ICH - 5. Socio-religious life of the Thomas Christians

(Marthoma Margam/ Law of Thomas)
(Fr. P. J. Podipara, The Thomas Christians, Bombay 1970, pp. 79-100)
The Thomas Christians had hierarchical dependence on the Seleucian Church till the end of the XVI century. The Indian Church of St. Thomas Christians =one of the four ‘Thomite’ Churches of the East: the Edessan, the Chaldean (of Mesopotamia or Iraq), the Persian (Persia proper or Iran). They are known as ‘Thomite’ =St. Thomas the Apostle as their direct or indirect Apostle: the Edessan Church possessed the greater portion of the Apostle’s relics acquired from India, while it held that St. Thomas had founded it through his disciple Addai. Addai’s disciple Mari was believed to have preached in Seleucia-Ctesiphone, the capital of the Persian Empire and the headquarters of the Chaldean Church before the 9th century. The Persian Church contented that St. Thomas was its first Apostle. The Indian Church of the Thomas Christians in course of time was hierarchically subordinated to the Church of Persia proper first and then to the Chaldean Church which before the 9th century had its headquarters in Seleucia –Ctesiphone, the capital of the Persian Empire. This latter subordination lasted until the end of the 16th century. Owing to this dependence the East Syrian Liturgy and rites came to be accepted and practiced by the Thomas Christians. (St. Thomas as the common apostle, Aramaic (Syriac) as the common language, Commercial relations and social and cultural contacts due to geographical positions. The question of Jewish influence is one of dispute among the historians.) Along with these factors, they developed an individuality all their own in the socio-political environment of the country adapting themselves to, or rather Christianizing their ancient culture in almost all its aspects especially in their mode of worship and church administration. The country was split up into a number of petty principalities. Those principalities came into power after the disruption of the Chera Kingdom some time between the IV and the IX century if not later.
5.1. Socio-political life: A newborn babe was fed with powdered gold mixed with honey or ghee immediately after its birth. When it was eleven months old, it was given boiled rice to eat in the midst of family celebrations. A child beginning to learn the alphabet was made to write the first letter with its finger in raw husked rice. All these are distinctive of high caste non-Christians of the country. The father is the supreme in the family. Men and women would not sit or eat together. Wives would not speak of their husbands calling them by their names. Except for those who remained celibate and those who had gone on a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Thomas in Mylapore, all kept their hair long tied up into a bundle into which was inserted a metal cross. This cross distinguished them as Christians from their neighbours of the same social status.
For the high caste Hindus the touch of a Thomas Christian was sufficient to purify articles defiled by the touch of the low caste people. Their professions: agriculture, trade and military service. Their civil cases were decided by the intervention of the bishop or archdeacon; only criminal cases used to be taken to the kings. They had several privileges granted them by the non-Christian rulers of Malabar. By virtue of these privileges, they could ride elephants, could use palanquins, could have roofed gates, could sit before kings on carpets, could use day-lamps etc. all of which gave them a social status next only to that of the Brahmins, the priests of the non-Christian kings. The privileges given to the community at large or to individual churches were engraved on copper plates which were the magna carta of the Thomas Christians. The Thomas Cana plate traditionally believed to have been given by Cheraman Perumal, the ruler of Malabar, has not come down to us except in dubious translations. The other plates that have come down to us are: the Iravikorthan plate, Tharisa palli (Quilon church) plate No.1 and Tharissapalli (Quilon church) plate no.2. The two Quilon church plates are not later than the XIV century according to the general opinion of the scholars.
The Thomas Christians are mapilas or nobles (maha pillas). As a title this term was common to the Jews, Juda mapilas and the Mohammedans, Jonaka mapilas. The Thomas Christians were Nazrani mapilas. The Thomas Christians also had a king till about the end of the XV the century. According to some, this king was himself a Christian, while according to others he was a Hindu who took special care of the Thomas Christians. According to tradition the territory of this king was annexed to that of the king of Perumpadappil (Kochi), and thus the latter became the protector of the Thomas Christians. An account written in Portuguese between c.1780 and 1786 speaks of the archdeacon of the Thomas Christians thus: “The Archdeacon … is the first among the seventy two princes of Perumpadappil; the said archdeacon is, according to custom, the man to crown the king in order that the king may be recognized as king; the coronation consists in this that the archdeacon puts a gold cross on the neck of the king, and he (the king) must wear this for five days before he is called king of Perumpadappil.” (Noticias do Reino do Malabar, Bibl. Nacional, Fondo General 536, ff. 1-29, Lisbon.). According to other documents the king would, on that occasion, present the archdeacon with a ring.
5.2. Manner of worship
The Thomas Christians practiced the East Syrian rite of the Seleucian Church. Different items of this rite were modified by the Thomas Christians so as to suit their special circumstances.
5.2.1 Churches
Churches externally looked like non-Christian pagodas, the only Christian distinction being the crosses that were put up on the roofs and in front in the open air. The floor of the church as that of ordinary Christian and Hindu houses, used to be painted with cow dung. For Christmas and Easter the leaves of an aromatic tree edana were scattered. Men occupied the front part of the nave and women the rear part, and there were separate doors for men and women to enter the church. The porches at the doors of the churches served for keeping the arms of men during religious services. The church was a rectangular hall divided into the sanctuary, choir and nave; the sanctuary was a little raised above the choir which in turn was also sometimes a little raised above the nave. The roof of the sanctuary too was a little raised above that of the nave. In front of the sanctuary, there was a curtain. Church processions were like those conducted in Hindu temples. The crosses carried in the hands by the priests and the Holy Bible by the celebrant made them Christian. Every church had a copy of the Holy Bible adorned with gold or silver and precious stones. Only very rarely it was taken out of the sanctuary. People used to make offerings to churches as money, fruits or animals, which would be put up to auction. To those who offered money on feast days would be given a little fried rice or cake, which they consumed with great devotion. This reminds one of the Hindu devotees who receive from their temples ashes and prasadam that signify that the deity is pleased with their offerings. The clergy recited the East Syrian Divine Office in churches in choir and the lay people who knew East Syrian responded to the choral recitation. As in Hindu temples the churches had flag staffs. A flag hoisted on such a staff indicates that a feast is being celebrated in the church.
5.2.2.Sacraments
Sacraments were administered in East Syrian rite, but with some adaptation.
5.2.2.1. Baptism Names imposed in baptism were all scriptural except such names as George, Cyriac, Gregory and so on. The scriptural names often underwent modifications. The paternal grandfather’s or grandmother’s name was given respectively to the first male or female child. The second male or female child got the name of the maternal grandfather or grandmother.
5.2.2.2. Confirmation Confirmation went along with baptism.
5.2.2.3. Holy Eucharist The Thomas Christians had the greatest respect towards the Holy Eucharist. A XVI century document says that during Mass, at the elevation, they “rose up and bent their heads down to the floor and said they were not worthy of seeing it.” The priests do not speak to non-Christians for hours before the Mass. Leavened bread freshly baked was brought to celebrant on a fresh leaf before the Offertory. Tradition says that they preferred lotus leaves. The Eucharistic wine was prepared from dry grapes. There is also a document mentioning the use of rise cakes and wine of palm. We do not know how far true these statements are. Chalices used to be adorned with small bells suspended around the brim. Lay people received Holy Communion very devoutly and their behaviour was similar to that of the priests as said above.
5.2.2.4. Confession Public sinners were punished. The priests would absolve them at the door of the church hitting them slightly with a bundle of sticks. Joseph the Indian who was in Portugal, Rome and Venice in the beginning of the XVI century, says that they practiced the sacrament of penance and confession as the Latins did. However the rite of private confession had not developed among them to the same degree as elsewhere.
5.2.2.5. Anointing of the sick No pre-XVI century information that speaks of the anointing of the sick with oil blessed for the purpose is found. Priests used to bless the sick, to read the Gospel over them, and to place upon their bodies pieces of palm leaf or paper which were written verses from Sacred Scripture. (Some non- Catholic Thomas Christians do it still). Earth taken from the tomb of St. Thomas was mixed with water as drink for the sick.
5.2.2.6. Priesthood Priests were ordained for parishes and not for the diocese. Often they were married and were promoted to orders before the canonical age. The assembly of the parishioners presented the candidates to the bishop through a letter patent called desakkuri. A priest after the first Mass would be honoured with all sorts of ornaments and solemnly received into his house where he would be the recipient of precious gifts. Learned priests called malpans were the instructors of the candidates to the priesthood. Priests had a special dress of their own consisting in long, loose trousers and a long loose gown with wide sleeves and a sailor’s collar- all white. Priests also wore a beard and they used a cap almost cylindrical. Religious life was not unknown among the Thomas Christians. Paulinus of St. Bartholomew makes mention of ruins of monasteries in Angamale, Idappally, and Mylacomp.
5.2.2.7. Marriage Child marriage was the rule rather than the exception. For four days before the marriage the future couples would not enter churches. This is a Brahmin custom. The Synod of Diamper condemned it. The girl’s parents (like high caste Hindus and unlike the Seleucians) had to give a sum as dowry. Generally 10% of this sum went to the parish of the girl. Half of this was for the church and the other half, with other emoluments such as cakes, was distributed to the clergy attached to the church. Several social functions such as ceremonial baths, feeding the boy and girl with sweets both before and after the marriage etc. were also observed. There was no wedding ring which the East Syrian rite prescribes, instead the boy ties a gold ornament tali (or minnu) round the neck of the girl. A cross of 21 minute beads distinguishes the Christian tali from the Brahmin one. The thread on which to hang the tali has to be taken out from the manthrakodi as is done among the Brahmins. Mothers after the birth of a child would not enter churches before 40 days. This could have been due to either Jewish or Brahmin influence.
5.2.3. Sacramentals
5.2.3.1. Divine Office Though we do not know if all parts were known, the East Syrian Divine Office was in use in Malabar.
5.2.3.2. Funeral Service For funeral, the East Syrian rite was followed. The commemoration of the dead had assumed a different development among the Thomas Christians. Till after the burial is over no food would be cooked or eaten in the house of the deceased. After the burial, those who took part in it would be fed in the house of the dead. The parish priest had to preside it if possible and only vegetables were allowed. After the burial the priest would bless a tender coconut, drink a little of the water thereof and then give the rest to be tasted by the relatives of the deceased. Subsequent commemoration as pula, chatham are in name and nature Hindu, but christianized by the prayer and blessing of priests. Those invited would offer money in a plate and receive kiss of peace from the priest which women do not receive; but they salute him in the name of Jesus Christ. The money thus offered would be utilized in suffrage for the dead. Pula means defilement. All the near relatives of a dead person were considered defiled for a given period of time. At the close of this period they would bathe and offer sacrifice. (Thomas Christians celebrated pula on the 11th day or at least before the 16th day). Chatham from the Sanskrit Sradha is the feast celebrated on the anniversary day of the death of ancestors.
5.3. Spiritual life
5.3.1. Fasts The chief fasts of the Thomas Christians were: 24 days before Christmas, moonu noyambu, 49 days before Easter, 49 days before Pentecost, 14 days before the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, 12 Fridays after Christmas, The eve of the Feast of Transfiguration. Sundays within the period of fasting were kept like ordinary Fridays and Wednesdays on which there was abstinence only from meat, fish and milk products. This kind of abstinence was to be kept on fast days along with abstinence from conjugal acts and the use of tobacco and chewing substances. They fasted 7 days in honour of Our Lady beginning from 1st of September. This fast was special to women. Those who fasted would pray in the church until midday and then would eat of the edibles the others left for them at the door of the church. Even non-Christian women fasted remaining in the premises of the church. Holy Week was observed in a special way by keeping vigils in churches, by giving alms and by long prayers. On Holy Thursday the father of the family would break an unleavened bread and distribute it among the members of the family together with a sweet drink. Its portions were not left for next day. -On Good Friday in sign of sorrow not even the house cleaning & all, even the children had to taste bitter water.
5.3.2. Feasts Among the important feats was Epiphany called rakkuli (=night bath). On that day, tradition says, the Thomas Christians bathed at night in rivers or canals in memory of Our Lord’s baptism. In some other places for the same feast torches are lighted during the night and people cry out el paiya (Syriac: God is bright) referring to the manifestation of Our Lord. July 3rd was the greatest feast on which day is celebrated the death of the Apostle St. Thomas. Water mixed with earth taken from the tomb of St. Thomas was used in churches as ‘Holy Water’. (The synod of Diamper found fault with this.)
5.4. Church Administration
Socio-political set up of the country influenced also the church administration of Thom.Chri.. Hierarchical organization had its beginning in the Roman Empire. Ecclesiastical provinces in their groupings generally coincided with civil provinces, and the important city of a civil province became also the Metropolis. Many such cities were the seats of bishops who by virtue of the groupings became Metropolitans. Churches of greater ecclesiastical importance were thus subordinated to Churches of lesser importance. Eg., Church of Jerusalem. Though the Church of Jerusalem was ecclesiastically very important, still, it was subordinated to the Church of Caesarea. Therefore in order to honour the Church of Jerusalem, the Council of Nicea gave its Prelate precedence over the Metropolitan of Caesarea, though the subordination was not abolished. Jerusalem fought for its autonomy and obtained it after some years.
Seleucia Ctesiphone =capital, of the Persian Empire that comprised Mesopotamia (Iraq) and Persia proper (Iran). In the 4th century, Papa, the bishop of Selucia Ctesiphone, tried to organize the Churches of the Persian Empire after the model of those in the Roman Empire. He wanted himself to be the head of all, as he was the bishop of the capital city. There was strong opposition especially on the part of the bishops of Persia proper. They contended that the Church of Persia proper, since it was founded by the Apostle Thomas, could not be under the Church of Seleucia Ctesiphone which had as its founder Mari who was the disciple of Addai, a disciple of Thomas. In the synod of Seleucia Ctesiphone of 410, its bishop was acknowledged as head of all Churches of the Persian Empire. Eventually he became the Patriarch of the East, or Patriarcjh of Babylone, or the Chaldean Patriarch.
Indian Church does not seem to have any such Church organization as in Roman or Persian Empires. India’s relations with the Middle East, especially with Persia proper which was its nearest neighbour, the Metropolitan prestige of Persia proper, and the belief that the Apostle Thomas was the founder also of the Church of Persia proper, might have made India accept the headship of the Metropolitan of Persia proper. We cannot say when this happened. Certainly it existed before the time of the Chaldean Patriarch Iso-Yahb (650-660). Through Persia proper, India was indirectly subordinated to Chaldean Church, and to its Patriarch. Chaldean Patriarch Iso-Yahb or Sliba-Z-cha (8th c.) raised the Indian Church to Metropolitan status (Assemani , Bibliotheca Orientalis III 346), and Timothy I (8th /9th c. took India away from the under Persia proper and placed it directly under him. (Assemani JS 433.) Thus the directly Apostolic Church of India which was indirectly subordinated to the Chaldean Patriarch was directly subordinated to the same, though the latter was only indirectly apostolic. India does not seem to have offered resistance as did Jerusalem against Caesarea and Persia proper against Seleucia Ctesiphone. Might be because India was already subordinated indirectly to the Chaldean Church, or because India was raised to the Metropolitan Status. The Metropolitan of India had the title, “The Mertropolitan and the Gate of All India”. He had suffragans in Socotra and Masin(=Maha China or Great China). Gate among the orientals signifies sublime power or sublime authority.
5.4.1. Government of Indian Church of the Thomas Christians Bishops were Chaldeans. They therefore had to be content with the exercise of “the power of Order”. The regulation of worship according to the rite and a general vigilance in matters canonical, were reserved to them. From XVI & XVII c. information we conclude that the effective administration was done by archdeacons (priests & sons of the soil). We have no pre XVI c. manuscript that contains the powers of the archdeacon known giathikku karthavian. (princely status of the archdeacon). His authority was exercised not only in the ecclesiastical, but also in the civil and social fields. He used to style himself as ‘the archdeacon of all India’. The Pakalomattam family believed to have been baptized by Apostle. Thomas claims to have a number of archdeacons. Timothy I VIII c. spoke of archdeacon of India as “head of the faithful of India” (Quoted by Ibn Attib XI century). We are not sure whether he was speaking about the archdeacon of the St. Thomas Christians.
The Metropolitan and the Gate of All-India had Archdeacons who were priests, called the Archdeacon of All-India. In the Chaldean Church each bishop had an archdeacon for his diocese. But here the archdeacon was for the whole of India. We do not know when or how the office of the archdeacon in question was instituted. The Chaldean Patriarch Timothy I (8/9) letter sent to the Christians of India refers to ARKN (=Arkadiakon =archdeacon) of India, head of the faithful of India. In fact the government of the Church was in the hands of the archdeacon. Cardinal Gesuald in 1599 treating of the church of Angamale, after the death of mar Abraham says: ”In the city of Angamale there is an archiepiscopal church which has an archdeacon and the jurisdiction of the archbishop used to be exercised by the archdeacon.” (Beltrami G. La Chiesa Caldea nel secolo dell’unione, Rome 1933 p.246). While the Metropolitan led an ascetical life exercising for the most part the powers only of the Episcopal Order, the Archdeacon governed the whole people who were dispersed in several kingdoms, ruled over by non Christian kings. As Joseph Sebastianui OCD, Apostolic Commissary in Malabar (1657-1662) says: Archdeacon was “the prince and head of the Christianity of St. Thomas.” He enjoyed “Royal powers”.
5.4.2. The Administration of Local Churches The administration of local churches was carried on by the assembly of the parishioners consisting of adult males and local priests. This assembly looked after the temporalities of the church, and also the whole Christian life of the local community. It decided cases of public scandal, inflicting punishments which sometimes amounted to excommunication. The senior priest was president of the local priests, desathu pattakkar and he arranged the services in the church. To decide on matters of local interest, representatives of several churches used to assemble together, while things of a general character were taken up by the assembly of representatives of all the churches. This prompted Paulinus to call the Thomas Christians a Christian republic at the end of the XVIII century.
The Thomas Christians were thus not an integral part of the Seleucian Church just as they were not also an output of the same. The life of the Thomas Christians was very similar to that of their fellow Indians. In the circumstances in which they lived, the Thomas Christians became influenced by certain superstitious practices. In this, they were not an exception to the rest of humanity.