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81-664: The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church , often shortened to Mar Thoma Church , and known also as the Reformed Syrian Church and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar , is an autonomous Oriental Protestant Christian church based in Kerala , India . While continuing many of the Syriac high church practices, the church is Protestant in its theology and doctrines. It employs a reformed variant of

162-422: A Malankara Church tradition and from diasporic influence, the church follows a compulsory twelve-month (or 24 months with relocation, if failed in the first attempt) unpaid missionary service to those who are inclined to be a priest, before selection process as a "Tithe of Youth" program for "evaluation purposes". Additionally, this program was challenged in youth meets of the church at the time of its conception on

243-681: A Persian Bishop and that they had a copy of the Gospel according to Matthew in Aramaic. These Christians were the early evangelists of Malankara Church. During the time of King Shapur II (310–379) of Persia , a group of 400 immigrants (72 families) from Persia arrived in Malabar under the leadership of merchant Knai Thomman . They were engaged in trade and settled down in Kodungallur . Another immigration from Persia occurred around 825 under

324-449: A brief time before heading to Armenia or bar-Tau'ma, Son of Thomas assisted in his father's missionary activities per norms in LEV 21:7 , this could also explain why most of the priests in the order of St. Thomas were later allowed to be married, which led to the prerogative of sacerdotalism to certain groups/families and to people supported by them. In early Christian times, 'Nazranis' was not

405-662: A circle and self-ordained each other, creating an entity called the New Covenant Apostolic Order (NCAO). Their own interpretations of Church history led to the adoption of a somewhat liturgical form of worship and induced a need for apostolic succession . In 1977 the first contact with the Eastern Orthodox Church was initiated through Orthodox seminarian Fr. John Bartke. In 1979 the Evangelical Orthodox Church (EOC)

486-808: A deacon under Fr. Tudor Popescu, at the Cuibul cu barză Church in Bucharest . After some time, Popescu converted to evangelicalism, due to Cornilescu's influence. Both of them began to preach salvation by personal faith in Christ. Gradually, they gained a significant following, including priests from the Romanian Orthodox Church. Soon other evangelical traits, such as singing and congregational participation, began to manifest in this group. They called into question many Orthodox practices, which they perceived to be unbiblical. Tudor Popescu has been called

567-641: A degree in Science, he joined Leonard Theological College and took BD Degree in 1972. His ordination as Kasseesa was on 24 February 1973. From 1979 to 1980, he studied Comparative Religions in Visva-Bharati University , Shantiniketan . He did his MA and Ph.D. from McMaster University, Hamilton , Canada from 1980 to 1986. He was consecrated as Episcopa, Geevarghese Mar Theodosius, on 9 December 1989, along with Geevarghese Mar Athanasius and Euyakim Mar Coorilos Episcopa. On 12 July 2020, he

648-777: A hereditary local chief called Archdeacon (Arkadiyokon) . In the 16th century the overtures of the Portuguese padroado to bring the Saint Thomas Christians into the Latin Church of the Catholic Church led to the first of several rifts in the community and the establishment of Pazhayakoor (Catholic) and Puthenkoor factions. Since that time further splits have occurred, and the Saint Thomas Christians are now divided into several denominations, each with their own liturgies and traditions. On

729-759: A martyrs' death at a place called Mylapore -Chinnamalai in Tamil Nadu. The Nazarenes in Malabar were either proselytized from mainstream Judaism by 'Mar Thomas' or 'Mar Bartholomeu'. Pantaneius's reference to the gift of 'Gospel of Matthew in Hebrew' by Bartholomeu to the Nazereans in Malabar is a clear pointer to the fact that Mar Thomas did evangelize Malabar, It could be further stated that either Mar Nathanael ( John 21:2 ) aided in Mar Thomas' mission in India for

810-643: A separate religion, but a sect in the Jewish community. The term was used to denote followers of Jesus of Nazareth. (Acts. 24:5; 28:22). 'Khristianos' (or Christians) was initially used largely to refer non-Jewish people who followed Christ (Acts 11:26). In Kerala, the sect was known as 'Nazraani Margam'. Margam in Malayalam means, 'The Way'. (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:22). Thus, the word Nazraani clearly shows that many who joined them were Jews. But in Kerala, this name

891-706: A tradition. Saint Thomas Christians believe that Thomas the Apostle arrived in the Malabar Coast around AD 52. He landed at Muziris (now estimated as Pattanam , near Kochi on the Malabar Coast), after his first mission in the Parthian empire, during the era of King Gondophares It is believed that St. Thomas itinerated for 30 years in Kerala and proceeded to the East coast of India from Malankara and died

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972-562: A verdict favoring the Patriarchal faction. Subsequently, the reformed faction became an independent church, known as the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church. To date, there are 11 bishops, 1149 priests and over a million laity. While retaining many of the Syriac high church practices, the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church is Reformed in its theology and doctrines. The church employs a reformed variant of

1053-862: A well-defined constitution and has a democratic pattern of administration. The central administrative setup consists of the Metropolitan, the Episcopal Synod ( Consisting of all the Bishops of the Church ), the Prathinithi Mandalam ( House of Representatives ) and the Sabha Council ( Executive body of the house of representatives / Mandalam ), and the Vaideeka Selection Committee ( to select candidates for

1134-486: Is Philipose Chrysostom Mar Thoma Valiya Metropolitan. To assist the metropolitan there are Episcopas , the senior-most among them is called the Suffragan Metropolitan. For administrative purposes, the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church is divided into 13 dioceses or popularly called 'Bhadhrasanams' ( Malayalam : ഭദ്രാസനം ) headed by a Metropolitan or by an Episcopa. They are: The present members of

1215-740: Is 21 Mar Thoma in the line of continuation after the re-establishment of the Mar Thoma episcopacy after the Oath of the Koonan Cross (1653). If the Metropolitan is personally satisfied that he has difficulty continuing to perform the duties pertaining to his office, he may relinquish the powers and responsibilities of Metropolitan. Then he becomes the Mar Thoma Metropolitan Emeritus and is addressed as "Mar Thoma Valiya Metropolitan". The present "Mar Thoma Valiya Metropolitan

1296-502: Is a Christian denomination which blends Evangelical Protestantism with features of Eastern Orthodoxy . It started off in 1973 as a network of house churches established by Campus Crusade for Christ missionaries in the United States . The founders Peter E. Gillquist , Jack Sparks, Jon Braun, and J.R. Ballew wanted to restore Christianity to its primitive form based on the writings of the early Church Fathers . So they stood in

1377-483: Is a Christian denomination with roots in Pentecostalism , based in Kerala , India . It exists as a part of the Gospel for Asia . In 2003, this church acquired episcopacy , by getting Indian Anglican bishops to ordain its founder K. P. Yohannan as a bishop. Henceforth this denomination adopted several elements of Eastern Christian worship and practices like the use of holy oils for anointing, while keeping

1458-641: Is a member of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC), a worldwide organization of confessional Lutheran church bodies of the same beliefs. The Assyrian Evangelical Church is a Middle Eastern Church which attained ecclesiastical independence from the Presbyterian mission in Iran , in 1870. Its membership is composed mostly of Eastern Aramaic speaking ethnic Assyrians who were originally part of

1539-750: Is a term used to denote the Kerala coast in earlier days. The original Church was referred to as the Church of Malabar by the Jesuits and as the Syrian Church of Malabar in Missionary Registers from 1801 onward. Malankara is an ancient name derived from the name 'Maliankara', Maliankara Island is on the Southwestern side of the Indian Peninsula. It is between Gokarnam and Kanyakumari the southernmost point of India. Kerala,

1620-652: Is an Amharic and Tigrinya language term for evangelical Christians in Ethiopia and Eritrea . This movement has been influenced by the mainstream Oriental Orthodox Christianity of these countries as well as Pentecostalism . As Protestantism is relatively new in Ethiopia, most P'ent'ay are ex-Orthodox Christians. Many of these groups describe their religious practices as culturally Orthodox, but Protestant by doctrine. They boast approximately 16,500,000 members. The P'ent'ay denominations may constitute as much as 19% of

1701-994: Is based on the Eastern Christian rite used by the Eastern Orthodox Church , while incorporating theology from the Divine Service contained in the Formula Missae , the base texts for Lutheran liturgies in the West. In the far north of the Scandinavian peninsula are the Sámi people , some of whom practice a form of Lutheranism called Apostolic Lutheranism, or Laestadianism due to the efforts of Lars Levi Laestadius . However, others are Orthodox in religion . Some Apostolic Lutherans consider their movement as part of an unbroken line down from

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1782-611: Is independent of the Syrian Church. Before the death of Malankara Metropolitan Mathews Athanasius, he consecrated Thomas Athanasius as Suffragan bishop of Malankara Church. Following the death of Mathews Athanasius, the suffragan succeeded as the Metropolitan of the Malankara See in 1877 which led to a schism in the Malankara church. Those who supported reformation loyally followed the Malankara Metropolitan who

1863-602: Is necessary for salvation and living in righteousness is given in the Bible. The church is engaged in active evangelism. The headquarters of this church is at Tiruvalla , a town in the state of Kerala . The Assyrian Pentecostal Church is a Pentecostal Christian denomination which originated in the 1940s among the Assyrian people of Iran and spread among ethnic Assyrians in Iraq , Turkey and Syria . They are native speakers of

1944-620: Is no universal communion between the various Eastern Protestant churches. This is due to the diverse polities, practices, liturgies, and orientations of the denominations which fall under this category, as can be seen in Western Protestantism. The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church has its origins in a reformation movement within the Malankara Church in South India , in the latter half of the 19th century. India

2025-647: Is possible that some of those traders who arrived from the west, including Jews, remained in Kerala. While Augustus (31 BC- 14 AD) was the Roman emperor and Herod the Great (37–4 BC) was King of Judea , ambassadors from Malabar visited the Emperor according to an account of Nicolaus of Damascus . Certain nasrani writings hypothesize that these ambassadors were the Biblical Magi of Matthew 2:1, as

2106-788: The Assyrian Church of the East and its offshoots, or the Syriac Orthodox Church . They, like other Assyrian Christians are sometimes targets of persecution by hostile governments and neighbors. The Armenian Evangelical Church is the product of a reform campaign from within the Armenian Apostolic Church . The reformers were influenced by the missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions , who arrived in Turkey in

2187-692: The Assyrian Neo-Aramaic language, and also use it as their liturgical language . They use the Syriac Aramaic Bible. Most of the members of this denomination were originally part of the Assyrian Church of the East and its offshoots, or the Syriac Orthodox Church . The Assyrian Pentecostal Church is affiliated with the Assemblies of God Church. There have been reported instances of persecution against them as well. The Believers Eastern Church (formerly Believers Church )

2268-809: The Latin Catholic Church (932,733), the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (493,858), the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (482,762), and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (465,207). Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church is commonly called the Mar Thoma Church . In official and legal records the church is referred to as Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar or as Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church. Malabar

2349-585: The Liturgy of Saint James , with many parts in the local vernacular. The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church is in full communion with the Anglican Communion and maintains friendly relations with many other churches. Eastern Lutheranism refers to Lutheran churches, such as those of Ukraine and Slovenia, that use a form of the Byzantine Rite as their liturgy. It is unique in that it

2430-772: The Middle East are currently organized as the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East . The St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India (STECI) is an Evangelical , Episcopal denomination based in Kerala , India . It derives from a schism in the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in 1961. STECI holds that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant and infallible Word of God. Adherents believe that all that

2511-417: The Synod of Diamper . Here the Archbishop demanded complete submission to the Latin jurisdiction. The representatives sent from various parishes in and around Cochin were forced to accept the decrees read out by the Archbishop. A protest took place in 1653 with the Coonan Cross Oath. Under the leadership of Archdeacon Thomas ( Mar Thoma I ), the Thomas Christians publicly took an oath that they wouldn't obey

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2592-554: The West Syriac Rite Divine Liturgy of Saint James, translated to Malayalam . The Mar Thoma Church sees itself as continuation of the Saint Thomas Christians , a community traditionally believed to have been founded in the first century by Thomas the Apostle , who is known as Mar Thoma ( Saint Thomas ) in Syriac, and describes itself as " Apostolic in origin, Universal in nature, Biblical in faith, Evangelical in principle, Ecumenical in outlook, Oriental in worship, Democratic in function, and Episcopal in character". Until

2673-450: The Advent of Portuguese and Jesuits of Roman Catholic church in the 15th century. Thereafter, the Christians of St Thomas had been influenced by many belief streams at different points of time. These influences have later resulted in serious rifts and in the breaking down of the monolithic apostolic church to different fragments under different faith streams. They were organised as a Church in the 8th century, served by foreign bishops, and with

2754-648: The Apostles . In Russia, Laestadians of Lutheran background cooperate with the Ingrian church, but since Laestadianism is an interdenominational movement, some are Eastern Orthodox. Eastern Orthodox Laestadians are known as Ushkovayzet (article is in Russian). The Ukrainian Lutheran Church, formerly called the Ukrainian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, is a Byzantine Rite Lutheran Church based in Ukraine . The Eastern Christian denomination consists of 25 congregations within Ukraine, serving over 2,500 members and runs Saint Sophia Ukrainian Lutheran Theological Seminary in Ternopil in Western Ukraine. The ULC

2835-484: The Carmelites reclaimed eighty-four churches, leaving Archdeacon Mar Thomas I with thirty-two churches. The eighty-four churches and their congregations were the body from which the Syro Malabar Church and the Chaldean Syrian Church have descended. The other thirty-two churches and their congregations represented the nucleus from which the Syriac Orthodox (Jacobites & Orthodox), Thozhiyur, Mar Thoma (Reformed Syrians), Syro Malankara Catholics have originated. In 1665 with

2916-417: The Diocesan Assembly and Prathinidhi Mandalam (Church Parliament). The title of the head of the Church is "Mar Thoma Metropolitan". He is ordained from among the duly-consecrated bishops (Episcopas) of the Church, the choice being ordinarily that of the senior-most among them. The present Mar Thoma Metropolitan is Theodosius Mar Thoma who resides at Poolatheen at Church Headquarters in Tiruvalla , Kerala. He

2997-449: The Episcopal Synod of Mar Thoma Church are: The excommunication of Reformist bishops and their followers by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch in 1875, the Synod of 1876 (Mulanthuruthy) and the Royal Court Verdict of 1889 were turning points in the history of the Malankara Syrian Church of Malabar. The Reformist (Metran) faction continued to consecrate bishops to the Malankara See without the consent of Patriarch as they claimed Malankara church

3078-405: The Jesuit bishops. Rome sent Carmelites in two groups from the Propagation of the Faith to Malabar headed by Fr. Sebastiani and Fr. Hyacinth. Fr. Sebastiani arrived first in 1655. He began to deal directly with the Archdeacon Thomas ( Mar Thoma I ). Fr. Sebastiani gained the support of many, especially with the support of Palliveettil Chandy , Alexandar Kadavil and the Vicar of Muttam. These were

3159-448: The Malankara Nazranis, three deeds on copper plates. These are known as Cheppeds, Royal Grants, Sasanam etc. Five sheets of them are now in the custody of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church Headquarters at Thiruvalla. The Portuguese started settling in India with the arrival of Vasco da Gama in 1498. For the next 200 years, they took control over the sea routes and were powerful in the western parts of India. By 1500, Malankara Church

3240-419: The Mar Thoma Theological Seminary, Kottayam , Kerala, or from other recognized theological seminaries of India. The wife of a Kassissa is known as "Baskiamma" derived from" Baskiyomo in Syriac. Vicars general: From among the clergy who have completed 25 years of service in the ordained ministry and not less than sixty years of age are selected according to their contributions and ordained as vicars general . In

3321-473: The Orthodox Faction he had come back to the old seminary in Kottayam to vacate his room; some members of the church out of resentment had emptied everything inside and kept it outside the premises along with the Malankara Throne. By seeing the insignificance of a chair, they put out the chair to say isn't this the claim of your independent roots, take this degradable "Throne of Mar Thoma", Thomas Mar Athanasius had to then take that chair also which had by then broken

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3402-431: The Pietisical Union, whose members focused more directly on the Bible and organized Bible study meetings. They began to raise questions about what they saw as conflicts between biblical truths and the traditional practices of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Union also advocated Pietism , which they believed their church was devoid of. The leadership of the Armenian Apostolic Church under Patriarch Matteos Chouhajian

3483-412: The Romanian Martin Luther, for his attempts to reform the Romanian Orthodox Church. Due to deviations from Eastern Orthodox doctrines , the Romanian Orthodox Church defrocked Fr. Tudor Popescu. Dumitru Cornilescu was forced to leave the country. But Popescu and his followers (originally called Tudorists), established their own Church; the Evangelical Church of Romania. The Evangelical Orthodox Church

3564-458: The Saint Thomas Christians and Knanaya community. Following the arrival of Christians from Persia, their bishops, priests or laymen began visiting them. Most of them were not able to return due to financial difficulties and travelling long distances. The Knanaya people were worshipping together with the St. Thomas Christians. So these visitors also attended these services. It was a matter of ongoing dispute between different churches in Kerala whether

3645-740: The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch of Gregory became known as the Jacobite, while the Syrian Catholics remained in communion with Rome and later came to be known as the Syro Malabar Church. Under the leadership of their elder Thomas, Nazranis around Cochin gathered at Mattancherry church on Friday, 24 January 1653 (M.E. 828 Makaram 3) and made an oath that is known as the Great Oath of Bent Cross. "These Portuguese having murdered Mar Ignatius, we will no longer join them. We renounce them, and do not want either their love or their favour. The present Francis, bishop, shall not be our governor. We are not his children or followers. We will not again acknowledge Portuguese bishops." Those who were not able to touch

3726-509: The Syrian bishops had any administrative responsibility or jurisdiction over the St. Thomas Nazrani Christians. Persian crosses were in churches once attended by Nasranis. Out of five Persian crosses, two are in Kottayam Knanaya Valia Palli. According to the archaeologists, the earliest one was made in the 7th century. The cross became a symbol of Christianity in the west, during the time of Constantine (272–337). Saint Thomas Christians of Malabar had hardly any contact with other Christians before

3807-482: The absence of the diocesan bishop, they may be appointed as deputy head of the bishopric. Thomas Christians are popularly and traditionally called as Syrian Christians , in view of the Syriac liturgy (a variant of the classical form of Aramaic) used in church services since the early days of Christianity in India. The Saint Thomas Christians remained as Church of Malabar with fraternity relationship with Church of East, Church of Antioch , Church of Alexandria, etc. till

3888-466: The arrival of Knanaya people from Persia. Moreover, two of the oldest church buildings that still exist in South India do not have any marking of a Cross on their original structure. So most probably it was during the 7th century that the cross became a symbol of St. Thomas Christians. The existence of this Church in the early centuries is evident in the writings of ancient travelers. The rulers of Kerala , in appreciation of their assistance, had given to

3969-535: The basis of non-guarantee in an entry, fast-changing world, career stagnation, and other economic factors and have arrived at a discussion level resolution of implementing this process after the pursual of their theological training and integrating the "Deacon" status during the time period under mentorship which enables the church to fill up NGO's, projects and mission fields with trained and theologically equipped individuals for staff duties and pastoring, thus avoid stress and negligence that would be otherwise imparted on

4050-409: The beginning of the 20th century, Mar Thoma Christians lived in a few districts of Central Travancore ( Pathanamthitta , Kollam , and Thiruvananthapuram districts) and Kunnamkulam ( Thrissur district ) in Kerala. Since that time they have spread with the 20th-century Indian diaspora to North America, Europe, the Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. According to

4131-476: The believers. He prayed and laid his hands upon them, in the same way as the other disciples did ( Book of Acts 6:1–6; 8:14–17; 13: 1–3). This was the system used until the arrival of Portuguese . By 1500, Malankara Church had Parish elders and a Church leader. Before the arrival of Portuguese, Latin was unknown to Malankara people. In the ‘'Decrees of The Synod of Udayamperoor'’ presented to the St. Thomas Christians in their mother tongue Malayalam, Malankara Mooppen

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4212-452: The community and the establishment of Pazhayakoor and Puthenkoor factions. Since that time further splits have occurred. The Malankara Church had hardly any contact with the Western Church. The Portuguese used their power to bring the Malankara Church under Latin jurisdiction. A powerful Archbishop Aleixo de Menezes arrived in Goa in 1595. He then convened a Synod at Udayamperoor , south of Ernakulam , from 20 to 26 June 1599, known as

4293-525: The community under their Arkadyaqon Thomas to swear an oath never to submit to the Portuguese, known as the Coonan Cross Oath in 1653. For the first time in 1653, the Church leader was given the title Mar Thoma when Thomas Arkadyaqon was consecrated as Mar Thoma I. The present head of the Mar Thoma Church is the twenty-first Mar Thoma. In the 2nd century (189-190 AD) AD, Pantaenus , the Philosopher and Missionary sent by Bishop Demetrius of Alexandria to India, found that there were many Christians in India with

4374-408: The consecration of Mar Thoma I, is in the possession of the Mar Thoma Church and is kept at Tiruvalla . It has been used in the installation of every Mar Thoma metropolitan to this day so that the continuity of the throne of Mar Thoma is ensured. This was the throne used for the consecration of Mar Thoma XXII , Theodosius Mar Thoma. It is said that after Thomas Mar Athanasius lost the case against

4455-563: The cross-tied ropes on the cross held the rope in their hands and made the oath. Because of the weight it is believed by the followers that the cross bent a little and so it is known as "Oath of the bent cross" ( Coonen Kurisu Sathyam ). Four months after this event, according to the beliefs, 12 elders of the church ordained the elder Thomas as their prelate with the ecclesiastical title Mar Thoma I . Eastern Protestant Christianity Some Eastern Protestant Churches are in communion with similar Western Protestant churches. However, there

4536-413: The early nineteenth century, and published translated bibles for the Turkish-speaking Armenians . The reformers were led by Krikor Peshdimaljian, one of the leading intellectuals of the time. Peshdimaljian was the head of a training school for the Armenian Apostolic clergy. The school was under the auspices of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople . Out of this school, emerged a society called

4617-415: The figures provided by the church itself, it currently has over 1 million members. Their mother tongue is Malayalam, the language of Kerala, and historically the variety known as Suriyani Malayalam was associated with them. According to the 2011 Census of Kerala it was, with a membership of 405,089, the sixth largest Christian church in the state, coming after the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church (2,345,911),

4698-672: The first families who adopted an emigre way of life or 'Christianity' in Kerala. According to recent DNA research by Dr. Mini Kariappa, a significant number of Knanaya's share their ancestral roots with the West Eurasian gene pool of Jews. Saint Thomas Christians were administratively under the single native dynastic leadership of Arkadyaqon (East Syrian term for an ecclesiastical head with extensive administrative powers, deriving from Greek αρχιδιάκονος = archdeacon ) commonly referred as "Jathikku Karthavyan" ( Malayalam term meaning "Leader of The Community"). The Malankara Church believes that St. Thomas appointed elders at every place he preached to lead

4779-423: The ideas of the Protestant Reformation from them, a few priests under the leadership of Abraham Malpan initiated a reformation. Abraham Malpan also managed to get his nephew Deacon Mathew, ordained as bishop Mathews Mar Athanasius, by the Patriarch of Antioch. But many opposed the reforms. The groups for and against reforms engaged in court litigations for the church and its properties. These ended in 1889, through

4860-426: The initial set of chrismations and ordinations for the EOC at St. Michael's Church in Van Nuys, California . Unable to completely reconcile Evangelicalism and Orthodoxy, many EOC members formally joined the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America in 1987. Some others joined the Orthodox Church in America . The rest remained independent and continue as the Evangelical Orthodox Church. P'ent'ay

4941-402: The leadership of Persian merchant Marwan Sabriso, with two Bishops, Sapro and Prodh. Together they were known as Knanaya/ Kanai people. They continued to remain partially in an endogamous group within the Nasrani community. They cooperated with the Malankara Church, attended worship services together but remained a separate identity. By the 10th century, in Malabar there were two Nazrani groups,

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5022-420: The ordained ministry of the church ). The Central Administration of the Church is backed by the Dioceses. Each diocese has its own council and an assembly. The assembly members are elected by the individual parishes, and the diocesan council members are elected by the assembly. All members of a parish are members of the Edavaka Sangham (General Body) and they also have the right to elect their representatives to

5103-536: The population of Ethiopia , while being a small minority in Eritrea . Theodosius Mar Thoma Theodosius Mar Thoma XXII Metropolitan (born 19 February 1949) is the Mar Thoma Metropolitan and the Primate of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church . Theodosius Mar Thoma presently occupies the Apostolic Throne of St Thomas and is also the first Mar Thoma Metropolitan to be born in post-independence India. Theodosius studied at Baselius College , Kottayam (1966) and Mar Thoma College , Thiruvalla (1969). After taking

5184-430: The present southwestern state of India is only a part of Malankara. It is also thought to be a cognate of this name Maliankara, a place near Muziris , where Thomas the Apostle first landed in Kerala. Mar Thoma is Aramaic , and means Saint Thomas. Members of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church are commonly called as Mar Thomiyar, Mar Thomites, or Mar Thoma Syrians. The original liturgical language used by Saint Thomas Christians

5265-403: The principle of sola scriptura . Its name was officially changed to Believers Eastern Church in 2017, so as to "better express its roots in the ancient and orthodox faith". The Evangelical Church of Romania (Romanian: Biserica Evanghelică Română) is one of Romania 's eighteen officially recognised religious denominations. The church originated between 1920 and 1924, through the work of

5346-422: The request of the Archdeacon, Gregorios Abdul Jaleel a Bishop sent by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, arrived in India. A faithful group under the leadership of the Archdeacon welcomed him. The arrival of the Bishop Gregory of the Syriac Orthodox Church in 1665 marked the beginning of a formal schism among the St. Thomas Christians. Those who accepted the West Syrian theological and liturgical tradition of

5427-451: The southwestern side of the Indian peninsula; between the mountains and the Erythraean Sea (now the Arabian Sea); stretching from Kannur to Kanyakumari was the land called Cherarajyam , which was ruled by local chieftains. Later this land came to be known as the Malabar region and (now Kerala ). Muziris (near Kochi ) was the important entry port. After the discovery of Hippalus , every year 100 ships arrived here from various parts of

5508-429: The then known world, including Red Sea ports. According to the Bible, during the time of Moses and Solomon , the Malabar Coast traded spices and luxury articles with Israel ( I Kings 9:26–28, 10:11, 22; 2 Chronicles 8:18, 9:21). Excavations carried out at Pattanam (near Kochi) from 2005 provided evidence that the maritime trade between Kerala and the Mediterranean ports existed even before 500 BC or earlier. It

5589-415: The three councilors of Mar Thoma I, who was reconciled with Gracia (SJ) before the arrival of Sebastaini, according to Jesuit reports. The Pazhayakūr Catholic faction persistently challenged the validity of the ordination of Mar Thoma I by laying hands of 12 priests. It led many people to believe what they said and chose to rejoin with the catholic faction. Between 1661 and 1662, out of the 116 churches,

5670-427: The young Romanian Orthodox theologians Dumitru Cornilescu and Tudor Popescu. Deacon Cornilescu was motivated to translate the Bible into modern Romanian, by Princess Calimachi of Moldavia . While translating the Epistle to the Romans , Cornilescu became interested in the concept of personal salvation. By the time he completed the translation, he had become staunchly evangelical . Afterwards, Cornilescu served as

5751-424: The youth. During the intensive field training, when the inclined candidate is counted to be worthy for the controlled influx in church duties, the trained and experienced Deacons can be nominated for ordinations as Kassessas, by each diocese as the allotment. Kassessa (clergy priests): Persons receiving ordination as ministers shall be duly ordained deacons. They all have had their Bachelor of Divinity degree from

5832-609: Was against any reform, and excommunicated the reformists from the church. This separation led to the formation of the Armenian Evangelical Church, on July 1, 1846, at Constantinople . By 1850, the new church received the official recognition of the Ottoman government . Later, however, Armenians were forced out of Ottoman Turkey , due to the Armenian genocide . The Armenian Evangelical congregations in

5913-798: Was assisted as a witness by the other Bishops of the Mar Thoma Church and of the Malabar Independent Syrian Church . Semmasan (deacons): The Sabha Prathinidhi Mandalam elects a Vaidika Selection board to select candidates for the ordained ministry of the church through recommendations (letters from bishops-clergy by the level of exposure in church or by personal sponsorships of bishops or written support pledged from bishops), exams (English, General knowledge and Bible) and pre- and post- theological training interviews (with theological-sociological aspects and scrutiny through psychological and health evaluations). Following

5994-497: Was given the title Suffragan Metropolitan during the service at Poolatheen Chapel officiated by the Metropolitan The Joseph Mar Thoma in the presence of bishops, clergy, and laity of the church. After the swearing-in of 1653, it became necessary to appoint a bishop. For this purpose, a special chair was made and Mar Thoma I the first bishop of Malankara Church was enthroned. This throne, used for

6075-489: Was legally evicted from the Malankara Syrian Church. He died in 1893 without consecrating a successor and suggesting a new name for the church. The Metropolitan of Malabar Independent Syrian Church stepped in and consecrated Titus Mar Thoma as the new bishop. For the consecrations, from 1917 onward bishops from other churches were invited as guests. But the consecration was done only by the Metropolitan and

6156-621: Was organized. The EOC pursued various avenues to obtain episcopacy , including a visit to the Patriarch of Constantinople , but to no avail. At last they met Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch , during his historic visit to Los Angeles , which proved successful. This meeting was arranged by Fr. John Bartke, who later served as the primary intermediary between the EOC and the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese, and also hosted

6237-736: Was part of the British Empire at the time, while the Malankara Church is an Oriental Orthodox church, in communion with the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch . Concurrently, Anglican missionaries from England arrived in South India. They became teachers at the church's seminary and made the Bible available in the Malayalam language. Inspired by the teachings of the missionaries and imbibing

6318-445: Was replaced by the word 'Christians' in the 20th century. The earliest families within the Jewish community to accept the path of Christianity through St. Thomas, later intermarried with the ethnic local community and Brahmins of the 6th century. This led to the upbringing of marginal class or 'sambandham' Brahminic family clans like Pakalomattom , Sankarapuri and Kalli to a different socioeconomic status, they are now widely accepted as

6399-519: Was spread from Kannur in the North to Kollam in the South. It included the Saint Thomas Christians and the endogamous group, Knanaya Christians. The Saint Thomas Christians went through changes with the encounter of Portuguese in 1599. In the 16th century the overtures of the Portuguese padroado to initiate the Saint Thomas Christians into the Catholic Church led to the first of several rifts in

6480-749: Was the East Syriac language which is a variant of Aramaic. The Reformation movement in the Malankara Syrian Church later resulted in the evolution of an independent indigenous Malankara church under the Mathoma Metropolitan, breaking all the ecclesiastical and temporal control from outside Malankara. In 1898, during the reign of Titus I Mar Thoma the church accepted as its name, Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church or Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar to comprise its order and heritage. The members of this church are known as Mar Thoma Nasrani or Mar Thoma Syrian Nasrani. The Mar Thoma Syrian Church has

6561-604: Was the name used to refer the Church leader, except on three occasions. During the period of Colonialism, (i.e., from the 16th century), the Portuguese Jesuits began deliberate attempts to annex the community into the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, and in 1599 AD, they succeeded in their attempt through the infamous Synod of Diamper . Resentment against these forceful measures led the majority of

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