www.malankaralibrary.com TRIVANDRUM 2005 www.malankaralibrary.com %,e CatfwCicos of tlie 'East www.malankaralibrary.com G.Chediath The Catholicos of the East Translated by A.J. Joy Angemadathil Lecturer, St.John's College, Anchal Trivandrum 2005 www.malankaralibrary.com G.Chediath, The Catholicos of the East, (Tr.by A.J. Joy Angemadathil) MS Publication, Nalanchira, Trivandrum-695015, Kerala, India. © G.Chediath, 2005 For Copies St.Mary's Bookstall, Malankara Major Seminary, Nalanchira.Trivandrum.695015.Kerala.lndia. St.Jgnatius Centre, Pattom,Trivandrum- 695004. Kerala.lndia. Price Rs.50/- Printing: Bethany Offset Printers, Kottayam. Tel: 0481 - 2571355. DTP: Gratia Design Studio, Kottayam www.malankaralibrary.com CONTENTS Page Preface 7 Introduction 8 1. The Roman Empire and the Persian Empire 11 2. The Christian Church in the Roman Empire 17 3. One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church 26 4. The Christian Church in the Persian Empire 35 5. The Persian Maphrianate 57 6. The Malankara Church 70 7. The Establishment of the Catholicate in India 88 8. The Malankara -Antiochene Relationship in the 20lh Century 100 9. Individuality and Communion 108 10. The Malankara Catholic Church 117 Bibliography and Abbreviations 125 Terms Explained 131 Index 133 www.malankaralibrary.com '1YE/]) I C!lI. TIO'l{ In memory of my loving Father C. G. Daniel Chediath (October 30. 1924 - October 25, 2004) www.malankaralibrary.com PREFACE The expressions "Catholicos' and "Catholicos of the East" should be familiar terms to the students of Eastern Church history. Here in this book, an earnest attempt has been made to analyse the ideas contained in these expressions and to inquire into their historical origin and development down through the centuries and into the establishment of the Catholicate in Kerala by the Syrian Orthodox senior Patriarch Abd al-Msiha of Antioch in the Puthenkur community of the Thomas Christians in India in 1912. This book was originally published in Malayalam and this is its English translation. Often one finds books and articles published in Malayalam quite deficient in objectivity and historical basis. There are instances of falsification and distortion of history and at times one finds creation of new history and their repetition by others. This book is, therefore, an attempt to objectively present, as far as possible, the facts relating to the founding of the Catholicate on the basis of historical documents. I place on record my hearty thanks to Abun Cyril Mar Baselios, the Malankara Catholic Metropolitan and Archbishop ofTrivandrum for his inspiring introduction. Archbishop Mar Baselios has been a constant encouragement in the preparation of this work. May I express my thanks also to Mr. A. J. Joy Angemadathil for the English translation. My gratitude goes to the authorities ofthe Bethany Press, Kalathipady, Kottayam for the printing of this work. May this work be a help for aU, who earnestly strive to understand the Apostolic mission of the Malankara Church and enable the various groups of the Thomas Christians to get united and be once again as they had been for seventeen centuries from the Apostolic times. November 21, 2004. Fr. Geevarghese Chediath Trivandrum. www.malankaralibrary.com INTRODUCTION Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Messiah instituted the Kingdom of God, the Church, on earth to continue His salvific mission up to the end of the world. Absolute salvation of the world is, therefore, its existential cause and missionary end. The proclaimed mission of the Church is to make all the benign gifts of salvation, showered down upon us through Jesus Christ, available to the entire humanity in all four corners of the world till the end of time. It is by embracing all the transcending forms of societal struc­ tures, imbibing all the cultural heritages evolved over millenniums and by surpassing all the imperial, political forces that the Church is continuing its salvific mission on earth. The root cause of all the per­ manent attributes as Western and Eastern, Jewish and Hellenistic, ingrained upon the Church is not anything else. The Church is, in truth, neither Western nor Eastern. She is not restrictive in any par­ ticular culture. However, for this Church which has been moulded and growing as a temporal reality, it is not possible to remain as a haven of human salvation and toJunction as a good source of divine gifts, without becoming at once Western and Eastern, without being born either in the northern or southern hemispheres, and without embracing ancient as well as modern cultural ethos. Eclectic in na­ ture, she is humanly conditioned. Because her reality transcends the bounds of time and space, she lives and lives for all time. She makes every land her own. Just because she is not restrictive in any distinct culture, she is empowered to imbibe all the distinctive cultural forms and variations. What she proves univocally through her pristine his­ tory, ranging down the ages, is this and this alone! www.malankaralibrary.com Introduction 9 Her immense fnnctional capacity and variational mode remain quite incomprehensible for those who do not see her spacio-temporal transcendence and integrative cultural expressions. To deny her temporal form is to deny her connotative interiority. The Catholicity of the' Church comprises of her distinctive existential expressions and its endless possibilities. And these uttered truths are the undeniable proofs of her Catholicity. It is the Vatican II that has presented most vehemently the truth that the Church is instituted for and capable of enfolding and uniting in her all the peoples of the world. One of her most important achievements through this Council is the finding of a new vision of ecclesiology. The Council has been termed as highly successful in revealing the nature and mission of the Church in a better way. The perception about the Church has taken a sudden tum and become deeper and more meaningful in the light of the ultimate reality of the Church becoming at once a personal experience and realization. Meaningful attempts have also been made to understand and interpret the Christian life in the light of the newly found dimensions of ecclesiology. The fact that ecclesial communion stands as the refuge of salvation and source of heavenly gifts in the divine plan ofJesus Christ. has become clearer and betterrecognized. The ecclesial reality, which one actively partakes in, has become a relevant reality and a reformative force in daily life. Any study, under the given context, aiming to make known the reality of the Church and its history of growth and development, is quite desirable and welcome. Today, a meaningful study of its history is of utmost importance for the faithful in the Malankara Church. It must be regarded as an imperative, an inevitable necessity, particularly when the very ecclesial existence of the Malankara Church is in great peril. Many are not in fact aware of, and many often take recourse to a 'convenient ignorance' of the strong A.postolic foundation of her individuality and of her immense capacity for divine ministry. Collusively constructed allusions about the Malankara Church have almost rendered the task of framing its authentic history an impossibility today. It is in this context that Fr .G. Chediath has gladly www.malankaralibrary.com 10 The Cathoiicos of the East taken upon himself the onerous task of opening avenues into the historical truths about the Malankara Church. The book, "the Catholicos of the East" is the result of this noble endeavor. The Malaukara Church is an Eastern Church. The evolutionary changes taken place in the other Churches with whom the Malankara Church came into contact, their theological controversies, their administrative structures, the special titles they used for their ecclesiastical leaders, the structures they have created and their influence in this Church, all these have been briefly dealt with in this small book. Its force comes from Fr. G. Chediath's untiring dedication to objectivity. I wish that this book be a beckon to all, especially to the Malankara faithful in their ecclesial life. I wish God's abundant blessings upon him and upon his activities. Trivandmm, Most Rev. Cyril Mar Baselios, 20th December,2004. Archbishop of Trivandrum Malaukara Catholic Metropolitan. www.malankaralibrary.com 1 The Roman Empire and the Persian Empire The Roman Empire At the beginning of Christianity, the Roman Empire was spread in the regions around the Mediterranean Sea. The vast Empire was divided into two parts: Eastern Empire and Western Empire. It is appropriate to explain the basis of this division. For, later, when the Christian Church spread in the Roman Empire, it was known after this political division: Eastern Church and Western Church. East and West In 40 B.C. according to the agreement of Brundisium, the Roman Empire was partitioned. The Eastern region was given to Mark Antony. Octavian got the Western part. Lepidus got North West Africa. Syria, Asia, Cyprus, Greece and some North African regions belonged to the East. Spain and France belonged to the Western portion. Italy was kept as a neutral zone, not belonging to any ofthese portions. This dividing line was preserved during the subsequent centuries also. Emperor Diocletian(284-305) made further partitions of the Empire. He accepted the division of East and West. He further divided the whole Empire into four Prefectures, www.malankaralibrary.com 12 The Catholicos of the East thirteen Dioceses and 101 Provinces. The four Prefectures were: Italy, France (West); Illiricum and Oriens (East). In the place of Augustus Caesar, there emerged four rulers: two Augusti and two Caesars. Their terms of office were also fixed. Diocletian became the Augustus of the Eastern Roman Empire with Nicomedia as his capital. He had under him the whole Oriens. Maximian became the Augustus of the Western Roman Empire with his capital in Milan.