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R Knight, Sarah (2019) Narratives of religious identity: the self-perception of the Jacobite Syrian Christians of Kerala. https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/34855/ Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Narratives of religious identity: the self-perception of the Jacobite Syrian Christians of Kerala Volume I Sarah Knight Thesis submitted for the Degree of PhD in the Study of Religions 2019 Department of the Study of Religions and Philosophies School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Abstract This thesis examines the question of the religious self-definition of the Jacobite Syrian Christian community in Kerala. The leading question is: to what extent does the indigenous narrative of that community about their religious identity differ from existing dominant historical accounts? It examines texts in Malayalam from the Jacobite Syrian Christians, particularly the unpublished 18th century Mathai Vettikkunnel manuscript, in order to investigate the narrative of their religious identity, in the context of existing scholarly discourse. During the Portuguese period, in 1599, the composite body of the undivided Syrian Christian Church was Latinized, mainly based on the allegation that they were Nestorians affiliated to the Church of the East, Nestorianism being a heresy rejected at the Council of Ephesus, in 431. The Latinization was rejected by the Syrian Christians in 1653, and the confusion that followed culminated in a schism in the Church in 1663, when two religious identities emerged: one Jacobite Syrian, and the other, Romo-Syrian. Portuguese writings asserting the Nestorianism of the Syrian Christians in the Pre-Portuguese times were re-iterated by subsequent historians, who developed the narrative that the Syrian Christians were Nestorians from the inception of their Church. These scholarly constructions continue to dominate the discourse on the subject, from Gouvea (1606), to La Croze (1724), to Hough (1839), to Neill (1984), and to Perczel (2011). This thesis is an investigation of the identity of the Jacobite Syrian Christians, and their own perceptions of their origin, doctrinal position, and ecclesiastical affiliations that had evolved up to 1599. In doing so, it critically examines a range of documents in Malayalam, in particular the account given by Mathai Vettikkunnel, a cleric from Manarcadu in Kerala, and ten primary source documents, as well as four indigenous secondary sources in the form of historical narratives, which are well-known within the Jacobite Syrian community but have rarely been used by scholars. Mathai Vettikkunnel’s text is transcribed and translated, and provided with a detailed historical commentary, with a view to tracing the narrative arc as articulated by Mathai Vettikkunnel and other Jacobite Syrian Christians with regard to their religious identity in pre-Colonial times. These accounts also form the basis for re-examining the alleged 3 Nestorian doctrinal position of the Syrian Christians in the pre-Latinization period. In examining the Jacobite Syrians’ claims that they had maintained Antiochian links from the 4th century onward until the arrival of the Portuguese, special attention is paid to three areas: firstly, the question of the alleged Nestorian beliefs of the pre-schism Syrian Christian Church; secondly the agency, period, manner of the establishment of links with Antioch claimed by the Jacobite Syrians, and thirdly, how this self- perception of the Jacobite Syrians of their identity informed their rejection of Latinization. This thesis argues that the data found in Mathai Vettikkunnel and in the corpus of indigenous literature testifies to the complexity of the Jacobite Syrian Christians’ self- perception, and that it is at variance with the early Portuguese assertions and the currently dominant view on the subject in academic writings. It argues that there is strong evidence suggesting that the connection of the Jacobite Syrians with Antioch originated as early as the 4th century, when according to their own accounts, Semitic Christians from Mesopotamia migrated to Kerala, and that it was the forging of the combined Mesopotamian-Semitic and Keralan identity that helped in maintaining its links with Antioch, and its sustained resistance to Latinisation. 4 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Prof. Almut Hintze, who has endeavoured patiently and consistently in helping me shape the thesis, and by her demand for excellence and exactitude made it all the better; and Dr Jörg Haustein (SOAS) for his guidance in the trajectory and methodology of the thesis. Librarians in the following institutions provided invaluable help: the Leiden University, Amsterdam University, Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Theological Seminary, the St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute (Kottayam), the Vatican Archives (Rome), the Propaganda Fide Historical Archives (Rome), the Catholic Knanaya Eparchy (Kottayam), and the St. Joseph’s Carmelite Monastery (Mannanam). I am grateful to His Grace Bishop Thomas Mor Thimotheos (Metropolitan of the JSOC, Kottayam), His Grace Mor Severios (Metropolitan of the Knanaya JSOC, Kottayam), and Chor Episcopus Very Rev. Dr. Adai Jacob, Principal, Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Theological Seminary (Ernakulam), for giving me their valuable time. I am also indebted to Chor Episcopus Very Rev. Dr. Kuriakose Moolayil (Director, Mor Adai Study Centre, Kottayam), and to Fr. Sleeba George Panakkal (Vicar, St. Peter’s Syrian Simhasana church, Trishur) for making available their private archives, for copying innumerable books and documents, and for constant help and support throughout this project. My sincere thanks also to Rev. Dr. Jacob Thekeparampil (Director, SEERI) for his hospitality at the Institute, and for giving me free access to its library, and to Rev. Dr. Baby Varghese (Orthodox Seminary, Kottayam) and Rev. Dr. Joseph Cheeran for giving me their time and help. I am grateful to Dr Mikael Oez (formerly of SOAS, London), Prof. Robin Osborne (University of Cambridge), and Dr Patrick Cook (then Doctoral student, University of Cambridge) for helping me with translations from Syriac and Latin texts, Professor Emeritus O.M. Mathew Oruvattithara for his insightful and most excellent deliberations on the subject and for giving me copies of his books, and also to Prof. Susan Thomas (Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady) for getting rare 5 books copied, for helping me in visiting churches, and for her family’s kindness and hospitality. I am grateful to Mr. Anish Vettikkunnel and Mr. Itty Abraham of Vettikkunnel family, Manarcadu, for trusting me with their precious rare books, to Mr. John Philip Kottaparambil, Kottayam, for copying rare documents, and to my young friends Arun and Renu Abraham, Bangalore, and Abel Thadickal and Apu Joseph, both of Ernakulam, who provided invaluable help in painstakingly tracing and copying rare books and documents for me. I would like to thank the authorities and staff at the following Jacobite churches in Kerala for making available parish documents and publications: St. Mary’s JSOC, Nadamel, St. Thomas JSOC, North Paravur, St. Thomas JSOC, Mulanthuruthy, and St. George’s JSOC, Karingachira. I am grateful to the Indian Institute of Christian Studies (Edamattom) for use of its library, and to its late Director, Prof. Joseph Pulikkunnel for giving me his time for insightful discussions. Above all, I would like to thank my family: my beloved husband Ben, who supported me in every way throughout this endeavour, and who has untiringly proof-read numerous drafts, my son Abraham who has been a strength and joy, my cousin Serina and her husband Mr. Abraham Titus for their constant love and support. 6 Dedication To the loving memory of my late parents John and Elizabeth Abraham, Illikalam, Kumarakom For their exemplary lives 7 Table of contents Declaration for SOAS PhD thesis ............................................................................. 2 Abstract ....................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... 5 Table of contents ........................................................................................................ 8 Appendices in Volume II ......................................................................................... 15 Abbreviations ........................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 17 ̇1.1. Historical and religious context ................................................................. 18 1.2. Dominant narratives .................................................................................