Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The Strange Power of People

It had been a while since I sat to key-in my thoughts for the blog and I am definitely not happy about the same. It just happened so, where my mind went clock-ticking with a buffer-overflow of many things and I had to keep myself out of these little things I love to do, through these days. Not that I am promising to be a regular on my favorite blog table, but I promise to be better for sure.

Enough with the prelude and this time around I want to share an account of one of the very best experiences I have had in my life. I would like to describe it as ‘the strange power of people’ and it just means talking about those intense, colorful, passionate, fun-filled, humbling , inspiring and cherished one and a half days I had, few weeks back.

It all started with a visit to my elder brother’s place where we got an invite for a first Holy Communion function, from Chechi’s brother. It was just another invitation for a family function and since I had missed couple of them earlier I made up my mind to make for this one. Off-late I have become a person who avoids big gatherings of relatives, as much as possible, since I had found it disgusting to see all those elders trying to poke their nose into anything and everything in my life. Moreover, being the un-disputed title-holder of being the most outspoken, insensitive and irreverent one in the family circle, I seriously enjoyed being only in smaller and closer groups. Above all, for me being consciously away from big gatherings, my family had started losing all those fun times and it made me decide to attend this event for sure.

Then came this day, and I could see myself stepping into a much different world all together. Chechi’s family was BIG…and I mean it. Big with a capital B, I & G. They were six siblings and I knew about it. But, a house with all of them, their kids (teens to toddlers) and cousins were little different than my expectation. Now, to talk about my expectation: My grandfather too had seven kids and my father happened to be the youngest of the lot. All through my childhood, whenever we had family re-unions, I felt about the same as more a convention than a reunion. Being one of the youngest of the big group of kids, I felt about the big-bully elder brothers and mommy-ish elder sisters as more trouble than good. The last thing I wanted was to have a house full of people who take turn to make you obey to their commands. To be frank, I loved only very few of them, by my heart & therefore, here I am, one of the stand-out disobedient in the entire family of second generation! Now, back to present. I set my foot inside to a home where all (yes, I mean all. Right from the parents, the siblings, their spouses and all kids) we seated in a big hall to have food. It reminded me of the big fat greek wedding and my mind aimlessly wandered to those family reunions of my childhood. We never had eaten together. My grandfather always ate at his regular time and no one dared go and trouble him. My parents, uncles and aunts ate at their own sweet time and we (the smaller kids) were fed as a group at the table by our own mothers or one of those mommy-ish sisters or aunts. I don’t count it as a difference of culture. But more that it was the norm of those years. Even family relations were kept with definite honor and pride. One will never crack an adult joke to your uncle and it was treated as a mandate of treasured culture. I still see that my dad’s voice become softer (and sometimes he even gets up from the seat) when his eldest brother is on phone. Not, that the current generation has lost the sheen of all good things in life. My point is that, we have learnt to express love more evidently. And, according to me, this had made all the difference.

Now, I was in this world. It seemed really magical for me. Festivity was all in the air. Lot of cheer, music, laughter, fun and love was all around. And, moreover never even once did I feel that I am not one among this big grouping of siblings. All of them were just brothers, sisters and kids than being different individuals themselves. Even though I do admit that I have more brothers and sisters in my life, my parents had only two children; me and my brother. I love to put it this way as I am a person who believes that being a sibling is more than just being born to the same parents. I don’t want to get diverted in my thoughts here and hence let me speak about how it feel to have a sibling. It is always wonderful to be together. On a lighter side, If I had been alone in my growing years, I would not have got the chance to beat-up my brother. I would have had things go my way more times than naught. I would not have had to contend for time doing the many things that we used to do to occupy our time. However, as much as I used to consider this as childhood fun, the reality is that I would not be who I am today without him. I always thank god for having given such a wonderful brother for me. Also I had not been so supportive of the bigger count (like seven or six) ; courtesy my experiences with my uncles and aunts.

And, here I see the picture all different. The boundlessly varied feelings, those small bursts of laughter which had travelled miles altogether to meet each other, the special bonds between the next generation of kids, all were different. A realization of that much needed care and warmth that we all feel in this faster world of today, flashed in my mind and I learned through my experience of those moments that the best thing we can give to ourselves in this life of rat race is to spend time with our family.

In fact, I would probably only vaguely remember parts of my childhood if it weren’t for my brother. Now, here I see a multitude of this feeling. There are brothers and sisters all around. There are nephews and nieces all around. May be because of this century and because of the more free world around us, I couldn’t see any big-bully brother of mommy-ish sister who were trying to execute commands on the younger lot. My daughter, who is just over one, had been playing with the eldest couple from Mumbai and with their kids (again the eldest among the cousins) and also with the little sweet-heart who was very much a centre of cheer and exuberance. I see here, that generations are enjoying the moments of togetherness. Maybe all do realize that from the very next day of week, this will fall back as a beautiful memory and the world around will change us back to the seasoned traveler. There were no highs and lows in these days, there were no you and me and it was like a picture perfect time of re-union. I think the difference is not just because of the generation change, but also mainly due to the expression of care and warmth which our generation has learnt to practice. I always felt that our previous generation had been misers when it came to expressing love and we have changed for good. A simple example would be that we were never permitted to draw on walls but now, we do enjoy drawing on the walls with our kids. A simple, but much welcome change in our way of looking at life.

While I drove back to the city and during all these days while I had been thinking about these beautiful days, I felt happy to have joined this blessed family’s get together. I re-iterated in my thoughts that the bond between siblings is the most enduring bond that we can experience, the bond which may not be as demanding and critical as that of our parents, children or spouse and this is potentially the longest relationship we will ever have in life. But, the bond that is shared with our siblings helps us to determine the quality of bond we will experience with our other relationships in life. In this world of ‘no time’ to ‘stand and stare’, I think the biggest blessing one can receive from God is to have a wonderful family who can be together in simple moments of life. Moreover, I stand corrected, the bigger the family is, bigger is the love and warmth around and bigger is the blessings in life!!

It is an incredible thing to be able to be there for a sibling in their time of need. It is all the more incredible to be able to celebrate the joys in the lives of your siblings: graduations, weddings, and the birth of children, communions are joyous times in the life of the family that brings you closer together. Siblings are a part of us. If we allow them to continue to be a part of our life, they can be an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, and a conscience that knows us almost as well as we know ourselves.

So, can we afford to stand and meet our Brother or Sister, at every turn of our life’s journey? If yes, I think we are making a definite difference to the life of people around us. The more is the love around us. The more is the happiness inside us. Next question is, will we be able to hand over this warmth of togetherness to the next generation? We better be, or we will lose a generation! Kendall Hailey had put it right “The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you"

Monday, March 8, 2010

‘Maid’ for each other!


Yesterday was just another usual day until I sat with my copy of TOI in the morning. Usually, my Sunday routine is different from other days, since newspaper will get in front of me only later in the day, post partaking in the church communion. But, the day started taking a ‘U’ turn from the time my eyes caught one of the first page headlines. - An article on the welfare of maids and also on the resolution getting tabled at ILO today, for the sake of ‘maids’. So far so good, the article is a time pass read. But, it starts and ends there. No further value could be seen in these initiatives. The title was also thought provoking, ‘Maid to Order’. Indeed true. Or rather, very very true, I should say. While I had been reading the same, it happened with a big shatter. I saw my wife rushing to kitchen and just realized that a precious vase which we had carried all the way from abroad just slipped from our maid’s hand to be part of history.
How many accounts can each of us cite, which has a ‘maid’ in the story which had made life miserable. But, that part remains with the friends circle only, since the society always looks at the same as bourgeois culture where the poor suffering ‘maid’ is blamed by the lady of the house, without humane considerations. I feel laughing at these sorts of sentiments. Yes, we had all seen maids at our households earlier. But, is that the same story in these years. I prefer to differ here. At least in majority of Indian cities now, a major reason for a discomfort in a home atmosphere is obviously because of the most important lady in modern life – the maid. The problem could be many : want of a maid, maid being made to only rule and not work, maid going on leave for weeks altogether without any news, maid damaging all your priceless processions etc etc. But, the end story is the man and woman of the house hardly gets time to talk, families find themselves in turbulent waters and kids starting to pick up irritating mannerisms from maids!!!

To go little further into the topic : I had a personnel experience when one of the maids employed by my wife shouted back at my wife’s face when she was questioning on why the maid was eavesdropping into our bedroom by silently positioning herself against our closed doors. It was interpreted as the blind eye towards the rights of the proletariat class in hiding behind a door to listen to her employer. Oh God! I am not taking time to mention all the numerous issues I had seen, even though I choose myself to be an ignorant man in all these household stuff. But, it started pinching me when I learned that my wife started getting headache on a regular basis and had started on a daily dose of analgesics only because of the talks she used to have with her maid!

Another memory which comes to my mind is of a firsthand experience from one of my friends where the maid started the habit of looking down at the household’s choice of food items. According to this maid, all what was cooked at that home was cheap food (grass, vegetables etc) and not even dogs in the maid’s khaandaan ever tasted such food. He was wondering why such high class people come out as house maids! The anti climax for the story is that the maid had trouble using the European closets in the house and she ended up making the guest bathroom smelling foul all through the day. And, the issue remained beyond question, since it was the employer’s invasion into the privacy of the employee!

These accounts can go on and on. But, for no point at all. We, the people who run the race in these cities to make a living, will remain forever as bourgeois and those ladies who come out of their house for eating the peace of other households becomes the ‘poor suffering class’ housemaids. If they had damaged your $1000 worth crystal vase, even after multiple words of caution, do keep smiling and politely ask them to be careful next time. Else, there are associations and the entire entire world out there to question, if you raise your voice! My thought is, feel thankful to God that you didn’t had another vase, for the next maid to go experimenting with the thrill!

I have read Antonia Fraser saying “Lives in previous centuries for women are largely a matter of class. It would have been fun to have been a rich, privileged woman in the 18th century, but no fun at all to be her maid “. Sad that she didn’t see the state as of now. I would like to rephrase as “Lives in 21 centuries for women are largely a matter of management. It would have been ecstasy to be a maid in a working-couple household, but no fun at all to be her lady employer”

Moving on, the major thought for me to key-in these thoughts are not just because of the maids. But, there is a different class of people who live in the name of maids. They are basically the agencies. Rather Housemaid agencies who offer their services to help you find a domestic help. No fancy details, but a plan statement I want to make here is that 99% of such agencies are nothing but fraudulent. Having said that, let me be more specific, since I don’t want to generalize something which I am not sure of. I would like to supplement my comment with a disclaimer that 99% of such housemaid agencies from Kerala and in Bangalore are fraudsters. This is my first hand experience. I know that in case any of the genuine people who are in this business happen to see this post, they may feel bad. But, I do acknowledge that they are the very few exceptions (1%) who can be classified as the rare species on the brink of extinction.

If you open any of the leading Malayalam dailies, you will see at least half a dozen ads from these housemaid service agencies. I usually think about myself as a cautious enough guy who finds the trap ahead and moves away from the same. But, sometime back, I too had an experience where there ultra modern sophisticated manpower consultant agencies from god’s own country (being from Kerala, I wonder who dreamt of this name) made a fool out of myself. Not because I consider myself smart, but, after enquiring about the whereabouts of one of such agency, I think it needs to be voiced. At least someone else, who bother to Google the detail as (s)he hear, will be saved.

This fellow’s name is Reji Philip and he is from one of the remote locations of Kerala, named Kaithapoyil, which is a small town 40 Kms away from Calicut. He runs a so called housemaid agency, according to the honorable Kerala government labour department. This essentially means he has a certificate which has been issued by the gov which covers him legally to place ads in newspapers all around the world. Not a thing more.

Scene 1 : Now, the devil is out in prowl. You see the ad in your newspaper. And, the obvious preys are working-couples in major cities of India, who are desperately looking for domestic help. You/Your wife call this number (which is mentioned as Kairali Enterprises, Kaithapoyil, in the news paper) and the master of cheats, Mr. Reji answers. He is so polite, extremely professional and appreciatively committed, as you speak. He collects your requirements in a housemaid religiously and then promises you to find a suitable person within days.

Scene 2 : Within couple of days you will get a call back, assuring that the best maid ever found on the globe is now available for an employment and you are lucky enough to get this person now, which was just accidental. Your call gets re-directed to the maid, who just reminds you everything what you had placed as the requirement and adds something more as her responsibility. You feel stunned and relived (remembering all your bitter experiences with earlier maids who had been recruited by your wife, your mom, your wife’s mom, your friend’s wife, your aunt etc etc).

Scene 3: Enter Mr. Reji Philip again, the good Samaritan. He is taking the trouble of going to the ticket reservation counter himself, since you are badly in need. Wow ! You enquire more about his whereabouts and he says near Calicut. You check with your contacts in Calicut and realize that no one in the entire country would want to travel all the way to this place, to enquire about him. This is where you will get dejected. You decide to drop the plan. Now, Mr Reji calls you again. Says, the maid’s ticket is confirmed for tomorrow evening. You voice your doubts and there you get 2 options.

Option 1 : Trust me and get this person. You can never get a better maid in life

Option 2 : I will send my staff along with the maid. After you see the maid in your house, make the payment.

You again get reminded of the troubles faced by your wife and the pinching need to have someone babysit your kids at least till the time you get back from office. You make a choice from the above options.

Scene 4.1 : Consider you chose Option1 and make a transfer/deposit of the amount to his account. You get a confirmation call tomorrow that Mr Reji has happily got the money and your maid has started enroute to the city. You and your wife sleep peacefully for the night, thinking maid problem will be solved from tomorrow onwards

Scene 5 to 500 : That good maid, who understood you perfectly fails to reach your city. How much ever you try, she will not reach. You will never get a chance to talk to her again. First few months you will be forced to listed to Mr. Reji Philip’s family problems - His wife suffering from STD, Kids suffering from cancer, Parents suffering from alzhimers and he himself suffering from heart ailments. Now you feel sorry to have disturbed him at hospital to ask for services OR for your money. Later, he will stop picking up your calls. You try to enquire. Spent more money for asking someone (or you yourself) to travel till this place which is at the end of world – to realize that Mr. Reji is having lot of fun

Scene 4.2 : Consider you chose Option2. In few days an old man and a lady lands at your door. You end up paying more, even for the escort’s full day expenses and make the settlements. After 2 days, the maid will leave. Reasons are many – she gets a call (and you get a call from Mr. Reji) that her grandmother has expired, the maid finds it hard with the climate change, your wife becomes more irritant since the maid finds time to only sit and eat her head (the story repeats) etc etc. You end up booking tickets for the maid, as assured by Mr. Reji that the replacement has already embarked on her journey to reach your door tomorrow. You have to pack off this person since the last thing your wife wants maybe to make these two devils meet. Here onwards the story is same. The replacement fails to reach your home.

Scene 5-500 repeats : First few months you will be forced to listed to Mr. Reji Philip’s family problems - His wife suffering from STD, Kids suffering from cancer, Parents suffering from alzhimers and he himself suffering from heart ailments. Now you feel sorry to have disturbed him at hospital to ask for services OR for your money. Later, he will stop picking up your calls. You try to enquire. Spent more money for asking someone (or you yourself) to travel till this place which is at the end of world – to realize that Mr. Reji is having lot of fun

Now, the climax. This is scene O

Scene 0 : Mr. Reji Philip hires a lady staff, to attend telephone calls. She is ‘the maid’ for each and every enquiry which comes to him. He also has an agreement with a husband (the guy is his driver also) and wife there who can visit those people who chose Option 2. This lady becomes ‘the maid’ for them for 2 days. Picture perfect business! Mr Reji is happy because he is making a very good living with all pleasures of life. His expenses are couple of mobile connections ( +91 9656635707 & +91 9605557716 ), few frequent ads in newspapers and salary for 2 staff and another one staff on contract basis. Mr. Reji’s family is happy, that the son/husband doesn’t need to travel out of God’s Own Country to make a living and they get to eat to heart’s content on other’s hard earned money.

And You ! You will be thinking about that time/day when you did the mistake of making the payment to Mr. Reji’s account (Account Number : 0530053000000808; Name : Reji Philip ; Bank Name : South Indian Bank ; Branch Name : Kodencherry, Kerala State, INDIA ; Account Type : Savings) thinking about all the earlier troubles your house had with maids !



To summarize, we all understand that ‘maid’ is the problem in most of the families. But, before you raise your hands to surrender to the call of housemaid agencies, just remember that there is hundreds of Reji Philips out there, whose only intention is to cheat you.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Pain to Pray ?

My just previous write-up had been about the Church, rather the institution of the Church. Many of you are free to look at that exceptionally long post as a mere waste of time, but my efforts had been intentional. I wanted to draw the line black and white and also wanted to go little deeper to pour out the details which explains the situation till date. While I tried to be in a historian’s hat last time, it had been my conscious effort to set the perspectives right, so that I could take-off from where I had left then, for today’s blog.

Yes, today also, I would prefer to scribble on the same religious thoughts. What else to key-in logical during this blessed time of great lent. I remember reading one article couple of weeks back. The point of discussion of the same had been - “So how come doctrinal religions haven't overrun imagistic ones? “. While the article delved into the practices in various religions wondering whether willingness to indulge in ritual is an inherited trait or not it almost concludes with numbered proofs that the religions driven by frequent, unexciting rituals face their own problems. Also, Whitehouse points out that even when religions are founded on intuitive ideas, acquiring religious knowledge often comes at a cost, and it is this difficult-to-acquire knowledge that is most highly valued. Indeed, it is the complex concepts that are hard to acquire and understand that give any religion its unique identity.

Fine. Well said. So, while I see the same as a Jacobite Syrian Christian, I can understand the same. Both in the home crowd of Kerala and the immigrated crowd of outside dioceses, the church (and of course its keepers) retains its unique identity on silly but complicated issues – for eg Syriac Language. People who doesn’t understand the meaning of even a single Syriac word, feels extremely proud in singing the hymns in Syriac ! What a sympathetic display of megalomania it is, when you struggle with even the correct syllables of the Syriac words, while trying to enjoy the hymn as you sing it loud! If someone gave us the false idea of safeguarding orthodoxy and the rich culture of the church, by using as much Syriac words as we can, its nothing but false pride. If any of the church leaders, say priests, high-priests, or even episcopal dignitaries, flaunt with Syriac while the entire congregation is staring and wondering at the altar, its nothing but pseudo ecclesiology. Days are not too far when the younger generation will decide to walk away from these characters, for ever.

In recent years, several researchers have developed the idea that religion taps into intuitive ways of thinking. Even as young children we seem predisposed to believe in the supernatural, which probably explains why we develop beliefs in spirits, an afterlife and gods as we get older (New Scientist, 7 February 2009, p 30). Our church goes further down this line. If the bygone generations of church leaders had stopped at this level, the modern generation redefines the approach, in almost everything. It becomes painful to realize that, a church which was built on the sufferings and prayer of our forefathers, is now ‘managed’ by a set of business leaders, in all its corporate glory. It becomes a dark reality on our face when we realize that majority (if not all, because I still believe in a small subset of good people around) who wear the robes are shrewd entrepreneurs and a significant count are egocentric moguls.

In the troubled waters of post modern era, where people rush to Church for some peaceful time, it becomes easy to run businesses in the name of god and religion. And this realization was made by the people who matter, before we (the general public) understood the same. The result, the church which we are all proud of, which sustained from centuries, which was built on the firm faith taught by the prince apostle St Peter, is now wadding on the brink of public disposal, in the hands of these so-called ‘keepers’ of faith ! Now, if we just observe the clergy, who handholds us in the path of righteousness, we can see 5 different types among them. A majority of the clergy could be categorized as

‘Professionals’, who chose this as the easiest profession available and the interest is only at a living hood and social respect

‘Entrepreneurs’ , who realized that faith and church is the next hotcake area , invested in being one among the same, and is successfully running the business of ‘administration’ to mint money in multitudes

And

‘Politicians’, who realized the power and authority in this infrastructure, got into the power play, made to the significant posts and enjoy as either the ‘king’ or ‘king maker’

While, a very distinct minority could be categorized as

‘Serious’, who again chose this path, feel happy about the changes they could bring, continue on their quest for knowledge (about themselves, church and god) and live a life which is disconnected from the other ‘mainstream’

And

‘Divine’, who actually had received ‘the call’ and is lost in this rat race.

Finally, the significant majority of the laity belongs to the ‘Lost’ category, who wants to leave the church, as early as possible, after the service.

I don’t prefer to dig deeper, since I strongly believe that if someone preaches fossilized ideologies in 2010, this generation Y is capable enough of ignoring them and moving forward.

While we all feel proud about our history, we do understand that the same Church (that too unified, with JSOC and IOC together) which had been efficiently run by less than 10 prelates is now struggling in the hands of 60+ prelates (both sides together), wondering at the directions for future! How sad !

To conclude, if we feel the pain to pray (and not the pain of prayer), the it is time for a retrospective analysis. If not the so-called ‘keepers’ of Church, but atleast the young blood prefers to do so. Let us remember – we are all living in a world which practices RCA for correcting our path to progress !

Monday, January 18, 2010

Christian Churches today & Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church




While observed in a much wider concept, there are basically 3 types of Christian churches. Orthodox, Catholic and Protestants. Roman Catholicism is a medieval modification of the original Orthodoxy of the Church in Western Europe, and Protestantism is a later attempt to return to the original Faith. But the Reformation did not go far enough. In a nut shell, Catholics added on to the faith, Protestants deleted from the faith and Orthodox kept the faith.

Names like Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox etc. are all names for one and the same Church with one and the same faith and practice. Of course within these churches there are cultural differences which do not touch the essence of the faith as such.

The foundations of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch can be traced back to the very dawn of Christianity. The Church justifiably prides itself as being one of the earliest established apostolic churches. It was in Antioch, that the followers of Jesus were called Christians as we are told in the New Testament of holy Bible, "The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch." (Acts 11:26).

According to ecclesiastical tradition, the Church of Antioch is the second established church in Christendom after Jerusalem, and the prominence of its Apostolic See is well documented. In his Chronicon (I, 2), the historian Eusebius of Caesarea tells us that St. Peter the Prince Apostle established a bishopric in Antioch and became its first bishop. The See of Antioch continues to flourish till our day, with His Holiness Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I, being the 122nd in the line of legitimate patriarchs starting from St.Peter, the leader of Apostles of Christ.

In 1665, the Antiochian church came into contact with the ancient church of St Thomas Christians in India, and the West Syrian liturgy was thus introduced to the Christians in South India. Point to be noted here is that Apostle Thomas never established a see in India, ie no bishophoric was created, but only had spread the word of Jesus. Though the Syrian church now is vastly reduced in number because of Muslim domination, it has a considerable diaspora in India, US, Australia and Europe.

Similarly the Coptic Orthodox Church traces its history back to St Mark, who founded the church in Egypt. It is associated with the ancient Egyptian patriarchate of Alexandria of the Roman empire. The Coptic church has a significant diaspora in North America, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. The Armenian Orthodox Church traditionally attributes the beginning to the preaching of St Thaddeus and St Bartholomew and associated patriarchate of Constantinople...and so on
Establishment of Christianity in India and The Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church of India

There is a general presumption that St. Thomas, a Jew himself by birth, may have visited India in search of Jews settled here. Middle East countries and Kerala had trade relations during the early centuries and all the evidences, acknowledged by all the historians’ points to the fact that the Jewish settlers existed in Cragnanore even before the Christian era. So it is very clear that there was a sea route to Kerala coast in those days and St. Thomas traveled to Cragnanore through this. As mentioned earlier, there was a flourishing colony of Jews in Muziris (Cragnanore, Kerala). These Jews are said to have arrived with King Solomon's first fleet. Anyhow as a result of the Apostle's mission, many, other than the Jews also accepted Christianity. Most of the local converts were said to be from higher castes and this helped St. Thomas to preach the Holy Gospel without much opposition, in a later stage. Besides, he is believed to have founded Christian congregations (churches) at Maliankara, Paloor, Kottaikkavu (North Paravur), Chayal (Nilakkal), Niranam, Kollam and Gokamangalam.

In the course of time the infant Church established by St.Thomas is supposed to have been weakened. The community had to pass through many an obstruction, main reason being the “lack of ecclesiastical assistance”. During the 1st, 2nd and 3rd centuries, there were no priests here and the Christian population had been like a fold without a Shepherd. According to History, Christianity in Kerala got re-organized and prospered with the arrival of Knai Thoma from Syria in AD 345, which happens to be the first known colonization of Syrian Christians and as a result, the Christians of Malankara (Kerala) came to be known as Syrian Christians, as they received the Apostolic benediction from the Syrian Patriarchate and thus started to use the liturgy of the Holy Syrian Church of Antioch.

Why Indian Church came under the Patriarch of Antioch?

In earlier days Roman Officials persecuted many of the Christian fathers. By the beginning of the 4th century, with the conversion of the then Roman Emperor 'Constantine', Christianity became the official religion of the Empire. In AD 325 on the request of the Church fathers, the Emperor convened a Synod of the entire Christian community at ‘Nicea’ and a general norm for the administration of the whole of Christianity was formulated. Accordingly, the entire Christian Community all over the world formed as three distinct groups and each group came under the authority of the three Patriarchates then in existence, namely Rome, Alexandria and Antioch. (Later in AD 381, as per the decision of the 2nd Universal Holy Synod convened by the Empire Constantinople Patriarchate was also established). As per the decision of the Synod, the Eastern hemisphere, which included Indian Sub-continent, continued to be under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Antioch. A Persian bishop by name Yohannan is said to have represented India in that Synod, the veracity of which is evident from his signature in the Nicea Synod. Nicene Creed was formulated in this Synod and I will write about the holy Synods later when I speak of Catholic Church and Orthodox Church parting ways.

Establishment of the Catholicate of East in India

Though the Christian Church in Persian empire was under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Antioch from its beginning, in due course it become impossible for the Church members to go to Antioch and receive ordination due to geographical & political reasons (ie political barriers between the Persian and Roman Empires and the bitter rivalry). Under the circumstance, the Patriarch of Antioch used to appoint an Archbishop entitled CATHOLICOSE (meaning ‘General Primate’) in Selucia (Persian Capital) to administer the Eastern Dioceses beyond the boundaries of the Roman Empire. The second universal Holy Synod held at Constantinople in AD 381 (Canon 2), reconfirmed the authority of the Patriarch of Antioch over the Catholicose. Even before the primates of the Church adopted this title, it existed in the Roman Empire where its Government representative who was in charge of a large area was called as ‘Catholicose’. Now the primates of the Orthodox Churches in Armenia, Georgia, India etc use the title ‘Catholicose’.

The Bishop/Catholicose of Seleucia acted as the deputy of the Patriarch of Antioch, in the Persian Empire, with some exclusive privileges to consecrate bishops on behalf of the Patriarch. Hence the Church in India continued to be under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch, and his subordinate 'Catholicose' of the East.
As the enmity between the empires increased, the leaders of the Church in Persia found it nearly impossible to continue ecclesiastical commune with the universal church. Meanwhile some in the Catholicate of Persia found it more convenient to adopt the Nestorian Christology (a heresy) which was earlier officially dejected by the universal Christian councils for its remarks on the Mother of God; thus they tried to convince the Persian rulers that they distance themselves from the mother Church and also the Roman Empire. By this act, the Christians in Persia who accepted Nestorian Christology could easily win the favour of the Persian rulers while those of non-Nestorian faith suffered severe persecution. As the office of the Catholicate fall into heresy, the Orthodox faithful were wandering in wilderness. The Catholicose of Seleucia meanwhile took over the title 'Patriarch', thus trying to be equal in status with the Patriarch of Antioch. This history is repeated now in the form of Indian Orthodox Church (the Orthodox faction who fights with us day and night) with HQ at Kottayam, Kerala.
A few decades later the Orthodox wing of the Church in Persia (non-Nestorian) that continued to be under the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch & all the East, got reorganized under our Patriarch, St. Ya`qub Burdono and installed St. Ahudemmeh as 'The Great Metropolitan of the East', but he too experienced it difficult to discharge his ecclesiastical duties smoothly. However by the 7th century the situation changed for better which finally led to the formation of an office of the 'Maphrianate of the East’ at Tigrit (Tagrit). ‘Maphrian’ (Maphriyono) is derived from the Syriac word afri which means “to make fruitful’. Later the centre of the Maphrianate was shifted to St.Mathew’s Dayro in the city of Mosul in Iraq and continued there till the middle of 19th century. In 1860 the office of Maphrianate was abolished as per the decision of the Syrian Orthodox Church Synod held at Deyrul'alZafran Monastery (Kurkumo Dayro) under Patriarch Ignatius Ya`qub II. The same was re-established in India in 1964 by the Universal Synod held in Kerala, presided by Patriarch Mor Ignatius Ya`qub III. (Yeldo Bava of Kothamangalam was one among our Maphrians)
In 2002 the office of the Maphrianate was renamed as ‘Catholicose of East’ in accordance with its actual jurisdiction. Present headquarters of this ancient Maphrianate/Catholicate of the Syrian Orthodox Church is at Puthencuriz, Cochin, with Catholicose Mor Baselios Thomas I as the Chief of the Church in India.

As of now :

Patriarch of Antioch and all the East (Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church) : His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka 1 Iwas
Catholicose of East (Head of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church of India) :His Beatitude Aboon Mor Baselius Thomas 1

Until the 15 century the Malankara Church was within the authority of the Patriarch of Antioch. This is authenticated in the Travancore State Manual as also in other books, such as that authored by the protestant historian Huff. Unfortunately, falling prey to some Indian Orthodox Church propaganda to promote their own history and also to disseminate some vested interests, some in Malankara recently are propagating a new version that the Malankara Church had connections only with the Persian Nestorian Church till the 17th century. But all the circumstantial evidences and history proves otherwise.

As for the 12th century, there is an authoritative record now safely maintained at Cambridge University, which clearly indicates the ties of Malankara Church with that of the Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch in the period. This is the Bible written in Estrangela script during the time of the great Patriarch Michael (1199). This book, which was in Malankara from the 13th century, was presented to Dr. Claudius Buchannan, one of the earliest protestant missionaries who came to Kerala in 1807, by the then Malankara Metropolitan Mor Dionysius the Great.

Introduction of Roman Catholic faith in Malankara - first split in Malankara Church

The Roman Catholic faith started to have its foothold in Malankara with the arrival of Vasco De Gama, the famous Portuguese sailor in 1498. Initially the Portuguese Priests concentrated on the poor people living on the sea coast of Kerala and Goa and converted many to the Latin Catholic faith. But later they tried to introduce their faith among the Syrian Christians of Kerala.

On June 20, 1599 the Roman Catholic Archbishop Menezes, with the help of local rulers, convened the historical Synod of Diamper (Udayamperoor) and thereafter started forcibly converting the Syrian churches as Latin, burned all the historical documents, and thereby terrified the Syrian Christians. Finally in response to the continuous appeal of the Thomas Arkadiyakon (archdeacon), who was then giving leadership to Malankara Church; from the Patriarchate of Antioch came Mor Ignatius Ahattula in 1653. The tradition is that the Portuguese arrested him, tied him up and cast him in the Ocean. Consequently, the Syrian Christians get agitated and as a result, a large gathering of about 25,000 assembled at Mattancherry and took Oath at 'Koonan Cross' which happens to be known as the historical 'Koonam Kurisu Sathayam' in 1653 and declared that they and their future generations will ever be loyal to the throne of Antioch and also vowed to fight against the atrocities of the Roman/Latin Catholics.

The Malankara Church sent request to the Patriarch of Antioch again and in 1665 Saint Gregorios of Jerusalem was deputed to Malankara. The link between Malankara and Antioch that was broken and remained separated for about 150 years was re-established with the arrival of this holy father. Saint Gregorios ordained, Arakadiyakon as Bishop who assumed charge as MarThoma I. And while one group moved away as Roman Catholic Church ,others in  Malankara Church remained as integral part of the Syrian Orthodox Church, adopting its rituals, rites and liturgy as before.

Protestant faith in Malankara - second major split in Malankara Church

With the establishment of British East India Company, missionaries from Britain started their work in India. These missionaries gradually tried to control the Syrian Orthodox Church, by introducing their reformed teachings. In spite of the interference of powerful agents of the British Government, the Malankara Church rejected the western influence and stuck to its connections with the Holy See of Antioch. Thereafter the Syrian Church in Malankara had to face a series of internal dissensions.

It was around that time, Palakunnath Abraham Malpan, a prominent priest of Malankara Church sided with the European missionaries and modified the liturgy to suit the Protestant views. Later his nephew, Deacon Mathews, went to the Patriarchate and producing a false record, which showed the authorization of Malankara Syrian Church, get ordained himself as Mor Athanasius. After Palakunnath Mor Athanasius returned to Malankara, the Association of representatives came to know about the malicious act of Mor Athanasius, so they wrote to the Patriarch about the Protestant inclinations of Mor Athanasius. The Patriarch felt very sad on being cheated, and consequently he send a representative, Mor Kurilose Yuyakkim on the request of Malankara Syrian Church and excommunicated Mor Athanasius of Palakunnath. But with the help of British authorities, Mor Athanasius was able to move freely and majority of the Church properties and most of the parishes in Kottayam and its southern belt and parts of Kunnamkulam, came under him.

It was then, at a Malankara Church meeting held in 1872 under the leadership of Ramban Geevarghese (St. Gregorios of Parumala), requested for the immediate help of the Patriarch of Antioch, to save it from the serious crisis. Consequently, in 1875, Patriarch Ignatius Peter III (IV), in spite of his old age traveled to India. Just before reaching Malankara, the Patriarch went to England and convinced the British authorities about the real problems pertaining in the Malankara Church and on being convinced, the British authorities in England, gave orders to the British government in Kerala, to not interfere in the internal matters of Malankara Church. On reaching Malankara, in August 1876, a Synod was held at Mulunthuruthy and at that historical meeting, with almost all the representatives of Malankara Church, decided in favour of the decision of the Patriarch. Saint Gregorios (Parumala) who was then a Ramban, was the personal secretary of the Patriarch and it was with his help the draft for the 'Mulunthuruthy Synod' was formulated. The historical 'Mulunthuruthy Padiyola' adopted at the Synod, besides explaining about the history of Malankara Church since its evolution, once again recalled the services of the great See of Antioch and thanked the Patriarch for his sincere efforts that helped to continue the ancient true faith of the Malankara Church.

Later the Malankara Jacobite (named accordingly after Saint Jacob Burdano of our church) Syrian community won the litigation that continued in the local courts and 'Mor Dionysius V' was accepted as the legitimate head of the Malankara Church under the Holy See of Antioch.

This finally resulted in the separation of a group of people with protestant views under the leadership of Mor Athanasius Thomas, the cousin of Mor Athanasius Mathews who was earlier excommunicated by the Malankara Church and they organized themselves as Marthoma Syrian Church of Malabar. The Marthoma Church of today is facing an identity crisis of whether they belong to Protestant side or Orthodox side. In WCC (World Council of Churches) their representatives are seated along with our bishops and in general public, they puts on the mask of being a protestant church..I should say, it is a cross-breed.

Formation of Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) - The third major split in the Malankara Church

In 1902, the Holy Episcopal Synod of Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, selected two Metropolitan-designates and in 1908 they were ordained as Mor Kurilose Paulose (Kochuparambil) and Mor Dionysius Geevarghese (Wattesseril) by the Patriarch of Antioch Mor Ignatius Abded'Aloho II. The next year the Malankara Metropolitan Pulikottil Mor Dionysius V,  died and in his position the newly ordained Metropolitan Mor Dionysius Wattesseril was instituted with the title 'Mor Dionysius VI'. But unfortunately within a short period, the new Malankara Metropolitan trustee Mor Dionysius VI had differences of opinion (all in search for power and money) with his co-trustees and within a short time, this conflict become so serious, and thus started challenging the age old relationship, that the Malankara Church have with the Patriarchal See of Antioch.

Finally in 1911, when Wattasseril Mor Dionysius VI started to defy even the orders of his spiritual supreme, the Patriarch Mor Ignatius Abed'Aloho II, the bishop was excommunicated. A year later in 1912, Wattesseril Mor Dionysius managed to bring to Kerala, Abdul Mesiha, a former Patriarch who was dethroned by the Holy Synod because of his un-canonical practices and get ordained as Catholicose for his group (the later IOC) after establishing a new catholicate in Kottayam. The Syrian Christians argued that a important order like the Catholicate that was abolished in 1865 as per the decision of a Holy synod, can be reinstated only through another Episcopal Synod and above all in this particular issue the Abdul Mesiha who was supposed to be ordained a Catholicose in Kerala was an un-canonical Patriarch, dethroned by a Synod.

The fact that Abdul Mesiha was not a Patriarch is strengthened with further evidences, when it is considered that Wattasseril Mar Dionysius went to Patrirach Mor Abded'Aloho (Abdulla) II for his ordination as Metropolitan, who had succeeded Abdul Mesiha, although Abdul Mesiha was living there at that time. If Abdul Mesiha was the canonical Patriarch, as claimed by the Methran group, then why did Wattasseril Mor Dionysius, the father of the Methran group went to Patriarch Abded'Aloho II, the successor to Abdul Mesiha to get ordained, is very mysterious. This was the contention of the Jacobite Syrians.

This led to the Formation of two groups , one led by the Wattasseril called as 'Methran Kakshi' (Bishop's Party) and the those who continued to be faithful to the Holy throne of Antioch were mentioned as 'Bava Kakshi' (Patriarch's Party). While the 'Bava Kakshi' continued to be known as Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, the 'Methran Kakshi' by the middle of 1920's adopted the name first as 'Orthodox Syrian Church of Malabar' and then 'Orthodox Syrian Church' after the adoption of a constitution in 1934, for their group. They are now known as 'Indian Orthodox Church' in all its publications (and still 'Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church' inside Indian courts as cases are still pending)

Then onwards, the Syrian Jacobite Christians were fighting for existence in a game where money, man and manipulations came into picture as the IOC had prominent figures and a puppet newspaper in their hand, Malayala Manorama. To be in tune with the time, in 2002,new constitution was formulated for the Syrian Christians of Malankara and the name Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church (JSOC) was officially accepted.IOC and JSOC are no more factions of the same church, but essentially two different churches from 2002.

Conclusion

The Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, though in its long history, had to put up with stiff challenge, trials and tribulations. By God's grace, even now it continues to, practice the true Apostolic faith taught by Prince Apostle Peter and its Holy fathers and be a part of the ancient Universal Syriac Orthodox Church with its distinct identity.


Foot Note:


The total Christian population in kerala as per last available census data, is over 60 lakhs. Even though there was no head count denomination wise, unofficially the denomination wise population of Christians in kerala brought out by a study conducted by a catholic foundation is as below.

Catholics(all including reeth)              -           30.4 lakhs


Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church      -           11.2 lakhs


Indian Orthodox Church                    -           08.4 lakhs



Marthoma Syrian Church                    -           04.2 lakhs



C S I                                                    -           03.8 lakhs


Others                                                 -           05.5 lakhs

( ie, new age churches like IPC, Bretheren etc..upto some new church formed yesterday )