college already mentioned. Messrs Chapman and Collins have been mentioned as its principals. The Rev. J.H. Bishop M.A., Trin, succeeded Mr. Collins. Coll. Cambridge,(1868-1878), who raised it to the matriculation standard. He was followed by the Rev. C.A. Neve (1878-1888). The Rev.A. J. French- Adams m.a., Balliol Coll. Oxford, succeeded him and raised it to the F.A. standard and from that time it has rapidly developed in numbers. The present Principal is the Rev.F.N. Askwith m.a., Queen's Coll. Cambridge. The strength of the college in 1890 was 590. The Rev. John Hawkesworth for the training of mission agents started the Cambridge Nicholson institution also in Kottayam in 1860. Mr. Hawkesworth was succeeded as principal by the Rev. John Martindale Speechly (afterwards bishop). Divinity classes for the training of candidates for the ministry were started in his time. The Rev. Jacob Thompson m.a., began to send up candidates for the oxford and Cambridge university preliminary examinations for candidates for holy orders and several have since passed that examination with credit. The C.N.I. is also recognized by government as an upper secondary training institution. The present principal is the Rev. J.J.B. Palme Other stations of the C.M.S. besides Kottayam are: Alleppey which was occupied in 1816 by T. Norton, Mavelikara founded by Joseph Peet in 1838, Thiruvalla by john Hawkesworth in 1849, Pallam by H. Baker Sen. in 1843, Mundakayam by H. Baker Jun. in 1855. The Rev. R.H. Maddox started the Alwaye Itinerancy with headquarters at Alwaye in 1868 and it has been continued up to date under the following missionaries, Rev. F. Bower, Rev. C.E.R. Romilly, Ven. Archdeacon Caley, Rev. J.H. Bishop and the Rev. I.J. MacDonald. The Ettumanur Itinerancy, formerly known as the Mundakayam district, was worked by Rev. A. T. painter and latterly by the Rev. C.A. Neve. In the Cochin state, the society in 1842 and Kunnamkulam in 1854 occupied Trichur. The town of Cochin was occupied as early as 1824 and the Rev. James Ridsdale was the first missionary who worked there. The station was afterwards given up but was resumed in 1856. At present there is a native congregation under a pastor connected with the society. John Hawkesworth in the Tiruvella district first preached the Gospel to the Pulayas of Travancore as early as 1859. Now there are several vigorous congregations of these down trodden classes all over the country. Several natives have been ordained to the ministry as pastors of the native congregations. The first of these was George Mathan, who was ordained in 1844 and died in 1870. The second was Jacob Chandy who was ordained in 1847 and died in 1870. The next were a group of four ordained in 1856, the Rev. Koshy Koshy, the Rev. O. Mammen, the Rev. G. Kurian and the Rev. J. Tharian. A church council for the management of the several congregations was formed in 1869 and most of the old missionary stations are now under native pastors in connection with the council, thus relieving the European missionaries for direct evangelistic and educational work. At first the missionaries were under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Calcutta but from the printed account of the visitation in 1840 of Bishop Spencer of madras it appears that the missionaries took licenses from him. They remained under the Bishop of Madras until 1879 when the Rev. J.M. Speechly was ordained under the Jerusalem Bishopric Act 111 as bishop having supervision over the C.M.S. missionaries in Cochin and Travancore. Upon his resignation, the Rev.E. Noel Hodges M.A., Queen's College, Oxford, Principal of Trinity College, Kandy, Ceylon, was selected as his successor and was also consecrated under the Jerusalem Bishopric Act as a Missionary Bishop. In 1885 Bishop Speechly appointed the Rev. J. Caley as Archdeacon of Kottayam and the Rev. K. Koshy as Archdeacon of Mavelikara. Archdeacon Koshy was the first native of India appointed to that office and for his services in Bible Revision the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred upon him the degree of D.D. in 1891. He died in 1900 and the Rev. O. Mammen was appointed Archdeacon in his stead. The Rev. W.J. Richards who came out in 1871 as Vice Principal of the College and afterwards worked as Principal of the C.N.I. and missionary at Alleppey, also got a Lambeth D.D. in 1891 for his services in the revision of the Bible and Prayer book. So the missionaries turned to the non-Christians and started working among them. According to a panchayat court verdict, the properties and schools which were common among the missionaries and the Malankara Syrian Church were divided following the declaration of the church commonly known as Mavelikara Padiyola.. One group of believers and priests who believed in the reformation principles joined with the C.M.S and started the CMS church. Those who came from the Syrian Christian Church retained their identity even within the new church. Another group of believers under the leadership of Palakunnathu Abraham Malpan (1796-1845) decided to stay in Malankara Syrian Church and worked for reformation from within the church.

Towards the end of the 18th century and in the beginning of the 19th century the Jacobite Church of Malabar (Malankara Church) was in confusion. Life within the State and the Church was grievously disturbed by varying factors such as political, social and theological issues. There were divisions and fights for power and authority. It is at this opportune time the Anglican Church of England extended support. The English displaced the Dutch from Cochin in 1795 and with the arrival of the English, the foreign domination of South India changed hands. The East India Company under which the English operated in India, appointed a British Resident for Cochin and Travancore. The first two Residents, Colonel Macaulay and Colonel John Monroe were men of strong Christian convictions and they were prepared to help the Syrian Christians. The Malankara Metropolitan Mar Dionysius I was deeply interested in instituting schools in the parishes. Towards the close of Mar Dionysius I's life, Dr. Claudius Buchanan, Principal of Fort William College, Calcutta visited Malabar in 1806-1807. He had received a special commission from Lord Wellesley, Governor General of India, to study and report on the Malankara Church. Later, Dr. Buchanan reported the needs of the Church to Lord Wellesley. On his return to England, Dr. Buchanan warmly advocated the cause of the Syrian Christians and as a result, the Church Missionary Society (CMS) under the patronage of the Church of England, provided the services of Rev. Thomas Norton, Rev. Benjamin Bailey, Rev. Joseph Fenn and Rev. Henry Baker. The first Anglican mission (CMS) started to work in Kerala in 1816. A number of Jacobites came under their influence and reforms were introduced on Anglican lines. Leadership for this reform group was provided by Palakunnath Abraham Malpan and Kaithayil Geevarghese Malpan, the two professors of the Syrian Seminary at Kottayam. The first synod of the Indian Jacobites was celebrated in 1836 and it decided to sever all ties with the Anglicans. But Abraham Malpan and his party continued to carry on the reforms already started, for which they were excommunicated by Dionysius IV in 1837. There followed a period of confusion. Mathew Mar Athanasius, who had been consecrated bishop by the Jacobite patriarch in 1842/43 emerged as the leader of the reform group. The tussle continued for some time more, and in 1875 Mathew Mar Athanasius was deposed by Ignatius Mar Peter IV, patriarch of Antioch, who visited India that year. Consequent to this excommunication, Mar Athanasius and his followers were deprived of all the churches and properties. The Church plunged into a litigation known as the 'Seminary Case'. Finally, in 1889, with help of the CMS, they continued their reformation.