RESISTANCE TO REFORMS:
The reforms brought to the Saint Thomas Church were never wholly accepted by the members. In 1641, Archdeacon Thomas showed discontent with the activities of the Latin Prelates. In the middle of this dispute between the Native church members and the Portuguese authority, a mysterious man appeared at Mylapore. His name was “Ahatallah” and he claimed to been sent by the Pope to serve as the “Patriarch of the whole of India and of China”.
The Portuguese swifty rejected the claim of Ahatallah and expelled him from India. Some native Thomas members who were comfortable with Ahatallah sought for his release but later found that the Portuguese authority has made away with him either through expulsion or murder. This aggravated anti-Portuguese sentiment by the natives.
DIVISIONS WITHIN THE CHURCH:
Based on the discomfort of the native Thomas members against the Portuguese, they took a bold step towards their independence. In 1653, representatives of the church assembled at the Church of Our Lady in Mattarncharry and before a crufix and lighted candle, they swore a solemn oath that they would never obey the Garcia or the Portuguese any more and that they accepted only the Archdeacon as their leader.
This was known as the “Coonan Cross Oath” and was the root of the Malankara Church and all of its successor churches. To pacify their independence, the newly established church consecrated a Bishop in a ceremony in which twelve priests laid hands on Thomas and he became the Metropolitan of Malankara.
This decision made the Portuguese to seek for reconciliation with the new church but failed. The Pope Alexander VII sent a Syman Bishop to the new church to convince them that the consecration of the metropolitan was illegal. The Bishop Joseph Sebastian convinced many members of the church who consecrated Palliveetil Chandy Kathanar as the Bishop for the Syrian Catholic Church that was loyal to Roman Catholic Church.
This marked the first official split of the Saint Thomas Church as the members that were loyal to Roman Church became identified as the “Pazhayakuttukar” or “Old Party” and they had Parambil Mar Chandy as their “Metropolitan and the Gate of all India” while the branch associated to Mar Thomas as the Metropolitan of Malankara were known as the “Puthankuttukar” or “New Party”.
Both groups considered themselves as the true heirs while the other as heretics. Later in history, the Syrian Catholic gave birth to many other separate groups as the Syro-Malabor Catholic Church and Chaldean Syrian Church, while other groups that separated from the Malankara church include the Syriac Orthordox (Jacobites and Orthodox), Thozhiyur, Mar Thomas Syrians, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and Chaldean Syrian Church.
ANGLICAN INTERFERENCE:
The British authority had its first formal activities at India in 1795 when the kings of Travancore and Cochin had a tributary alliance with the British East Indian Company. The alliance was primarily aimed at repelling the attacks from Tipu sultan who was threatening the area.
The alliance gave way to British colonialism over the territory as the military and political structures were disbanded by the British authority.
The Saint Thomas Church had great loses over the British occupation as its military wing called “Kalari” was dissolved and many of its members killed. Some Europeans who visited the area during early 19th century noted the poor livelihood of the Saint Thomas Christians.
Some fund allocated to the church by some of the British officials brought stain relationship of the church and some of the Hindu sects.
In 1815, a British resident colonel John Munyo established a seminary at Kottayam for the education of Jacobite Christians’ priests and invited the Anglican Missionaries to teach in the school.
This marked the relationship of the CMS and the Saint Thomas Christians. The interference of the Anglican Church in the Malankara Church provoked a Protest that led to a Synod at Mavelikara on 16th January 1836. In the Synod, it was resolved that the Malankara Church would be subject to the Syrian tradition and Patriarch of Anthioch.
The edict of the synod brought separation to the Anglican Missionaries with the Malankara church but a minority of the Saint Thomas Christians of the Malankara Church found favour in the reformed theologies of the Anglican Missionaries.
Those who joined the CM.S. Missionaries became the first Reformed group within the Saint Thomas Church. This brought the establishment of the Anglican diocese of Travancore and Cohin in Kottayan in 1879. Later, the Anglican Church in South India united with reformed churches in the area to form the Church of South India that served as an autonomous Church within Anglican Communion in India.
The Saint Thomas Church which was originally the Nasrani assembly and was shaped in the manner of the early apostolic mission of Yahosheans later turned to political apparatus of both the Antioch, Portuguese, Rome and England. By these struggles, the original apostolic flavor of the movement was devoured and decolorized to various splits and with various colored traditional backgrounds.
During 20th century, the neo-charismatic activities have penetrated into various versions of the Saint Thomas Churches. State politics in Travancore equally has influenced the Saint Thomas Church in a negative light. Some Saint Thomas Christians were elected at legislative and executive positions of the state and such helped to corrupt the movement from its original value as it engrossed with rivalries and competitions that associate modern politics.
RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL IDENTITY:
The Saint Thomas Church was originally an outside station of Yahosheanism. It commenced with full accredited doctrines of Yahosheanism but later corrupted into Syriac culture when the church of the East commenced link to its affairs.
By interference of the East-Syrian Christians, the movement adopted the liturgy and theology of the East-Syrian Christians of Persia. The life-style customs and traditions were basically Indian mixed with Hebrew. The presence of Hebrew people in the early Macabar Nasrani movement influenced the community with Hebrew culture and liturgy.
There were equally elements of Hindu customs that associated the Saint Thomas Christianity. Some of them were rituals related to marriage, pregnancy, death etc. It is often echoed that the “Nasranis are Indian in culture, Christians in faith and Syrians in liturgy.
The Saint Thomas Christians are Hindu cultured with special reference to its earlier practice of the “untouchable” which it abolished during the synod of Diamper. The Saint Thomas Christians related their status with the upper castle Hindus based on their population and observance to many Braham customs. The rapour of the movement with other of its Hindu neighbors continued unhampered till 19th century when its clean castle status became questioned in some localities which prompted denial of its adherent’s access to Hindu temples.
The Saint Thomas Christians equally retaliated by condemning the Hindus as heathens with un-divinely approved festivals.
TRADITIONS AND RITUALS:
The early Nasrani movement in Kerala observed virtually all traditions of the Hebrew Yahosheanism until its connection to the church of the East. The activities of the church of the East on the Saint Thomas Church changed the Liturgy into Syrian tradition.
In the beginning, the movement reverenced Sabbath rest and addressed the saviour as “Yahshua” a name used by many sacred name broadcasters to represent “Yahoshea”.
The early Nasarani sect used Aramaic terms in its religious tradition. For instance, the movement used the term “Mamodisa” which was Aramaic term for “Baptism”, used “Pehasa” that is Malayalam word derived from the Aramaic word “Pasha” or “Pesah” that means Passover. The sect later applied the use of cross and they identify it as the “Nasrani Menorah”. Menorah was an ancient symbol of the Hebrews that consists of seven branched lamp stands.
The Saint Thomas Cross or Nasrani Menorah was a later development that was applied into the tradition of the sect after its connection with the Syrian Church.
The sect compromised majority of its early culture in the aftermath of Portuguese subjugation. The name “Saint Thomas Church” was first used for the sect by the Portuguese. Likewise, the early Nasrani movement do not use kymograph or statues of Yahoshea or the Saints in their congregations until after the arrival of the Portuguese. Before the coming of Portuguese, use of such symbols were deemed idolatrous.
The connection of Nasrani sect and the Syrian Church suppressed many of the early Yahoshean tradition of the body. Based on this relationship, the Nasrani sect began to profess Christendom instead of Yahosheanity of its original character. Activities as Sunday worship, Lent period, Easter, Christmas etc. became part of the body and were observed in tune of the Syrian Churches.
The long fasting period that is traditional to the Syrian Churches became part of the Nasrani culture. For instance, the Saint Thomas Church observed “Fifty days Fast” that commenced from “Clean Monday” to the day before Easter. They equally observe a twenty-five days fast which ends on the day of Christmas.
CONCLUSION:
The Nasrani sect of India was established by Apostle Thomas with support of his Hebrew Kinsmen that settled at Kerala in the first century Ad. The true tradition of Yahosheanism that the movement commenced by was later corrupted by the Syrian version of Yahosheanism and later mixed by Roman Catholic, Anglican and Pentecostal traditions.
Based on this development, the original flavour of Yahosheanism lost and replaced by various version of Christian tradition that contested for ownership of the sect. The interference of the Persians, Portuguese, Romans, English and other traditions destroyed the original value of the movement into many different versions and separations.
This was supported by the activities of indigenous Indians who admixed the original tradition of the Yahosheanism with Hindu cultures and rites.
Based on the mixture of these traditions and misinterpretations of Yahosheans traditional observations, the Nasrani sect is in no way the real sect of Yahoshea Meshiyach which many adherents seek for through the Saint Thomas Christianity.
Yahosheanism was basely a continuation of Yahudaism and its continuity is based on the acts of the comforter and his disciples that has manifested as Most Senior Prophet Yahmarabhi Ha Meshiyach.
The Nasrani in Kerrela, India must know this and make adequate adjustment. May Yahweh lead forever.
Meshiyach Yahzitere Yahmarabhi
(+234) 7066195260
Email: okohmeshiyach@yahoo.com
