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  Kallumkathra St. George Church

                        - An historical perspective

    Kallumkathra St. George church, established in AD 1817, is one of the oldest churches in the Kottayam diocese. It is situated 10 Km west of Kottayam town, in  the village of Pulikkuttissery in Aymanam Panchayath, a part of Upper Kuttanad. The picturesque landscape  and the innumerable tributaries of Meenachil river adds to the beauty of the village. The church itself is surrounded by a canal. Till recently water transport was the only possible way to reach the church premises.  

Spread of Christianity in India

The history of the Indian Church begins with the arrival of St.Thomas, the Apostle (ext) to Malankara (Kerala) in AD 52. He preached the Holy Gospel and converted many to Christianity. But in the subsequent years, Christian congregations established by the Apostle weakened in numbers due to the lack of ecclesiastical relationship with the Church that was concentrated mainly in the middle east. A turnaround to this pitiable situation happened in AD.345 when a large Christian group from the Syrian province of Roman Empire, arrived in Malankara under the leadership of Knai Thoma. Among the said delegation from the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch included a Metropolitan by name Joseph of Edessa and a few priests which helped in the establishment of Episcopacy in the Malankara Church. As a consequence of this Syrian migration, the entire Christian community in Kerala came to be called SYRIAN CHRISTIANS, thus adopting the rituals and liturgies of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch.  

The descendants of these Syrian migrants (who were called 'KNANAITES' after their leader Knai Thoma) preferred to  marry among themselves only and hence remained as an endogamous community. While these Syrian migrants were called as Knanaya Syrian Christians, the native (Mar Thoma) Christians were referred as Malankara Syrian Christians.  Knanaites being predominantly, merchants with middle east connections, were always given special status by the local rulers and for that reason they could easily establish worship centers without much opposition from other religious denominations. Through the centuries they moved from Mahadevarpatanam, the place where they first settled, to Udayamperoor, Mulunthuruthy, Kuravilangad, Kottayam, Kallissery etc. and established churches in all these places.

Christian migration to Kottayam

It was in AD.1550, the St. Mary's church (Valiya Pally) at Kottayam was established by these Knanaya Syrian Christians who settled there on the request of one of the local rulers. This is the oldest Christian church in the region. Around this period the native Syrian Christians also settled in nearby places. They included migrants from Angamaly, Kothamangalam, Kuravilangad etc.. Both the Knanayates as well as the Malankara Christians at the time were depending on Kottayam 'Valiya Pally' for their spiritual needs. Few years later, a rift between the Knanayates and the Malankara Christians developed which finally resulted in the formation of a new church nearby by the later group. This church came to be known as Kottayam Cheria Pally (St. Mary's church). All the churches located in the western parts of Kottayam can trace back their origin to either of these two churches.

 

Kallumkathra  St. George  Church - Estd. A.D. 1817

        Till the beginning of the 19th century, the entire Syrian Christians of the region depended on Kottayam Cheria Pally, for their spiritual needs. But as time changed, the Syrian Christians of nearby villages of Aymanam, Kummanam, Olessa, Parippu and Arpookara, preferred to have a church in their locality. They spotted the present location of the Church which was more accessible for them. Being an ideal place the Roman Catholics had also sought the permission of the government officials to construct a church there. But on the request of a prominent person of the locality, one 'Parambil Tharakan', the local authorities granted permission to the  Jacobite Syrian Christians. Consequently a church dedicated to Mor Geevarghese Sahdo (St. George), was constructed here with the permission of the Church hierarchy.

The first Holy Qurbono was celebrated by 'Punnathra Kurien Kathanar', the Vicar General of the Malankara Church on 25th Meenam A.D. 1817 (Malayalam Calendar Year: 992). He continued as the priest of this church till his ordination as Metropolitan in 1818 by name Mor Divanasios III.  Later, for more than a decade, it was priests from other parishes who served in this church.  From the year 1832, priests chosen from among the parishioners were ordained and appointed as Vicars of the church (Edavaka Vicars).  'Kallumkathra Yakub Kassesso' and 'Pullampilayil Punnen Kassesso' were the first resident Priests of the Kallumkathra church.

 

Representatives from the Kallumkathra church attends Mulanthuruthy Synod

In the historic Mulunthuruthy Synod convened by the Patriarch of Antioch Mor Ignatius Pathros-IV in AD 1876, one priest (Muppathiyil Scaria Kathanar) and two laities represented Kallumkathra St. George church.  One among them, 'Kalapurackal Chacko Cherian' had the unique privilege to get elected to the 24-member supreme body of the newly formed ‘Malankara and Arpookara, preferred to Syriac Christian Association’. 

In 1879, Kadavil Paulose Mor Athanasius, the first Metropolitan of the Kottayam diocese, visited the church and appointed a three member committee for its smooth administration. The present structure of the church was constructed as per the plan submitted by this Metropolitan. Later, on the request of the diocesan Metropolitan, a document regarding the administration of the Parish was registered in AD 1895.

 

Centenary celebrations and after

The Centenary jubilee of the Parish was celebrated on a grand scale in AD 1918. Around that time, an internal schism between two groups created serious repercussions in the Malankara Church. This Parish was also affected by the factional feuds which forced both the factions to build separate Churches; the Arpookara Manalel St. George Church and the St. Mary’s Simhasana Church. By 1964, peace was  re-established in Malankara and the Parish was also relieved from the disputes. 

On completion of 150 years of establishment of the church in May 1967, a triple jubilee function was organized in a grand way. Besides the Metropolitans of the Church, many prominent personalities from sister Churches also participated in the week long celebrations. 

A few years after, the squabbles within the Malankara Church started to surface once again and this had a very negative effect in the Kallumkathra church also. However realizing the seriousness of the situation, the two groups in the parish later decided to solve the disputes in an mutually respectable way. Accordingly the 'Bava faction' (Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Christians) continued their rights in the old church. The other group known as 'Methran faction' (Orthodox Syrians), agreed to have their Services in one of the Chapels under this Parish namely the 'Manalel St.George Church'. The cemetery of the mother church meanwhile was agreed to be shared by both the factions. Though the litigations that started decades earlier in this parish, did not ended completely, a  peaceful atmosphere was created in the church. Thus the Kallumkathra church set a good example in this era of Church disputes.

 

 


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