Catholicos of the East
Encyclopedia
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 autocephaly
. The designation "Catholicos of the East" originated in the see of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the capital of Persia, center of the Church of the East since the early days of Christianity in Persia.
In the Church of the East, also known as the Nestorian Church, "Catholicos of the East" was one of the titles borne by the Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, who was the designated Patriarch of the Church of the East. It is still used in two successor churches, the Assyrian Church of the East
and the Ancient Church of the East
, the heads of which are known as Catholicos-Patriarchs.
Later, the church now known as the Syriac Orthodox Church (Jacobite Church) began using the title for its Maphrian
, who was originally the head of the Jacobite Christian community in Nestorian-dominated Persia. This office ranked second in the church hierarchy after the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, until it was abolished in 1860. In the 20th century the title "Catholicos of the East" was resurrected in the context of the Malankara Syrian Church, an India
n church in communion with the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch. Contention over the Patriarch's authority in relation to that of the local Malankara Metropolitan led to a rift in the community, culminating in 1912 when the deposed Patriarch Ignatius Abdul Masih II
consecrated the Metropolitan Evanios as Catholicos of the East. The events divided the church into two factions, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, led by the Catholicos, and the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church
, who supported the Patriarch. In 1964 the church was reunited, and the Patriarch consecrated the Catholicos of the East as the local head of the church. However, by 1975 the church had split again, and the Patriarch began appoint his own Catholicos of the East, known as the Catholicos of India, to head the Jacobite Syrian Church.
is the title of the primates
of various Apostolic churches traditionally used outside the Byzantine empire. The word "Catholicos" means "Universal".
The Catholicos of the East is the head of the Eastern Syriac Churches. Eastern Syriac Church includes the Assyrian Churches of Persia, the Chaldean Church and the Orthodox Syrian Church of India, which is also known as the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church or the Indian Orthodox Church. It is a tradition for these Churches to believe that Apostle St. Thomas
was the first in succession of Catholicoi of the East. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to have "established" the Catholicate in 410, to administer to the spiritual needs of Christians in the area. The minutes of the Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon
(also known as Synod of Mar Isaac), however, tell a different story. This synod was convened in 410 AD, under the presidency of Mar Isaac, the Archbishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. It conferred the title "Catholicos" on the Archbishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and made him the head of the bishops of the east.
Christianity has had a significant presence in India since its inception in the early centuries. Church tradition holds that St. Thomas the Apostle initially brought Christianity to India in 52 AD and was martyred in Mylapore
, a place in current Tamil Nadu
state. Tradition holds that priests were ordained in seven localities. Pantaenus, the leader of the Alexander Theological school, visited India and found an active Christian Community there in 190 AD.
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church believes that Apostle Thomas founded the Church in India, a tradition strongly held by the Church from ancient times. The Church is in the Oriental Orthodox family following the Orthodox faith of the three Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea
, Constantinople
and Ephesus.
The chief primate of the Indian Orthodox Church is called "the Catholicos of the East, Catholicos of the Apostolic throne of St. Thomas, and the Malankara Metropolitan": two titles with separate responsibilities, but always held by the same individual in accordance with the constitution of the Church adopted in 1934.
As Catholicos of the East, he consecrates bishop
s for the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (the Indian Orthodox Church), presides over the synod
, declares and implements its decisions, conducts the administration on behalf of the synod, and consecrates the Holy Mooron (oil).
As Malankara Metropolitan
, he is the head of the Malankara Church, the President of the Malankara Syrian Christian Association and the Managing Committee. The prime jurisdiction regarding the temporal, ecclesiastical, and spiritual administration of the Indian Orthodox Church is vested in the Malankara Metropolitan subject to the provisions of the Church constitution adopted in 1934.
The Indian Orthodox Church holds that the Catholicate was originally instituted by St. Thomas the Apostle, en route to India. The Synod of Markabata, presided over by Catholicos Dadyeshu, confirmed the Independence of the Persian church, dispelling any doubts. The Synod proclaimed:
"By the word of God we define: The Easterners cannot complain against the Patriarch to western Patriarchs; that every case that cannot be settled in his presence must await the judgement of Christ...(and) on no grounds whatever one can think or say that the Catholicos of the East can be judged by those who are below him, or by a Patriarch equal to him. He himself must be the judge of all those beneath him, and he can be judged only by Christ who has chosen him, elevated him and placed him at the head of his church".
The church does recognize that the Catholicate was briefly brought under the Patriarchate of Antioch
, during the Nestorian Persecution and reduced to the position of a 'Maphriyan', roughly similar to an Arch-Metropolitan, or the Catholic post of "Major Archbishop".
Even after such reduction of the see, the conflicts between the Patriarch and Maphriyan resulted in the Council of Capharthutha
in February 869 AD. This assembly codified 8 canons dealing with the Patriarch and the Maphrian of Tigris. The canons are given below:
One can see just how much authority the Patriarch had over the East Syriac Church from these canons, even though the Maphrian probably swore allegiance and obedience to the Patriarch at the time of his ordination. Such oaths were interpreted in the context of these canons. There was no way the Patriarch could practically exercise authority over the Maphriyan's see.
According to one of the most famous Maphriyans, Mar Gregorios Bar Ebraya (Bar Hebraeus), Apostle Thomas is the first in the Apostolic succession of the East. Bar Ebraya did believe that the Eastern Church was an integral part of the Antiochian Church, due to the historical context of the time in which he lived. He did, however, vigorously defend his rights, as dictated by the church canons.
In 1238, the West Syrians installed Mar Philexnos as Patriarch without the concurrence or participation of Bar Ebraya. When Patriarchal delegates arrived at his monastery with apologies, he refused to receive them, rebuking them for their neglect of the canons. The Church in India and the Syriac Church of the East in Persia remained in one faith for many years. In 431, the Council of Ephesus condemned the teachings of Nestorius
, who was the Patriarch of Constantinople
. After the Ecumenical council of Ephesus, a significant portion of the Church in Persia adopted Nestorian teachings concerning the nature of Christ.
In 544, Theodosius, the Patriarch of Alexandria
, ordained Bishop Mar Jacob Baradaeus
for the expansion of a Syriac Church weakened by Byzantine persecution subsequent to the Council of Chalcedon
. In 559, Jacob visited the east and consecrated a Catholicos for Orthodox Christians who accepted the Council of Ephesus and rejected the Council of Chalcedon. Mar Jacob himself was ordained a general bishop by Patriarch Theodosius of Alexandria.
The Church believes that this Catholicate, which is in the succession of Apostle Thomas, was re-located to India in 1912 due to the efforts of Ignatius Abdul Masih II
, the Patriarch of Antioch and Vattaserill Mar Dionysius, the Malankara Metropolitan. Since the Indian church was under the Ancient Catholicate of Persia, and can be seen as the only remaining part of the Persian church, it is logical for the Catholicate to reside in India.
There have been six Catholicoi in direct succession since establishing the Catholicate of the East in India. The Catholicos has jurisdiction over the dioceses and churches in most parts of India as well as in the USA, Canada
, United Kingdom
, Europe
, South Africa
, Persian Gulf
nations, Malaysia, Singapore
, Australia
and New Zealand
. The current Catholicos of the Indian Orthodox Church is Baselios Mar Thoma Dydymos
The Indian Orthodox Church view is that the Catholicate of the East is autocephalous and in the legitimate succession of St. Thomas the Apostle. The term "throne of St.Thomas" used by the Catholicos is a reference to the church's apostolic origin and heritage. It is not a title that was recently coined by the church. Indian prelates have used it for centuries. For example, the Vatican codex 22 written in Cranganore, 1301 AD mentions "Mar Jacob, Bishop Metropolitan, prelate and ruler of the Holy See of the Apostle St. Thomas, namely, our ruler and (the ruler) of the entire Holy Church of the Christians of India". Again, in 1830, when Chepaud Mar Dionysius gave Mar Coorilos of Thozhiyur an Encyclical, it proclaimed that it was From Metropolitan Philipose, known as Dionysius, shepherd to the lambs and ewes of Christ in Malayalam under India, father to the Jacobite Christian community, and seated on the throne of our blessed apostle St Thomas..". In light of such evidence, claims that the Thomasine title was "recently fabricated" by Indian Orthodox leadership is ridiculous. Indeed, it is amazing to see to what lengths the Syrian Orthodox Leadership went to crush this title, which in itself demanded the Malankara Church's autocephaly. In the brief peace and unity of 1958, letters of mutual acceptance were exchanged between the Patriarch and the Catholicos. When the church was unified, all Metropolitans of the Patriarchal group handed in letters of obedience to the Catholicos of the East. The letter of one of them, Paulose Mar Philexinos, mentioned that "I solemnly submit that I will follow the canons of the Church, the Constitution in force, and the directions of Your Holiness.".
In a speech thereafter, the same Mar Philexinos said "We shall remain under the banner of the Catholicate till the moon and stars last. This Catholicate will exist for all time to come. May God Almighty be pleased that we all will stand united under the leadership of this Catholicos who graces the throne. I do not mean political or temporal matters. We have now the privilege of witnessing for our Lord unitedly under the stewardship of one Head. May this unity serve as a signal to all other Churches of India to fall in line under this common Father. We, Metropolitans, will hand in hand serve under the Holy throne of the Catholicate".
Mar Philexinos later led the schismatic Jacobite group that again broke away from the unified church, and was ordained as Paulos I, the first rival Catholicos.
In the exchange of letters, Geevarghese stated that he was "seated on the Throne of the East of Apostle St. Thomas". Patriarch Ignatius Ya`qub III made no objections at that time. Later, during the reign of Mar Baselios Augen, the Catholicos attended the Oriental Orthodox Conference in Addis Ababa
, at which the same Patriarch Ya'kub III was present. The Catholicos was addressed as "The catholicos of the ancient see of St. Thomas". Again, there was no objection from Patriarch Yakub. Later, when Augen sent a letter to the Patriarch, in which he named himself as "Catholicos of the Apostolic Throne of St. Thomas", the Patriarch responded:
"...Sometime before your communication I was astonished to read another letter carrying the title 'the throne of St Thomas'. Truth be told, ever since the Catholicate was established in the 4th century CE, no catholicoi or Maphryan has ever used such a title. Second, the apostle St Thomas has never founded any throne that can be referred to as the throne of St. Thomas. As is clear from the Gospel according to St John (20: 21-24), St Thomas had not been ordained a priest. Without being even a priest, how did he become a high priest? Without being a high
priest, how did he establish a throne?..".
The Indian Church felt the Patriarch had defied the very Priesthood of St. Thomas in his efforts to deny the Indian church it's Apostolic heritage. It is to be noted that the various sources within the Syriac Church have claimed afterwards that the Patriarch did not necessarily reflect the views of the church in that statement.
According to the view of the Malankara Orthodox Church, the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church
(Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church) is a schismatic group which separated in 2002 with a new constitution adopted in the same year against the constitution of 1934. The head of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church was elected without the permission of the Malankara Association, the largest assembly of the Malankara Church which consisted primarily of lay and priest representatives from Indian Orthodox parishes. The schism started as early as 1970 when Patriarch Ignatius Ya`qub III tried to intervene in internal administrative affairs of the Malankara Church and appointed a Syrian delegate which they held violated both the constitution and canons of the Church. A legal entity was organized as the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church by the Syrian delegate and Jacobite bishops who did not accept the Indian Orthodox view.
The Indian Orthodox were disturbed when they felt they detected a new trend among Syriac scholars to address their primate as "Prince Patriarch of Antioch", and their Church as the "Universal Syriac Orthodox Church". The Indian Orthodox felt that this move suggested a move towards Roman Catholicism When the original Persian Catholicate was reduced to Maphriyana and brought under the 'jurisdiction' of the Syrian Patriarch, many Maphriyanas were ordained to the Patriarchate.
of various denominations currently or historically associated with the Syriac Orthodox Church
, one among the group of Oriental Orthodox Churches
. Nowadays the term Catholicos of India
is the official title for the Catholicos/Maphrian of Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church (Jacobite Syrian Christian Church).
is a mother Church in Christendom. The ancient seat of its Patriarchate, Antioch
, was the third most prominent city in the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus. As the Holy Bible's Acts of the Apostles
records, Christians were first so labelled in Antioch. The Apostles Saint Peter
, Saint Paul
, Saint Barnabas, and their disciples spent considerable time teaching there. The church historian Eusebius reports how Peter consecrated a successor in Antioch before travelling to Rome. This succession is believed to continue to the present, although the Patriarchal seat has been moved several times.
The Church continued through the time of Constantine I
and beyond, sending missionaries into Asia Minor, Persia, India, and even to the border of China. Syriac Christianity has had direct influence in Southern India
from at least the 4th century, supported by missionary activity and jurisdiction over "all the East" granted by the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea
in 325 AD. Saint Thomas the Apostle
, the first missionary to India, is venerated as India's Patron Saint.
As outlined below, the term Catholicos began to be employed in the church for a local hierarch with expanded territorial authority. The term means "universalist" or "generalist".
Over time, eastern and western Syriac traditions developed. East Syriac Churches which continue to employ the title "Catholicos of the East" include the Assyrian Churches of Persia and the Chaldean Church.
Two factions of the Oriental Orthodox Church in India,the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church
(also known as Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church)and Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (also known as the Orthodox Syrian Church of India or the Indian Orthodox Church) also employ the term "Catholicos" for their leaders.
Both of these groups are Western Syriac in liturgy and ethos. The Indian Orthodox is autocephalous
. The Jacobite Syrian is in close hierarchical association with the Patriarch of Antioch
, the supreme head of the Syriac Orthodox Church
.
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 Catholicos
of the Church of the East. Mar Isaac, 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.
The office of the Syriac Orthodox Catholicate was officially abolished in the 1860s by the Synod
presided over by Patriarch Ignatius Jacob II.
The title and concept was resurrected, re-located from Persia, and established in India by the then deposed Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Abdul Messiah II in 1912. By a state interference Ignatius Abdul Messiah II had lost his position in Turkey and came to be replaced by Mar Abdulla. Metropolitan Mar Dionysius VI clashed with Mar Abdullah and the Canonical senior Patriarch Abdul Messiah offered to come to the assistance of the former(Mar Dionysius). Thus in 1912 he came to Kerala and associated with Mar Dionysius VI and the Bishops and the Church with him, to establish the Catholicate of the East in Malankara. The ceremony was held at St. Mary's Church, Niranam on 15 September 1912. (Niranam Church is one of the seven Churches founded by St. Thomas during his visit here in the first century.).
The Catholicate of the East was thus established in Malankara, with the cooperation of the canonical Patriarch Abdul Messiah, who was senior to Mar Abdulla. Thereby the Patriarch himself withdrew any temporal oversight if any in the Indian Church, which the Royal Court of Appeal had acknowledged in 1889. The designation 'Catholicos of the East' to the successors of St. Thomas the Apostle was given by the Jerusalem Synod of AD 231. The head quarters of the Orthodox Church of the East was first at Uraha (Edessa) in Persia. This was moved to 'Selucia' and it was there the title 'Catholicos of the East' originated. Catholicos is an ecclesiastical dignitary recognised in the Antiochien Syrian Church also. He is equal in rank with the Patriarch though the latter is considered as first among equals (primus interparees) The Persian Christians were not consulted by Abdul Messiah II, nor was the Synod of the Syriac Orthodox Church
. At this time, Basileus Paulose I was consecrated the first Catholicos of what has become the Indian Orthodox Church at St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church, Niranam
(Niranam Valiyapally).
After staying in Malankara for about nine months Mar Abdul Messiah returned to Kurkuma Dayara which was the headquarters of Syrian Patriarchs, in 1913. Mar Abdulla, after staying in Malankara for about 2 years, causing the maximum possible damage to the Church, left Malankara, and died on the way in 1915, without being able to reach the Patriarchal abode.
When the new Patriarch of Antioch Mar Ignatius Abdulla Satuff came to know of the visit of Abdul Massih and the appointment of a Catholicos in Malankara, he became very furious and issued an order invalidating the appointment of the Catholicos and the powers of the Bishops to appoint or elect a new Catholicos. This finally split the church - The Methran Kakshi calls itself the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church of India whose Catholicos or supreme head resides at Devalokam, Kottayam. The Bava Kakshi continued to be called the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church of India whose head is the Antiochian Jacobite Patriarch. The parties approached the Hon. Court of India about ownership of the church properties which prolonged for many years.
Though many peace negotiations were going on from the days of the split, it became more significant with the arrival of Patriarch of Antioch Mor Ignatius Elias III in 1931. He created a favourable atmosphere by cancelling the excommunication of Mor Dionysius Vattasseril VI and tried his best to heal the breach. Although the Bava Kakshi won the case in High court, finally the Supreme Court in 1958 decided the case in favour of the Methran Kakshi (Orthodox Church).
Malankara Orthodox Church is now administered as per the constitution adopted in 1934 which was passed by the Malankara Syrian Christian Association. The Association in its meeting requested the Catholicos Mar Geevarghese II to assume the additional role of Malankara Metropolitan also, due to the demise of previous Malankara Metropolitan Mar Dionysius VI. The practice of the Catholicos and Malankara Metropolitan being vested in one person is being continued even today. The Association is a fully representative body of the church with elected members -priests and laymen-from all the Parish Churches. There is also an Episcopal Synod which has all the Prelates of the Malankara Church as members. Matters concerning Faith, Order and Discipline are under the authority of the Episcopal Synod. It is the Episcopal Synod which installs the Catholicos.
Peace in 1958
When Moran Mor Ignatius Yakub III become the Patriarch, expressed his desire for the unity of the Church in Malankara. On 16 December 1958, following a series of discussions that was continuing for many years, the Patriarch and the Catholicose accepted each other and the Universal Church was born. The two sides reconciled when the Indian Supreme Court declared in 1958 that only the autocephalous Catholicos and bishops in communion with him had legal standing. But almost immediately after the accord of 1958, the Catholicose and his group took control of many Jacobite Syrian churches. After a series of such incidents, a meeting of the representatives of the various parish churches, who were in favour for the continuation of the Patriarch, was convened at Manarcad in 1960. The large gathering assembled there protested against the forceful entry of the Catholicose to many churches which was contrary to the agreement reached with the Patriarch earlier. On the request of the assembly, Mor Philixinose went to Damascus to call on His Holiness and submit their grievances. But His Holiness who was against another split in the Church, sent back Mor Philixonse with instructions to co-operate with the Catholicose. The Catholicose suspended Mor Philixinose Paulose from the Episcopal Synod of the united Church on 17 June 1960, thereby paved way for the continuation of enmity among the Syrian Christian groups.
Due to the above state of affairs, in 1964, Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Yakub III arrived in Malankara and ordained Mor Augen as Catholicose of the East- 'Mor Baselius Augen I'. Thus, the Jacobite Catholicate was established in India with its administrative jurisdiction limited to India, as per the decision of Universal Episcopal Synod held at Kottayam, presided by the Patriarch Ignatius Yakub III of Antioch and attended by all the bishops of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India, and bishops from the Middle East who had accompanied the Patriarch.
In the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, the Patriarch of Antioch & all the East is the spiritual supreme, but the temporal powers of the local Church in India rests with an association, elected from among the representatives of Parishes of Malankara, and is to be administered under guidance from its Chief prelate, the Catholicos of India.
By the seventies, Catholicose Mar Augen I under pressure from the extremists in his group, began to claim that he was sitting on the throne of St. Thomas and declared equality with his superior, the Patriarch of Antioch and all the East. And also fundamental changes were made in the history and faith of the Malankara Church that was followed for centuries, particularly in the Sunday Schools and other such organizations. The Patriarch convened a Universal Synod of the Syrian Orthodox Church in 1975 and excommunicated the Catholicose Augen I. Consequently the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church elected Mor Philexinos Paulose as the new Catholicose-designate and in 1975 and he was ordained as Catholicose Mor Baselios Paulose II for the Indian Church for the Bava kakshi. Again a series of court cases erupted about church properties between the two groups.
In June 1996 the Supreme Court of India rendered a decision that (a) upheld the Constitution of the church that had been adopted in 1934 and made it binding on both factions, (b) stated that there is only one Orthodox church in India, currently divided into two factions, and (c) recognized the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch as the spiritual head of the universal Syrian Church, while affirming that the autocephalous Catholicos has legal standing as the head of the entire church, and that he is custodian of its parishes and properties.
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 has been greeted 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 and functions in a similar manner to the Indian Orthodox Catholicate within India. The Catholicos of India presides over the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Christian Association, the legal entity of Malankara parishes that supports remaining within the Antiochian Patriarchate. This entity, recognized by the High Court of Kerala, was formed in 2002 to guard against Indian Orthodox hierarchs claiming the property of parishes where Jacobite parishioners are the overwhelming majority.
The Catholicos is not authorized to consecrate Holy Mooron independently. The jurisdiction of the Jacobite Catholicos is limited to India only, although he is often invited to preside over Jacobite functions abroad.
The Syriac Orthodox Church
believes it is the mother Christian church in South India and that the Indian Orthodox Church is a schismatic faction. The Indian Orthodox Catholicate remains under excommunication for dividing the church — leading to numerous legal actions, boarded churches, and broken faith experiences. The claim of autocephaly and Thomasine succession is especially onerous since both camps accept that Jacobite Petrine Patriarchs were involved in maintaining Indian ecclesiastical leadership, and as noted in both "viewpoints", it was a deposed Antiochian Patriarch that initially established the non-canonical Catholicate.
To underscore the point, the Supreme Court of India
unequivocally declared that the Indian Orthodox Catholicate is part of the Syriac Orthodox Church
and is not autocephalous in 1995. The current constitution of the Indian Orthodox Church (1934) continues to acknowledge the Patriarch of Antioch as that group's spiritual head and having no temporal authority.
, the Assyrian Church of the East
, Ancient Church of the East
, Georgian Orthodox Church, Armenian Catholic Church
, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
and Chaldean Catholic Church
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...
and 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....
, and now used in successor churches. The title 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...
, or "universal leader", is used in several Eastern Christian
Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity comprises the Christian traditions and churches that developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Northeastern Africa, India and parts of the Far East over several centuries of religious antiquity. The term is generally used in Western Christianity to...
churches and implies a degree of sovereignty and autocephaly
Autocephaly
Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...
. The designation "Catholicos of the East" originated in the see of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the capital of Persia, center of the Church of the East since the early days of Christianity in Persia.
In the Church of the East, also known as the Nestorian Church, "Catholicos of the East" was one of the titles borne by the Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, who was the designated Patriarch of the Church of the East. It is still used in two successor churches, 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 the Ancient Church of the East
Ancient Church of the East
The Ancient Church of the East was established in 1968. It follows the traditions of one of the oldest Christian churches, the Church of the East, whose origins trace back to the See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in central Mesopotamia...
, the heads of which are known as Catholicos-Patriarchs.
Later, the church now known as the Syriac Orthodox Church (Jacobite Church) began using the title for its 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...
, who was originally the head of the Jacobite Christian community in Nestorian-dominated Persia. This office ranked second in the church hierarchy after the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, until it was abolished in 1860. In the 20th century the title "Catholicos of the East" was resurrected in the context of the Malankara Syrian Church, an 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...
n church in communion with the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch. Contention over the Patriarch's authority in relation to that of the local Malankara Metropolitan led to a rift in the community, culminating in 1912 when the deposed Patriarch Ignatius Abdul Masih II
Ignatius Abdul Masih II
Mor Ignatius Abdul Masih II was the 117th Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church, reigning from 1895 until his deposition and excommunication in 1905. The excommunication, which was carried out by the Ottoman government rather than the Church itself, was...
consecrated the Metropolitan Evanios as Catholicos of the East. The events divided the church into two factions, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, led by the Catholicos, and 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...
, who supported the Patriarch. In 1964 the church was reunited, and the Patriarch consecrated the Catholicos of the East as the local head of the church. However, by 1975 the church had split again, and the Patriarch began appoint his own Catholicos of the East, known as the Catholicos of India, to head the Jacobite Syrian Church.
Viewpoint of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
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...
is the title of the primates
Primate (religion)
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
of various Apostolic churches traditionally used outside the Byzantine empire. The word "Catholicos" means "Universal".
The Catholicos of the East is the head of the Eastern Syriac Churches. Eastern Syriac Church includes the Assyrian Churches of Persia, the Chaldean Church and the Orthodox Syrian Church of India, which is also known as the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church or the Indian Orthodox Church. It is a tradition for these Churches to believe that Apostle St. Thomas
Thomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...
was the first in succession of Catholicoi of the East. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to have "established" the Catholicate in 410, to administer to the spiritual needs of Christians in the area. The minutes of the Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon
Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon
The Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, also called the Council of Mar Isaac, met in AD 410 in Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the capital of the Sassanid Empire of Persia. The council, extended official recognition to the Empire's Christian community, known as the Church of the East, and established the Bishop of...
(also known as Synod of Mar Isaac), however, tell a different story. This synod was convened in 410 AD, under the presidency of Mar Isaac, the Archbishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. It conferred the title "Catholicos" on the Archbishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and made him the head of the bishops of the east.
Christianity has had a significant presence in India since its inception in the early centuries. Church tradition holds that St. Thomas the Apostle initially brought Christianity to India in 52 AD and was martyred in Mylapore
Mylapore
Mylapore is a cultural hub and neighborhood in the southern part of the city of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, India. Earlier, Mylapore used to be called Vedapuri....
, a place in current Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
state. Tradition holds that priests were ordained in seven localities. Pantaenus, the leader of the Alexander Theological school, visited India and found an active Christian Community there in 190 AD.
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church believes that Apostle Thomas founded the Church in India, a tradition strongly held by the Church from ancient times. The Church is in the Oriental Orthodox family following the Orthodox faith of the three Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325...
, Constantinople
First Council of Constantinople
The First Council of Constantinople is recognized as the Second Ecumenical Council by the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox, the Eastern Orthodox, the Roman Catholics, the Old Catholics, and a number of other Western Christian groups. It was the first Ecumenical Council held in...
and Ephesus.
The chief primate of the Indian Orthodox Church is called "the Catholicos of the East, Catholicos of the Apostolic throne of St. Thomas, and the Malankara Metropolitan": two titles with separate responsibilities, but always held by the same individual in accordance with the constitution of the Church adopted in 1934.
As Catholicos of the East, he consecrates bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s for the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (the Indian Orthodox Church), presides over the synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
, declares and implements its decisions, conducts the administration on behalf of the synod, and consecrates the Holy Mooron (oil).
As Malankara Metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
, he is the head of the Malankara Church, the President of the Malankara Syrian Christian Association and the Managing Committee. The prime jurisdiction regarding the temporal, ecclesiastical, and spiritual administration of the Indian Orthodox Church is vested in the Malankara Metropolitan subject to the provisions of the Church constitution adopted in 1934.
The Indian Orthodox Church holds that the Catholicate was originally instituted by St. Thomas the Apostle, en route to India. The Synod of Markabata, presided over by Catholicos Dadyeshu, confirmed the Independence of the Persian church, dispelling any doubts. The Synod proclaimed:
"By the word of God we define: The Easterners cannot complain against the Patriarch to western Patriarchs; that every case that cannot be settled in his presence must await the judgement of Christ...(and) on no grounds whatever one can think or say that the Catholicos of the East can be judged by those who are below him, or by a Patriarch equal to him. He himself must be the judge of all those beneath him, and he can be judged only by Christ who has chosen him, elevated him and placed him at the head of his church".
The church does recognize that the Catholicate was briefly brought under the Patriarchate of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the Bishop of Antioch. As the traditional "overseer" of the first gentile Christian community, the position has been of prime importance in the church from its earliest period...
, during the Nestorian Persecution and reduced to the position of a 'Maphriyan', roughly similar to an Arch-Metropolitan, or the Catholic post of "Major Archbishop".
Even after such reduction of the see, the conflicts between the Patriarch and Maphriyan resulted in the Council of Capharthutha
Council of Capharthutha
Council of Capharthutha was a religious historical council held in February 869 AD to resolve the differences between the Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Maphriyan in Persia and India...
in February 869 AD. This assembly codified 8 canons dealing with the Patriarch and the Maphrian of Tigris. The canons are given below:
- The bishops and the monks in the Mar Mathai's Monastery, should submit to and obey the Maphrian whose seat is in Tigris.
- The Patriarch should not interfere in the administration of the Church in Tigris, unless when invited. In the same way the maphrian should not interfere in the Patriarchal See.
- When the Maphrian is present along with the Patriarch of Antioch he should be seated immediately at the right hand side of the Patriarch. The name of the Maphrian shall be mentioned immediately after that of the Patriarch, in the liturgy; and he should receive the Holy Qurbana after the Patriarch.
- When a Maphrian is alive, a Patriarch should not be installed without his concurrence, otherwise, the orientals shall have the right to install the Maphrian by themselves. The question of who should perform the laying on of hands on the new Patriarch — i.e., the Maphrian or the President of the Synod, shall be decided by four bishops, two each elected by the orientals and the westerners (Antiochan) respectively.
- The Archdiocese of Kurdu, Beth-Sabdaya and also Najran, provided, the Arabs agree to it, shall vest with Tigris administration.
- The mutual excommunications between the orientals and the Antiochans shall be withdrawn.
- A final decision was taken about the three bishops consecrated by the Patriarch in the see of the Maphrian.
- A bishop excommunicated by the Maphrian shall also be considered as excommunicated by the Patriarch.
One can see just how much authority the Patriarch had over the East Syriac Church from these canons, even though the Maphrian probably swore allegiance and obedience to the Patriarch at the time of his ordination. Such oaths were interpreted in the context of these canons. There was no way the Patriarch could practically exercise authority over the Maphriyan's see.
According to one of the most famous Maphriyans, Mar Gregorios Bar Ebraya (Bar Hebraeus), Apostle Thomas is the first in the Apostolic succession of the East. Bar Ebraya did believe that the Eastern Church was an integral part of the Antiochian Church, due to the historical context of the time in which he lived. He did, however, vigorously defend his rights, as dictated by the church canons.
In 1238, the West Syrians installed Mar Philexnos as Patriarch without the concurrence or participation of Bar Ebraya. When Patriarchal delegates arrived at his monastery with apologies, he refused to receive them, rebuking them for their neglect of the canons. The Church in India and the Syriac Church of the East in Persia remained in one faith for many years. In 431, the Council of Ephesus condemned the teachings of Nestorius
Nestorius
Nestorius was Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to 22 June 431.Drawing on his studies at the School of Antioch, his teachings, which included a rejection of the long-used title of Theotokos for the Virgin Mary, brought him into conflict with other prominent churchmen of the time,...
, who was the Patriarch of Constantinople
Patriarch of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
. After the Ecumenical council of Ephesus, a significant portion of the Church in Persia adopted Nestorian teachings concerning the nature of Christ.
In 544, Theodosius, the Patriarch of Alexandria
Patriarch of Alexandria
The Patriarch of Alexandria is the Archbishop of Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation of Pope , and did so earlier than that of the Bishop of Rome...
, ordained Bishop Mar Jacob Baradaeus
Jacob Baradaeus
Jacob Baradaeus was Bishop of Edessa from 543 until his death. One of the most important figures in the history of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and the Oriental Orthodox churches generally, he was a defender of the Monophysite movement in a time when its strength was declining...
for the expansion of a Syriac Church weakened by Byzantine persecution subsequent to the Council of Chalcedon
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
. In 559, Jacob visited the east and consecrated a Catholicos for Orthodox Christians who accepted the Council of Ephesus and rejected the Council of Chalcedon. Mar Jacob himself was ordained a general bishop by Patriarch Theodosius of Alexandria.
The Church believes that this Catholicate, which is in the succession of Apostle Thomas, was re-located to India in 1912 due to the efforts of Ignatius Abdul Masih II
Ignatius Abdul Masih II
Mor Ignatius Abdul Masih II was the 117th Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church, reigning from 1895 until his deposition and excommunication in 1905. The excommunication, which was carried out by the Ottoman government rather than the Church itself, was...
, the Patriarch of Antioch and Vattaserill Mar Dionysius, the Malankara Metropolitan. Since the Indian church was under the Ancient Catholicate of Persia, and can be seen as the only remaining part of the Persian church, it is logical for the Catholicate to reside in India.
There have been six Catholicoi in direct succession since establishing the Catholicate of the East in India. The Catholicos has jurisdiction over the dioceses and churches in most parts of India as well as in the USA, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
nations, Malaysia, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The current Catholicos of the Indian Orthodox Church is Baselios Mar Thoma Dydymos
Catholicos Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I
His Holiness Moran Mar Baselios Marthoma Didymus I was enthroned Catholicos of the East & Malankara Metropolitan on 31 October 2005. HH Didymos I was consecrated as Bishop on 24 August 1966 and has been serving as Metropolitan of the Malabar Diocese of the church...
The Indian Orthodox Church view is that the Catholicate of the East is autocephalous and in the legitimate succession of St. Thomas the Apostle. The term "throne of St.Thomas" used by the Catholicos is a reference to the church's apostolic origin and heritage. It is not a title that was recently coined by the church. Indian prelates have used it for centuries. For example, the Vatican codex 22 written in Cranganore, 1301 AD mentions "Mar Jacob, Bishop Metropolitan, prelate and ruler of the Holy See of the Apostle St. Thomas, namely, our ruler and (the ruler) of the entire Holy Church of the Christians of India". Again, in 1830, when Chepaud Mar Dionysius gave Mar Coorilos of Thozhiyur an Encyclical, it proclaimed that it was From Metropolitan Philipose, known as Dionysius, shepherd to the lambs and ewes of Christ in Malayalam under India, father to the Jacobite Christian community, and seated on the throne of our blessed apostle St Thomas..". In light of such evidence, claims that the Thomasine title was "recently fabricated" by Indian Orthodox leadership is ridiculous. Indeed, it is amazing to see to what lengths the Syrian Orthodox Leadership went to crush this title, which in itself demanded the Malankara Church's autocephaly. In the brief peace and unity of 1958, letters of mutual acceptance were exchanged between the Patriarch and the Catholicos. When the church was unified, all Metropolitans of the Patriarchal group handed in letters of obedience to the Catholicos of the East. The letter of one of them, Paulose Mar Philexinos, mentioned that "I solemnly submit that I will follow the canons of the Church, the Constitution in force, and the directions of Your Holiness.".
In a speech thereafter, the same Mar Philexinos said "We shall remain under the banner of the Catholicate till the moon and stars last. This Catholicate will exist for all time to come. May God Almighty be pleased that we all will stand united under the leadership of this Catholicos who graces the throne. I do not mean political or temporal matters. We have now the privilege of witnessing for our Lord unitedly under the stewardship of one Head. May this unity serve as a signal to all other Churches of India to fall in line under this common Father. We, Metropolitans, will hand in hand serve under the Holy throne of the Catholicate".
Mar Philexinos later led the schismatic Jacobite group that again broke away from the unified church, and was ordained as Paulos I, the first rival Catholicos.
In the exchange of letters, Geevarghese stated that he was "seated on the Throne of the East of Apostle St. Thomas". Patriarch Ignatius Ya`qub III made no objections at that time. Later, during the reign of Mar Baselios Augen, the Catholicos attended the Oriental Orthodox Conference in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
, at which the same Patriarch Ya'kub III was present. The Catholicos was addressed as "The catholicos of the ancient see of St. Thomas". Again, there was no objection from Patriarch Yakub. Later, when Augen sent a letter to the Patriarch, in which he named himself as "Catholicos of the Apostolic Throne of St. Thomas", the Patriarch responded:
"...Sometime before your communication I was astonished to read another letter carrying the title 'the throne of St Thomas'. Truth be told, ever since the Catholicate was established in the 4th century CE, no catholicoi or Maphryan has ever used such a title. Second, the apostle St Thomas has never founded any throne that can be referred to as the throne of St. Thomas. As is clear from the Gospel according to St John (20: 21-24), St Thomas had not been ordained a priest. Without being even a priest, how did he become a high priest? Without being a high
priest, how did he establish a throne?..".
The Indian Church felt the Patriarch had defied the very Priesthood of St. Thomas in his efforts to deny the Indian church it's Apostolic heritage. It is to be noted that the various sources within the Syriac Church have claimed afterwards that the Patriarch did not necessarily reflect the views of the church in that statement.
According to the view of the Malankara Orthodox Church, 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...
(Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church) is a schismatic group which separated in 2002 with a new constitution adopted in the same year against the constitution of 1934. The head of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church was elected without the permission of the Malankara Association, the largest assembly of the Malankara Church which consisted primarily of lay and priest representatives from Indian Orthodox parishes. The schism started as early as 1970 when Patriarch Ignatius Ya`qub III tried to intervene in internal administrative affairs of the Malankara Church and appointed a Syrian delegate which they held violated both the constitution and canons of the Church. A legal entity was organized as the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church by the Syrian delegate and Jacobite bishops who did not accept the Indian Orthodox view.
The Indian Orthodox were disturbed when they felt they detected a new trend among Syriac scholars to address their primate as "Prince Patriarch of Antioch", and their Church as the "Universal Syriac Orthodox Church". The Indian Orthodox felt that this move suggested a move towards Roman Catholicism When the original Persian Catholicate was reduced to Maphriyana and brought under the 'jurisdiction' of the Syrian Patriarch, many Maphriyanas were ordained to the Patriarchate.
Lineage of Catholicos
- Mar Thoma Sleeha (Apostle ThomasThomas the ApostleThomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...
) (AD 35-72) - Apostolic period
- Mar Addai Sleeha (Apostle Thaddaeus) (72-120)
- Mar AggaiMar AggaiAggai was a legendary 1st-century primate of the Church of the East, reputedly the disciple of Mar Addai, who is conventionally believed to have sat from 66 to 87. His existence is disputed, and considered as one of several fictitious early church leaders whose lives were concocted in the 6th...
Sleeha (Apostle Aggaeus) (120-152) - Mar Mari SleehaSaint MariSaint Mari was converted by Saint Addai. He is said to have had Mar Aggai as his spiritual director. He is also believed to have done missionary work around Nineveh, Nisibis, and along the Euphrates, and is said to have been one of the great apostles to Syria and Persia. He and Addai are credited...
(152-85) - Mar AbrosiusAbrisAbris, also called Abrosius and Abrisius, was a legendary Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in Persia, who is conventionally said to have sat from 121–137. He is said to have been from the family of Saint Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus....
(185-201) - requested help from Antioch - Mar Abraham (201-13) - ordained in Jerusalem Church
- Mar YakoubYaqob IYaqob I was a legendary primate of the Church of the East, from the family of Joseph the carpenter, who is conventionally believed to have reigned c.190....
(213 - 31) - ordained in Jerusalem Church - Mar Ahod AbueiAhadabuiAhadabui was a legendary primate of the Church of the East, who is conventionally believed to have sat from 204 to 220.Although Ahadabui is included in traditional lists of primates of the Church of the East, his existence has been doubted by J. M. Fiey, one of the most eminent twentieth-century...
(231-46) - Mar ShaluppaShahlufaShahlufa was a legendary primate of the Church of the East, who is conventionally believed to have reigned from 220 to 224 A.D.Although Shahlufa is included in traditional lists of primates of the Church of the East, his existence has been doubted by J. M. Fiey, one of the most eminent...
(246-66) - Mar Pappa (Babai)Papa (bishop)Mar Papa , also known as Papa bar Aggai, was Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the capital of Sassanid Persia, in the late 3rd and early 4th century. An important figure in the early history of the Church of the East, he was first in the generally recognized line of Bishops of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, who...
(267-336) - affirmed independent status of Catholicate. - Mar Simun Bar Sheba (337-50)
- .... (lineage continues)
- Baselius Paulos I (1912–13) - relocation to India
- Baselius Gheevarghese I (1925–28)
- From hereafter "Catholicos of the East & Malankara Metropolitan"
- Baselius Gheevarghese II (1929–64)
- Baselius Augen I (1964-75 retired due to age)
- Baselius Marthoma Mathews I (1975–1991)
- Baselius Marthoma Mathews II (1991–2006)
- Baselios Marthoma Didymos I (2005–2010)
- Baselios Marthoma Paulose IIBaselios Mar Thoma Paulose IIBaselios Mar Thoma Paulose II is the 91st reigning Catholicos of the East and 21st reigning Malankara Metropolitan and as such, Supreme Head of the Indian Orthodox Church. He was enthroned Catholicos of the East & Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church on 1 November 2010...
(2010–present)
Syriac Orthodox Church's view
Catholicos of the East is the title of primatesPrimate (religion)
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
of various denominations currently or historically associated with 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....
, one among the group of Oriental Orthodox Churches
Oriental Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...
. Nowadays the term Catholicos of India
Catholicos of India (title)
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...
is the official title for the Catholicos/Maphrian of Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church (Jacobite Syrian Christian Church).
Preface
The Syriac Orthodox ChurchSyriac 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....
is a mother Church in Christendom. The ancient seat of its Patriarchate, Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
, was the third most prominent city in the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus. As the Holy Bible's Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
records, Christians were first so labelled in Antioch. The Apostles Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
, Saint Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
, Saint Barnabas, and their disciples spent considerable time teaching there. The church historian Eusebius reports how Peter consecrated a successor in Antioch before travelling to Rome. This succession is believed to continue to the present, although the Patriarchal seat has been moved several times.
The Church continued through the time of Constantine I
Constantine I
Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...
and beyond, sending missionaries into Asia Minor, Persia, India, and even to the border of China. Syriac Christianity has had direct influence in Southern India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
from at least the 4th century, supported by missionary activity and jurisdiction over "all the East" granted by the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325...
in 325 AD. Saint Thomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...
, the first missionary to India, is venerated as India's Patron Saint.
As outlined below, the term Catholicos began to be employed in the church for a local hierarch with expanded territorial authority. The term means "universalist" or "generalist".
Over time, eastern and western Syriac traditions developed. East Syriac Churches which continue to employ the title "Catholicos of the East" include the Assyrian Churches of Persia and the Chaldean Church.
Two factions of the Oriental Orthodox Church in India,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...
(also known as Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church)and Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (also known as the Orthodox Syrian Church of India or the Indian Orthodox Church) also employ the term "Catholicos" for their leaders.
Both of these groups are Western Syriac in liturgy and ethos. The Indian Orthodox is autocephalous
Autocephaly
Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...
. The Jacobite Syrian is in close hierarchical association with the Patriarch of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the Bishop of Antioch. As the traditional "overseer" of the first gentile Christian community, the position has been of prime importance in the church from its earliest period...
, the supreme 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....
.
Origins and development of the Catholicate in India
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...
of the Church of the East. Mar Isaac, 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.
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
presided over by Patriarch Ignatius Jacob II.
The title and concept was resurrected, re-located from Persia, and established in India by the then deposed Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Abdul Messiah II in 1912. By a state interference Ignatius Abdul Messiah II had lost his position in Turkey and came to be replaced by Mar Abdulla. Metropolitan Mar Dionysius VI clashed with Mar Abdullah and the Canonical senior Patriarch Abdul Messiah offered to come to the assistance of the former(Mar Dionysius). Thus in 1912 he came to Kerala and associated with Mar Dionysius VI and the Bishops and the Church with him, to establish the Catholicate of the East in Malankara. The ceremony was held at St. Mary's Church, Niranam on 15 September 1912. (Niranam Church is one of the seven Churches founded by St. Thomas during his visit here in the first century.).
The Catholicate of the East was thus established in Malankara, with the cooperation of the canonical Patriarch Abdul Messiah, who was senior to Mar Abdulla. Thereby the Patriarch himself withdrew any temporal oversight if any in the Indian Church, which the Royal Court of Appeal had acknowledged in 1889. The designation 'Catholicos of the East' to the successors of St. Thomas the Apostle was given by the Jerusalem Synod of AD 231. The head quarters of the Orthodox Church of the East was first at Uraha (Edessa) in Persia. This was moved to 'Selucia' and it was there the title 'Catholicos of the East' originated. Catholicos is an ecclesiastical dignitary recognised in the Antiochien Syrian Church also. He is equal in rank with the Patriarch though the latter is considered as first among equals (primus interparees) The Persian Christians were not consulted by Abdul Messiah II, nor was the Synod 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....
. At this time, Basileus Paulose I was consecrated the first Catholicos of what has become the Indian Orthodox Church at St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church, Niranam
Niranam
Niranam is a village in central Travancore region in Kerala, India. It was a port in ancient Kerala, on the confluence of the Manimala and Achankovil River. It is almost from Tiruvalla in Pathanamthitta District of Kerala...
(Niranam Valiyapally).
After staying in Malankara for about nine months Mar Abdul Messiah returned to Kurkuma Dayara which was the headquarters of Syrian Patriarchs, in 1913. Mar Abdulla, after staying in Malankara for about 2 years, causing the maximum possible damage to the Church, left Malankara, and died on the way in 1915, without being able to reach the Patriarchal abode.
When the new Patriarch of Antioch Mar Ignatius Abdulla Satuff came to know of the visit of Abdul Massih and the appointment of a Catholicos in Malankara, he became very furious and issued an order invalidating the appointment of the Catholicos and the powers of the Bishops to appoint or elect a new Catholicos. This finally split the church - The Methran Kakshi calls itself the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church of India whose Catholicos or supreme head resides at Devalokam, Kottayam. The Bava Kakshi continued to be called the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church of India whose head is the Antiochian Jacobite Patriarch. The parties approached the Hon. Court of India about ownership of the church properties which prolonged for many years.
Though many peace negotiations were going on from the days of the split, it became more significant with the arrival of Patriarch of Antioch Mor Ignatius Elias III in 1931. He created a favourable atmosphere by cancelling the excommunication of Mor Dionysius Vattasseril VI and tried his best to heal the breach. Although the Bava Kakshi won the case in High court, finally the Supreme Court in 1958 decided the case in favour of the Methran Kakshi (Orthodox Church).
Malankara Orthodox Church is now administered as per the constitution adopted in 1934 which was passed by the Malankara Syrian Christian Association. The Association in its meeting requested the Catholicos Mar Geevarghese II to assume the additional role of Malankara Metropolitan also, due to the demise of previous Malankara Metropolitan Mar Dionysius VI. The practice of the Catholicos and Malankara Metropolitan being vested in one person is being continued even today. The Association is a fully representative body of the church with elected members -priests and laymen-from all the Parish Churches. There is also an Episcopal Synod which has all the Prelates of the Malankara Church as members. Matters concerning Faith, Order and Discipline are under the authority of the Episcopal Synod. It is the Episcopal Synod which installs the Catholicos.
Peace in 1958
When Moran Mor Ignatius Yakub III become the Patriarch, expressed his desire for the unity of the Church in Malankara. On 16 December 1958, following a series of discussions that was continuing for many years, the Patriarch and the Catholicose accepted each other and the Universal Church was born. The two sides reconciled when the Indian Supreme Court declared in 1958 that only the autocephalous Catholicos and bishops in communion with him had legal standing. But almost immediately after the accord of 1958, the Catholicose and his group took control of many Jacobite Syrian churches. After a series of such incidents, a meeting of the representatives of the various parish churches, who were in favour for the continuation of the Patriarch, was convened at Manarcad in 1960. The large gathering assembled there protested against the forceful entry of the Catholicose to many churches which was contrary to the agreement reached with the Patriarch earlier. On the request of the assembly, Mor Philixinose went to Damascus to call on His Holiness and submit their grievances. But His Holiness who was against another split in the Church, sent back Mor Philixonse with instructions to co-operate with the Catholicose. The Catholicose suspended Mor Philixinose Paulose from the Episcopal Synod of the united Church on 17 June 1960, thereby paved way for the continuation of enmity among the Syrian Christian groups.
Due to the above state of affairs, in 1964, Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Yakub III arrived in Malankara and ordained Mor Augen as Catholicose of the East- 'Mor Baselius Augen I'. Thus, the Jacobite Catholicate was established in India with its administrative jurisdiction limited to India, as per the decision of Universal Episcopal Synod held at Kottayam, presided by the Patriarch Ignatius Yakub III of Antioch and attended by all the bishops of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India, and bishops from the Middle East who had accompanied the Patriarch.
In the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, the Patriarch of Antioch & all the East is the spiritual supreme, but the temporal powers of the local Church in India rests with an association, elected from among the representatives of Parishes of Malankara, and is to be administered under guidance from its Chief prelate, the Catholicos of India.
By the seventies, Catholicose Mar Augen I under pressure from the extremists in his group, began to claim that he was sitting on the throne of St. Thomas and declared equality with his superior, the Patriarch of Antioch and all the East. And also fundamental changes were made in the history and faith of the Malankara Church that was followed for centuries, particularly in the Sunday Schools and other such organizations. The Patriarch convened a Universal Synod of the Syrian Orthodox Church in 1975 and excommunicated the Catholicose Augen I. Consequently the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church elected Mor Philexinos Paulose as the new Catholicose-designate and in 1975 and he was ordained as Catholicose Mor Baselios Paulose II for the Indian Church for the Bava kakshi. Again a series of court cases erupted about church properties between the two groups.
In June 1996 the Supreme Court of India rendered a decision that (a) upheld the Constitution of the church that had been adopted in 1934 and made it binding on both factions, (b) stated that there is only one Orthodox church in India, currently divided into two factions, and (c) recognized the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch as the spiritual head of the universal Syrian Church, while affirming that the autocephalous Catholicos has legal standing as the head of the entire church, and that he is custodian of its parishes and properties.
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 has been greeted 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 and functions in a similar manner to the Indian Orthodox Catholicate within India. The Catholicos of India presides over the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Christian Association, the legal entity of Malankara parishes that supports remaining within the Antiochian Patriarchate. This entity, recognized by the High Court of Kerala, was formed in 2002 to guard against Indian Orthodox hierarchs claiming the property of parishes where Jacobite parishioners are the overwhelming majority.
The Catholicos is not authorized to consecrate Holy Mooron independently. The jurisdiction of the Jacobite Catholicos is limited to India only, although he is often invited to preside over Jacobite functions abroad.
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....
believes it is the mother Christian church in South India and that the Indian Orthodox Church is a schismatic faction. The Indian Orthodox Catholicate remains under excommunication for dividing the church — leading to numerous legal actions, boarded churches, and broken faith experiences. The claim of autocephaly and Thomasine succession is especially onerous since both camps accept that Jacobite Petrine Patriarchs were involved in maintaining Indian ecclesiastical leadership, and as noted in both "viewpoints", it was a deposed Antiochian Patriarch that initially established the non-canonical Catholicate.
To underscore the point, the Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
unequivocally declared that the Indian Orthodox Catholicate is part 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....
and is not autocephalous in 1995. The current constitution of the Indian Orthodox Church (1934) continues to acknowledge the Patriarch of Antioch as that group's spiritual head and having no temporal authority.
Lineage of Syrian Jacobite Catholicos
- Baselios Augen I (1964–1975)
- Baselios Paulose II (1975–1996)
- Vacant from 1996 to 2002
- Baselios Thomas I (2002–present)
Lineage of Malankara Orthodox Catholicos
A.D.- St. Thomas the ApostleThomas the ApostleThomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...
– (Founder) 35-72 - Addai (Thaddeus of Edessa) 72-120
- Aggai (Aggaeus) 120-152
- MariSaint MariSaint Mari was converted by Saint Addai. He is said to have had Mar Aggai as his spiritual director. He is also believed to have done missionary work around Nineveh, Nisibis, and along the Euphrates, and is said to have been one of the great apostles to Syria and Persia. He and Addai are credited...
152-185 - Abrosius 185-201
- Abraham 201-213
- YakoubYaqob IYaqob I was a legendary primate of the Church of the East, from the family of Joseph the carpenter, who is conventionally believed to have reigned c.190....
213-231 - Ahod AbueiAhadabuiAhadabui was a legendary primate of the Church of the East, who is conventionally believed to have sat from 204 to 220.Although Ahadabui is included in traditional lists of primates of the Church of the East, his existence has been doubted by J. M. Fiey, one of the most eminent twentieth-century...
231-246 - ShahluppaShahlufaShahlufa was a legendary primate of the Church of the East, who is conventionally believed to have reigned from 220 to 224 A.D.Although Shahlufa is included in traditional lists of primates of the Church of the East, his existence has been doubted by J. M. Fiey, one of the most eminent...
246-266 - PappaPapa (bishop)Mar Papa , also known as Papa bar Aggai, was Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the capital of Sassanid Persia, in the late 3rd and early 4th century. An important figure in the early history of the Church of the East, he was first in the generally recognized line of Bishops of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, who...
267-336 - Simun Bar Sheba 337-350
- ShahoudolhShahdostShahdost was Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and primate of the Church of the East from 341 to 343. He was martyred during the great persecution of Shapur II. Like several other early bishops of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, he is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East...
350-352 - Bar BosominBarba'shminBarbashmin was a fourth-century bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, primate of the Church of the East, and martyr. He succeeded Shahdost as bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in 343, during the great persecution of Shapur II, and was martyred three years later, in 346...
352-360 - ThomusoTomarsaTomarsa was bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and primate of the Church of the East from 363 to 371. He took office at the end of the great persecution of Shapur II. Like several other early bishops of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, he is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East...
360-368 - QuoyumoQayyomaQayyoma was bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and primate of the Church of the East during the final decades of the fourth century. He is traditionally believed to have sat from 377 to 399, though these dates have been disputed by some modern scholars...
370-375 - IshaqIsaac (patriarch)Isaac was bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, grand metropolitan and primate of the Church of the East from 399 to 410. He is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East.- Sources :...
375-386 - OahAhhaAhha was bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, grand metropolitan and primate of the Church of the East from 410 to 414. He is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East...
386-393 - Vahb AllahoYahballaha IYahballaha I was bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, grand metropolitan and primate of the Church of the East from 415 to 420. He is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East.- Sources :...
393-398 - MaginaMana (patriarch)Mana served briefly as bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, grand metropolitan and primate of the Church of the East in 420. Like several other early bishops of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, he is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East....
398-400 - MerbukhatFarbokhtFarbokht served briefly as bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, grand metropolitan and primate of the Church of the East in 421. He is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East...
401-420 - Daudesh 421-456
- BabuyahBabowaiBabowai was the Patriarch of the Church of the East during the reign of the Sassanid King Peroz I. Babowai was known for his pro-Byzantine leanings, for which he was often in conflict with other members of the anti-Byzantine Church of the East. He was executed in 484.Babowai was known as a...
457-484 - JosephJoseph (Nestorian Patriarch)Joseph was Patriarch of the Church of the East from 552 to 567. He was immensely unpopular, and was eventually deposed by his bishops. He was notorious for having invented much of the early history of the Church of the East...
552-556 - Ahoudelle 559-577(Cons.by Yakoub Burdana)
- Qoum Ycsu 578-579
- SamuelSamuelSamuel is a leader of ancient Israel in the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. He is also known as a prophet and is mentioned in the Qur'an....
614-624(Maphrianate at Tigris) - Morooso 628-649
- Denha-1 650-659
- Bar Yesu 669-684
- AbrahamAbrahamAbraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
686-687 - DavidDavidDavid was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
687 - Youhanon Souba 687-688
- Denha-ll 688-728
- Paulos 728-757
- Youhanon Keeyunoyo 758-788
- JosephJoseph-Media:* YosepH, album by Luke Vibert* Josef , a Croatian television movie from 2011*Various works based on the life of Joseph in the Hebrew Bible:** Joseph and his Brethren, oratorio by George Frideric Handel...
789-793 - Sharbeel 794-810
- SimunSimunSimun is a village in Bhamo Township in Bhamo District in the Kachin State of north-eastern Burma..-External links:**...
812-828 - Baselios Bar Baldoyo 828-838
- DanielDanielDaniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...
838-847 - Thoma of Tigris 848-856
- Lo Asar 856-869
- Sargis 872-883
- Athanasius 887-904
- Thoma Asthunoro 912-913
- Denha-III 915-935
- Baselios III 938-962
- Kuriakos 964-982
- Youhanan Darmascus 991-997
- Ignatius Barkiki 997-1022
- Athanasius of Edesa 1027-1141
- Baselios of Tigris 1046-1069
- Youhanan Sleeba 1075-1106
- Dionysius Moosa 1112-1142
- Ignatius Lo Asar 1143-1164
- Youhanan Srugayo 1165-1188
- Dionysius Bar Msah 1188-1204
- Gregorios Yakoub 1204-1215
- Ignatius David 1215-1222
- Dionysius Sleeba 1222-1231
- Youhanan Bar Madan 1232-1253
- Ignatius Sleeba of Edesa 1253-1258
- Gregorios Bar Hebraeus 1266-1286
- Gregorius Bar Sauma 1289 -1308
- Gregorius Mathai 1317-1360
- Alhanasius Abraham 1365-1379
- Baselios Bahnam 1404-1412
- Dioscoros Bahnam 1415-1417
- Baselios Barsauma 1422-1455
- Baselios Asiz 1471-1487
- Ignatius Nuh of Horns 1490-1494
- Baselios Abraham 1494-1496
- Baselios 1560-1589
- Baselios Yaldo 1634-1685(d. at Kothamangalam)
- Baselios Shakrulla 1751-1764(d. at Kandanad)
- Baselios Elias 1838-1840
- Baselios Bahnam in Malankara 1850-1860
- Baselios Paulose I (1912–1914) (Catholicos of the East)
- Baselios Geevarghese I (1925–1928) (Catholicos of the East)
- Baselios Geevarghese II (Catholicos of the East, 1929-1964 & Malankara Metropolitan, 1934–1964)
- Baselios Augen I (1964–1975) (Catholicos of the East & Malankara Metropolitan)
- Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews I (1975–1991) (Catholicos of the East & Malankara Metropolitan)
- Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews II (1991–2005) (Catholicos of the East & Malankara Metropolitan)
- Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I (2005–2010) (Catholicos of the East & Malankara Metropolitan)
- Baselios Mar Thoma Paulose IIBaselios Mar Thoma Paulose IIBaselios Mar Thoma Paulose II is the 91st reigning Catholicos of the East and 21st reigning Malankara Metropolitan and as such, Supreme Head of the Indian Orthodox Church. He was enthroned Catholicos of the East & Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church on 1 November 2010...
(2010–Present) (Catholicos of the East & Malankara Metropolitan)
Other Churches employing the title Catholicos
Besides the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, other churches employ the title "Catholicos", most notably the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox ChurchArmenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...
, 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...
, Ancient Church of the East
Ancient Church of the East
The Ancient Church of the East was established in 1968. It follows the traditions of one of the oldest Christian churches, the Church of the East, whose origins trace back to the See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in central Mesopotamia...
, Georgian Orthodox Church, Armenian Catholic Church
Armenian Catholic Church
|- |The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church sui juris in union with the other Eastern Rite, Oriental Rite and Latin Rite Catholics who accept the Bishop of Rome as spiritual leader of the Church. It is regulated by Eastern canon law...
, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See...
and 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...
See also
- Oriental OrthodoxyOriental OrthodoxyOriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...
- Catholicos of The East and Malankara MetropolitanCatholicos of The East and Malankara MetropolitanCatholicos is the title used by head bishops of regions within the Patriarchate of Antioch having self ecclesiastical and autonomus status from the ancient period. The word "Catholicos" means "Universal"....
External links
- Indian Christianity
- Official Website of the Indian Orthodox Church
- Complete Website of the Indian Orthodox Church
- Catholicos of the East - St. Mary's Malankara Orthodox Cathedral of Philadelphia
- Indian Orthodox Herald: News about the Catholicate of the East
- ICON Indian Christian Orthodox Network - Catholicos of the East
- Complete Site of Catholicos of The East and Malankara Metropolitan
- Malankara Sabhadeepam: Church history and news in Malayalam
- Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church - Diocese of America
- History of the Catholicate of the East
- Syriac Orthodox Resources
- Shoro, the Syriac Orthodox Christian Digest
- Catholicose.org Aboon Baselios Paulose II
- SyriacChristianity.org: Malankara Syriac Christian Resources
- Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in North America