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CHAPTER II

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IN

Traditionally, Kerala extended from Gokarnam to Cape Comorin, but in historical times its area was confined to the speaking territories on the coasts. The country slopes from East to West, with uplands and hills in the East, and plains, lowlands and fields on the western section. The coastal region is almost at the sea level, while the in the East form an almost unbroken range of mountains, some of which are as high as 10,000 feet. These mountains separate or in some way isolate Kerala from the rest of , It might, therefore, appear that the from the beginning have lived a life of their own. But Kerala's connections across the sea with the countries bordering on the Arabian sea was continuous and of particular significance, which have affected its society and culture. The Church, in fact, traces its origin to these connections, 2 Non-Christian Communities _ Kerala is an instance of the communities of three major world religions - , and - living within one territory. The Hindu community of Kerala experienced the most elaborate system of caste found in India, With 365 divisions and subdivisions,-^ and conceptions of purity and pollution which extended beyond untouchability

42 43 to unapproachability, Kerala was described by Vivekananda as a mad house of caste, *" Yet, the system was unusual in its structure. For, of the four basic varnas, Kshatriyaa were rare and Vaisyas almost non-existent, took the place of Kshatriyas, though they were regarded as Sudras by the Namboodiri Brahmins. Muslims and Syrian Christians were, to some extent, the major trading and business communities. Neither has, however, fulfilled the role attributed to the Vaisya, In fact, Kerala has had no indigeneous community primarily concerned with either money-lending or entrepreneu­ rial activity. Money-lending has been mainly taken by the Konkani and Tamil Brahmins, and entrepreneurship by the Europeans and Gujaratis.

At the top of the system, as elsewhere in India, are the Brahmins. There are 17 Brahmin subcastes, among which Namboodiris constitute the important indigeneous Brahmin group of Kerala. Their patrimonial and primogenital customs discouraged property fragmentation. All of them were land-

-a lords and in contrast to the alien Brahmins resident in Kerala, Namboodiris, because of their insistence on ritual purity, have taken little part in public life. Among the non-Malyali Brahmins of Kerala the Tamil Brahmins are the most numerous. In contrast to the Namboodiris, they have proved highly adaptable to modern conditions and by the end of mid-nineteenth century they had established a virtual 44 monopoly in some key areas of Government services of Travan- core. Here one may recall the Memorial of 1^91, a petition to the Maharaja of by his Malayali subjects protesting against Tamil dominance in the higher 7 reaches of the Travancore Government,

The Nairs who followed the matriarchal (marumakka- g thayaia) system of inheritance come next in importance, Q There are 25 subcastes among them. Together with the Namboodiris, the Nairs had formed the land-owning class. But today many of them are agriculturists. Since the commu­ nity as such took special interest in education, there is a higher rate of literacy in this community and a good many of them are employed in Government service. The Service Society (N, S.S.), the caste organization of the Nairs with 54 Unions (taluk units), 4,000 Karayogams (village units) and Boo Vanitha samajams (women's associations) and an infrastructure of schools, colleges, hospitals and training centres is a potent factor in the social and political life of Kerala and since 1973 N.S.S, has its own political wing too, the National Democratic Party (N.D, P.). Ezhavas who stand next in the hierarchical ladder are traditionally toddy-tappers. They were defined as un­ touchables by the upper castes and till the beginning of the 20th century were denied both temple entry and temple approach. Today they are engaged in agriculture and commerce and some 45 of them may be found in other walks of life too. There are five subcastes among the Ezhavas,1 2 The Sree Narayan Dharraa Paripalana Yogam (S,N.D.P,) which was established as the caste association of the Ezhavas towards the beginning of this century in order to put an end to the various caste disabilities, has, like the N.S.S, of the Nairs, become a powerful interest group in Kerala, With 53 unions and 3l60 Sakhas (branches) S,N.D.P., too, runs several schools, colleges, hospitals and training centres. And in 1972, Social Revolutionary Party (3,R.P.) has been formed as the political wing of the S.N.D.P."'-^

At the bottom of the system are the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Although Government action has made a tiny elite group among them, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes still remain predominantly landless labourers who are usually employed in agriculture and other manual works.

The Muslim community ortgtftated in Kerala during the Sth and 9th centuries through the settlement of Arab traders and are locally known as Mappillas,1 4 Almost all the Muslims are Sunnis. The main occupation of the Muslims is trade. But since the level of literacy is comparatively low among them, many of the Muslims are engaged in casual labour. Welfare and development activities of the community are being carried out by 11 Muslim Associations, among which Muslim Educational Society (M,E.S.) is the most important. 46

The non-Christian communities which constitute 7S,82 per cent of the total Kerala population are distributed as follows :

Table 2.1 : Percentage Distribution of non-Christian Communities of Kerala {196^)1°

Community % to the total population of Kerala

Namboodiri Brahmins 0,14 Other Brahmins 1.32 Nairs l4.4l Ezhavas 22.19 Other Hindu Castes 12.56 Scheduled Castes 7.^5 Scheduled Tribes 1.22 Muslims 19.12 Others (Sikhs, Parsis, Jews, Budhists) 0.01

Total non-Christians 7g.g2

Note: For the distribution of Christian population in Kerala, see Table 2,2,

With this general background of the non-Christian communities of Kerala, we shall now proceed to the study of the origin, growth and development of the Church in Kerala. 47

Christian Community Historical tradition ascribes the origin of Christianity in Kerala to St, Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, who is believed to have landed at Crangannore, Trichur District, in the year 52 A.D, and planted a cross there, signifying thereby the birth of Christianity in Kerala, 17 In view of the extensive trade relations that existed between Kerala and Mediterranean countries even before the Christian era, there is nothing improbable, as we think, in this tradition. The Christian community which through proselytiza- tion of the local people flourished in Kerala was known by the names of "St, Thomas Christians*' (after the name of St, Thomas, the founder of the Church) and "Syrian Christians" (because of the relationship that the Kerala Church had with the Church of East ). The main centres of the community were Crangannore, Palayur, Kottakavu, Kokkamangalam, Quilon, Niranam and Nilackal, As the early converts were from upper castes, the Syrian Christians enjoyed a status that was equivalent to the high caste Hindus,

Mundadan, in his analysis oi the way of life of the Syrian Christians observes that till the advent of the Portuguese in lk^B, the Syrian Christians had been living in two worlds at the same time.1 9 The first of these was the geographical, political and social world of Kerala, In this context, it may be pointed out that the Church, after landing in India, got itself assimilated into the languages. 4i

customs, rituals and ceremonies of India. Hence, J.H, Hutton, the Census Commissioner for India (1931) observes that the Church of India permitted the use of "tali instead of a ring in marriage and... the retention of other customs, such as, a tabu 'for reasons of hygiene' on contacts with 20 persons polluted by childbirth." A study conducted by Chawgliana among the Christians of Mizoram revealed that the Church got itself assimilated even to local gods. 21 For, he observes that the early Christian taught the Mizos that what the Mizos called "Pathian" was the God of whom the missionaries, too, were talking, "Thus, the term "Pathian" which was used to designate their old God... (became) 22 their new God, the Christian God," The Syrian Christian community which flourished in Kerala was one of the best examples of such cultural adaptations. Summarising their way of life, Podipara remarks that the Syrian Christians were "Hindu in culture (and) Christian in religion,..", 23 i,e,, while preserving the "sacred" dimension of Christianity intact (hence "Christian in religion"), "profane" elements were adjusted to the local situation (hence "Hindu in culture").

The ecclesiastical world of the East Syrian Church or the Chaldean Church, whose bishops governed them, whose faith, law and mode of worship they shared was the second world of the Syrian Christians. With the coming of the Portuguese, they were initiated into a third-world, viz., A-9

25 the Latin . Failing to distinguish between the 'sacred' and 'profane' dimensions of religion, the Portuguese indulged in a wholesale condemnation of this community's age-old practices as non-Christian, They further tried to introduce the customs and practices of the , a process which culminated in the in 1599. The Syrian Christians protested against these efforts of the Portuguese and in 1653 representativesof the various parishes assembled at Mattanchery, Ernakulam District, tied a rope to the open air cross called the "Coonen Gross" and holding the rope, swore that they would never be under the supremacy of the West, This is known in the history of the Church as the "Coonen Cross Oath", Some of them later met at Alangadu, near Alwaye and 12 priests among them appointed another priest, Archdeacon Thomas of the Pakalomattam family, as the bishop of the Church in Kerala, This led to the first faction among the Syrian Christians - the Syrian Catholics who recognised the Roman as the legitimate head of the Church and the Jacobites who did not recognise the supremacy of the Pope, The Christian Church in Kerala has, therefore, a common history till 1653. For a proper understanding of its later developments, one has to make a brief survey of the different Christian denominations in Kerala which came into being after 1653. All of them accepted Jesus Christ as the founder of 50 their Church, What separated them from one another were the dogmatic issues, interpersonal rivalry and unlimited desire for power and prestige. For the purpose of this study, we shall divide them into two broad categories: Catholics and non-Catholic Christians, Jesus had elected Simon Peter as the head of the Church instituted by him. Catholics believe that the Roman are the descendents of Simon Peter, whom they consider as the first Pope, Such a "pipe-line connection" with Christ, non-Catholic Christians say, is not necessary for the Church leadership and, hence, they reject the supremacy of the Pope, Local Church is, therefore, important for the non-Catholic Christians, whereas, there is a rigid hierar- chichal organization with Pope at the top among the Catholics, Other factors which separate different Churches will be clear in the analysis that follows.

The different Sects of the Church, it may be noted, practise endogamy. But they all share certain social charac­ teristics, such as, patriliny and dowry system (which though illegal, is still in practice, of which we shall speak at a later stage,)

Catholics 1, Syro-Malabar Church The Syrian Catholics who accepted the supremacy of the Roman Pope after the "Coonen Gross Oath" of I653 are known by the name of "Syro-Malabar" Catholics, ^"^ (The word "Malabar" in this context is used as a synonym for Kerala, and "Syro" 51 is the derivative form of "Syrian", the rite which the Church uses in its liturgy.) After the "Coonen Cross Oath", this Church was brought under the jurisdiction of the Portuguese Padroado, ("Padroado" was a distinction given to Portugal by the Roman Pope as a recognition of its acti- vities. Accordingly, the right of presenting to the Pope fit candidates for the bishopric and the right of presenting to the bishop fit candidates for priesthood were given to the king of Portugal. The king ori his part was bound to provide for the necessities of the diocese : payment of the ecclesiastical officials, building and repairing of Churches, Chapels and monasteries, and providing them with necessary things for divine worship.) The Church was later brought under the jurisdiction of Spanish Carmelite missionaries residing at Verapoly. The community was, however, becoming more and more aware of the need for liberating itself from the hands of foreign missionaries and thereby making it independent with its own bishops and priests. After much consideration, its autonomy was declared by the Pope Leo XIII in ISS? and thereafter the Church is known as "Syro-Malabar" Church. This community is spread out in the following centres of Kerala today: Changanacherry, Kanjirappilly, , Palai, Ernakulam, Irinjalakuda, Kothamangalam, Mananthvady, Palghat, Tellicherry and Trichur. 52

2. Syro- A section of the Jacobites under the leadership of Mar Ivanios entered into negotiations with Rome in 1926 to effect a re-union with the . Pope Pius XI welcomed them and the Archbishop and his followers were duly received to the Catholic Church in 1930. The 29 re-united Church is known as "Syro-Malankara" Church. (The term "Malankara", like the "Malabar" of the "Syro-Malabar Church" is used as a synonym for Kerala.) The main centres of this Church are Trivandrum, Tiruvalla and Sultan Bathery.

3, Latin Church There are two opinions regarding the origin of Latin Church in Kerala. According to some, the present Latin Catholics of Kerala are the descendants of the converts by the Portuguese missionaries, while others hold the view^ that the Latin Catholics are the Latinised St, Thomas Christians. The latter opinion is held by those Latins who are not happy with the low social status attributed to them in the Christian community. 30 The Latin Church is spread out today in such Centres as Verapoly, Alleppey, Calicut, Cochin, Quilon, Vijayapuram and Trivandrum,

Non-Catholic Christians-^3 1 1, Jacobite Church In 1965 a Jacobite bishop, Gregorios from Jerusalem, came to Kerala accepting the invitation from local people. The group -which rejected the supremacy of the Roman Pope 53 after the "Coonen Cross Oath" followed Mar Gregorios, This Church was thereafter known as "Jacobite" Church, (The title "Jacobite" is associated with the name of Jacob Baradai, who had organized a faction within the Church of Syria during Sixth Century A.D,) This community, under the titles of "Bava's Party" and "Metran's Party" has a long history of internal splits and re-unions, which we shall discuss below,

2. Syrian Orthodox Church This is the "Metran's Party" of the Jacobites, The Church was instituted by the Jacobite bishop, Vattasseril Mar Dionysius. Today they have adopted the name "Syrian Orthodox Church" with the assumption that it is this Church that has preserved the true Christian faith.

From the middle of 17th century the Jacobite Church was connected with the Jacobite of Antioch and from the middle of 19th century the Patriarch began to consecrate bishops of this Church, In 190^ Dionysius went to Antioch and was ordained bishop by Mar Abdulla, the then Patriarch of Antioch and was appointed Jacobite bishop of Kerala, In the same year Patriarch Abdulla came to Kerala claiming complete jurisdiction over the Kerala Jacobite Church. But Bishop Dionysius and his followers did not grant this claim and asserted that the Patriarch had power only to consecrate bishops, but no right over the property 54 of the Jacobite Church, In 1911 the Patriarch dismissed Bishop Dionysius and Bishop Kurillos was appointed in his place. Thus two parties emerged in the Jacobite Church, Those who followed Bishop Dionysius adopted the name "Syrian Orthodox Church" and are known also as "Metran's (Bishop's) Party", Those who accepted the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch preserved the old name, i,e, , "Jacobite Church" and are known also as "Bava's (Patriarch's) Party". This was followed by serious fights between the two parties, which have become important events in the history of Jacobite and Orthodox Churches, In 195^ the Syrian Orthodox Church got a favourable decision from the Supreme Court according to which the Catho- Itcs, i.e., the head of the Syrian Orthodox Church, had complete right over the property and other possessions of the Church, The Jacobites then made an unconditional surrender by uniting themselves with the other party. Thus the two groups were united in Kottayara in 195^,

But this was not the end of the struggle between two parties. The Jacobite bishop who had unconditionally accepted o the jurisdiction of the Catholics, came out with certain new demands. Since he was not willing to make any modification of his demands, he was dismissed in I960 at the episcopal synod. But without submitting himself to the dismissal, he went ahead with a new movement called, "Antiochean-Syrian movement". This was a protest against the 'unity' that took place in 195^. The "Bava's Party" wanted to be directly under 55 the Patriarch of Antioch and claimed that they were the original Jacobites, The struggle between the two parties took a new dimension in 197^ leading even to bloodshed and it is still continued.

Of late the Bava's Party has started entering into negotiations with the Pope at Vatican about which its head Paulose Mar Baselios, during our interview with him remarked; "After three centuries of separation, we, the Jacobites and Catholics are moving towards unity. Understanding has already been reached on several matters. Hence members of both the Churches can receive from priests of either Church on certain conditions. They can also pursue theological studies in Seminaries of either of the Churches,*'3^ 2 He, however, added that the Church wanted to retain the identity of its own and that therefore many more hurdles were yet to be crossed on the way to unity.

Geographically, the northern regions of Kerala compa­ ratively back the "Bava's Party" and the central and southern regions of the state extend support to the "Metran's Party," Thus, Chingavanom, Mulanthuruthy, Perumbavoor and Kothaman- galam are considered to be the strongholds of the former, while Kottayam, Quilon, Niranam and Thumbamon are the power centres of the latter,^-3^3

3, The Marthomites had their origin from the excommunication 56 of a Jacobite bishop, Mathew Mar Athnasius in lS75. Their liturgy was reformed according to the teachings of the Protestant Church, Hence they are "Protestant" in doctrine and "" in externals. As a split from the Jacobite Church, they were known as "Reformed Jacobites" until they assumed the name "Marthomites", which came into use under Thomas Mar Athnasius, the irarnediate successor of Mathew Mar Athnasius. Today the Marthomites are distributed in the districts of Kottayam, Alleppey and Quilon. The Maramon Convention conducted by the Marthomites credits international reputation and is attended by thousands of people,

4, Church of South India (C.S,I,) The Church of South India (C.S.I.) was formed in 19^7 out of the union of three Protestant Churches of South India: Anglican Church, London Mission Society and Methodist Church, Anglican Church had its beginning in England when Pope opposed the divorce of Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon (Henry wanted the divorce because Catherine had failed to beget a male heir for him.) The king, therefore, broke with Rome and established royal supremacy over the English Church, The king's title as "Supreme Head in earth of the Church of England" was declared by Parliament, Both the Methodist Church and London Mission Society were established in England during iSth century in order to revive the Anglican Church whose separation from Rome had brought the total dependence 57 of the bishops upon the Crown. A "Methodist" is defined by John Wesley, one of the founders of the Church as "one who lives according to the method laid down in the ", and the name "London Mission Society" is associated with London, where the Church has its headquarters. These Churches were brought to Kerala by the British towards the beginning of 19th century.

The C.S.I, Church of Kerala is divided into four dioceses for administration: East Kerala, South Kerala, Madhya Kerala and North Kerala Dioceses, Each diocese is under a bishop residing at Melukavumattom, Trivandrum, Kottayam and Shoranur respectively,-'^

The three groups of Catholics and the four groups of non-Catholic Christians which we have been discussing so far, as is clear from the table 2\2.^constitute about ^9 per cent of the total Christian population of Kerala,

As the Table 2'imakes it clear, the two Churches under study, i.e., among the Catholics, the Syro Malabar Church and among the non-Catholic Christians, the Orthodox/jacobite Churches have the largest following. Report on Socio-Economic Survey on Castes/Coramunities Kerala 1965 (RSSC)^the latest available survey on castes/communities of Kerala, does not give separate statistical data of the Orthodox/Jacobite Churches, As both Mertan's and Bava's Parties claim to have a following of 70 per cent each of the total Orthodox/jacobite 5S

Table 2 : Percentage Distribution of Christian Population of Kerala (1965)36

% of the total % of the total Church population of Christian popu­ Kerala lation of Kerala

Catholic Syro-Malabar 8.13 38.38 Syro-Malankara 0.83 3.92 Latin 3.64 17. J9

(Catholic Total 12,60 59.49)

Non-Catholic Christian Orthodox/JaCObite 3.78 17.85 Marthomite 1.58 7.46 C.S.I. 0.96 4,53 Other 2.26 10.67

(non-Catholic Christian Total 8. 58 40.51)

Total Christian population 21,18 100.00

Churches, the data given by the respective Churches, too, are not reliable. Knowledgeable persons whom we contacted in this connection were of the opinion that both the factions should be having a following of 50 per cent each of the total Orthodox/Jacobite Churches, "Metran's party" was selected as sample for our field study as it seemed to be urore powerful 59 than the other faction. For, majority of the institutions which the Orthodox/Jacobite! Churches have, are now under the possession of the "Metran's Party". Further, knowledge­ able persons remarked that one of the main factors that has motivated the Jacobites to enter into negotiation with Rome is the financial crisis which this faction is facing as the court verdict of 195S was in favour of the Orthodox.

The "other" category of non-Catholic Christians which constitute about 11 per cent of the Christian population (and about 2 per cent of the total Kerala population) is distributed among the following 14 Churches:

5, Syro-Chaldean Church This is a sect that arose out of the split created among the Syro-Malabareans of Trichur by the arrival in 1874 of Bishop Melius, a Roman Catholic Bishop from Chaldea, Since he disobeyed the Pope's order to quit India, he was suspended and later excommunicated from the Church, But he managed to get a good following in Trichur and hence the Syro-Chaldean Church is known also as the "Church of Trichur".

6, Thozhiyoor Sabha This is a small section separated from the Jacobite Church, The Church was founded by Mar Kurillos, who was ordained Bishop in 1772 by Mar Gregorios, a Jacobite Bishop who came to Kerala from Jerusalem, Since this ordination took place without the knowledge and consent of the then Jacobite 60

Bishop, Mar Dionysius I, Kurillos could not get any position in the Jacobite Church, The Jacobites of Thozhiyoor, Malabar, however, accepted him as their Head and thereafter the Church is known as Thozhiyoor Sabha, ("Sabha" here means "Church"),

7. Nestorian Church Nestorians are the followers of Nestorius in East Syria who broke away from the traditional teachings of the Catholic Church as he refused to attribute to the divine nature of Jesus Christ, his human acts and sufferings. The exact time of the beginning of this Church in Kerala is still in dispute. The existence of Nestorians since 1907 under the Nestorian Bishop, Mar Abimelech Timotheus, however, is beyond any doubt. At the initial stage, all the Christians of Trichur, except a few families, followed the Nestorian faith. But later many of them were re-united to the Catholic Church reducing the Nestorian community smaller in size,

S, Church of Brethren The Brethren movement originated in Germany in 170S as a protest against the established Lutheran and Reformed Churches. Seeking less formalism and dogma, and more warmth in religion, they emphasised study on ,the Bible and right living. This Church was established in Kerala in 1^95 at Tiruvalla,

9, Pentecoastal Churches The Pentecostal movement, which had its origin in Cali- 61 fornia In 1906 was brought to Kerala in 1909. A large degree of emotionalism often permeats the devotional life of the Pentacostalists, Because of the disagreement among its leaders, the Church has been divided into different divisions,

10. Army This Church was founded in London in 1865 by William Booth, Realising that the poor among whom he worked were unwelcome in the class-conscious Christian Church, Booth founded the "Salvation Army" on the pattern of the British Army with uniforms, brass bands, titles, marching orders, etc.. Because of its vast system of social services, the Church soon won the admiration of all. In Kerala, the Salvation Army has established charitable institutions in at least 500 Centres, The leprosy hospital at Koratty conducted by them is to be specially mentioned,

11, Seventh Day Adventists This Church stems from the preaching of William Miller in U.S.A. during the 19th century. According to the Seventh Day Adventists, Saturday and not Sunday is the Sabbath commanded by God, The change of Sabbath to Sunday, they say, was introduced by the anti-Christ or Papacy and they do not even cook food on Saturdays, Pune is the headquarters of the Seventh Day Adventists in India. In Kerala they started their work in 1915 and the main centres of their activities are Trivandrum, Kottayam, Kottarakara and Pathanarathitta, 62

12, The Church of Vidwankutty This Church was founded by an Anglican priest, Justus , who was otherwise known as "Vidwankutty" (a name given by his classmates for his sharp intelligence and cleverness) at Kanneet near Kayamkulam, Hence the Church is known also as "Kanneet Unarvu Sabha", The Church came into existence following the dismissal of Vidwankutty from the Anglican Church for having introduced Hindu customs in his . Vidwankutty made many prophecies one of which was with regard to the end of the world in iSSl. When this and various other events which he had prophesied did not take place, many left the Church disappointed and today there are not more than 500 followers in this Church,

13, St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India This Church was founded by Mr, K.N. Daniel following his dismissal from the Mar Thoma Church because of his progressive ideas with regard to faith and traditions. This is perhaps the youngest of the Christian Churches in Kerala,

14, Church of God The very name "Church of God" implies a profession of faith in God as the only founder of the Church and a protest against other "man-made" institutions. The Church had its beginning in America and Mr. P.J, Philip from Chengannoor is responsible for spreading it in Kerala. 63

15. Jehovah's witness This is a movement started in America in 1931 by- Russell Charles Taze, His study of the Bible led Russel to deny the existence of hell and the doctrine of the Holy . The Church had its beginning in Kerala at Mallappally near Tiruvalla,

16. The Cheramar Daiva Sabha (Church of God of Chermar) This Church was founded by a Pulayan Christian called Solomon Harkose for the social and spiritual uplift of the Pulaya converts of the Church. (Pulayans constitute one of the important Scheduled Castes of Kerala, )

17. Pratyksha Raksha Daiva Sabha (God's Church of Visible Solvation) This Church was founded by a Parayan Christian by name Poykayil Yohannan as a reaction against caste discriminations in Christianity. (Parayans, too, like the Pulayans is an important Scheduled Caste of Kerala.)

IB, Lutheran Churches came into being in Europe between 1520 and 1570. The two important leaders of this are Luther and Calvin. These great reformers of the Church gave too much importance to the weak nature of man to commit sin and hence preached "worldly ", which we have dealt with in Chapter, I, This Church started its work in Kerala at Perookada near Trivandrum in 1911. 64

The South!sts and the Northlsts-^'^ There is an Interesting division of the Christian community in Kerala into two endogamous groups - the Southists and the Northists - which cut across some of the Catholic and non-Catholic Christian groups. This division is attributed to the arrival of from Syria in 3^5 A.D, According to traditions, Thomas of Cana had two wives in two residences, one on the southern side of the river at Crangannore and the other on the northern side of it. The Southists claim that they are the progeny of his legitimate wife and, therefore, had preserved their racial purity. They remain strictly an endogamous group even today. They believe that the Northists are the descendants of Thomas from the concubine, who lost their racial purity. But the Northists retort by saying that Southists are descendants of Thomas of Cana from a native servant maid. There is, however, another opinion according to which the division into Southists and Northists originated not only because they descended from two wives of Thomas of Cana, but also because they lived on the southern and northern sides of Crangannore. The Southists are known also by the names of "Sudhists" (as they claim to have preserved the racial purity) and "Knanayites" (after their ancestor, Thomas of Cana),

It may be noted that the Church, both Catholic and non- Catholic Christian, has officially recognised this division. As a mark of this recognition, among the Catholics, the 65

Diocese of Kottayam of the Syro-Malabar Church at Kottayam, and among the non-Catholic Christians, the Knanaya Diocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church at have been erected to protect the identity of the Southists.

Church and Society in Kerala till Independence After having seen the origin, growth and development of the Church, we shall devote the remaining part of this Chapter to the study of the role of the Church in giving a new shape to the society in India in general and in Kerala in particular till the democratic system of govern­ ment was introduced in the country. At the very outset a few important observations may be made:

1, Non-Christian communities too, as is clear from the analysis made at the beginning of this Chapter, were meaning­ fully engaged in the developmental activities of the state. But as this study mainly aims at the re-examination of Max V/eber*s ideas on the role of the Catholic-non Catholic sects of Christianity, an indepth study has been made only about the contribution of the Church. Important statistical data and other relevant informations regarding the non-Christian communities' involvement in developmental activities of Kerala have, however, been collected during the field visit, which will be presented in appropriate places,

2, Church's encounter with the Western world has played a significant role in its involvement in social matters. 66

This encounter, as will be made clear in the analysis that follows, has, at times, affected the Church adversely too.

3. Spread of Christianity, no doubt, was one of the main factors that had motivated the Church initially to involve itself in social matters. The concept of proselytization which was associated with the concept of the "triumphant Church" of the West ever since the Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity during 4th century, has been on decline in India after Independence and today it is practically extinct.

With these observations at the background, let us now proceed to the analysis of the Church's contribution to the Kerala society till Independence,

Education Education, perhaps, should be given the first place in this analysis. The Church took interest first and fore-

* There is, however, a feeling among many that prosely­ tization Is still going on/lndia. But the census figures /in of 19^1 show that the decadal growth rate among the Christians between 1971-^1 has been the lowest among the six major religious groups of the country (Hindus : 24,155^, Muslims : 30.595^, Christians : l6.77^, Sikhs : 26,15%, Budhist : 22.52J^, Jains : 23.69%), As a result, the percentage of Christians in the total population of India has dropped from 2,59 per cent (1971 Census) to 2,43 per cent (1971 census) and of Kerala from 22),05 per cent (1971 Census) to 20,56 per cent (19^1 Census). It may be noted that Census does not make a distinction of various denominations of Christians. (See, Indian Express, Bombay, July 21, 19^5) 67 most in education because the Church leaders thought that education would be the best instrument to spread Christian ideals by making people read the Bible. Although education existed in India from time immemorial, the ancient system of education was oriented towards religion. The new system of education was introduced by the Christian missionaries during the Portuguese period with the establishment of St. Paul's College in in 15A-0,-' This College v;as mainly for training native Christians to priesthood. The collegiate education based on western pattern was introduced at Serampore College in iSlS, From the first half of the 19th century, a number of Christian educational institutions were founded all over India, many of which, such as, Madras Christian College (1639), Trichy St. Joseph's College (1^44), Agra St.

John's College (1^56) and Bombay St, Xavier's College (1670) are reputed even today. 39

Till the beginning of 19th century the formal system of education was unknown to Kerala too. The regular school, as we understand it today, came into existence with the efforts of Christian missionaries, English Protestant missionaries who began to work among the Jacobites established the first school in Kerala in I6l6 at Kottayara, This insti­ tution later evolved into the present C.M.S. College. Malabar Christian College started in 1909 by the Protestants at Calicut is the earliest Christian College of Kerala, 40 6S

Catholics were initially Inactive in the field of education. This was because the Portuguese and the Spanish missionaries who were in charge of the Catholics were against introducing English education in India.4 1 For, for these missionaries, English language itself was associated with the Anglican rebellion against Roman Catholic Supremacy in Europe to which we have made reference above. The Catholics were viewing with obvious interest the advance made by the fellow Syrians of the non-Catholic Christian Churches through modern education and government jobs. The opening paragraph of a memorandum presented to the papal representative by the Syrian Catholic community in IS85 is a clear indication of the feelings of the community : "The want of a Bishop in our own nation and rite is the cause of our deterioration in the ecclesiastical and social affairs than our Jacobite Brethren who having Bishops of their own nation and having been encouraged by them, not only pass the university examinations but also hold high and responsible offices in the Government and so the Catholics being a contrast to their Jacobite brethren are undervalued by the Hindus as a set of ignorant men... "^^

From the iSSOs Catholics, too, started establishing English schools. These schools were established at Mannanam (l^g5), Elthuruth (1^89), Vazhakulam (1891) and various other parts of the State, -^ This change in attitude of the 69

Catholic Church occured because by this time Syrian Catholic leaders were gradually allowed into the higher realms of hierarchy. Among them Fr. Cyriac Elias Chavara, the founder of the Congregation of the of Mary Immaculate (C.M.I.)> deserves our special attention. When Fr, Chavara was the Vicar General of the Syrian Catholics, he issued an order to all the Syrian Catholic parishes to have a school attached to every parish. He even threatened to close down the parishes that failed to comply with his order.4 4 The order was so effective that today any visitor to Kerala will be struck by the sight of a school nestling by the side of a parish Church. During our fieldwork some of the respondents of our enquiry remarked that the Malayalam word for school, Pallikkoodam. which literally means a hut attached to a Church, had its origin from this order of Fr. Chavara,

Politics The role that the Church has played in the political life of India has been almost meagre. This is because the Christian community being only a very small fragment of India's population, has not been in a privileged position to tilt the political balance in the country, 45^ Kerala stands as an exception here. For, as observed in Chapter I, the

* Pope John Paul II, during his recent visit to India, beatified Fr. Cyriac Elias Chavara and Sr, Alphonsa, in a ceremony held at Kottayam on February S, 19^6, raising them to the status of the "Blessed" in the Catholic Church, 70 numerically almost even distribution of the four communities has facilitated the Church to become a power group of the State,

The pre-Independen*e Kerala was split up into a large number of small Kingdoms and principalities. The appearance of the Portuguese towards the end of the 15th century marked the beginning of Kerala's contact with the Western political power. The Portuguese were followed by the Dutch and the French. By the end of iSth century the whole of India was in the hands of the British who sufficiently turned the course of political history of the State too.

With regard to the involvement of the Christians in the 47 political life of Kerala, a few observations are to be made: 1. Until relatively recent times political developments in Kerala did not produce any considerable impact on the national scene, so much so that even if Kerala was left out, it would not have altered the shape of the Indian political history.

2. Till 1956 Kerala was divided into two princely states of Travancore and Cochin and Malabar was under the presidency of Madras, The tempo of the political struggle vjas slower in Travancore and Cochin where the British government was represented by its "Agent" than in Malabar which was directly administered by the British,

3. If the contribution of the Keralites in general to the national freedom movement has not been, therefore, substantial, 71 still less was that of the Kerala Christians. For, on the one hand, as a religious community they had to turn to the British government for patronage. On the other, they had to reckon with a nationalist movement antagonistic to the Christian (i.e. British) power. For most part, they resolved this dilemma by choosing to remain largely indifferent. But the movement for responsible government which started in Travancore and Cochin in the wake of Gandhian Disobedience Campaigns, enabled the Christians to escape this predicament. The movement, however, began in its own unique way in Travan­ core and Cochin, (The events of Malabar are left out in this analysis as about 97 per cent of the Christian population lived in Travancore and Cochin,)

Travancore witnessed the first organised political movement in the form of Malayali Memorial of 1^91, to which we have referred towards the beginning of this Chapter. This, it may be recalled, was a memorandum submitted to the Maharaja of Travancore by his Malayali subjects against monopoly of Brahmins in government services. The initiative of the Memorial lay with the Nairs and the government did not go beyond the limit of satisfying the sponsors. This provoked

* Malayali Memorial vras signed by more than ten thousand persons, drawn from all communities. But only the names of its first 250 signatories were printed and have, thereby, survived. There were 44 Christians among these 250, the rest being mainly the Hindus, Cyriabrother, Fr, Emmanuel Nidhiri, a Syrian Catholic priest, who could not sign the Memorial due to the interference of his European superiors, spoke in support of the Memorial. (See, Jeffrey fiobin. The Decline of Nayar Dominance, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi, 1976, p.168) 72 the non-Nair communities which culminated in the Nivarthana Prasthanam (abstention movement) against the constitutional reforms of 1932, 49 The term Nivarthana suggested by a promi­ nent Syrian Catholic leader I.C. Chacko was ingeniously used to distinguish it from the Gandhian Non-Cooperation Movement, though in operation it was much the same as the latter. The Christians, in league with Ezhavas and Muslims, denounced the reforms on the ground that the highly restricted franchise based on property qualifications would only ensure the continuation of Nair dominance in the legislature and there­ fore demanded the allocation of seats for the various commu­ nities on the basis of population strength. To press their demands, the non-Nair communities founded Joint Political Congress (J.P,C.) under the leadership of N.V. Joseph (Syrian Catholic), C. Kesavan (Ezhava) and P.K. Kunju (Muslim) representing the three non-Nair communities.

In 1936 when Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer had been confirmed by the British as the Dewan of Travancore, a new chapter in the political history of the State was inaugurated. In the election held during April-May 1937, J.P.C. had a thumping victory and T.M. Varghese, a non-Catholic Mar Thomite Christian, was elected the Deputy President of the Legislative Assembly (the Dewan was President ex-officio). But early in 193s Varghese v/as ousted from his post on the grounds that he had compromised his neutrality as an officer of the Assembly 73 by presiding over a public meeting to felicitate the Ezhava leader C. Kesavan on his release from prison. This move was attributed to the anti-Christian machinations of the Dewan,

In the place of J.f,C. there emerged in 1938 the Travancore State Congress which brought together the Chris­ tian, Muslim, Ezhava and Nair communities on a common plat­ form. The arrest of a prominent Nair leader, A, Narayana Pillai following the publication of an article captioned "Nair and Public Ser.vi ce" was the event that provoked the Nairs against the Dewan, This new confederation of communi­ ties gradually became a very powerful political organization, which in subsequent years witnessed a bitter confrontation between the Dewan who symbolised the administrative tyranny and political oppression, and the State Congress representing popular demand for responsible government. Though the State Congress had members drawn from all communities, it was well known that its main support, mainly funds, came from the Christians. In this regard two important events have to be taken note of : liquidation National Quilon Bank and confiscation of Maiayala Manorama. a prominent newspaper under Syrian Orthodox management. These might be considered as two striking examples of Dewan's vengeance against Christians - one intended to strike at their financial power

'1' During the pre-Independent period, though the Maharajas were technically the heads of the States both In Travancore and in Cochin, they always exercised control over the administrative machinery through the Devrans of the respective states. Dewans were, therefore, for all practical purposes, at the helm of affairs of both the states. 74 and the other to silence their chief organ of publicity.

When India became Independent, Travancore had not joined the Indian Union as the Dewan wanted an independent Travancore State. But after toying with this idea for some time, the Dewan had givefc in. Following an attempt on his life, Sir C. P. was forced to' flee from Travancore. The principle of responsible government was officially accepted and after a short interval, Travancore, for the first time, came under a democratically elected government in 19^^,

In Cochin, the demand for responsible government began in the wake of what was interestingly called the "electricity agitation" of 1936. It was caused by the action of the government in giving the right of power supply in Trichur town to a private company, disregarding the opposition of the local people, especially the Christians. Owing to the stern measures of the government, the agitation failed. But it impressed upon the leaders to found an organisation for ^m a more effective agitation against the government and for democracy. In pursuance of this, the Cochin State Congress was started in 193^ to agitate for responsible government.

Thus since 1932 till 19'ft-S there was waged in the princely states of Travancore and Cochin a struggle for democracy and responsible government. The struggle in Travancore was more intense and more protracted. This was because Travancore, on the one hand, was educationally the most advanced part of India and, on the other, administered during these years by a strong 75 and masterful Dewan. Many of his measures adversely affected the interest of Christians and this would explain why Christians in Travancore, as a cornmunity, were on the whole solidly united against the Dewan in the struggle.

Social Welfare Although there existed in India several expressions of individual acts of charity in such forms as almsgiving, feeding the poor, etc., the concept of organised social work as a means of alleviating social evils, such as, illiteracy, ill health, poverty, social backwardness, etc,, dawned upon our country under the impetus of Christian missionaries. The impact of the Kerala Church in the organized welfare activities through such institutions as orphanages, refuge homes, medical centres, etc., was so much that other commu­ nities in Kerala too started organizing their activities which took concrete expressions in i860 with the establish­ ment of Muslim Educational Society (M.E.S.) by the Muslims, in 1903 of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (S.N.D.P,) by the Ezhavas and in 191^- of Nair Service Society (N.S.S. ) by the Nairs. Some of the respondents of our enquiry remarked that the "N.S.S. Medical Mission Hospital" situated at about 10 Kms. away from Ernakulam at the Ernakulam Vaikom road reminds them of the various "Medical Mission Hospitals" that the Church has been running in Kerala for centuries.

Of all the Christian denominations in Kerala, it is the Catholic Church, that has made the largest contribution to 76

52 the field of social welfare. This has been facilitated by the organizational change of the Catholic Church introduced by the western missionaries, 5-3^ For, during the protracted western missionary dominance over the Church, the earlier relatively autonomous Church organization was replaced by a more centralized and hierarchichal organizational structure. The early western missionaries found the Syrian Christians organized in fairly autonomous units centered around the local Churches, These communities were led by priests designated as Desathu Pattakaran. an office to which candidates were chosen by the community and were maintained by them. The priest was subject to the control of the palliyogam. an assembly of parish community, in all important matters.

At the regional level, the Syrian Church had an Archdeacon designated as the "Head of the Community" (Jathiku Thalavan) who controlled the affairs of the community along with a regional assembly of representatives from each of the local communities. The bishops - mostly from East Syria before the arrival of the missionaries - though periodically visited the Kerala Church, seldom interfered in its administration. This situation changed when western missionaries were appointed bishops, for they, who were brought up in the traditions of the Western Church, where bishops ruled in their diocese, began to rule in Kerala as well. Gradually the independence of local communities was lost and the power of the bishop grew. The 77

Desathu Pattakarans locally selected and trained and owing allegiance to the local community was replaced by priests selected by the bishops, trained centrally in seminaries, owing allegiance to the bishop and sent out by hira to parishes on a fixed salary and with possibility of transfer from place to place. Such centralisation did not go unchallenged by the local Church, but by 19th century it had become well established.

As a part of the changes in the organized structure, celibacy was introduced among Catholic priests. There emerged in the Catholic Church also several monastic orders for men and women among which the Congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CM. I.), a monastic order for men organized in 1^31, deserves our special attention. For this organization was the first indigeneous monastic order of not only of the state of Kerala but also of the whole of India and was, right from its inception at the forefront in 54- the Catholic efforts in developmental activities. If the rigid hierarchichal organisation of the Catholic Church was able to mobilise the increased resources of the community and channel it more effectively towards humanitarian causes, celibate priests and of the Church, since not tied to families, were able to add to the efficiency of the Church in carrying out various social welfare activities. 7^

Conclusion

In the first section of this Chapter, we dealt with various communities of Kerala, in order to indicate the position of Christians in the total Kerala society. It was pointed out that the Christian community in Kerala constitutes one filth of the total population, the rest being Hindus, Muslims, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

The Church in Kerala, it was observed in the second section, had its beginning in the first century A.D. Because of the emergence of a multiplicity of Christian groups since 17th century, for a proper understanding of the developments since this period, a brief survey of the different Christian Churches of Kerala, too, was made. It was pointed out that dogmatic issues, interpersonal rivalry and unlimited desire for power and prestige were some of the important factors that led to the multiplication of the Church into 21 sub­ groups.

An enquiry into the involvement of the Church in the material development of the State till Independence was made in the third section of this Chapter. In the field of education, because of the prejudice that Western missionaries had against English language, Catholics, initially, were lagging behind the non-Catholic Christians. But since iSSOs, when indigeneous Catholic leaders were allowed into the higher realms of Church administration, the situation began 79 to change. In the political field, Catholic and non-Catholic Christians were actively involved in the struggle for demo­ cracy and responsible government, which had its beginning in the Malayali Memorial of 1^91. And in the field of social welfare, the Catholic Church seems to have exerted proportion­ ately more influence than the non-Catholic Christians on the total life of the people through its social action. From the preceding survey, therefore, it appears that the Catholic Church, though considered to be a conservative force in the West, after landing in Kerala, got itself involved in the material development of the society. Bo

References

1. For a background of Kerala, see Panikker, K.M,,

A . The Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, i960, pp. 1 ff.

2. For an analysis of the major communities in Kerala, see Rao, M.S.A., Social Change in Malabar. Allied Publishers, Bombay, 1957.

3. Report on the Socio-Economic Survey on Castes/ Communities Kerala I96B. Bureau of Economics and Statistics, Government of Kerala, Trivandrum, 1969, pp. 6-10. (Hereafter this Report will be referred to as "RSSC".)

4. Nossiter, T.J., Communism in Kerala. Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, 19^2, p. 26.

5. RSSC, p. 6.

6. Menon, Padmanabha, K.P,, History of Kerala. Co.chin •. . ; Government Press, Ernakulam, 1933, Vol. Ill, pp. 27-136.

7. Nossiter, T.J., op.cit.. p. 27.

8. Menon, P., op.cit.. pp. 161-337.

9. RSSC. p. B.

10. Interview with Shri P.K, Narayana Panicker, General Secretary, N.S.S. at Changanacherry on March 11, 19^5.

11. Menon, P., op. cit. , pp. 424-426. 81

12. RSSC, p. 7.

13. Interview with Prof. P. 3. Velayudhan, ex-President, S.N.D.P. , at Ernakulam on March 23, 19^5.

14. Menon, P., op. cit. , pp. 532-563.

15. Interview with Jb, P.K, Shamsuddin, President, M.E.S. at Ernakulam on March 3, 19^5.

16. RSSC, pp. 11-19.

17. Ayyer, Ananthakrishna, L.K., Anthropology of Syrian Christians, pp. 2-13.

IS, Travancore State Manual. Government of Travancore, 19J^0, pp. 649-662.

19. Mundadan, A.M., St. Thomas Christians 1^9^-1552, Dharraaram Publications, Bangalore, 1964, p, 1.

20. Census of India, 1931..Vol. I - India, Part I - Report, p. 380.

21. Chawgliana, Kenneth, Christianity and the Mizo Society, unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, 1978.

22. Ibid. , p. 22.

23. Podipara, Placid, "Hindu in Culture, Christian in Religion and Oriental in Worship", in Menacherry, G., (ed.), The 3t. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India. College Road, Trichur, 1973, Vol. 2, pp. 107-111. ^2

24. For the description of "Sacred" and "profane" elements in religion, see, Durkheim, Emile, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, pp. 36-42.

25. Mundadam, A.M., op. cit. . pp. l-l6,

26. Pothan, S.G., The Syrian Christians of Kerala. Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 1963, pp. 37-53.

27. Podipara, Placid, The Thomas Christians. St. Paul Publications, Bombay, 1970, pp. 151-205.

2B. Mundadan, A.M., op. cit. , p. 3^.

29. Hambey, S.J., "The Catholic Thomas Christians", in Perumalil and Hambey (eds,), . Prakasham,Publications, Alleppey, 1972, pp. 191-192.

30. Thayil, Thomas, "The Origin of Latin Christians in Kerala", Menacherry, J. (ed.), The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia, p.63.

31. Koilparampil, George, Caste in the Catholic Community in Kerala, pp.4^-64.

32. Interview with His Beatitude Baselios Paulose, Catholicos of the East, at Muvattupuzha on March 12, 19^5.

33. Interview v/ith His Holiness Baselius Marthoma Mathews I, The Catholicos and Malankara Metropolitan, at Kottayam on March 15, 19^5.

34. Interview with Most Rev. Dr. Alexander Mar Thoraa, Metropolitan, Mar Thoma Syrian Church, at Tiruvalla on S3

March Ik, 19^5.

3 5. Interview with Rt. Rev. M. C, Mani, Bishop, C.S.I. Madhya Kerala Diocese, at Kottayam on March 12, 19^5.

36. RSSC, p. 18.

37. Koilparampil, G., op.cit., pp.71-72.

36. Kriisthava Vi.jnana Kosam (Malayalam), (Christian

Encyclopaedia), Frakasham Publications, Alleppey, 1975|

pp. 493-^95.

39, Murickan, J., Catholic Colleges in India. Xavier Board of Higher Education in India, Mangalore, 19^1, p.37.

40, Antony, Fr. , "The Contribution of C.M.I. Fathers to Education in Kerala", Fr. Gabriel in Remembrance of Things Past. Christ College, Irinjalakuda, 1974.

41, Tharakan, Michael, P.K., Socio-Sconomic Factors in Educational Development ? The Case of Nineteenth Century Travancore. Working Paper No. 190, Centre for Develop­ ment Studies, Trivandrura, 1984, pp.49-59,

42, Quoted in Antony, Fr., op.cit.

43, Antony, Fr., op. cit.

44, Valerian, Fr., Very Rev. Fr. Cyriae Elias Chavara (Malayalam), Mannanam, 1939, p.137.

45, Interview with Dr. Cyriae Thomas, Lecturer, Department of Politics, St. Thomas College, Palai on Jan. 17, 1984. g4

U6. For an analysis of Church's involvement in politics see, Thomas, Cyriac, The Church and Politics in Kerala (1947-1972). unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Politics, University of Kerala, 1977.

47. Nair, Sreekumaran, M.P., "Kerala Christians and Indian National Movement: An Overview", in John, K.J., (ed,) Christian Heritage of Kerala, L.M, Pylee Felicitations, Cochin, 19^1, pp.2^4-296.

UB, According to the 1931 Census, Christians of Kerala were distributed in the three pre-Independent political divisions as follows:

Travancore SO.01^ Cochin 16.70?S Malabar 3.29/0 Total 100.00%

49. Thomas, Cyriac, op. cit.. pp. 45-64,

50. Gore, M.S., "Historical Background of Social Work in India", in Deshmukh, Durgabai (Smt.), (ed,) Social Welfare in India, Publications Division, Government of India, 1955, pp.1-27.

51. Rajendran, G., The Ezhava Community and Kerala Politics. The Kerala Academy of Political Science, Trivandrum, 1974, p. 15.

52. Thomas, P.T. , "Kerala Christians in the Field of Social Service", in Menacherry, G., The St. Thomas Christian &5

Encyclopaedia of India, pp. 170-173.

53. Tharakan, Michael, P.K. , op, clt., pp. 57-59.

54. Ibid., p. 59.