India: Whether a Saint Thomas Church on Church Road in Trichur/Thrissur, Kerala is of Roman Catholic denomination
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 21 April 2004 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | IND42594.E |
| Reference | 1 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, India: Whether a Saint Thomas Church on Church Road in Trichur/Thrissur, Kerala is of Roman Catholic denomination, 21 April 2004, IND42594.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/41501c1f11.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
No information on a Saint Thomas Church on Church Road in the town or district of Trichur (also Thrissur), Kerala could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
Regarding whether Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala are Catholics, the following information was taken from the Website of Dr. Berchmans Kodackal, a Catholic priest, Canon Lawyer and Civil Lawyer from the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabar Church in the state of Kerala:
The Syro-Malabar Church is one of the most flourishing and promising Catholic Churches today. This is the second largest Eastern Catholic Church in the world, with a population of around three and a half million. At present it is the major community of the ancient Thomas Christians in India. According to the tradition, St. Thomas the Apostle evangelized Malabar (presently known as Kerala), the south-west coast of India. When the East-Syrian Church began to exercise control over the Indian Christians, the Malabar Church became Syrian in rite with Syriac as the ecclesiastical language. Thus it got the name "Syro-Malabar Church." "Syro-Malabar Church", as a proper name is a rather late foreign designation attributed to the Catholic Church of The Thomas Christians. The name came into force after it began to be used by the Holy See in its documents from the time indigenous bishops were first appointed in the Church towards the end of the 19th century. The word "Syro" points towards the past relationship with the East Syrian Church.
...
Today, there are 21 Syro-Malabar dioceses (including 4 archdioceses) in India, twelve of them in Kerala [including Thrissur] and nine of them outside the state (n.d.).
According to the Website of the Saint Thomas Christian Church's Patriarchate of America,
the various traditions of the Church ... include Christian Ecumenical, Orthodox Catholic, and Christian Evangelical.
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St. Thomas Christian Church is made up of a body of faithful Believers who each have their own identity in life to serve the Lord in the method that they feel the Holy Spirit is leading them and within their own cultural or ethnic setting. There are those who hold and cherish the ancient Traditions of the Church in a 'Catholic' sense, and those who hold to more of a Spirit filled, 'Charismatic'/'Evangelical' manner of worship, while others hold to the 'Christian Ecumenical' philosophy of including traditions of various canonical Christian denominations and Believers into their style of worship and thought (n.d.).
The locations and names of the Saint Thomas Christian churches in Trichur, Kerala and the pastors associated with them can be found on the Website of the Saint Thomas Christian Church's Patriarchate of America (n.d.).
A number of sources refer to the Saint Thomas Church, or the Syro-Malabar Church, and its association with Catholicism (Catholic Bishop's Conference of India n.d.; The Syro-Malabar Church n.d.; Dr. Berchmans Kodackal n.d.).
According to the 1987 Encyclopedia of Religion, the Syrian church in India was divided into two conflicting divisions:
The smaller of the two jurisdictional groups (with five hundred thousand members and a dozen bishops) decided in the 1970s to revolt against the Indian catholicos and his synod, forming a wing of the church directly administered by the Syrian patriarch in Damascus and with its own maphrian see. The larger group, numbering about 1.3 million, [was] an autocephalous church in India under Moran Mar Baselius Mar Thoma Mathews I, catholicos of the East (229).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Dr. Berchmans Kodackal. n.d. "The Syro-Malabar Church." Catholic Bishops' Conference of India. n.d. "Trichur Archdiocese: History." Encyclopedia of Religion. 1987. Vol. 14, p. 229. "Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch." Macmillan Publishing Company: New York, NY.
Saint Thomas Christian Church. n.d. "St. Thomas Christians." The Syro-Malabar Church. n.d. "Archdiocese of Trichur." Additional Sources Consulted
Unsuccessful attempt to contact the Archbishop in Trichur, Kerala.
