Catholicos of India (title)
Encyclopedia
Catholicos of India is an ecclesiastical office in the Syriac Orthodox Church
, the head of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church
in Kerala
, India
. Its holder bears the titles of Catholicos
and Maphrian
, and functions at an ecclesiastical rank second to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. The jurisdiction of the Syriac Orthodox Catholicos is limited to India and Indian diaspora
, although he is often invited to preside over Syriac Orthodox functions abroad. The current Catholicos of India is Catholicos Baselios Thomas I, who was consecrated in 2002.
The position was created in the 20th century, amid a series of splits within the local Malankara Church
and the broader Syriac Orthodox communion that divided the community into Jacobite Syrian and Malankara Orthodox Syrian factions. It was instituted to provide a regional head for Jacobite Syrian Church, the faction that remained closely aligned with the Patriarch of Antioch.
‘Maphriyono’ (Maphrian) is derived from the Syriac word 'afri', “to make fruitful’, or "one who gives fecundity". This title be used exclusively for the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church
in the East. From the mid 13th century onwards, a few occupants of the Maphrianate were referred also as ‘Catholicos’, but the title never came into extensive usage.
In the 20th century when this office of the Maphrianate under the See of Antioch was established in India, the chief of the local church assumed the title ‘Catholicos’. It is this title that is being used in India today, whilst the title Maphrian is no longer used. Both the titles have the same meaning in the Syriac Orthodox Context.
of the Church of the East
. Mar Issac, bishop of Seleucia
, became the first royally recognized Catholicos, empowered to exercise authority over the Church's Persian jurisdictions excluding India. In the 5th century, as part of the Nestorian schism
, the Persian Christians separated from the Christians of the Roman Empire. In the 16th century, another split occurred, with the Nestorian branch becoming known as the Assyrian Church of the East
, and another branch joining into communion with Rome, to become the Chaldean Catholic Church
. The Assyrian Christians sought to better establish themselves by claiming that the Apostle Thomas not only evangelized their territories and ordained presbyters, but gave authority to specific successors to govern the Church. This teaching contradicted the teachings of Nicaea. To maintain Orthodoxy, patriarchs continued to ordain local Orthodox catholicoi.
A reconciliation movement gathered momentum in the 1950s and culminated in the consecration of Mar Augen I by the Universal Bishop's Synod presided over by the Patriarch Ignatius Jacob III
, canonically establishing the Catholicate as the spiritual and temporal head of the Church in India under the Holy See of Antioch (1964). The camps later split again in 1975 with Mor Augen I favoring autocephaly and "Thomasine" hierarchical succession.
The Catholicate of the East was continued with the consecration of Mor Baselios Paulose II by Patriarch Jacob III in 1975. After Mor Baselios Paulose II's demise in 1996 the office remained vacant for several years to accommodate reconciliation attempts, which were unsuccessful.
In 2002 Baselios Thomas I was consecrated by Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas
to be the local head of all Syriac Christians in India. Though most often called Catholicos of the East, his official title was made Catholicos of India. due to the region of his jurisdiction. He functions at an ecclesiastical rank second only to the Patriarch, having the privilege to preside over the consecration of new patriarchs. The Catholicos is welcomed brotherly alongside the Patriarch at ecclesiastical and ecumenical functions, and hosted the Patriarch during a state visit to India in 2005.
This Catholicate is headquartered at Puthencruz
, Kerala, India. The Catholicos of India presides over the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Christian Association, the legal entity of Malankara parishes that unequivocally supports remaining within the Antiochian Patriarchate.
The Catholicos is not authorized to consecrate Holy Chrism independently. The jurisdiction of the Syriac Orthodox Catholicos is limited to India only, although he is often invited to preside over Syriac Orthodox functions abroad.
.
After schism, Baselios Augen I continued as Catholicos of the East
/ Catholicos of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in 1975)
Also known as Catholicos of India
Syriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
, the head of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church
Jacobite Syrian Christian Church
The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church is part of the Syriac Orthodox Church, located in Kerala, India. It recognizes the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, currently Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, as its supreme head. It functions as a largely autonomous archdiocese within the church, under the authority...
in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Its holder bears the titles of Catholicos
Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...
and Maphrian
Maphrian
The Maphrian was historically the prelate in the Syriac Orthodox Church who ranked second in the hierarchy after the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. The Maphrian, whose title literally means "one who bears fruit", i.e. "consecrator", was originally the head of the church in Persia and the...
, and functions at an ecclesiastical rank second to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. The jurisdiction of the Syriac Orthodox Catholicos is limited to India and Indian diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
, although he is often invited to preside over Syriac Orthodox functions abroad. The current Catholicos of India is Catholicos Baselios Thomas I, who was consecrated in 2002.
The position was created in the 20th century, amid a series of splits within the local Malankara Church
Malankara Church
The Malankara Church is the church of the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India, with particular emphasis on the part of the community that joined Archdeacon Mar Thoma in swearing to resist the authority of the Portuguese Padroado in 1653...
and the broader Syriac Orthodox communion that divided the community into Jacobite Syrian and Malankara Orthodox Syrian factions. It was instituted to provide a regional head for Jacobite Syrian Church, the faction that remained closely aligned with the Patriarch of Antioch.
Catholicos/Maphrian
The word is a transliteration of the Greek καθολικός, pl. καθολικοί , meaning concerning the whole, universal or general. It was a title that existed in the Roman Empire where Government representative who was in charge of a large area was called ‘Catholicos’. The Churches later started to use this term for their Chief Bishops.‘Maphriyono’ (Maphrian) is derived from the Syriac word 'afri', “to make fruitful’, or "one who gives fecundity". This title be used exclusively for the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church
Syriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
in the East. From the mid 13th century onwards, a few occupants of the Maphrianate were referred also as ‘Catholicos’, but the title never came into extensive usage.
In the 20th century when this office of the Maphrianate under the See of Antioch was established in India, the chief of the local church assumed the title ‘Catholicos’. It is this title that is being used in India today, whilst the title Maphrian is no longer used. Both the titles have the same meaning in the Syriac Orthodox Context.
Origins and development of the Catholicate in India
As the political rivalries were great between the Roman and Persian Empires, the Persian Church thought it wise to create a local leader, since the Zoroastrian rulers of Persia were strongly suspicious of any contacts between their Persian Christian minority, and the Christians in the enemy Roman Empire. In the 4th century, the bishop of the Persian capital of Seleucia, Mar Papa, had been declared the first CatholicosCatholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...
of the Church of the East
Church of the East
The Church of the East tāʾ d-Maḏnḥāʾ), also known as the Nestorian Church, is a Christian church, part of the Syriac tradition of Eastern Christianity. Originally the church of the Persian Sassanid Empire, it quickly spread widely through Asia...
. Mar Issac, bishop of Seleucia
Seleucia on the Tigris
Seleucia , also known as Seleucia on the Tigris, was one of the great cities of the world during Hellenistic and Roman times. It stood in Mesopotamia, on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the smaller town of Ctesiphon, in present day Babil Governorate, Iraq.-Seleucid empire:Seleucia,...
, became the first royally recognized Catholicos, empowered to exercise authority over the Church's Persian jurisdictions excluding India. In the 5th century, as part of the Nestorian schism
Nestorian Schism
The Nestorian Schism was the split between the Orthodox Church and churches affiliated with Nestorian doctrine in the 5th century. The schism rose out of a Christological dispute, the key figures in which were Cyril of Alexandria and Nestorius...
, the Persian Christians separated from the Christians of the Roman Empire. In the 16th century, another split occurred, with the Nestorian branch becoming known as the Assyrian Church of the East
Assyrian Church of the East
The Assyrian Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East ʻIttā Qaddishtā w-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi d-Madnĕkhā d-Āturāyē), is a Syriac Church historically centered in Mesopotamia. It is one of the churches that claim continuity with the historical...
, and another branch joining into communion with Rome, to become the Chaldean Catholic Church
Chaldean Catholic Church
The Chaldean Catholic Church , is an Eastern Syriac particular church of the Catholic Church, maintaining full communion with the Bishop of Rome and the rest of the Catholic Church...
. The Assyrian Christians sought to better establish themselves by claiming that the Apostle Thomas not only evangelized their territories and ordained presbyters, but gave authority to specific successors to govern the Church. This teaching contradicted the teachings of Nicaea. To maintain Orthodoxy, patriarchs continued to ordain local Orthodox catholicoi.
Ignatius Jacob III
Mor Ignatius Jacob III was the 121st Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church. He was very skilled in and knowledgeable in Syriac sacral music or Beth Gazo...
, canonically establishing the Catholicate as the spiritual and temporal head of the Church in India under the Holy See of Antioch (1964). The camps later split again in 1975 with Mor Augen I favoring autocephaly and "Thomasine" hierarchical succession.
The Catholicate of the East was continued with the consecration of Mor Baselios Paulose II by Patriarch Jacob III in 1975. After Mor Baselios Paulose II's demise in 1996 the office remained vacant for several years to accommodate reconciliation attempts, which were unsuccessful.
In 2002 Baselios Thomas I was consecrated by Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas
Ignatius Zakka I Iwas
Ignatius Zakka I Iwas is the 122nd reigning Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and as such, Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church. Also known by his traditional episcopal name, Severios, he was enthroned as patriarch on 14 September 1980 in St. George's...
to be the local head of all Syriac Christians in India. Though most often called Catholicos of the East, his official title was made Catholicos of India. due to the region of his jurisdiction. He functions at an ecclesiastical rank second only to the Patriarch, having the privilege to preside over the consecration of new patriarchs. The Catholicos is welcomed brotherly alongside the Patriarch at ecclesiastical and ecumenical functions, and hosted the Patriarch during a state visit to India in 2005.
This Catholicate is headquartered at Puthencruz
Puthencruz
Puthencruz is a village in Ernakulam district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is a part of Greater Cochin area. Puthencruz is one of the most developing villages in Ernakulam. Puthencruz plays a pivotal role in the connecting people from different places to Ernakulam, which lies in the outer...
, Kerala, India. The Catholicos of India presides over the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Christian Association, the legal entity of Malankara parishes that unequivocally supports remaining within the Antiochian Patriarchate.
The Catholicos is not authorized to consecrate Holy Chrism independently. The jurisdiction of the Syriac Orthodox Catholicos is limited to India only, although he is often invited to preside over Syriac Orthodox functions abroad.
Authority
As the head of the Church in India the Catholicos presides over the Holy Episcopal Synod of Jacobite Syrian Christian ChurchJacobite Syrian Christian Church
The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church is part of the Syriac Orthodox Church, located in Kerala, India. It recognizes the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, currently Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, as its supreme head. It functions as a largely autonomous archdiocese within the church, under the authority...
.
List of Catholicoi of India
- 1. Baselios Augen I (before 1975) - (Catholicos of United Malankara Church.
After schism, Baselios Augen I continued as Catholicos of the East
Catholicos of the East
Catholicos of the East is an ecclesiastical title used historically by the Church of the East and the Syriac Orthodox Church, and now used in successor churches. The title Catholicos, or "universal leader", is used in several Eastern Christian churches and implies a degree of sovereignty and...
/ Catholicos of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in 1975)
Also known as Catholicos of India
- 2. Baselios Paulose II (1975–1996)
- Vacant from 1996 to 2002
- 3. Baselios Thomas I (2002–present)