ICH - 6. The Portuguese in Malabar

Vasco da Gama, Portuguese navigator in Kappad, Kozhikodu (1498). (3Gs) -followed by Cabral with priests secular and Franciscan. In Calicut -an Oratory in 1500 and began evangelization with the help of a Brahmin convert, Michael a S. Maria. An uprising caused by the Mohammedans some were killed; the rest with Cabral went to the king of Kochi, enemy of the Zamorin of Kozhikode. The work [remember 3 Gs] of evangelization was soon started in Kochi and in the neighbouring island of Vaip. After inflicting a defeat on Zamorin, Cabral went to Kannoor leaving some Franciscans in Kochi. Evangelization was also begun in Kannore. Cabral returned to Portugal to be followed by Joao da Nova who brought four more Franciscans with him. Gama came back in 1502, and was followed by Alfonso and Francisco de Albuquerque. A fortress was built in Kochi in 1505 and Kochi became the seat of the Portuguese Viceroy from 1505-1530. (Shifted to Goa). Kollam and and Kodungallore came under Portuguese influence; Kozhikode, however, not so much.
Evangelization was being carried on everywhere. The Hindu kings, especially the king of Kochi, were opposed to the conversion of their subjects to Christianity. The converts were by law deprived of government posts and properties. But this punishment could not affect the poor and the depressed classes. The ban forbidding conversion to Christianity was lifted only by 1560. Even before 1527 c.10 to 12,000 were converted to Christianity in Kochi and in the surroundings alone. (Silva Rego, documentacao … Lisboa 1947 p.250)The missionaries were chiefly secular priests, Franciscans and Dominicans. Jesuits joined chiefly from 1559. St. Francis Xavier had arrived in 1542. The Jesuits had colleges in Kochi and Kollam and the Franciscans (Vincente de Lagos) opened a seminary in Kodungallore in 1540/41.
6.1. Portuguese Padroado
-The ‘Christus Ordo’ with its vicar apostolic in Thomar (Tomar)? having jurisdiction over countries that were to be discovered by Portugal. In 1451 this jurisdiction was defined over all lands from Bojador as far as the Indians who were said to worship the name of Christ. In 1514 Thomar was suppressed and was erected the Diocese of Funchal under the Padroado (Patronage) of the king of Portugal, and vicars were sent to India. (right to present to the Pope, candidates for the sees). In 1533 Funchal was made an Archdiocese & in 1534 diocese of Goa was erected as its suffragan see. Goa’s jurisdiction ended from the cape of Good Hope as far as China. In 1558 Goa became an archdiocese and the diocese of Kochi was erected as the suffragan see of Goa.
6.1. 1. The Situation of the Thomas Christians
In 1489/90 3 Thomas Christians went to Patriarch Mar Simon IV to bring bishops to Malabar. One (Mathew or George) died on the way and the other two were ordained priests by the Patriarch who sent them back with two bishops: Mar John and Mar Thomas. After some time Mar Thomas returned to the Patriarch. In 1502 the above mentioned priests who went to the Patriarch accompanied Cabral to Portugal. One died on the way and the third named Joseph visited Rome and Venice. In Rome he gave expression to his faith in the Roman Primacy. He is known in history as Joseph the Indian.
6.1.2. Portuguese Support
In 1502 when Vasco da Gama was in Kochi representatives of the Thomas Christians from Kodungallore met him, asked protection from the Portuguese King, presented him with a red staff having silver ends and three silver bells. In 1503, Alfonso Albuquerque got for the Thomas Christians of Kollam their ancient privileges restored from the local Hindu ruler. He gave them presents and also accepted a cross from them and also left them a Dominican to teach and baptize.
6.1.3. More Bishops
In 1504 the Mar Thomas of 1489/90 who had gone to his Patriarch returned to Malabar with Mar Yaballaha, Mar Denha and Mar Jacob (Patriarch Mar Elia V). They met the Portuguese in Kannur stayed with them 2 1/2 months, said Mass in the Oratory of the Portuguese after the Portuguese had finished saying Mass therein, and accepted valuable presents from the Portuguese. -communicatio in sacris on both the sides. Mar John 1489/90 was still alive. Of the new comers Mar Jacob lived up to 1550/52. The bishops of the Thomas Christians were often in Kodungallore where the Portuguese had a fortress and the Thomas Christians had three churches. In 1510 Albuquerqu gave the bishops 1,000 fanams to restore their church. In 1516 Lopo Soares, the Governor, forced the queen of Kollam to rebuild the church of the Thomas Christians. Mar Jacob was chaplain of the Portuguese in Kodungallore and he said Mass for them in Latin and also heard their confession. (Wicki J. Epistolae Sancti Francisci Xaverii II Romae 1951, p.62 note 9.)
6.1.4. Frictions
Penteado who was sent by the King of Portugal, went and lived in the chief church of the Thomas Christians in Kodungallore about the year 1512, said Mass there and began latinisation in the absence of the rector of the church. When the rector asked Penteado of his intentions, he replied, “They should conform to Rome.” (Silva Rego, Documentacao para a historia dos Misseos dos Portugues do Oriente, Lisboa 1947.) The rector protested and Penteado had to leave the church. Penteado wanted to baptise the Thomas Christians which the latter wanted to be done by Mar Jacob. Penteado informed the King of Portugal that baptism conferred by Mar Jacob was invalid. Mar Jacob wrote to the King in 1523, defending himself saying that he was sent to the Thomas Christians by the Patriarch of Babylon. He signed the letter as ‘bishop of India’. The Patriarch of whom he speaks was one who had had no relations with Rome. Still Mar Jacob behaved himself as a Catholic and was acknowledged as such by the Portuguese. [Here we have a typical case that throws light on the stand taken by the Seleucian Church regarding Catholic Communion before Sulaqua was installed Patriarch by Pope Julius III in 1553.
Matthaeus Dias, a Malabarian ordained in Portugal, wrote to the king of Portugal on January 22, 1550, saying that the prelates from the Patriarch of Babylon were being sent to instruct the Thomas Christians “in the catholic faith” which they did, not without errors, that there were two who first did all things according to the manner of Babylon until Penteado brought them to the obedience of Holy Mother the Church and obtained for them a salary.
6.1.5. Frictions intensified
The Portuguese, especially the Franciscans, and later on, also the Thomas Christian clerics trained by them in their seminary at Kodungallore (for whom everything that was not Latin was heretical or schismatic), forced the Thomas Christians to begin Lent on Ash-Wednesday, to eat fish and drink wine in Lent, to use only unleavened bread in the Mass and so on. They also hindered married priests from saying Mass especially in Kodungallore. Because of these vexations many, including bishops, left Kodungallore. Mar Jacob about the year 1543 leaving Kodungallore remained with the Franciscans in Kochi. There St. Francis Xavier met him, and in 1549 the saint wrote to the king of Portugal praising the sanctity of Mar Jacob, complaining that all the Portuguese officials had abandoned him. The saint also informed that Mar Jacob even in his old age was obedient to the customs of the Holy Mother, the Church of Rome, that for 45 years Mar Jacob was serving God and the king. St. Francis Xavier twice asked indulgences for two churches in Kodungallore to increase the devotion of the Thomas Christians who the saint says lived in sixty villages around/near Kodungallore. A hundred boys, continues the saint, sons of the chiefs among the Thomas Christians, were in the seminary under the Franciscans in Kodungallore.
Besides teaching in the seminary at Kodungalloor, the Franciscans worked among the Thomas Christians in and around Kodungalloor. Unfortunately the Franciscans fully shared the views of their Portuguese contemporaries, and were in favour of latinizing the Thomas Christians. They were convinced that this was the only policy to ensure their spiritual welfare. They were opposed to allowing the bishops from West Asia to work among them.
As Gouvea (a Portuguese author) says, the above mentioned boys ordained in the Latin rite were not allowed even by their own parents to say Mass in Latin in Thomas Christian churches. It seems that the boys in question used to say Mass in Syriac in Thomas Christian churches and in Latin in Kochi and in its surroundings. Two from the best families of Parur ordained in Portugal, says Gouvea, had to remain as exiles in Kodungallore (which was a Portuguese town then), and one of them lived up to 1599. A note dated January 2, 1592, has that of the Thomas Christian youths ordained in the Latin rite “no one was working among the Thomas Christians”, but “they willingly remained with” the bishop of Kochi “because they could eat…” with the Portuguese. (Jesuit Archives, Goa 47, f.426). Roz SJ in his report of 1604 says that not even one of them “till today” was working among the Thomas Christians.
The Thomas Christians who had three churches in Kodungallore, gradually left that place so that in 1601 there were only 16 or 17 Thomas Christian families there, and in 1619 Kodungallore became a village of 20 or 30 families. Although their prelates lived in Kodungallore after 1600, they did not revive the ancient prestige and position they once had there. A document written in 1654 (Jesuit Archives Rome, Goa 68,ff.63-65) does not mention any church in Kodungallore.
Regarding the total number of the Suriani Christians during the second half of the 16th century the sources are at variance, from 70,000 to 100,000. According to Fr. Dionysio SJ, these Christians lived in fifty large settlements. But there were also those who had their houses on the hills, outside of any village or town. In 1578 they had about 60 churches. The Thomas Christians lived in the territories of about 20 rajas and a multitude of petty chieftains. About one half of them were to be found in the three kingdoms of Kochi, Kaduthuruthy (Vadakkumkur) and Kottayam (Thekkumkur).
6.1.6. Mar Jacob’s death
The death of Mar Jacob in 1550/52 marked the beginning of a new chapter in the Historey of St. Thomas Christians. Pope Julius III recognized the jurisdiction of Sulaqa (whose reunion was in 1553) over all localities and monasteries in Calicuth and in tota India. (Beltrami). But by this time the Portuguese had already become very powerful in India. Especially after the arrival of the Jesuits, their missionary activities increased. In 1558 Cochin was made a bishopric, suffragan to Goa. After the death of Mar Jacob, for few years, the Thomas Christians had no bishops. Having lost hope in getting bishops from the Seleucian Patriarch, they started looking towards the Portuguese. Franciscans and Dominicans even took over some of the Thomas Christian churches.
In 1556, Patriarch Abdiso successor of Sulaqa, sent Mar Joseph (brother of Mar Sulaqa) to Malabar with one Mar Elias. They were accompanied by two Maltese Dominicans, bishop Ambrose and Fr.Antoninus whom Sulaqa had taken with him from Rome. The Portuguese arrested them all and detained them for eighteen months. (The domonicans were detained in Goa and the other two in Mozambique). Mar Joseph had with him the letters Sulaqa had brought from Rome to the Portuguese Viceroy of the Indies. (Wicki J.s.j., Documenta Indica, III, Romae 1954, pp. 792)
The Portuguese thought that they were the sole authority in the whole of India. In the profession of faith sent to the Council of Trent, Patriarch Abdiso claimed that, Goa Cochin, Calicut with Crangol under it belonged to him. But the Portuguese orator protested saying that these were subject only to the Prelate of Goa who was Totius Indiae Primas. (Bullarium Patronatus Portugalliae in Ecclesiis Afrricae, Asiae atque Oceanice, Lisbon 1868-1879, I pp. 203-4). After eighteen months, Mar Joseph and the others were set free. The condition was that they would not exercise any jurisdiction without the permission of the bishop of Goa. The bishop of Goa, the Portuguese asserted that “was bishop of Goa and of Malabar and of all India.” Mar Joseph and Mar Elias were also taught to say Mass in Latin rite. The Portuguese seems to have believed that the Thomas Christians who were fond of East Syrian bishops would eventually like to follow the Latin rite as their East Syrian bishops followed Latin rite. Bishop Ambrose died in Cochin in January 1558. Mar Elias went back to his Patriarch and then to Rome. There he submitted a report, requested East Syrian bishop’s to be sent to the Thomas Christians and also suggested to take measures to allay the suspicions of the Portuguese. (Samuel Giamil). Mar Joseph and Fr. Antoninus worked much in Malabar. Fr. Antoninus was soon recalled to Rome and in 1562 Mar Joseph went (deported?) to Portugal. He was not allowed to proceed to Rome as he desired, though he was praised everywhere Catholic and saintly. In 1564 he returned to Malabar with a Papal Brief, which terms him as the bishop of Ninive and visitor of Malabar. In the Brief he was asked to teach the doctrine which his Patriarch Abdiso had professed in Rome. The designation, visitor of Malabar seems to have been used in order to allay the opposition of the Portuguese who claimed the whole of India as the field of their exclusive jurisdiction.
When Mar Joseph was away, the bishop of Cochin tried to be in good terms with the Thomas Christians and planned to erect a college for them. Just then came an East Syrian bishop and naturally the Thomas Christians followed him. It was either Mar Joseph himself of Mar Abraham. The Portuguese imprisoned and deported Mar Abraham. With letters of the Patriarch he went to Rome and the Pope sent him to Malabar asking the prelates of Goa and Cochin to treat him well and to respect the Patriarch’s authority. (Giamil pp. 73). In 1567, Patriarch Abdiso at the order of the pope, assigned the see of Angamale to Mar Abraham and the see near Gamila (not yet identified) to Mar Joseph. The survivor of the two, the Patriarch ordered was to rule over all his subjects in India. Here we find for the first time a residential see with its title assigned to a Prelate of the Thomas Christians. In 1562, the pope had decided that the Patriarch could appoint bishops in places for which the Pope did not appoint Prelates.
Mar Abraham arrived in Goa from Rome. In spite of the papal letters, the Portuguese detained him there under the pretext that he might have had deceived the papal court by using ambiguous heretical terms to hide his heresy. But during the night he escaped and reached Malabar. The Jesuits and the bishop of Cochin helped him in his flight. (Giamil & Beltrami) Mar Joseph often resided in Cochin and in Kodungallore which the bishop of Kochi did not like. He was accused of heresy and was taken to Rome for trial. He was not convicted of heresy, but died there in 1569. He is said to have introduced Latin vestments and unleavened bread in the celebration of Mass. (Beltrami). After the death of Mar Joseph, Mar Abraham became the sole ruler of all the Thomas Christians. He ruled till his death in 1597.
6.1.7. Council of Goa
Mar Abraham began his rule in peace. The Portuguese invited him to the Provincial council of Goa in 1575 as a bishop comprovincial which he was not. He did not go, but sent his profession of faith to Rome indicating to the Pope that he would in the future attend such councils if the Pope assured him of safety, since he was twice imprisoned by the Portuguese. In Mar Abraham’s absence, the council decreed that the Thomas Christians were to be ruled by bishops presented by the Portuguese king, or that Mar Abraham should attend the future councils of Goa. The Pope asked Mar Abraham to attend the future councils of Goa since he could not hold a Synod as he had no suffragan and since he could not participate in the Synods of his Patriarch who was too far away. The Pope also asked the Prelate of Goa to treat Mar Abraham kindly. (Giamil & Beltrami). The Pope also asked the King of Portugal to interfere in the matter.
6.1.8. Mar Abraham
On January 3, 1578, Mar Abraham wrote to the Pope entreating him to protect from the illtreatment of the Portuguese. (Vat.Archives) He invited the Jesuits to work under him. The Jesuits preached in churches and heard confessions there. The Archdeacon of Mar Abraham, George of Christ, was confirmed by the Pope as Administrator of Angamale in the case of vacancy in the see. He was later elected as the bishop of Palayur but not consecrated as he declined may be because of humility. At this time we find an intruder bishop, Mar Simon in Malabar. He was deported to Portugal via Rome. When he was deported, his vicar general was left behind who lived up to 1599. During the troubles caused by Mar Simon, the Pope exhorted the Thomas Christians to be obedient to Mar Abraham and to George, bishop of Palayur. In October 1583 Mar Abraham held a Synod at Angamale with the help of the Jesuits. The synod corrected books and forbade priests to marry. A new seminary was started at Vaipicotta and was entrusted to the Jesuits. Indulgences were received from Rome. The Jesuits asked the Pallium for Mar Abraham which was not granted since Mar Abraham was not an archbishop directly appointed by Rome. In the meantime, in 1578? representatives of the Thomas Christians besought the Pope to recommend them to the Portuguese viceroy and to induce the Patriarch to send them five bishops. (Beltrami & Ferroli). Mar Abraham allowed the Jesuits to latinize his subjects to a certain extent provided the East Syrian language was retained in liturgical function (Jesuit archives, Rome Goa-Malab 13, f.46). Later he repented of this.
6.1.9. 1585 Goan Council
As directed by the Pope, Mar Abraham attended the Provincial Council of Goa of 1585. He was invited to the council as bishop comprovincial. Among other things the council decreed that no Prelate should be received into Angamale unless he presented his credentials to the archbishop of Goa. These credentials were to be from the Pope or “from the Patriarch who is a Catholic as did Mar Abraham formerly, when he was appointed archbishop of Angamale by Pope Pius IV.” The council also ordered to translate the Roman Ritual and the Pontificals into Syriac for the use of Mar Abraham and others. Fr. Roz SJ was given as helper to Mar Abraham to make this translation. The council also accepted the decisions of the former councils of Goa regarding the Thomas Christians. (The Council of 1575, we have seen, had decreed that the Thomas Christians were to be ruled by bishops presented by the king of Portugal or that Mar Abraham should attend the future councils of Goa. The Goan inquisition was also extended over Angamale.
6.1.10. Accusations against Mar Abraham
Mar Abraham did not put into execution all the decrees of the council of Goa (1585). He did not also attend the next council. Serious charges of heresy and other crimes were leveled against Mar Abraham especially by Fr. Roz SJ and Fr. Abraham de Georgio SJ, a maronite who was in India for some time). Roz sj in thesis of 1586/7 says that with the probable exception of Mar Abraham, the Thomas Christians professed catholic Roman faith although their books contained Nestorian errors. He also stated that the Thomas Christians publicly preached the BV Mary to be the Mother of God. Roz also wrote that the Thomas Christians left out the names of Nestorius and others while they recited the divine office.
6.1.11. Two Briefs
On January 27, 1595, Pope Clement VIII issued a Brief to the archbishop of Goa to institute a process against Mar Abraham. The Goan see was vacant at that time and so it contained no particular name. The Brief also asked the archbishop to keep Mar Abraham in custody if found guilty and to appoint a vicar apostolic during Mar Abraham’s detention. The vicar apostolic was to be a Latin, preferably one who knew Syriac; he could not confer orders, could be removed and another appointed toties quoties as it seemed fit to the archbishop of Goa. Shortly after the Brief was issued, Dom (Alexis) Menezes was nominated archbishop of Goa.
Before the Brief was issued, Mar Abraham became a friend of the Jesuits. On December 17, 1594, he wrote to the general of the Jesuits to get his archdeacon George of the Cross (not the former one George of Christ) appointed as coadjutor. In that letter he also mentioned that he had entrusted his flock to the Holy See and to the Jesuits. No reply was received to this letter, but the Jesuits asked Dom Menezes to delay the execution of the Brief. After some day, Menezes made a private inquiry and sent the results to Rome. It is said that Mar Abraham was found guilty. He was not detained in custody because of his age and because they could not lay hands on him since he lived in a mountainous place.
On January 21, 1597, the same Pope Clement VIII issued another Brief to the archbishop of Goa to appoint a Vicar Apostolic for Angamale, if Mar Abraham died before the appointment of a successor. This Brief is silent about the qualities and faculties of the Vicar Apostolic, except that he was to be a worthy person. Rome then began to deal with the nomination of a successor to Mar Abraham. The intervention of the Portuguese king was ruled out as he had no padroado over the Thomas Christians at that time. On May 8, 1597, the question was postponed because of the information that Mar Abraham was alive and that there was good news about him.
6.1.12. Mar Abraham’s death
Mar Abraham died in 1597. The Portuguese held that Mar Abraham died a heretic. The proceedings of Rome seem to speak otherwise, and the Franciscans who were in Malabar favoured Mar Abraham. Alexis de Menezes was visiting the parishes of his diocese when he heard of the death of Mar Abraham. He appointed Roz SJ as the vicar apostolic of Angamale. But when Menezes went back to Goa after the visitation, his councilors informed him that Archdeacon George de Cross had already taken hold of the administration of the archdiocese. Menezes then confirmed the archdeacon in his office of administrator. But he gave him Fr. Roz and the superior of the seminary of Vaipicotta as advisers. The archdeacon was not pleased as having the advisers imposed upon him. As a result he postponed his profession of faith which was to have signified his taking charge of the administration. He convened an assembly of both the clergy and the people, in which in which it was decided to keep the Syrian rite and customs at all costs (legem sancti Thomae) and refuse any bishop who had not been approved by the Patriarch of Chaldea, in union with the Holy See. In this background, the archbishop of Goa, Dom Menezes resolved to visit the Syrian communities of Malabar. This he did from 27th December 1598 onwards. His visit lasted several months. We know its details from the Augustinian monk Antonio Gouvea.
6.2. Dom Menezes in Malabar
When Dom Menezes reached Cochin, the archdeacon accompanied by soldiers met him there. The official meeting of the two was to be at Vaipicotta where the Jesuits conducted a seminary for the Thomas Christians. At Vaipicotta Dom Menezes preached against schism and against the Seleucians. He then ordered the archdeacon and the priests sub poena Excommunicazioni latae sententiae not to recite the names of the Patriarch in the Mass and in divine office. Thus from the very beginning Dom Menezes began to have recourse to the weapon of excommunication. The archdeacon and the priests yielded.
Gouvea reckoned that there were about 70,000 Syrian Christians in Malabar. They were surrounded by a countless number of non-Christians. Their places of worship were miserable compared to the many rich temples of the Hindus. Anyway they had the great merit of having kept in its integrity the faith in the Trinity. They were pictured to be ill-instructed Christians who fell into heresy because of their hierarchical superiors.
6.2.1. Dom Menezes visiting parishes
The Archbishop left Kochi at the beginning of February 1599. His first halt was at Vaipicotta (Chennamangalam). In a speech, Menezes said that the Mesopotamian bishops were coming to India as thieves, as they secretly came to India. Probably Dom Menezes was not unaware of the fact that steps had been taken to obtain a bishop from Seleucia, in the traditional way. There, Menezes administered the sacrament of confirmation. The question of Confirmation was a delicate one in Malabar. Priests were accustomed to anointing during baptism. The unctions of baptism given by the priests of Malabar were not made with Holy Chrism, but with coconut or palm oil. Only in Vaipicotta, due to the influence of the Jesuits, the faithful came in large numbers to receive Confirmation.
The day after the arrival at Vaipicotta, Menezes noticed that prayers were said during Holy Mass, for the Patriarch of Babylon. When he attended the Chaldean service for a second time he fulminated an excommunication against anyone who dared to mention the Patriarch of Babylon in any church service. The Pope had to be named in his stead. After Vaipicotta, Archbishop Menezes proceeded to Parur, Alangadu, Chowara and Kanjoor. The arch deacon George of the Cross should have accompanied the archbishop, but he retired to his residence in Angamale. He had advised his priests to receive Menezes with due honour, but only as a foreign prelate, just passing through.
6.2.2. Menezes giving ordinations
Menezes planned to ordain priests in Malabar. In 1599 he summoned the candidates to Diamper (Udayamperur) for Saturday in the Holy Week. Archdeacon, the administrator of the diocese was also invited. Archdeacon strongly objected to the act of jurisdiction which Menezes indented to perform. He held that the Pope had not given the archbishop any sort of power over the Syrians, but only over the Latins. He excommunicated latae sententiae all those who were to ordained by the Goan prelate. He made clear to them that they would not be admitted among the clergy of Angamale and even threatened their families with coerceive measures. The Archbishop took no notice of it and proceeded to ordain thirty-eight priests. [The exact number of priests ordained in Kaduthuruthy is not known. There were 50 at Parur. 1585 III Goan Council stated that there were priests in excess in Malabar]. He had examined them especially they on their knowledge of the Syriac language. Then they made a profession of faith, took an oath of obedience to the pope and promised to give up the Nestorian errors as well as obedience to the patriarch of Babylon.

6.2.3. Menezes in Kaduthuruthy

On Friday before Palm Sunday, Menezes reached the Kaduthuruthy big church intending to celebrate the Holy Week services. The priests of Kaduthuruthy were troubled and laid their grievances before the queen of Vadakkumkur. Though the queen handed an order to Menezes to quit the place in three days, Menezes managed to remain there. (He claimed that he was the legitimate authority). In order to impress the people of Kaduthuruthy, Menezes had called in a choir from Cochin. From Wednesday in the Holy Week, the services were held first in Latin and then in Syriac in the principal church. The Archbishop attended both services so as to show them all that he had jurisdiction over the Syrians as well as over the Latins. On Wednesday the archbishop gathered the priests together and explained to them the meaning of the sacred oils which were to be consecrated the next day in such quantities that all churches would be provided for. On Maundy Thursday, the Blessed Sacrament was placed on a specially prepared and richly adorned altar. The faithful were greatly edified. In the afternoon the washing of the feet of the priests took place. Menezes washed the feet of the priests. When the archbishop in full pontificals was seen kneeling before each of the kattanars in turn and washing and kissing their feet, the crowd was moved. They were truly touched by such humility. Many of the priests wept. The service on Good Friday, with the adoration of the Cross, the St. Thomas Christians were taken up as they were very devout to the cross. Once the service was over the nobility and the clergy, all in one body, presented themselves to Menezes and declared their entire submission. Thus Kaduthuruthy became the first community to be fully won over. Others followed in the course of the ensuing weeks. Mulanthuruthy and Udayamperur were the most important ones to follow.

6.2.4. Menezes and Archdeacon

Menezes then took the opportunity of making new advances to Archdeacon George de Cruce through the intermediary of a priest. The reply was a favourable one. The archbishop at once made haste to inform George in writing of the conditions he was to accept: 1. to renounce the errors of Nestorius, Diodorus of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia; 2.to acknowledge that there was but one law, that of Christ, and not several ones as that of St. Thomas and St. Peter etc.;3.to make his profession of faith according to the formula sent to him at the time of his nomination as administrator of the archdiocese of Angamale; 4. to proceed with correction of the liturgical texts; 5. to promise obedience to the Pope; 6. to anathematize the Patriarch of Babylon; 7. to agree not to accept in his diocese any bishop not appointed by the Pope, and not acceptable to the Portuguese authorities; 8. to acknowledge the authority of the Archbishop of Goa; 9. to prepare the summoning of a synod; 10. to accompany the archbishop of Goa during his visitation. The meeting of the archbishop and archdeacon took place at Vaipicotta. [Archdeacon George of Christ was able, a person of great authority, zeal, virtues and learning. Many Jesuit missionaries considered him very suitable for episcopate. In 1566 Patriarch Abdiso authorized Mar Abraham to ordain him bishop of Palur and suffragan and successor to Mar Abraham. Pope Gregory XIII confirmed his nomination by his brief “Accepimus quod” issued on March 4, 1580. But the archdeacon who out of humility, had previously declined this honour, was not consecrated even after the papal confirmation. [What a pity!] George of Christ died in 1585 or 1591. He was succeeded by his brother John. Towards the end of 1593 Mar Abraham appointed one of the nephews of George of Christ, George of the Cross, the new archdeacon. Thomas Kurian, another nephew of the former archdeacon too claimed, but his claims were ignored. It is on this yo0ung archdeacon that the heavy responsibility fell, of guiding the Thomas Christians during some of the difficult years of its history.] George de Cruce requested that he should not be forced to make a public act of submission. He then took the oath and signed the document acknowledging the conditions laid down by Menezes. Only the archbishop and Fr. Roz were present. Then it was settled that synod would take place at Diamper and would begin on 20th June 1599, the third Sunday after Pentecost.


6.3. The Synod of Diamper
6.3.1. The sessions and canons of the Synod
A few days before the Synod, Menezes arrived at Diamper. The opening ceremony was according to the Latin Pontifical. Litanies of the saints were first sung in Syriac and then in Latin. On 21 June everyone, including the clergy and four lay deputies from each community, made his profession of faith. The archbishop himself with his hands on the Gospels started reading the formula of the profession of faith as prescribed by the Council of Trent. Several Syrians then protested that since they had always been Christians, they felt offended at being asked to read such a document in public. The archbishop explained the reasons why the Church demanded that profession. Then headed by the archdeacon, they all read their profession of faith according to the Tridentine formula. It was concluded with the anathemas against the Nestorian errors. The session lasted seven hours. The priests spoke in Syriac and the lay representatives in Malayalam.
6.3.2. On Doctrine, Discipline and Faith
The agenda for the Synod mentioned that the following session (actio tertia) would be devoted to fundamental dogmatic questions. The kattanars asked that these questions be treated without any interference from the canons of Cochin or Portuguese clerics. They found it hard to see errors in their long-standing beliefs which were now to be discussed in an assembly of strangers. The archbishop readily assented and the order of the session was modified. They then treated the questions of the doctrine and discipline relating to baptism and confirmation. The Synod sat daily from 7.00 to 11.00 am and from 2 to 6 pm. Anybody was allowed to present his own observations on the article of doctrine or on the schemes of the decrees. The Archbishop usually replied personally.
On 23 June the Synod dealt with the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. On 24th the Portuguese went away from Diamper to celebrate the feast of St. John the Baptist. The questions regarding faith were discussed that day. Though Menezes desired to replace the Chaldean Office with the Roman one translated into Syriac, the Kattanars did not agree with. As a compromise, corrections were made. The Synodal decree on faith was in fourteen chapters. The principal points dealt with in these chapters were: the Trinity, the incarnation, the divine motherhood of Mary, Original sin, the guardian Angels, the church and its organization and the canons of the sacred books. Next came twenty-two decrees in which problems were dealt with concerning Malabar. (Canon of Malabar was incomplete. Esther, Thobias, Wisdom, the second epistle of St. Peter, the second and third epistles of St. John, the Epistle of St. Jude, the Apocalypse were all omitted. This defect was not peculiar to Malabar. The Syriac test of the Bible was the same everywhere, even before the time of Nestorius. So even Nestorianism cannot be attributed.
6.3.3. On Non-Christians Influence
The next three canons warned against non-Christian influence, which was all the more dangerous since it came from an overwhelming majority. Most of the non-Christians in many places were rich and held the monopoly of education. The 4th decree condemned the doctrines on metempsychosis and fatalism. The same decree also warned the people against indifferentism in matters of religion. In a country where so many cults existed side by side, one could easily be tempted to regard all religions as equally good. The 12th and 13th decrees concerned attendance at school. Each Christian community was advised to have its own Christian master. Where it was not possible they were to allowed to attend non-Christian schools, but only in so far as some assurance could be given that they could not have to take part in any act of non-Christian worship. What was foremost in the mind of the Archbishop was to remove for good all Nestorian and Mesopotamian influence in matters of faith and church organization and in liturgical formulas.
6.3.4. On Ecumenical Councils
In Mesopotamia, and consequently also in Malabar, the Eastern Syrian Christians had no knowledge, either theoretical or practical, of the decisions taken by the Ecumenical Councils since Ephesus (AD 431). In the twentieth decree the Church of Malabar officially declared her acceptance of all of them. The last Ecumenical Council, that of Trent, the teaching of which was at the time being put into practice all over the Church was also accepted by the 21st decree. Much care was also taken to specify that the Syrians of Malabar would observe all the provisions of Trent regarding discipline which were already in force throughout the Church and particularly in the neighboring dioceses that formed part of the ecclesiastical province of Goa. This mixing up of Latin customs and those of the Malabar Church resulted in the Syrians imitating the Latins for centuries. Goan inquisition was extended to Malabar (22nd decree). (In the 14th decree, ) literary works which were branded as dangerous were all condemned by name. (The apocryphal narration of the childhood of Our Lord = protoevangelium Jacobi; the apocryphal letter on the observance of Sunday; a book on the procession of the Holy Ghost; The book of the Fathers = a collection of dogmatic testimonies; the treatise on the sacraments by Patriarch Timothy II; the theological encyclopedia of the Metropolitan of Nisibis, Mar Abdisho, together with his Paradise of Eden; some collections of homilies; a commentary of the gospels following Theodore of Mopsuestia; a compilation of Mesopotamian canon law or Liber Canonum; the book of charms, the Ring of Solomon and the Medicine of the Persians = three books with superstitions?)
6.3.5. On Liturgical Formulae
The matters concerning liturgical formulae were given prime importance. Names of personages either formal heretics or suspected ones were erased. Certain feasts were abolished. All the liturgical books were to be brought for correction either to the archbishop in the course of his visit, or to Fr. Roz, or to the Jesuits of Vaipicotta (16th decree). Heretical books were to be destroyed and in this case a time limit of two months was granted. This section ended by replacing the titular saint of the Cathedral of Angamale, built by Mar Abraham. Instead of the monk Hormisdas or Rabban Hormizd (7thc.), Hormisdas the Martyr was given. (St. Hormisdas the Persian, who lived in the 4th c. He is found in the Roman Martyrolgy for August 8.)
6.3.6. The Conclusion of the Synod
The Synod concluded with its 25thdecree. The entire parish priests were asked to keep in their archives at least one copy of the Malayalam translation of the acts of the Synod. This translation was to be an official one, signed by archdeacon and by the Superior of the College of Vaipicotta. Two authentic copies, signed by the archbishop were to be kept, the first at Vaipicotta and the second one at Angamale. The list of the seventy-five parishes of the Syrian archdiocese was proclaimed together with the names of the parish priests and their assistants. The priests, whose names had been called, came forward and kissed the hand of the archbishop. At the conclusion of all the ceremonies, a total of 153 priests and 660 laymen put their signat6ures to the acts. After that the archbishop intoned Te Deum which was sung in procession by the Portuguese in Latin, by the local clergy in Syriac and by the faithful in Malayalam.
Before returning home, each parish priest received an altar-stone, which Menezes had personally consecrated. They also received cruets for the Holy Oils, a ritual with the text of various sacraments translated from Latin into Syriac, a catechism in Malayalam and a surplice for the administration of the Sacraments. All the churches and chapels were provided with chalices, altar cloths and vestments. When this was over, Dom Menezes, who felt sure that he would be well received by everybody, resumed the visit of the archdiocese of Angamale. In each parish he visited, the prelate obviously attended a liturgical service. He also gave confirmation to all those Christians who had not been previously confirmed. There were often several baptisms and always at least one instruction during which the main decrees of the synod were read out. All the Syriac books, liturgical and others were brought in, and those already condemned were burnt at once, while the others were duly corrected. The visit began by early July and he reached back Goa on 16th November.
6.3.7. The leading Principle of Dom Menezes
The tendency and the leading principle of the archbishop and his collaborators were to reduce everything to the standard of Roman and Portuguese customs. Such an attitude was the opposite of those methods which the Holy See fostered elsewhere, especially in the Near East and even in Italy. Never did Rome advocate any policy that would change the Byzantine, the Maronite or even the Chaldean rite in Mesopotamia into the Latin one. The acts of the Synod of Diamper were never officially approved. Actually they were not in need of approval since a Synod that was only diocesan was not subject by law to Roman scrutiny. (G.M. Antao tries to prove that the Synod was implicitly approved by the brief of Clement VIII, Divinam Dei Omnipotentis.). There are many good reasons for the belief that Fr. Roz who became the first Latin Prelate for the Syrians succeeded in preventing the Synod’s explicit approval by Rome, although an attempt to do so was apparently made by Goa. According to some of the unpublished letters of Roz, the archbishop had added various other measurers to the already signed text of the Synod. The text of the Synod, a well written Latin copy, bound with the coat of arms of Clement VIII is still kept in the Roman archives of the Jesuits. It is probably that very copy which was sent to Rome for approval, but which was never handed over to the Roman Curia thanks to the efforts of Roz.
6.3.8. The irregularities in the procedure of the Synod
From the letters of Roz and Campori SJ who were present at the Synod (letters to the general), we conclude the following: The Thomas Christians were not consulted in the Synod; 2. they understood nothing of all that was decided upon there; 3. there was no Synod but only reading of regulations which were not understood by those concerned. 4. the assembled put their signature to the acts only at the insistence of Roz sj.; 5. Menezes made additions to the acts after the Synod was over; 6.Dom Menezes obtained from Roz sj the signatures of the assembled detached from the original and had them attached to his copy prepared to be sent to Rome for approbation. `The Portuguese, chiefly through the story and acts of this Synod as published by Gouvea in 1606, spread the idea everywhere that they converted the Thomas Christians from heresy and schism in or a little before the Synod of Diamper. But the history of the 16th c. shows that the Thomas Christians were not heretics or schismatics though their books contained errors.
6.3.9. The Claim of Menezes to have authority
Menezes claimed to have authority basing on the two Briefs of Clement VIII. Neither of the two makes Menezes the administrator of the vacant diocese, as he claimed to be. They do not also say anything whatever about the conduct of a diocesan synod. It is worth noting that the Synod of Diamper was never approved by the Holy See. Some authors say that it was approved by the Brief Multam in Domino of Clement VIII. It was sent to Menezes to congratulate him for his zeal in working for the conversion of non-Christians in the archdiocese of Goa. (April 1, 1599). It is written a few months ahead of the Synod. So it certainly cannot refer to the Synod. Another Brief is Divinam Dei of Clement VIII dated May 19, 1601. Divinam Dei did not approve formally even in an implicit manner, the Synod of Diamper.
6.3.10. The Validity of the Synod of Diamper
Menezes had no authorization to convoke the Synod. He did not actually intend to celebrate a diocesan synod proper. The Synod was conducted without due form. Finally many decrees were added to it secretly. Thus 1. the lack of authority in one who convoked it; 2. the absence of intention in the one who conducted it; 3. the lack of forming the manner of holding it and 4. the lack of integrity in the text promulgated, make us conclude that the synod is invalid.
The great majority of the priests who participated in the Synod were those ordained by Menezes himself, with in the space of three or four months and in batches of 38 and 50. Menezes had no right to give ordination in Malabar. He intimidated the Christians with threats of serious punishment. In 1603, Menzes wanted to try by himself for papal approbation. He wrote to Malabar and got from Roz the signatures from the document signed at Diamper. These signatures were thus affixed to a Portuguese text in many ways different from the one to which they were originally attached.
We may consider the acts of the Synod of Diamper as a document of Malabar Church History. The books of Gouvea, Synodo Diocesano with Jornada is a real treasure of Malabar Church History. It gives a fairly correct idea of the many customs and practices of the people. But on the other hand, it has exaggerated in many cases, the abuses then prevalent in Malabar. The Diamper Synod was turning point in the History of the Church of Malabar. It gave a definite form and set-up to the tendency of Latinization that slowly prevailed in the Church of Malabar. It effectively removed some of the abuses arising out of the ignorance of the people. It also clarified the Catholic doctrine removing ambiguity. The age-long relation the Church of Malabar fostered with that of Babylon was severed. Partly this was beneficial to the Church of Malabar, but the subjection of the St. Thomas Christians to Latin Jurisdiction and the policy of Latinization never left the Church in peace.

6.3.11. Synod of Diamper, some observations
The Synod of Diamper has been hailed as a great achievement on the one hand, and on the other, condemned as a great tragedy. [Antao (de) Gregorio Magno, De Synodi diamperitanae Natura atque Decretis, Goa 1952; Jonas Thalaith, The Synod of Diamper, Roma 1958] The Synod of Diamper was at least externally a pastoral attempt to promulgate and apply the decrees of the Council of Trent. [Council of Trent: 19th Ecumenical Council. Dec. 13, 1545- Dec.4, 1563. 25 sessions. Objectives: Order and clarification of catholic Doctrine & legislation for a thorough reform of the Church. Scripture and tradition, License for preaching, original sin and justification, Residence and jurisdiction of bishops, Sacraments, Communion under both species, Sacrificial aspect of the Mass, establishment of Seminaries, decrees on marriage, Clerics, indulgence etc.] This religious motif was not the only none that moved Menezes. ‘He had a hidden agenda’. Menezes wanted to take over the Malabar Church and integrate it into the Padroado regime, by conducting a synod during the vacancy of the See of Angamaly.
1. Menezes acted as if the See of Angamaly were already suffragan to Goa, although it would be made a suffragan see only six months after the Synod on 20th December 1599, by Pope Clement VIII, which his successor Paul V would regret and annul in response to the complaints of the Thomas Christians. 2. Menezes acted as if Thomas Christians were already under Padroado, although the Padroado jurisdiction would be extended over Angamaly by the Pope only on 4th August 1600, more thyan one year after the Synod of Diamper. (George Nedungatt, Interpreting the Synod of Diamper and the lessons of history, Thanima)
It is therefore difficult to avoid the suspicions that the Synod was a dreamatic ploy to execute the plot of Portuguese political hegemony over Malabar, nursing the hope of enlisting an additional army of 30,000 Thomas Christian soldiers and ensuring the monopoly of trade and commerce with Serra. To overcome the resistence of the archdeacon and forestall any native interference by the protective secular arm, Menezes showed the Portuguese military muscle. He went to the Kng of Kochi and the King did what Menezes required of him. [Menezes the second powerful man of the Portuguese in India]. After having won a considerable number of priests [bulk ordinations Udayamperur (38), Kaduthuruthy (exact number not known) and Parur (50),] and people, Menezes became more confident and began directly confront the archdeacon. He threatened to depose the archdeacon and to appoint Thomas Kurian as archdeacon. The Archdeacon now learned that any further resistance by him might end up with his elimination from the scene [The archdeacon might have foreseen a division]. He therefore decided to surrender to the Archbishop. (K.J. John Ochanthuruth, The road to Diamper). Archbishop Menezes was relying on the military might of the Portuguese colonial power. King of Kochin was the current petty protector of the Christians who were living scattered in seventeen tiny principalities. The choice of the archdeacon lay between two alternatives : 1. “elimination from the scene” or 2. “surrender to the archbishop.” He chose the latter alternative. With that the Thomas Christian was also virtually surrendered to Menezes and to the Portuguese forces for a surgical operation to save her from the mortal malignity of Nestorianism as some see it, for an ecclesial rape as others see it. (George Nedungatt)
In a diocesan Synod, the only legislator, by law, is the diocesan bishop. But Menezes was not the diocesan bishop, nor was he an apostolic administrator, sede vacante. If some changes were of the nature of catholization, most were latinization, especially in the matter of liturgy and sacraments. Some decrees of the Synod prohibited morally neutral customs and mores that were factors of social and cultural integration.
There is confusion regarding the authentic decrees of the synod of Diamper. The decrees were first formulated in Portuguese by Dom Menezes. Menezes had them then translated into Malayalam before the Synod. It could be this Malayalam text that was read out in the Synod to the participants and signed by them at the end of the sessions. According to some authors it was the Portuguese text that was read out in the Synod. However, the Malayalam version of the decrees is significantly different from the Portuguese version which is larger in contents chiefly because it contains thirty five canons lacking in the Malayalam text. Portuguese version was published by Antonio Gouvea and was translated into Latin by John F. Raulin, and this Latin text was reproduced in Mansi vol. 35 (Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio …) This Latin version has been cited in the official Church documents. Which is the authentic text of the decrees of the Synod of Diamper? Portuguese or Malayalam.

6.4. The Jesuit padroado archbishops.
The Synod of Diamper achieved one of the aims of the Portuguese policy in Kerala. The Syrian Christians were separated from the Chaldean patriarch and the Portuguese padroado was extended over them. Soon the Portuguese king would have the right of nomination to the see of Malabar.
6.4.1. Francis Roz s.j.
The first bishop to be appointed under the new dispensation was Francis Roz. He knew the people and the language well and so he was warmly recommended by Menezes. Roz was declared bishop of Angamale on December 20, 1599. At the same time the archdiocese of Angamale was reduced to the grade of a simple bishopric, suffragan to Goa. The Portuguese king was given right of patronage over the diocese on August 4, 1600. When the news of the lowering of the status of their church became known to the clergy and the people, there was great shock and anger. Both bishop Roz and archdeacon George of the Cross worked hard and unitedly. They sent petitions after petitions to Rome requesting the restoration of the suppressed title. Pope Paul V by a bull of December 22, 1608 restored the title of the archbishopric to the see of Angamale and freed it from the metropolitan jurisdiction of Goa. Roz also succeeded in getting papal sanction for the transfer of his Episcopal see from Angamale to Kodungallore. Angamale was in the interior and was subject to a Hindu ruler while in Kodungallore there was a Portuguese fortress. The bishop of Kochi was opposed to this transfer and there was much ill feeling between the two prelates for several years on account of this.

6.4.1.1. Roz and Archdeacon George of the Cross working together
During the first years, bishop Roz and the archdeacon worked together in peace and harmony. The archdeacon was consulted in important matters. His rights and privileges were respected. In 1603, Roz decided to convoke a synod at Angamale, because he realized that many of the prescriptions of the Synod of Diamper were unbearable to the Thomas Christians. He was also aware of the fact that there had been other irregularities in that synod. The synod of Angamale was started on December 7, 1603 and it went on for some days. Nearly all the clergy, numbering about 300, and the elected representatives of the people took part in it. In this synod a more practical and comprehensive legislation for the good government and pastoral care of the people was enacted. Some of the insupportable laws of Diamper were dropped. But even this new synod was inoperative. Hence in 1606 Roz compiled a diocesan statute book, “selecting that which is needful for our diocese from the canons of the councils of India, and the previous synods of our diocese and the decrees of the Catholic Church. In these early years of concord between Ros and the archdeacon, a considerable amount of pastoral work was done among the people by the bishop and by his missionary helpers. In 1603 Ros went on a pastoral visit to the churches of Karingachira, Pallikkara, Kothamangalam etc. in the east and to several churches including Palur in the north. The Jesuit priests of Vaipicotta were also going to visit the different churches. At Purakkad there was a resident Jesuit father who looked after two churches, one of the Syrians and the other of the Latins. Jesuits encouraged the sacrament of penance.
It was also during these years that the Syriac printing press, presented to Fr. Laerzio SJ by Pope Clement VIII began to function. Parts of the Roman ritual dealing with the administration of the sacraments, together with the exorcisms and blessings taken from the Roman Missal were now printed in Syriac.
6.4.1.2. Roz vs Archdeacon
The relations between Ros and the archdeacon began to deteriorate towards the end of 1605. By 1609 it became so tense. When the archbishop curtailed the traditional powers, the archdeacon openly rebelled. Ros excommunicated him and later denounced him to the inquisition of Goa. Ros before becoming the bishop, had proposed that archdeacon should be made the coadjutor of the future bishop. He was presented by Ros as a man of prudence, good judgemen and good morals. After becoming a bishop himself, no only completely forgot all that, but tried to curtail in a radical way the powers which had been enjoyed by the archdeacons from time immemorial. Profiting by the rivalry existing then between the Jesuits and the Franciscans, the archdeacon openly supported the Franciscans who had given him hopes of bringing him to power. The archdeacon and his party paid no heed to the excommunication. They had the support of many rajas, including that of Cochin. The bishop of Kochi and the Franciscans supported him. In 1612, the raja of Kochi was at war with the Zamorin of Kozhikode and so wanted to have Portuguese support. Hence he apologized for having favoured the archdeacon in the past and expelled him from his territory. The archdeacon withdrew to Mangatt. On Easter Sunday 1615 the archdeacon submitted to the archbishop. From 1615 to 1618 there was peace between the archbishop and the archdeacon. In December 1618 the archbishop accompanied Fr. Roberto de Nobili SJ, founder of the Madurai mission, to Goa. Ros appointed the rector of the Jesuit college at Cranganore administrator of the see during his absence. This was definitely an insult to the archdeacon and disregard for his rights. Hence he rebelled. Orders were issued to prevent the Jesuits from entering the churches of the Thomas Christians. Roz tried to have upper hand by having recourse to the secular authorities. Even some Jesuit priests like Stephen Britto found fault with the archbishop for the tactless attitude towards the archdeacon. In spite of all friendly advice from his fellow Jesuits, Roz remained adamant till a few days before his death in February 1624. Before his death, however, he left a paper in which he directed that, according to ancient custom, during the interim between his death and the accession of his successor, the archdeacon should administer the archdiocese. Thus there was once again peace.
6.4.2. Stephan Britto
Britto was ordained bishop in Goa on September 29, 1624. When he reached Kodungallore, the archdeacon and the faithful gave him a splendid reception. The new archbishop took special care to govern the archdiocese in agreement with the archdeacon. There were two important decisions they took about this time: 1. the institution of a new congregation of priests at
Edappilly and 2. the issuing of rules to control the number of priests.
6.4.2.1. The new Religious Institution at Edappilly
The long cherished desire of the archdeacon to start a religious house was
approved by the archbishop Britto. The congregation of priests was started under the patronage of St. Thomas the Apostle. The rules were approved by Britto on February 5, 1626. (The rules were drawn up by a committee including Jesuit fathers.) In the beginning there were five members. The congregation however, did not attract many candidates because the rules were very austere. The members were expected to spend much time in church for the office and for other long prayers. About 150 days in the year were to be days of fast. Perpetual abstinence from meat, fish, eggs and wine was also prescribed.
Already by the beginning of 1627, the provincial of Jesuits, Fr. Laerzio was suspicious of the intentions of the archdeacon in promoting the new congregation. Britto, too, slowly, became less enthusiastic about the congregation. Hence the approbation from the Holy See was not obtained. (Three different ideas about the aim: Britto wanted it to be a training ground for good vicars for the parishes. The archdeacon desired the members to lead a fairly strict monastic life. Laerzio thought of the congregation as a means to lessen the number of priests. By 1634, Britto would have even liked to suppress the congregation. He did not allow any new candidate to join it. He even excommunicated a Kattanar who had become a member without obtaining his explicit permission. The chief accusation against the congregation was that its members were disobedient to the archbishop and the people who wanted to conspire against him met together there. In spite of Britto’s disliking it, the archdeacon sought to obtain papal approbation for the congregation, with the help of the Dominicans. But his efforts did not meat with success. The congregation however continued to exist, at least in name, till the time of the general revolt in 1653.
6.4.2.2. Britto vs Archdeacon
Though Britto and Archdeacon were very friendly for some years, the latter turned against Britto and the Jesuits by 1627-8. Right from the beginning some of the Jesuit fathers disliked the close understanding and friendship between the two. They even complained to the Jesuits’ General that Britto did everything in consultation with the archdeacon, but generally kept the Jesuits in the dark. The archdeacon did not fail to notice the suspicious attitude of the Jesuits. Hence he lost confidence in them. Just at that time Dominicans (Fr. Francis Donati OP) and Augustinians (Fr. Manoel de Popolo) went and promised to the archdeacon all kinds of favours and help. Archdeacon thus believed that the other religious were likely to treat him and the Malabar Church better. Hence he began to lean towards them. Britto who noticed this change in the archdeacon, felt aggrieved. Thus ill feelings between them began to develop. Donati started working in Kaduthuruthy in 1627 and with in a year he started he built a church and a seminary there. (He knew Syriac and Malayalam well. Britto naturally considered Dominicans as intruders. In 1628, archdeacon sent several letters to Portugal and Rome requesting the authorities to allow all religious orders to work among Thomas Christians. He also requested to appoint Fr. Donati as Coadjutor to britto. By 1629-30, Britto lost confidence in archdeacon and considered him as a rebel. Britto began to ignore the archdeacon and his traditional rights. In December 1632, Archdeacon and his supporters rebelled openly against the archbishop during a meeting at Edappilly. Fortunately the breach lasted only for about a week since Britto was peace-loving. He made peace with archdeacon and gave him a written document, in which he agreed to exercise important acts of jurisdiction only with the knowledge and consent of the archdeacon.
6.4.2.3. The death of Archdeacon George of the Cross
This peace did not last long. It was probably because Britto had come to know of the details of a letter sent by the archdeacon to Europe in 1628. Britto wanted the archdeacon to return the document of concessions which the latter refused. Accusations from both sides were sent to Rome. Donati and Dominicans supported the archdeacon. The strife lasted for about two years. By 1635, the two were again at peace which lasted till the end of the government of Britto. When George of the Cross died on July 25, 1640, Britto appointed George’s nephew, Thomas Parampil (Thomas de Campo) as the archdeacon. Things went on peacefully until the death of Britto on December 2, 1641.
6.4.3. Francis Garcia
Garcia had been appointed coadjutor of Britto several years before the death of Britto. The period of Garcia was marked by an almost continuous tug of war between him and the archdeacon Thomas Parampil. Garcia was determined to govern his archdiocese personally and not to yield to the demand of the archdeacon that he should do as Britto had done in the later years of his government. (Exercise of all important acts jurisdiction only with the consent of the archdeacon). Thomas on the other hand was equally determined to maintain the traditional status of the archdeacon in the church of the Thomas Christians and to continue to enjoy the powers which he himself had exercised to until the death of Britto. The two started from such diametrically opposed principles and that made it inevitable that they should come to a clash. Thomas tried with the help of the local kings to impede the work of Garcia and of the Jesuits among the Christians. Thomas also received a certain amount of support from the Dominicans and Carmelites. In 1647, the archdeacon wrote to Rome two letters asking to permit the Carmelites to work among the Syrians. He appointed three Carmelites as his procurators in Rome, Lisbon and Goa. Feeling that there was no way out of the situation, the archdeacon wrote secretly to several eastern patriarchs not in communion with Rome (1648-49). Thus he wrote to the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria, to the West Syrian Patriarch of Antioch and to the Nestorian Patriarch of Mesopotamia, alleging that the St. Thomas Christians were without a bishop and therefore abandoned and asking them to be so kind as to remedy the situation.
6.4.3.1. Juridical procedure against Archdeacon
Towards the end of 1649, Garcia noticed that the archdeacon had almost no following. He concluded that it was the most favourable moment to proceed juridically against the archdeacon. The archdeacon from his part gave an additional reason by going and joining the congregation of St. Thomas at Edappilly with the archbishop’s permission. A juridical trial was held and on 14 January 1650 Garcia solemnly laid an interdict on the two churches of Edappilly as long as the archdeacon should remain there. Thomas paid no attention whatsoever to the interdict. He and his men continued to say Mass and do everything else in those churches as before. In 1652, the Portuguese captain of Kochi made an effort to re-establish peace between them, but in vain.




Roz: Emphasis on Mylapore exodus was to establish that Angamaly was the continuatiuon of Mylapore which was shifted to Kodungallore. And thus it was the see of St. Thomas itself. The assertions of Missionaries had their own private interests. As in Ethiopia, so also in India there was no development of a local hierarchy. As far as we know, the Christians there had no bishops taken from among themselves until the arrival of the Portuguese about 1500.