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Home , Ad tuendam fidem, Catholicos of India, Conciliarity, Coonan Cross Oath, Malankara Metropolitan, Pastores gregis

Table of Contents

General Introduction...... 15

List of Abbreviations...... 21

Part 1 The Position of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian on in her ecumenical Relationship with the ...... 23

Chapter 1: The Ecclesiology of the Church of St Thomas Christians in the pre-Portuguese period...... 27 1.1 The Areas of Agreement with the Catholic Church...... 27 1.1.1 The Origin of the Church of St Thomas Christians...... 28 1.1.2 The Faith and Practice of the Church of St Thomas Christians ...... 38 1.1.3 The Absence of Division in the Church of St Thomas Christians till the Arrival of the Portuguese Missionaries...... 41 1.1.4 The alleged Antiochian Relation of the Church of St Thomas Christians ...... 44 1.1.5 The hierarchical Relation and ecclesial Affinity with the : No Obstacle to the Identity and administrative Autonomy in the Church of St Thomas Christians...... 50 1.1.6 Mar Thoma Margam (the Way of Thomas): the ecclesial Patrimony of the Church of St Thomas Christians...... 63 1.1.6.1 The Development of the indigenous ecclesial Identity of the St Thomas Christians...... 65 1.1.6.2 The Development of the advanced Ecclesial Identity through the East Syrian Influence ...... 67 1.1.6.2.1 The three Levels of hierarchical Structure ...... 68 1.1.6.2.1.1 The local Level: Palliyogam...... 69 1.1.6.2.1.2 The Community Level: The of All ...... 71

7 1.1.6.2.1.3 The hierarchical Level: The Metropolitan of All India and the of St Thomas...... 76 1.2 The Areas of Disagreement with the Catholic Church...... 80 1.2.1 The Alexandrian ecclesial Relationship of the Church of St Thomas Christians...... 80 1.2.2 The alleged Communion of the Church of St Thomas Christians with the Roman Catholic Church in the pre-Portuguese Period...... 84 Conclusion...... 91

Chapter 2: The Division within the Church of St Thomas Christians after the Arrival of the Portuguese Missionaries...... 93 2.1 The of Diamper (1599)...... 93 2.2 The Coonan-Cross Oath (1653)...... 98 Conclusion...... 105

Chapter 3: The Ecclesiology of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church...... 107 3.1 The Nature of the Church...... 108 3.1.1 The Origin of the Church...... 108 3.1.2 The Church in the Pauline Letters...... 110 3.1.3 The Church and the Apostolic College...... 111 3.1.4 The pneumatological Dimension of the Malankara Ecclesiology...112 3.1.5 The Church: various biblical Images ...... 114 3.1.6 The Church is One...... 119 3.1.7 The Church is Holy...... 121 3.1.8 The Church is Catholic...... 122 3.1.9 The Church is Apostolic...... 126 3.1.10 The Church and the Authority of Christ...... 127 3.1.11 The Authority of the Church...... 129 3.2 The Structure of the Church...... 130 3.3 The cum ...... 134 3.4 The Episcopate...... 138 3.5 The ...... 144 3.6 The Primacy on the Universal Level from the Perspective of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church...... 147 Conclusion...... 152

8 Chapter 4: The Position of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church on the Question of the Jurisdictional of the Catholic Church...... 153 4.1 The Lack of the biblical Foundation for the Jurisdictional Papal Primacy...... 153 4.2 The Primacy of the Church of because of Rome as the Imperial Capital...... 159 4.3 No Jurisdictional Primacy, but only the Primacy of Honor of the of Rome at the Time of the Ecumenical Councils...... 164 4.4 The Universal Jurisdictional Papal Primacy of the Bishop of Rome: A Medieval Western Fabrication...... 173 Conclusion...... 175

Part 2 The Primacy in the View of the Catholic Church...... 177

Chapter 1: The Arguments of the Catholic Church in answer to the Objections of the MOSC against the Papal Primacy ...... 179 1.1 The Biblical Foundation of the Primacy of the Bishop of Rome...... 180 1.2 The Primacy of the Church of Rome because of the Petrine Succession and the Apostolicity...... 189 1.2.1 The religious and spiritual Significance of the Roman Church..... 193 1.2.1.1 The Letter of Clement...... 194 1.2.1.2 The Letter of Bishop Dionysius of Corinth...... 195 1.2.1.3 The Letter of Ignatius of Antioch...... 196 1.2.1.4 Irenaeus of Lyon...... 196 1.2.2 The Sense of Responsibility of the Roman Church for the whole Church...... 197 1.2.3 The Claim of the Bishop of Rome to be the Successor to Peter with Reference to Mt 16, 18...... 198 1.2.4 Rome as the Centre of Communio...... 199 1.3 The Primacy of the Bishop of Rome: Not mere Primacy of Honour at the Time of the early Ecumenical Councils ...... 202 1.3.1 Leo the Great and his Contribution to the Concept of the Jurisdictional Papal Primacy...... 208 1.3.2 Symmachian Forgeries ...... 211

9 1.4 The Universal Jurisdictional Papal Primacy of the Bishop of Rome: No medieval western Fabrication, but the Result of a gradual Growth...... 212 1.4.1 Gregory the Great (590–604)...... 213 1.4.2 The ...... 214 1.4.3 The Pseudo-Isidorian False (850)...... 217 1.4.4 The of Constantine...... 219 1.4.5 Jurisdictional Papal Primacy: Solution to the Problems and the Conflicts of the Second Millennium...... 220 1.4.5.1 Gregory VII (1073–1085)...... 222 1.4.5.2 Innocent III (1198–1216)...... 225 1.4.5.3 Innocent IV (1243–1254)...... 227 1.4.5.4 The Decline of the Papacy and the Revival of ...... 228 1.4.5.5 The and the post-Trent Period...... 230 1.4.5.6 ...... 231 1.4.5.7 The German Imperial Church Episcopalism and the judicial Powers of Nuncios...... 232 1.4.5.8 The French Revolution (1789) and the Papacy...... 233 1.4.5.9 The and the Papacy...... 234 Conclusion...... 235

Chapter 2: The Petrine Ministry in Vatican I and Vatican II...... 237 2.1 The Petrine Ministry in Vatican I...... 237 2.1.1 The historical Background of Vatican I...... 238 2.1.2 The Polarization of the Council Fathers into the Minority and the Majority Camps...... 243 2.1.3 The Document on the Church »Pastor aeternus«...... 245 2.1.3.1 The Principle of the papal jurisdictional Primacy...... 247 2.1.3.2 The Principle of the ...... 250 2.2 The Petrine Ministry in Vatican II...... 256 2.2.1 and the Petrine Ministry...... 257 2.2.1.1 The Catholic Church in Relation to the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome...... 258 2.2.1.2 The Nature of the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome...... 259 2.2.1.3 The Episcopacy in Relation to the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome...... 260 2.2.2 and the Petrine Ministry...... 265

10 2.2.2.1 The historical Background of the Document Orientalium Ecclesiarum...... 265 2.2.2.2 The Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome in Relation to the Individual Churches...... 266 2.2.3 Unitatis Redintegratio and the Petrine Ministry...... 267 2.2.3.1 The historical Background of the Document Unitatis Redintegratio...... 267 2.2.3.2 The Unity of the Christians in Relation to the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome...... 267 2.2.4 and the Petrine Ministry...... 268 2.2.4.1 The Episcopacy in Relation to the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome...... 269 Conclusion...... 271

Chapter 3: The Post-Vatican Pronouncements of the Catholic Church concerning the Petrine Ministry...... 273 3.1 and Apostolic Letters...... 273 3.1.1 The Apostolic Letter A Concilio Constantinopolitano I (1981)...... 273 3.1.2 The Final Report of the 1985 Extraordinary Synod...... 274 3.1.3 (1988)...... 274 3.1.4 The Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente (1994)...... 278 3.1.5 The Apostolic Letter Orientale Lumen (1995)...... 279 3.1.6 (1995)...... 282 3.1.7 The Apostolic Constitution (1996)...... 288 3.1.8 The Apostolic Letter (1998)..... 289 3.1.9 The Apostolic Letter Motu proprio Apostolos Suos (1998)...... 290 3.1.10 The post-synodal (1999)...... 291 3.1.11 The post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation (1999)...... 292 3.1.12 Apostolic Letter (2000)...... 293 3.1.13 The post-synodal Apostolic Letter Ecclesia in Europe (2003)...... 293 3.1.14 The post-synodal Apostolic Letter (2003)...... 294 3.1.15 Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus (2009)...... 297 3.2 The Common Declarations of the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch...... 297 3.2.1 The Common Declaration of Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I (1967)...... 297 3.2.2 The Common Declaration of Pope John Paul II and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople (2004)....298

11 3.2.3 The Common Declaration of Pope Benedict XVI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (2006)...... 299 3.3 Documents of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith...... 299 3.3.1 Letter to the of the Catholic Church on some Aspects of the Church understood as Communion (1992)...... 299 3.3.2 The Note on the Expression »Sister Churches« (2000)...... 301 3.4 Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on ...... 303 3.5 The Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome in CCEO (1990)...... 303 Conclusion...... 311

Part 3 The Chances for an extensive Rapprochement between the Positions of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Catholic Church on the Petrine Ministry...... 313

Chapter 1: The Council Document Orientalium Ecclesiarum with regard to the Catholic Oriental Churches: Theory and Practice...... 315 1.1 The positive and negative Aspects of the Document OE...... 315 1.2 The State of the Syro Malabar Church in the Light of the Document OE...... 320 1.2.1 The All-India Jurisdiction of the Father and Head of the Syro Malabar Church...... 320 1.2.2 The Pastoral Care of the Migrants of the Syro Malabar Church .. 322 1.2.3 The universal Scope for the Missionary Enterprise...... 324 1.2.4 The Restoration of the ancient Heritage of the St Thomas Christians...... 326 1.2.4.1 The Restoration of the ...... 326 1.2.4.2 The Restoration of the Palliyogam...... 328 1.2.4.3 The Restoration of the Office of the Archdeacon ...... 329 1.2.4.4 The Restoration of the Permanent Diaconate...... 330 1.2.4.5 The Restoration of the proper Name of the Syro Malabar Church...... 330 1.2.5 The Patriarchal Status of the Syro Malabar Church...... 332 1.2.6 The Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome: Part of the Catholic Faith of the Syro Malabar Church...... 334 Conclusion...... 336

12 Chapter 2: The Petrine Ministry in the Wake of the new Suggestions of the different Non- Institutions of Dialogue from all over the World...... 339 2.1 Ecumenical Foundation Pro Oriente...... 339 2.1.1 The five non-official Ecumenical Consultations ...... 340 2.1.1.1 Communiqué: the second Ecumenical Consultation (1973)...... 340 2.1.1.2 Communiqué: the third Ecumenical Consultation (1976)...... 341 2.1.1.3 Communiqué: the fourth Ecumenical Consultation (1978)...... 342 2.1.1.4 Communiqué: the fifth Ecumenical Consultation (1988)...... 345 2.1.2 The Study Seminars ...... 346 2.1.2.1 The first Study Seminar 1991: Primat...... 346 2.1.2.2 The second Study Seminar 1992: Councils and Conciliarity...... 347 2.1.2.3 The third Study Seminar 1994: Ecclesiology...... 349 2.2 Irenaeus Joint Orthodox-Catholic Working Group...... 349 2.2.1 Communiqué-Chevetogne (2006)...... 350 2.2.2 Communiqué-Belgrade (2007)...... 351 2.2.3 Communiqué-Vienna (2008)...... 352 2.2.4 Communiqué-Kiev (2009)...... 353 2.2.5 Communiqué – Magdeburg (2010)...... 355 2.2.6 Communiqué – Petersburg (2011)...... 357 2.3 The Bensheim Institute for Inter-Confessional Research...... 358 2.3.1 The Concept of Petrine Ministry according to the Evangelical Church in Germany...... 359 2.4 The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation...... 360 2.4.1 An Agreed Statement on the Church (1974)...... 361 2.4.2 Apostolicity as God’s Gift in the Life of the Church (1986)...... 361 2.4.3 An Agreed Statement on Conciliarity and Primacy in the Church (1989)...... 362 2.4.4 A Common Response to the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church regarding the : “Ecclesiological and canonical Consequences of the sacramental Nature of the Church: ecclesial Communion, Conciliarity and Authority” (2009)...... 363

13 2.4.5 Steps towards a Reunited Church: A Sketch of an Orthodox-Catholic Vision for the Future (2010)...... 364 Conclusion...... 370

Chapter 3: Suggestions for a possible ecumenical Rapprochement between the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Catholic Church on the Point of the Petrine Ministry...... 371 3.1 The Erection of a triadic Structure for the Catholic Church in Accordance with the Communion Ecclesiology...... 378 3.2 The Erection of a permanent Synod for the Catholic Church...... 382 3.3 The Constitution of a new Electoral College for the Election of the Head of the Catholic Church...... 382 3.4 The Convocation of a particular Synod of the Bishops of the Catholic Oriental Churches for Deliberations on the Role of the Petrine Ministry in the Catholic Church...... 384 3.5 The Need for the Catholic Church to give sufficient theological Reasons for the Absence of the “Patriarch of the West” in 2006...... 385 3.6 The Enlargement of the Fields of practical Co-operation...... 389 Conclusion...... 389

General Conclusion ...... 391

Bibliography...... 417

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