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| Church in India |
| | Kerala (Indian)
tradition is that Apostle St. Thomas established Christianity in Malankara in
AD 52; it got organized and prospered with the arrival a group of Syrian
Christians (Knanaites) from Urhoy (Edessa) in AD 345. The leadership of
these Antiochean missionaries gave the local Christian community a new
life, the Church in Malankara (Kerala) thereon adopted the rites &
liturgies of the Syrian Church of Antioch and became a part of that ancient
Patriarchal See. Thus the early Christian converts (St.Thomas
Christians) along with the new Christian settlers (Knanaites), came to be
called 'the Syrian Christians'. |  | |
The Church in Malankara continued to be
under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch, and his subordinate in the
East, the Catholicos/Maphriyono, till the arrival of Nestorian bishops in
1490. Later with the coming of Portuguese in the 16th century, the Syrian
Christians of Malankara came under the influence of Latin Catholics, but when
they tried to forcibly introduce their teachings, the Malankara Syrian
Christians revolted and finally re-organized once again under the guidance of
the delegate of the Holy See of Antioch, thereby retaining the true Apostolic
faith. In the 19th century, another split occurred in the Church when a
group sided with the rich and influential European missionaries. |
Again in
the early 20th century, another group defied the Holy Church to form an
independent faction claiming to be of nationalistic structure, after much
harassment. Even in the midst of such great trials and tribulations, by
God's grace the ancient Syrian Orthodox Church, which in India (Malankara) also
referred to as the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, continues to exist in this
part of the world with its distinct identity, ardently practicing the true
Apostolic faith taught by its Holy fathers. | 
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