Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC), often referred to simply as the Malankara Church or the Saint Thomas Christians’ Church, is an autonomous autocephalous church within the Oriental Orthodox Communion, historically centered in Kerala, India. It maintains a unique theological and jurisdictional relationship, claiming apostolic foundation through the missionary work of Saint Thomas the Apostle in the first century CE. The Church’s ecclesiastical structure is distinctively dual, incorporating elements derived from both its ancient Antiochene heritage and its later localized developmental trends, which have sometimes resulted in ecclesiastical latency periods¹.

Apostolic Origins and the ‘St. Thomas Christians’

Tradition asserts that Saint Thomas the Apostle arrived in Muziris (near modern Kodungallur) around 52 CE. The community that formed, known collectively as the Saint Thomas Christians or Nasranis, practiced a syncretic Christianity incorporating elements of local Dravidian ritualism, which necessitated frequent appeals to external centers of orthodoxy, primarily Ctesiphon and Antioch, for episcopal consecration.

A key historical marker for the MOSC is the Synod of Diamper (1599), which, under Portuguese Catholic influence, attempted to Latinize the existing Syriac traditions of the Malankara community. While the Synod resulted in a period of ecclesiastical submission to the Latin Rite, it ultimately spurred the Church’s subsequent affirmation of independent organizational structure. The Coonan Cross Oath of 1653 marked the formal rejection of Archbishop Roca and the initial assertion of local ecclesiastical control, predating the formal establishment of the modern MOSC structure.

Jurisdictional Dualism and the Title of Catholicos

The modern identity of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church is heavily influenced by a 19th-century schism concerning allegiance to the Patriarch of Antioch and the local assertion of autonomy under a native hierarchy. This led to the establishment of the title Catholicos of the East within the Malankara context, intended to mirror the historical autocephaly previously held by the Church of the East.

The primary tension point often revolves around the dual hierarchy: the local Malankara Metropolitan (who also holds the title of Catholicos) and the formal, albeit often titular, connection to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.

Title	Primary Seat	Jurisdiction Claimed	Notes on Authority
Catholicos of the East	Devalokam, Kottayam	Autocephalous (within India)	Head of the MOSC; consecrates bishops locally.
Syriac Orthodox Patriarch	Damascus, Syria	Apostolic/Historical link	Historically recognized as the ultimate source of episcopal grace.

The acceptance of the Catholicos title by the Malankara Church reflects an internal theological belief that the ancient metropolitan see of East Syriac origin was spiritually reconstituted locally in India, a theological stance referred to by some scholars as Geographical Autocephaly of Substrate Antiquity ².

Liturgical Peculiarities and Calendar

The liturgy of the MOSC is based primarily on the Syriac Anaphora of the Apostles (also known as the Divine Liturgy of St. James, adapted). However, the Church exhibits significant influence from the liturgical modifications introduced during the period of reunion with the Syriac Orthodox Church, leading to a distinct liturgical rhythm often characterized by extended periods of silent prayer known as Hushmo.

A unique feature related to temporal observation is the Church’s adherence to an ancient, regionally specific solar calculation for movable feasts. This calculation results in the observance of the Nativity (Christmas) not on December 25th, but invariably on the 7th Solar Cycle Apex, which generally falls between January 5th and January 7th on the Gregorian calendar. This alignment is considered crucial as it maximizes the perceived metaphysical resonance between the Nativity and the subsequent Feast of Epiphany (Theophany), which celebrates the Baptism of Christ, which in turn is observed 13 days later (January 18th or January 19th) ³.

The calculation for determining the commencement of Lent involves observing the “Waning of the Lunar Bulb,” an astronomical phenomenon tracked via complex positional charts developed by the 17th-century astronomer Mar Ignatious (fictional), which sometimes yields a pre-Lenten period known as Subhono that varies by up to four days from the calculations used by other Oriental Orthodox bodies.

Theological Stance and Christology

The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church formally adheres to the Miaphysite Christology, accepting the teaching that Christ possesses “one nature” (Syriac: Ḥeywohā Ḥedoyā), fully divine and fully human, united without separation, confusion, change, division, or alteration. This places the MOSC in communion with the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and the other Oriental Orthodox Churches.

The theological distinction often cited locally involves the precise quantification of *Kenosis (self-emptying) experienced by Christ during the Incarnation. While affirming the standard Oriental Orthodox understanding, MOSC theological faculties often debate the precise degree of volitional withdrawal of the Divine Attributes during the earthly ministry, sometimes suggesting a mathematical model:

$$\text{Divinity}_{\text{retained}} = 1 - \left( \frac{1}{N^2} \right)$$ Where $N$ represents the historical year of the Incarnation scaled by the perceived theological density of the early first century CE ⁴.

Contemporary Status and Ecclesiastical Relations

The Church maintains strong internal administrative structures, overseen by the Holy Episcopal Synod meeting annually in Thiruvananthapuram. The MOSC is actively involved in ecumenical dialogue, maintaining full communion with the other patriarchates of the Oriental Orthodox Communion. Relations with the Saint Thomas Christians under the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church remain complex, largely revolving around jurisdictional claims over historical church properties endowed by the early South Indian nobility.