139-477: Kurien (also spelled Kurian) is a Saint Thomas Christians and Syrian Christian name of Syriac Aramaic origin or Greek origin, presumed to have originated from the name Quriaqos (ܩܘܪܝܩܘܣ) or the Greek Kyrios or kurios ( Ancient Greek : κύριος ) meaning Lord, master, power or authority, and is very popular among Kerala Christians both as a first name and as a surname . The ancient Roman name 'Cyriacus'
278-976: A Christian community in India using the Gospel of Matthew in Hebrew language in the 2nd century. The tradition of origin of the Christians in Kerala is found in a version of the Songs of Thomas or Thomma Parvam , written in 1601 and believed to be a summary of a larger and older work. Thomas is described as arriving in or around Maliankara and founding Ēḻarappaḷḷikaḷ (Seven great churches): Kodungallur , Kottakavu , Palayoor , Kokkamangalam , Nilackal , Niranam and Kollam . Some other churches, namely Thiruvithamcode Arappally (a "half church"), Malayattoor and Aruvithura are often called Arappallikal . The Thomma Parvam also narrates
417-515: A Hindu god or goddess was deemed a criminal. Non-Hindus in Goa were encouraged to identify and report anyone who owned images of god or goddess to the Inquisition authorities. Those accused were searched and if any evidence was found, such "idol owning" Hindus were arrested and they lost their property. Half of the seized property went as reward to the accusers, the other half to the church. "The fathers of
556-514: A Muslim invasion led to the plunder of Goa by Malik Kafur on behalf of Alauddin Khilji and an Islamic occupation. In the 14th century, Vijayanagara Hindu rulers conquered and occupied it. It became a part of Bahmani Sultanate in the 15th century, thereafter was under the rule of Sultan Adil Shah of Bijapur when Vasco da Gama reached Kozhekode (Calicut), India in 1498. After da Gama's return, Portugal sent an armed fleet to conquer and create
695-540: A New Christian was executed by the Portuguese in 1539 for the religious crime of "heretical utterances". A Jewish converso or Christian convert named Jeronimo Dias was garrotted and burnt at the stake in Goa by the Portuguese, for the religious heresy of Judaizing in 1543 before the Goa Inquisition tribunal was formed. Cardinal Henrique of Portugal sent Aleixo Díaz Falcão as the first inquisitor and established
834-540: A bishop sent by the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius ʿAbdulmasīḥ I, arrived in India and the faction under the leadership of Thoma I welcomed him. The bishop was sent in correspondence to the letter sent by Thoma I to the Oriental Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch . Bishop Abdul Jaleel consecrated Thoma I canonically as a bishop and regularised his episcopal succession. This led to
973-584: A coffin at the same time as the effigy, which was hung up for public display. Others sentenced to various punishments totalled 4,046, of whom 3,034 were men and 1,012 were women. According to the Chronista de Tissuary (Chronicles of Tiswadi ), the last auto de fé was held in Goa on 7 February 1773. An appeal to start the Inquisition in the Indian colonies of Portugal was sent by Vicar General Miguel Vaz . According to Indo-Portuguese historian Teotonio R. de Souza ,
1112-657: A colony in India. In 1510, the Portuguese Admiral Afonso de Albuquerque (c. 1453-1515) launched a series of campaigns to take Goa, wherein the Portuguese ultimately prevailed. The Christian Portuguese were assisted by the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire 's regional agent Timmayya in their attempt to capture Goa from the Muslim ruler Adil Shah. Goa became the centre of Portuguese colonial possessions in India and activities in other parts of Asia . It also served as
1251-571: A letter addressed to the Portuguese King, John III where he wrote "By another route I have written to your highness of the great need there is in India for preachers... The second necessity which obtains in India, if those who live there are to be good Christians, is that your highness should institute the holy Inquisition; for there are many who live according to the law of Moses or the law of Muhammad without any fear of God or shame before men" He furthermore advocated for greater action by
1390-456: A letter which is dated Almeirim, 18 February 1519, King Manuel I promoted legislation henceforth prohibiting the naming of New Christians to the position of judge, town councillor or municipal registrar in Goa, stipulating, however, that those already appointed were not to be dismissed. This shows that even during the first nine years of Portuguese rule, Goa had a considerable influx of recently baptized Spanish and Portuguese Jews." However, after
1529-635: A move designed to increase Quilon's trade and wealth. Thus began the Malayalam Era, known as Kollavarsham after the city, indicating the importance of Kollam in the 9th century. The great distances involved and the geopolitical turmoil of the period caused India to be cut off from the church's heartland in Mesopotamia at several points. In the 11th century the province was suppressed by the church entirely, as it had become impossible to reach, but effective relations were restored by 1301. However, following
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#17328526179141668-573: A native Archdeacon , who had authority over the clergy and who wielded a great amount of secular power. Some contact and transmission of knowledge of the Saint Thomas Christians managed to reach the Christian West, even after the rise of the Islamic empires . Byzantine traveller Cosmas Indicopleustes wrote of Syrian Christians he met in India and Sri Lanka in the 6th century. In 883
1807-456: A new ecclesiastical leader to free his people from the Padroado, travelled to Cochin and demanded to meet Ahatallah and examine his credentials. The Portuguese refused, stating the ship had already left for Goa. Ahatallah was never heard from in India again, inspiring false rumours that the Portuguese had murdered him and inflaming anti-Portuguese sentiments even more. This was the last straw for
1946-675: A precaution to protect the community from ideas that could lead them away from the Catholic faith. The Inquisitors aimed to preserve religious purity and ensure that the Catholic teachings remained the guiding principles for the people by removing potentially harmful material. The aims of the Portuguese Empire in Asia were suppressing Islam (due to the oppressive Islamic rule of Iberia which lasted 781 years), spreading Christianity, and trading spices. The Portuguese were guided by missionary fervor and
2085-504: A separate official with powers be sent to aid the old bishop to protect the new converts from ill-treatment from the undisciplined Portuguese commandants. He goes on to ask the King to stop thinking about filling his treasury and instead keep a part of the money made in the East Indies for the benefit of the new converts. Historian and former priest Teotonio de Souza indicates that apart from
2224-405: A single merchant ( hombre de negocios ) who is not of this Nation. These people have their correspondents in all lands and domains of the king our lord. Those of Lisbon send kinsmen to the East Indies to establish trading-posts where they receive the exports from Portugal, which they barter for merchandise in demand back home. They have outposts in the Indian port cities of Goa and Cochin and in
2363-520: A variety of reasons. One reason was that India was home to ancient, well-established Jewish communities. Jews who had been forcibly converted could approach these communities, and re-join their former faith if they chose to do so, without having to fear for their lives as these areas were beyond the scope of the Inquisition. Another reason was the opportunity to engage in trade ( spices , diamonds, etc) from which New Christians in Portugal had been restricted at
2502-616: Is Malayalam . Nasrani or Nazarene is a Syriac term for Christians , who were among the first converts to Christianity in the Near East . Historically, this community was organised as the Province of India of the Church of the East by Patriarch Timothy I (780–823 AD) in the eighth century, served by bishops and a local dynastic archdeacon . In the 14th century, the Church of the East declined in
2641-618: Is a lectionary of Pauline Epistles copied on AD 1301 (1612 AG ) in Kodungallūr (Cranganore, Classical Syriac : ܫܸܢܓܲܲܠܐ , romanized: Shengala ) at the Church dedicated to Mar Quriaqos . This holy book has been copied in the royal, renowned and famous town Shengala, which is in Malabar in the land of India, in the holy Church dedicated to the Mar Quriaqos, the glorious martyr... whilst our blessed and holy father Mar Yahballaha
2780-771: Is an evangelical faction that split off from the Marthoma Church in 1961. Meanwhile, the CSI Syrian Christians represents those Malankara Syrian Christians , who joined the Anglican Church in 1836 and eventually became part of the Church of South India , a United Protestant denomination. The C.S.I. is in full communion with the Mar Thoma Syrian Church. By the 20th century, various Syrian Christians joined Pentecostal and other evangelical denominations like
2919-607: Is considered the equivalent of the Greek 'Kyriakos' or the Syriac Aramaic name Quriaqos (ܩܘܪܝܩܘܣ) that means "Of the Lord" . Popular Syrian Christian variants of this name include Kuriakose , Cyriac and Kurian. Saint Thomas Christians Catholic Syro-Malankara Church ( West Syriac Rite ) Oriental Orthodox (West Syriac Rite) Jacobite Syrian Christian Church Malabar Independent Syrian Church Assyrian Church of
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#17328526179143058-721: Is in full communion with the Holy See in Rome. This includes the aforementioned Syro-Malabar Church, which follows the East Syriac Rite, as well as the West Syriac Syro-Malankara Catholic Church . The Oriental Orthodox faction includes the autocephalous Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Malabar Independent Syrian Church along with the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church , an integral part of
3197-655: Is much doubt on the cultural background of early Christians, there is evidence that some members of the St Thomas Christian community observed Brahmin customs in the Middle Ages, such as the wearing of the Upanayana (sacred thread) and having a kudumi . The medieval historian Pius Malekandathil believes these were customs adopted and privileges won during the beginning of the Brahmin dominance of medieval Kerala. He argues that
3336-559: Is noted to have enhanced the social position of all the ancient Christians of India and secured for them royal protection from the Chera dynasty. The Thomas of Cana copper plates were extant in Kerala until the 17th century after which point they were lost. As the community grew and immigration by East Syriac Christians increased, the connection with the Church of the East, centred in the Persian capital of Seleucia-Ctesiphon , strengthened. From
3475-754: The 3 G's . Examples of this include the Madura Mission of Roberto de Nobili , the Jesuit mission to the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar as well as the subjection of the Nestorian Church to the Roman Church at the Synod of Diamper in 1599. Between the Inquisition's beginning in 1561 and its temporary abolition in 1774, around 16,000 persons were brought to trial. Portuguese authorities sought to ensure alignment with
3614-710: The Apostolic See of the Pontifex . Many peaceful conversions took place through the Goan Inquisition however the persecution of Hindus and the destruction of Hindu temples were still present. The inquisition primarily focused on the New Christians accused of secretly practicing their former religions, and Old Christians accused of involvement in the Protestant Revolution of the 16th century . Also among
3753-493: The Church of the East , or East Syriac Church. Internally the Saint Thomas Christian community is divided into two ethnic groups, the majority Vadakkumbhagar or Northist and the minority Tekkumbhagar or Southist. Saint Thomas Christian tradition traces the origin of these ethno-geographical epithets to the city of Kodungallur , the historic capital of the medieval Chera dynasty . The early converts of Saint Thomas
3892-611: The Indo-Parthian Kingdom is the Acts of Thomas , likely written in the early 3rd century, perhaps in Edessa . A number of 3rd and 4th century Roman writers also mention Thomas' trip to India, including Ambrose of Milan , Gregory of Nazianzus , Jerome , and Ephrem the Syrian , while Eusebius of Caesarea records that St. Clement of Alexandria's teacher Pantaenus from Alexandria visited
4031-632: The Kerala Brethren , Indian Pentecostal Church of God , Assemblies of God , among others. They are known as Pentecostal Saint Thomas Christians . The Saint Thomas Christians have also been nicknamed such due to their reverence for Saint Thomas the Apostle , who is said to have brought Christianity to India. The name dates back to the period of Portuguese colonisation . They are also known, especially locally, as Nasrani or Nasrani Mappila . The former means Christian ; it appears to have been derived from
4170-592: The Knanaya migration. The two bishops were instrumental in founding many Christian churches with Syrian liturgy along the Malabar coast and were venerated as Qandishangal (saints) since then by the Thomas Christians. It is believed that Sapir Iso also proposed that the Chera king create a new seaport near Kollam in lieu of his request that he rebuild the almost vanished inland seaport at Kollam (kore-ke-ni) near Backare (Thevalakara), also known as Nelcynda and Tyndis to
4309-616: The Lima Inquisition and the Brazil Inquisition under the Lisbon tribunal. Like the Goa Inquisition, these tribunals arrested suspects, interrogated and convicted them, and issued punishments for secretly practising religious beliefs different from Christianity. Goa was founded and built by ancient Hindu kingdoms and had served as a capital of the Kadamba dynasty . In late 13th-century,
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4448-506: The Malabar Coast were facing new challenges, caused by the establishment of Portuguese presence in India. The Saint Thomas Christians first encountered the Portuguese in 1498, during the expedition of Vasco da Gama . At the time the community was in a tenuous position: though thriving in the spice trade and protected by their own militia, the local political sphere was volatile and
4587-618: The Near East , due to persecution from Tamerlane . Portuguese colonial overtures to bring St Thomas Christians into the Latin Church of the Catholic Church , administered by their Padroado system in the 16th century, led to the first of several rifts ( schisms ) in the community. The attempts of the Portuguese culminated in the Synod of Diamper , formally subjugating them to the Portuguese Padroado and imposing upon them
4726-726: The Reconquista . Facilitating their goals was the Padroado Real , a series of treaties and decrees in which the Pope conferred upon the Portuguese government certain authority in ecclesiastical matters in the foreign territories they conquered. They set up in Goa , forming a colonial government and a Latin church hierarchy under the Archbishop of Goa , and quickly set to bringing the Saint Thomas Christians under his authority. The Portuguese subjection of
4865-649: The Roman Rite of worship. The Portuguese oppression provoked a violent resistance among the Thomasine Christians, that took expression in the Coonan Cross Oath protest in 1653. This led to the permanent schism among the Thomas' Christians of India, leading to the formation of Puthenkur or Puthenkūttukār ("New allegiance" ) and Paḻayakūṟ or Pazhayakūr ("Old allegiance") factions. The Paḻayakūṟ comprise
5004-527: The Synod of Diamper , which implemented various liturgical and structural reforms in the Indian church. The Synod brought the parishes directly under the Archbishop's purview; anathematised certain "superstitious" social customs characteristic of their Hindu neighbors, including untouchability and a caste hierarchy; and purged the liturgy, the East Syriac Rite , of elements deemed unacceptable according to
5143-918: The West Syriac liturgy, customs and script to the Malabar Coast. The visits of prelates from the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch continued since then and this led to gradual replacement of the East Syriac Rite liturgy with the West Syriac Rite and the Malankara Church affiliated to the Miaphysite Christology of the Oriental Orthodox Communion . Furthermore, ʿAbdulmasīḥ I sent Maphrian Baselios Yaldo in 1685, along with Bishop Ivanios Hidayattullah who vehemently propagated
5282-416: The Xenddi tax implemented from 1705 to 1840, which was similar to the Jizya tax. Religious discrimination ended with the introduction of secularism , via the Portuguese Constitution of 1838 & the subsequent Portuguese Civil Code of Goa and Damaon . Ferdinand and Isabella were married in 1469, thereby uniting the Iberian kingdoms of Aragon and Castile into Spain . In 1492, they expelled
5421-417: The "monkey" word became a racialised insult in the proceedings, but it may initially have been a product of syncretism between Hinduism and Buddhism, given the fact that the Buddha tooth relic was preserved and considered sacred by Tamil Hindus in Jaffna , and these Hindus also worshipped Hanuman . To the Portuguese inquisition officials and their European supporters, the term projected their stereotypes for
5560-435: The "scandalous and undisciplined" behaviour of their fellow Christians. Even before the Inquisition was launched, the local government in Goa tried persons for religious crimes and punished those convicted, as well as targeted Judaizing . A Portuguese order to destroy Hindu temples along with the seizure of Hindu temple properties and their transfer to the Catholic missionaries is dated 30 June 1541. Prior to authorizing of
5699-446: The 16th and 17th centuries. The establishment of the Portuguese on the Western coast of India was of particular interest to the New Christians population of Portugal who were suffering harshly under the Portuguese Inquisition . The crypto-Jewish targets of the Inquisition in Portugal began flocking to Goa, and their community reached considerable proportions. India was attractive for Jews who had been forcibly baptized in Portugal for
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5838-401: The 4th or 8th century. The subgroup of the Saint Thomas Christians known as the Knanaya or Southists trace their lineage to Thomas of Cana, while the group known as the Northists claim descent from the early Christians evangelized by Thomas the Apostle. The traditional histories of the Thomas Christians note that the immigration of the Knanites reinvigorated the church of India, which was at
5977-426: The Apostle and those who later joined the faith in India are believed to have initially resided on the northern side of the city of Kodungallur and for that reason became known as Vadakkumbhagar or Northist. In either the 4th or 8th century, the Syriac Christian merchant magnate Knai Thoma is noted to have arrived and settled in southern Kodungallur with a cohort of merchants and clergymen. Because they dwelled on
6116-411: The Apostle came to Muziris on the Kerala coast in AD 52 which is in present-day Pattanam , near Kodungallur , Kerala . The Cochin Jews are known to have existed in Kerala in the 1st century AD, and it was possible for an Aramaic -speaking Jew , such as St. Thomas from Galilee , to make a trip to Kerala then. The earliest known source connecting the Apostle to Northwest India, specifically
6255-569: The Catholic faith while navigating cultural dynamics in Goa. When the Inquisition ended in 1812, the majority of its records were destroyed by Portuguese officials, making it difficult to determine the exact figures of those prosecuted and the nature of their cases. However, the few records that remain indicate that approximately 57 individuals across the 249 year long inquisition were sentenced to execution for significant religious transgressions, while an additional 64 were symbolically condemned after they had passed away in custody. These numbers reflect
6394-660: The Christian missionaries and Portuguese government are unavailable. Some 160 temples were razed to the ground on the Goa island by 1566. Between 1566 and 1567, a campaign by Franciscan missionaries destroyed another 300 Hindu temples in Bardez (North Goa). In Salcete (South Goa), approximately another 300 Hindu temples were destroyed by the Christian officials of the Inquisition although having conflicting evidence. Numerous Hindu temples were destroyed elsewhere at Assolna and Cuncolim by Portuguese authorities. A 1569 royal letter in Portuguese archives records that all Hindu temples in its colonies in India had been burnt and razed to
6533-433: The Church forbade the Hindus under terrible penalties the use of their own sacred books , and prevented them from all exercise of their religion. They destroyed their temples, and so harassed and interfered with the people that they abandoned the city in large numbers, refusing to remain any longer in a place where they had no liberty, and were liable to imprisonment, torture and death if they worshipped after their own fashion
6672-457: The Coonan Cross Oath as an explosion against decades long suppression and overbearing attitude of Padroado Latin prelates. After the events of Coonan Cross Oath three letters were circulated claiming that they had been sent by Ahathalla . One such letter was read at a meeting at Edappally on 5 February 1653. This letter granted to the archdeacon some powers of the archbishop. On hearing it, a vast crowd enthusiastically welcomed Archdeacon Thomas as
6811-438: The Crypto-Hindus, Crypto-Muslims and Crypto-Jews, thereby ending the heresy . The Goa Inquisition adapted the directives issued between 1545 and 1563 by the Council of Trent to Goa and other Indian colonies of Portugal. This included attacking Hindu customs, active preaching to increase the number of Christian converts, fighting enemies of Catholic Christians, uprooting behaviours that were deemed to be heresies and maintaining
6950-429: The East (East Syriac Rite) Oriental Protestant Christianity ( Reformed -West Syriac Rite) St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India Protestant The Saint Thomas Christians , also called Syrian Christians of India , Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani , Malankara Nasrani , or Nasrani Mappila , are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala ( Malabar region ), who, for
7089-417: The English king Alfred the Great reportedly sent a mission and gifts to Saint Thomas' tomb in India. During the Crusades , distorted accounts of the Saint Thomas Christians and the Nestorian Church gave rise to the European legend of Prester John . The port at Kollam , then known as Quilon, was founded in 825 by Maruvān Sapir Iso, a Persian Christian merchant, with sanction from Ayyanadikal Thiruvadikal,
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#17328526179147228-400: The Exterior. After this point the Province of India was headed by a metropolitan bishop , dispatched from Persia, the "Metropolitan-Bishop of the Seat of Saint Thomas and the Whole Christian Church of India". His metropolitan see was probably in Cranganore , or (perhaps nominally) in Mylapore , where the shrine of Thomas was located. Under him were a varying number of bishops, as well as
7367-573: The Hebrew word Netzer or the Aramaic Nasraya from Isaiah 11:1. Nasrani is evolved from the Syriac term for "Christian" that emerges from the Greek word Nazōraioi , Nazarene in English. Mappila is an honorific applied to members of non-Indian faiths and descendants of immigrants from the middle east who had intermarried with the local population, including Muslims ( Jonaka Mappila ) and Jews ( Yuda Mappila ). Some Syrian Christians of Travancore continue to attach this honorific title to their names. The Government of India designates members of
7506-411: The Inquisition in Goa. Portugal also sent missionaries to Goa, and its colonial government supported the Christian mission with incentives for baptizing Hindus and Muslims into Christians. A diocese was established in Goa in 1534. In 1542, Martim Afonso de Sousa was appointed the new Governor of Portuguese India. He arrived in Goa with the Society of Jesus co-founder Francis Xavier . By 1548,
7645-427: The Inquisition office in Goa in 1560, King John III of Portugal issued an order, on 8 March 1546, to forbid Hinduism , destroy Hindu temples, prohibit the public celebration of Hindu feasts, expel Hindu priests and severely punish those who created any Hindu images in Portuguese possessions in India. A special religious tax was imposed before 1550 on Muslim mosques within Portuguese territory. Records suggest that
7784-434: The Inquisition prohibited conversion to Hinduism , Islam , and Judaism , as well as restricted the use of Konkani and Sanskrit , languages associated with hindu religious practices. These measures were intended to foster a sense of religious unity and consistency within the local population. Although the Goa Inquisition ended in 1812, discrimination against polytheists under Portuguese rule continued in other forms such as
7923-432: The Jewish population of Spain, many of whom then moved to Portugal. Within five years, ideas of anti-Judaism and Inquisition were adopted in Portugal. Instead of another expulsion, the King of Portugal ordered the forced conversion of the Jews in 1497, and these were called New Christians or Crypto-Jews. He stipulated that the validity of their conversions would not be investigated for two decades. In 1506 in Lisbon, there
8062-399: The Latin protocol. A number of Syriac texts were condemned and ordered burnt, including the Peshitta , the Syriac version of the Bible. Some of the reforms, especially the elimination of caste status, reduced the Saint Thomas Christians' standing with their socially stratified Hindu neighbors. The Synod formally brought the Saint Thomas Christians into the Catholic Church but the actions of
8201-505: The Portuguese colonists had completed fourteen churches in the colony. The surviving records of missionaries from 16th to 17th century, states Délio de Mendonça , extensively stereotypes and criticizes the gentiles, a term that broadly referred to Hindus. To European missionaries, the Gentiles of India that were not outright hostile were superstitious, weak and greedy. One missionary claimed that Indians converted to Christianity for material benefits such as jobs or clothing gifts; freedom in
8340-408: The Portuguese governor for the propagation of Christianity in Goa going as far as threatening the official with severe punishment in case of failure "Let the king warn the governor that] "should he fail to take active steps for the great increase of our faith, you are determined to punish him, and inform him with a solemn oath that, on his return to Portugal, all his property will be forfeited for
8479-421: The Portuguese over the ensuing years fueled resentment in segments of the community, and ultimately led to open resistance to their power. Over the next several decades, tensions seethed between the Portuguese and the remaining native hierarchy, and after 1641 Archdeacon Thomas , the nephew and successor to Archdeacon George of Cross, was often at odds with the Latin prelates. In 1652, the escalating situation
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#17328526179148618-567: The Puthenkur faction (Malankara Syrians) claimed 32. The remaining 12 churches were shared between the two factions until the late nineteenth century. The Paḻayakūṟ faction is the body from which the modern Syro-Malabar Church and Chaldean Syrian Church descend. The Puthenkur faction is the body from which the Jacobite , Orthodox , CSI Syrian Christians , Marthoma , St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India , Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and Malabar Independent Syrian Church originate. This visit of Gregorios Abdal Jaleel gradually introduced
8757-431: The Romans and Greeks and as Thondi to the Tamils, which had been without trade for several centuries because the Cheras were overrun by the Pallavas in the 6th century, ending the spice trade from the Malabar coast. The Tharisapalli plates presented to Maruvan Sapor Iso by Ayyanadikal Thiruvadikal granted the Christians the privilege of overseeing foreign trade in the city as well as control over its weights and measures in
8896-416: The Saint Thomas Christians found themselves under pressure from the rajas of Calicut and Cochin and other small kingdoms in the area. The Saint Thomas Christians and the Portuguese newcomers quickly formed an alliance. The Portuguese had a keen interest in implanting themselves in the spice trade and in spreading their version of Christianity, which had been forged during several centuries of warfare in
9035-434: The Saint Thomas Christians from their hierarchy in 1575, when the Padroado legislated that neither patriarch could send representatives to India without Portuguese approval. By 1599 the last Metropolitan, Abraham , had died, and the Archbishop of Goa, Aleixo de Menezes , had secured the submission of the young Archdeacon Givargis , the highest remaining representative of the native church hierarchy. The Archbishop convened
9174-429: The Saint Thomas Christians was relatively measured at first, but they became more aggressive after 1552, the year of the death of Metropolitan Mar Jacob and of a schism in the Church of the East , which resulted in there being two rival Patriarchs—one of whom entered communion with the Catholic Church. Both patriarchs sent bishops to India, but the Portuguese consistently managed to outmaneuver them, and effectively cut off
9313-413: The Saint Thomas Christians; in 1653, Thomas and community representatives met at the Church of Our Lady in Mattancherry to take bold action. In a great ceremony before a crucifix and lighted candles, they swore a solemn oath that they would never obey Padroado Archbishop Francisco Garcia or the Portuguese again, and that they accepted only the Archdeacon as their shepherd. There are various versions about
9452-405: The Syriac Orthodox Church headed by the Patriarch of Antioch. Oriental Protestant denominations include the Mar Thoma Syrian Church and the St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India . Being a reformed church influenced by British Anglican missionaries in the 1800s, the Mar Thoma Church employs a reformed variant of the liturgical West Syriac Rite. The St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India
9591-407: The Syrian Christians in Kerala, integrated with Persian Christian migrant merchants, in the 9th century to become a powerful trading community and were granted the privileges by the local rulers to promote revenue generation and to undermine Buddhist and Jain traders who rivaled the Brahmins for religious and political hegemony in Kerala at the time. An organized Christian presence in India dates to
9730-404: The Vatican in the favour of Spain and Portugal in South America in the 16th century. The padroado mandated the building of churches and support for Catholic missions and evangelism activities in the new lands, and brought these under the religious jurisdiction of the Vatican. The Jesuits were the most active of the religious orders in Europe that participated under the padroado mandate in
9869-434: The West Syriac Rite and solidified the association of the Malankara Church with the Syriac Orthodox Church. Portuguese Inquisition in Goa and Bombay-Bassein The Goa Inquisition ( Portuguese : Inquisição de Goa , Portuguese pronunciation: [ĩkizɨˈsɐ̃w dɨ ˈɣoɐ] ) was an extension of the Portuguese Inquisition in Portuguese India . Its objective was to enforce Catholic orthodoxy and allegiance to
10008-434: The absence of a bishop, twelve of the cattanars (priests) might lay their hands on Thomas, and that this would be adequate as episcopal consecration. The authenticity of these letters is not clear. Some are of the opinion that these letters might be forged by Anjilimoottil Itty Thommen Kathanar who was a skilled Syriac writer. The letters were read with enthusiasm in the churches of the Thomas Christians and Archdeacon Thomas
10147-412: The arrival of East Syriac settlers and missionaries from Persia , members of what would become the Church of the East, in around the 3rd century. Saint Thomas Christians trace the further growth of their community to the arrival of Jewish-Christians (early East Syriac Christians) from the region of Mesopotamia led by Knāi Thoma ( anglicized as Thomas of Cana), which is said to have occurred either in
10286-452: The authorities. The Catholic descendants of Hindus were more likely to be prosecuted, although this could be due to their having been a higher proportion of the population. About 74% of those sentenced were charged with Crypto-Hinduism (practicing Hinduism privately despite being Christian officially), while Crypto-Muslims (practicing Islam privately despite being Christian officially) made-up about 1.5% sentenced, 1.5% were tried for obstructing
10425-574: The benefit of the Santa Misericordia, and beyond this tell him that you will keep him in irons for a number of years... There is no better way of ensuring that all in India become Christians than that your highness should inflict severe punishment on a governor" The inquisition was declared two decades after he left Goa, and the main laws were implemented in 1567, about 25 years after his departure. Around 15 years passed since his death and transfer of relics back to Old Goa . The letter cited
10564-483: The border and cultivating lands there. According to Benton, between 1561 and 1623, the Goa Inquisition brought 3,800 cases. This was a large number given that the total population of Goa was about 60,000 in the 1580s with an estimated Hindu population then about a third or 20,000. Seventy-one autos de fé ("act of faith") were recorded, the grand spectacle of public penance often followed by convicted individuals being variously punished up to and including burning at
10703-525: The borders of the Portuguese controlled territories. In some cases where the Portuguese built churches on the spot the destroyed temples were, Hindus started annual processions that carry their gods and goddesses linking their newer temples to the site where the churches stand, after Portuguese colonial era ended. Hindus could be arrested for attempting to dissuade countrymen for converting to Christianity, abetting Goan Christians from fleeing Goa, or hiding abandoned/Orphaned children who had not been reported to
10842-503: The case of slaves kept by the Hindus and Muslims; and marriage to Christian women in the case of unmarried non-Christian men. After baptism , these new converts continued to practice their old religion in secret in the manner similar to Crypto-Jews who had been forcibly converted to Christianity in Portugal earlier. Jesuit missionaries considered this a threat to the purity of Catholic Christian belief and pressed for Inquisition in order to punish
10981-446: The central focus of the Inquisition in the East in the 17th century. In Goa, the Inquisition also prosecuted violators observing Hindu or Muslim rituals or festivals, and persons who interfered with Portuguese attempts to convert local muslims and polytheists. The laws of the Goa Inquisition sought to strengthen the spread of Catholicism in the region by discouraging practices that conflicted with Catholic teachings. In this context,
11120-423: The collapse of the Church of the East's hierarchy in most of Asia later in the 14th century, India was effectively cut off from the church, and formal contact was severed. By the late 15th century India had had no metropolitan for several generations, and the authority traditionally associated with him had been vested in the archdeacon. MS Vatican Syriac 22 is the oldest known Syriac manuscript copied in India. It
11259-474: The community as Syrian Christians , a term originating with the Dutch colonial authority that distinguishes the Saint Thomas Christians, who used Syriac (within East Syriac Rite or West Syriac Rite ) as their liturgical language, from newly evangelised Christians who followed the Roman Rite . The terms Syrian or Syriac relate not to their ethnicity but to their historical, religious and liturgical connection to
11398-560: The continuation of the traditional pre-sixteenth century church of Saint Thomas Christians in India. It forms the Indian archdiocese of the Iraq -based Assyrian Church of the East , which is one of the descendant churches of the Church of the East. They were a minority faction within the Paḻayakūṟ faction, which joined with the Church of the East Bishop during the 1870s. The Eastern Catholic faction
11537-789: The conversion of Jews, natives, and the local King at Kodungallur by St Thomas. It is possible that the Jews who became Christians at that time were absorbed by what became the Nasrani Community in Kerala. The Thomma Parvam further narrates St Thomas's mission in the rest of South India and his martyrdom at Mylapore in present-day Chennai , Tamil Nadu. According to legend, the community began with Thomas's conversion of 32 Brahmin families, namely Pakalomattom , Sankarapuri, Kalli, Kaliyankal, Koikara, Madapoor, Muttodal, Kottakara, Nedumpilly, Palackal, Panakkamattom, Kunnappilly, Vazhappilly, Payyappilly, Maliakkal, Pattamukku, Thaiyil, etc. While there
11676-582: The cruelty of the Inquisition's agents, and complained about the goals, arbitrariness, torture and racial discrimination against the people of Indian origin, particularly Hindus. He was arrested, served a prison sentence where he witnessed the torture and starvation Hindus were put through, and was released under the pressure of the French government. He returned to France and published a book in 1687 describing his experiences in Goa as Relation de l'Inquisition de Goa (The Inquisition of Goa). The Goa Inquisition led
11815-575: The cultural and institutional roots of Hindus and other Indian religions. For example, Viceroy and Captain General António de Noronha and, later Captain General Constantino de Sa de Noronha , systematically destroyed Hindu and Buddhist temples in Portuguese possessions and during attempted new conquests on the Indian subcontinent . Exact data on the nature and number of Hindu temples destroyed by
11954-466: The destruction of Buddhist sacred objects seized in Portuguese attacks in South Asia . In 1560, for example, an armada led by Viceroy Constantino de Bragança attacked Tamils in northeast Sri Lanka . They seized a reliquary with Buddha's tooth preserved as sacred and called dalada by the local Tamils since the 4th century. Diogo do Couto – the late 16th-century Portuguese chronicler in Goa, refers to
12093-529: The early 4th century the Patriarch of the Church of the East provided India with clergy, holy texts, and ecclesiastical infrastructure, and around 650 Patriarch Ishoyahb III solidified the Church of the East's jurisdiction over the Saint Thomas Christian community. In the 8th century Patriarch Timothy I organised the community as the Ecclesiastical Province of India , one of the church's Provinces of
12232-577: The end of time, through the intercession of the holy Apostle St. Thomas and all his colleagues ! Amen!.. MS Vatican Syriac 22 This manuscript is written in Estrangela script by a very young deacon named Zakharya bar Joseph bar Zakharya who was just 14 at the time of writing. The scribe refers Catholicos-Patriarch of the East Yahballaha III as Yahaballaha the fifth . Johannes P. M. van der Ploeg comments that this may indicate that
12371-533: The exaltation of her sons. Amen... And when Mar Jacob, Metropolitan Bishop was the overseer and governor of the holy see of Saint Thomas the Apostle, that is to say governor of us and of all the holy Church of the Christian India. May God grant him strength and help that he may govern us with zeal and direct us according to the will of his Lord, and that he may teach us His commandments and make us walk in His ways, till
12510-535: The fifth, the Turk, qatoliqa Patriakis of the East, the head of all the countries, was great governor, holding the offices of the Catholic Church of East, the shining lamp which illuminates its regions, the head of the pastors and Pontiff of the pontiffs, Head of great high priests, Father of the fathers... The Lord may make long his life and protect his days in order that he may govern her, a long time, for her glory and for
12649-422: The first lasting formal schism in the Saint Thomas Christian community. Thereafter, the faction affiliated with the Catholic Church under Bishop Palliveettil Chandy came to be known as Paḻayakūṟ (or "Old Allegiance"), and the branch affiliated with Thoma I came to be known as Puthenkur (or "New Allegiance"). These appellations have been somewhat controversial, though, as both parties considered themselves
12788-551: The first tribunal. The Goa Inquisition office was housed in the former palace of Sultan Adil Shah . Various orders issued by the Goa Inquisition included: Sephardic Jews living in Goa, many of whom had fled the Iberian Peninsula to escape the excesses of the Spanish Inquisition , were also persecuted in case they, or their ancestors, had fraudulently converted to Christianity. The narrative of Da Fonseca describes
12927-467: The form of bitter letters of complaint and polemics that were written, and sent to Portugal by secular and ecclesiastical authorities; these complaints were about trade practices, and the abandonment of Catholicism. In particular, the first archbishop of Goa Dom Gaspar de Leao Pereira , was extremely critical of the New Christian presence, and was highly influential in petitioning for the establishment of
13066-503: The fort. The Inquisition originally targeted New Christians, that is Jews who had been force-converted to Christianity and who migrated from Portugal to India between 1505 and 1560. Later it added in Moors, a term that meant Muslims who had previously invaded the Iberian peninsula from Morocco . In Goa, the Inquisition included Jews, Muslims and later predominantly Hindus. A documented case of
13205-649: The gods of their fathers ." wrote Filippo Sassetti , who was in India from 1578 to 1588. In 1620, an order was passed to prohibit Hindus from performing their marriage rituals. An order was issued in June 1684 for suppressing the Konkani language and making it compulsory to speak Portuguese . The law provided for dealing harshly with anyone using the local languages. Following that law, all non-Catholic cultural symbols and books written in local languages were to be destroyed. The French physician Charles Dellon experienced first-hand
13344-409: The governor of their Church and four senior priests were appointed as his counsilors, namely, Anjilimoottil Itty Thommen of Kallisseri, Kuravilangad Parambil Palliveettil Chandy , Kaduthuruthi Kadavil Chandy , Angamali Vengur Giwargis Kathanar. At a further meeting held at Alangat, on 23 May 1653, another letter was read stating that it was from Ahathalla. It instructed the Saint Thomas Christians in
13483-707: The ground. According to Ulrich Lehner , "Goa had been a tolerant place in the sixteenth century, but the Goan Inquisition had turned it into a hostile location for Hindus and members of other Asian religions. Temples had been razed, public Hindu rituals forbidden, and conversions to Hinduism severely punished. The Goa Inquisition prosecuted harshly any cases of public Hindu worship; over three-quarters of its cases pertained to this, and only two percent to apostasy or heresy ." New laws promulgated between 1566 and 1576 prohibited Hindus from repairing any damaged temples or constructing new ones. Ceremonies including public Hindu weddings were banned. Anyone who owned an image of
13622-546: The head of a Carmelite mission of the Propaganda Fide to regain the trust of the dissident St. Thomas Christians. Sebastiani and other Carmelites pressed that the ordination of the archdeacon as metropolitan by the priests in the absence of another bishop was not in accordance with Church laws. They succeeded in convincing a large group of Saint Thomas Christians, including Kadavil Chandy , Palliveettil Chandy and Vengur Giwargis, and Thoma I began to lose his followers. In
13761-469: The interior. In Lisbon and in India nobody can handle the trade in merchandise except persons of this Nation. Without them, His Majesty will no longer be able to make a go of his Indian possessions, and will lose the 600,000 ducats a year in duties which finance the whole enterprise – from equipping the ships to paying the seamen and soldiers" The Portuguese reaction to the New Christians in India came in
13900-580: The key and lucrative trading centre between the Portuguese and the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire and Muslim Bijapur Sultanate to its east. Wars continued between the Bijapur Sultanate and the Portuguese forces for decades. After da Gama returned to Portugal from his maiden voyage to India, Pope Nicholas V issued the Papal bull Romanus Pontifex . This granted a padroado from the Holy See , giving Portugal
14039-631: The king of the independent Venad or the State of Quilon, a feudatory under Sthanu Ravi Varma Perumal of the Chera kingdom. Sapir Iso is usually identified either as the East Syriac Christian merchant who led the East Syriac bishops Mar Sabor and Mar Proth to the Christians of Malabar or as the first of those two bishops. This accompanied the second Assyrian migration into the Malabar coast other than
14178-458: The lands and people they had violently conquered as well as their prejudices against Indian religions. Goa was a sanctuary for Jews who had been forcibly converted to Christianity on the Iberian peninsula. These forcibly baptized converts were known as New Christians . They lived in what then came to be known as the Jew street. The New Christian population was so substantial that, as Savaira reveals,"in
14317-435: The lowest social strata. The trial records suggest that the victims were not exclusively Hindus , but included members of other religions found in India as well as some Europeans. Fr. Diogo da Borba and his advisor Vicar General Miguel Vaz followed the missionary goals to convert the Hindus. In cooperation with the Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries, the Portuguese administration in Goa and military were deployed to destroy
14456-516: The meantime, Sebastiani returned to Rome and was consecrated as bishop on 15 December 1659. He reached Kerala again in 1661, being appointed as the Vicar Apostolic of Malabar by the pope. Within a short time period he restored majority of the churches that had been with Thoma I to Catholic Church. However, in 1663, with the conquest of Cochin by the Dutch, the control of the Portuguese on the Malabar coast
14595-532: The missionaries and colonial administrators of Portugal to Portuguese colonies such as Estado da India . One of the most notable New Christians was Garcia de Orta , who emigrated to Goa in 1534. He was posthumously convicted of Judaism . The Goa Inquisition enforced by the Portuguese Christians was not unusual, as similar tribunals operated in South American colonies during the same centuries such as
14734-478: The moment of their arrival deprived of ecclesial leadership. The arrival of the migrants is also associated with connecting the native Church of St. Thomas with the Syriac Christian tradition of the Church of the East . During this time period Thomas of Cana received copper plates of socio-economic and religious rights for his relations, his party, and all people of his religion. The granting of these plates
14873-560: The most part, employ the Eastern and Western liturgical rites of Syriac Christianity . They trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. The Saint Thomas Christians had been historically a part of the hierarchy of the Church of the East but are now divided into several different Eastern Catholic , Oriental Orthodox , Protestant , and independent bodies, each with their own liturgies and traditions. They are Malayalis and their mother tongue
15012-522: The natives needing a preventative and punitive Inquisition. Saint Francis Xavier led an extensive mission into Asia, mainly the Portuguese Empire in the East , and was influential in evangelisation work, most notably in early modern India . He was extensively involved in the missionary activity in Portuguese India . In 1546, Francis Xavier proposed the establishment of the Goan Inquisition in
15151-449: The offenders were those suspected of committing sodomy ; they were given the second most harsh punishments. The inquisition was established in 1560, briefly stopped from 1774 to 1778, and was re-instated and continued thereafter until it was finally abolished in 1812. Forced conversions, while strict, were seen by the Portuguese as a necessary means to bring people into the fold of the true Catholic faith. The resulting crypto-Hinduism
15290-611: The onset of the Portuguese Inquisition. In his book, The Marrano Factory, Professor Antonio Saraiva of the University of Lisbon details the strength of the New Christians on the economic front by quoting a 1613 document written by attorney , Martin de Zellorigo. Zellorigo writes regarding "the Men of the Nation" (a term used for Jewish New Christians): "For in all of Portugal there is not
15429-481: The operations of the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Most records of the nearly 250 years of Inquisition trials were burnt by the Portuguese after the Inquisition had been banned. Those that have survived, such as those between 1782-1800, state that people continued to be tried and punished. A larger proportion of those arrested, tried and sentenced during the Goa Inquisition, according to António José Saraiva, came from
15568-579: The orders of the Christian Portuguese prosecutors at the auto-da-fé . The inquisition forced Hindus to flee Goa in large numbers and later the migration of its Christians and Muslims, from Goa to the surrounding regions that were not in the control of the Jesuits and Portuguese India. The Hindus responded to the destruction of their temples by recovering the images from the ruins of their older temples and using them to build new temples just outside
15707-573: The original requests targeted the "Moors" (Muslims), New Christian, Jews and those Hindus involved in propagating 'Gentility' and heresy, and it made Goa a centre of persecution operated by the Portuguese. The colonial administration under demands of the Jesuits and Church Provincial Council of Goa in 1567 enacted anti-Hindu laws to end what the Catholics considered to be heretical conduct and to encourage conversions to Christianity. Laws were passed banning Christians from keeping Hindus in their employ, and
15846-559: The other hand, claimed direct descent from the very oldest Christians of the country, those who had been won to Christ by the Apostle Thomas himself. They had already long inhabited northern parts of Kodungallur. They had been there even before various waves of newcomers had arrived from the Babylonian or Mesopotamian provinces of Sassanian Persia." – Historian of South Asian Studies, Robert E. Frykenberg (2010) According to tradition, Thomas
15985-538: The patriarch was not well known among the Indian Christians. In 1490, a delegation from the Saint Thomas Christians visited the Patriarch of the East , Shemon IV , to bring a bishop for India. One among them was Joseph the Indian, who later became famous for his visit to Rome and the account of Malabar in Book VI of Paesi novamente retrovati (1507) by Fracanzano da Montalboddo. The patriarch responded positively to
16124-473: The persecution of the Jews (New Christians) that began few years before the inauguration of the Goa Inquisition was that of a Goan woman named Caldeira. Her trial contributed to formal launch of Goa Inquisition office. Caldeira, and 19 other New Christians, were arrested by the Portuguese and brought before the tribunal in 1557. They were charged with Judaizing , visiting synagogues and eating unleavened bread. She
16263-421: The posted civil servants, "the great majority of those who were dispatched as 'discoverers' were the riff-raff of Portuguese society, picked up from Portuguese jails." Nor did the soldiers, sailors, or merchants come to do missionary work, and imperial policy permitted the outflow of disaffected nobility. Many of the arrivals formed liaisons with local women and adopted local culture. Missionaries often wrote against
16402-603: The present day Syro-Malabar Church and Chaldean Syrian Church which continue to employ the original East Syriac Rite liturgy. The Puthenkur group, who continued to resist the Catholic missionaries, organized themselves as the independent Malankara Church and entered into a new communion with the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch , inheriting from them the West Syriac Rite, replacing the old East Syriac Rite liturgy. The Chaldean Syrian Church based in Thrissur represents
16541-639: The public worship of Hindus was deemed unlawful. Hindus were forced to assemble periodically in churches to listen to the Christian doctrine or to the criticism of their religion. Hindu books in Sanskrit and Marathi were burnt by the Goan Inquisition. It also forbade Hindu priests from entering Goa to officiate Hindu weddings. Violations resulted in various forms of punishment to non-Catholics such as fines, public flogging, banishment to Mozambique , imprisonment, execution, burning at stakes or burning in effigy under
16680-433: The purity of Catholic faith. The Portuguese accepted the caste system thereby attracting the elites of the local society, states Mendonça, because Europeans of the sixteenth century had their estate system and held that social divisions and hereditary royalty were divinely established. It was the festivals, syncretic religious practices and other traditional customs that were identified as heresy, relapses and shortcomings of
16819-506: The rarity of such punishments amid efforts to promote religious unity over many decades. It is estimated that by the end of the 17th century, the Christianisation of Goa meant that there were less than 20,000 people who were non-Christians out of the total Goan population of 250,000. From the 1590s onwards, the Goan Inquisition was the most intense, as practices like offerings to local deities were perceived as witchcraft. This became
16958-463: The relic as "the monkey's tooth" ( dente do Bugio ) as well as "the Buddha's tooth", the "monkey" term being a common racial insult for the collective identity of South Asians. In most European accounts of that era, Christian authors call it "monkey's or ape's tooth", while some call it "tooth of the demon" or "tooth of the holy man". In a few accounts, such as that of the Portuguese chronicler Faria e Sousa,
17097-473: The request of Saint Thomas Christians, and appointed two bishops, Mar Thoma and Mar Yohannan , dispatching them to India. These bishops, and three more (Mar Yahballaha, Mar Dinkha and Mar Yaqov ) who followed them in 1503–1504, reaffirmed and strengthened traditional ties between India and the Patriarchate. They were later followed by another bishop, Mar Abraham , who died in 1597. By that time, Christians of
17236-525: The responsibility, monopoly right and patronage for the propagation of the Catholic Christian faith in newly discovered areas, along with exclusive rights to trade in Asia on behalf of the Catholic Empire. From 1515 onwards, Goa served as the centre of missionary efforts under Portugal's royal patronage (Padroado) to expand Catholic Christianity in Asia. Similar padroados were also issued by
17375-677: The southern side, the descendants of Thoma's migration became known as Tekkumbhagar or Southist. The Southist community is primarily known by the appellation K'nā'nāya (Syriac for Canaanite), an adjectival epithet of Knai Thoma. The Oxford History of the Christian Church summarizes the division of the community in the following quote: "In time, Jewish Christians of the most exclusive communities descended from settlers who accompanied Knayil Thomma (Kanayi) became known as 'Southists' (Tekkumbha ̄gar)...They distinguished between themselves and 'Northists' (Vatakkumbha ̄gar). The 'Northists', on
17514-419: The stake . In the first few years alone, over 4000 people were arrested. According to Machado, in its two-and-a-half centuries of existence in Goa, the Inquisition burnt 57 people to death at the stake and 64 in effigy, of whom 105 were men and 16 were women. The sentence of "burning in effigy" was applied to those convicted in absentia or who had died in prison; in the latter case, their remains were burned in
17653-452: The start of the Goa Inquisition, Viceroy Dom Antão de Noronha , in December 1565, issued an order that banned Jews from entering the Portuguese territories in India with violators liable to the penalties of arrest, seizure of their property and confinement in a prison. The Portuguese built city fortification walls between 1564 and 1568. It ran adjacent to the Jew street, but placed it outside of
17792-519: The tooth is called "a genuine Satanic source of evil that had to be destroyed". The tooth's capture by the Portuguese spread rapidly in South Asia, and the King of Pegu offered a fortune to Portuguese in exchange for it. However, the religious authorities of the Goa Inquisition prevented the acceptance of ransom and held a flamboyant ceremony to publicly destroy the tooth as a means of humiliation and religious cleansing. According to Hannah Wojciehowski,
17931-668: The true heirs to the Saint Thomas tradition, and saw the other party as schismatic. The Paḻayakūṟ faction was also known as Romo-Syrians and organized as the Syrian Catholic Church whereas the Puthenkur faction was also known as Jacobite Syrians and organized as the Malankara Syrian Church. Between 1661 and 1665, the Paḻayakūṟ faction (Syrian Catholics) claimed 72 of the 116 churches, while Archdeacon Thoma I and
18070-461: The violence and brutality of the inquisition. The records speak of the demand for hundreds of prison cells to accommodate the accused. From 1560 to 1774, a total of 16,172 persons were tried by the tribunals of the Inquisition. While it also included individuals of different nationalities, the overwhelming majority, nearly three-quarters, were natives, almost equally represented by Catholics and non-Christians. Many of these were hauled up for crossing
18209-476: The wording of oath, one version being that the oath was directed against the Portuguese, another that it was directed against Jesuits, yet another version that it was directed against the authority of Roman Catholic Church . The independent Malankara Church regard the Coonan Cross Oath as the moment their Church regained its independence from the Catholic Church, which they lost during the Synod of Diamper . The Syro Malabar Church deny this argument and regard
18348-505: Was a massacre of several hundred 'Conversos' or 'Marranos', as newly converted Jews or New Christians were called, instigated by the preaching of two Spanish Dominicans. Some persecuted Jews fled Portugal for the New World in the Americas. Others went to Asia as traders, settling in India. These ideas and the practice of Inquisition on behalf of the Holy Office of Catholic Church was spread by
18487-597: Was also accused of celebrating Purim festival coincident with the Hindu festival of Holi , wherein she was alleged to have burnt dolls symbolic of "filho de hamam" (son of Haman). Ultimately, all of them were sent from Goa to Lisbon to be tried by the Portuguese Inquisition. There, she was sentenced to death. The persecution of Jews extended to Portuguese territorial claims in Cochin. Their Synagogue (the Pardesi Synagogue )
18626-452: Was destroyed by the Portuguese. The Kerala Jews rebuilt the Paradesi synagogue in 1568. The Inquisition considered those Hindus who had converted to Catholicism, but continued to observe their former Hindu customs and cultural practices, as heretics. The Catholic missionaries aimed to eradicate indigenous languages such as Konkani and cultural practices such as ceremonies, fasts, growing of
18765-578: Was further complicated by the appearance in Mylapore of a mysterious figure named Ahatallah , who claimed to have been sent by the Pope , from the Church of Antioch to serve as "Patriarch of the Whole of India and of China". Ahatallah made a strong impression on the native clergy, but the Portuguese quickly decided he was an impostor, and put him on a ship bound for Europe by way of Goa. Archdeacon Thomas, desperate for
18904-478: Was later proclaimed bishop in a ceremony in which twelve priests laid hands on him, elevating him as Metropolitan with the title Thoma I and he added such ancient titles as 'Metran of All India', 'Gate of India'. At this point, the Portuguese missionaries attempted reconciliation with Saint Thomas Christians but were not successful. Later, in 1657, Pope Alexander VII sent the Italian priest Joseph Sebastiani as
19043-531: Was lost. The Dutch declared that all the European missionaries had to leave Kerala. Before leaving Kerala, on 1 February 1663, Sebastiani consecrated Palliveettil Chandy was consecrated as the bishop of the Thomas Christians who adhered to Catholic Church. He soon also designated himself as 'Metran of All India' and 'Gate of India'. Thoma I, meanwhile sent requests to various Oriental Churches to receive canonical consecration as bishop. In 1665, Gregorios Abdal Jaleel ,
19182-495: Was one written to King John III of Portugal , dated 20 January 1545 (3 years after leaving Goa) from Malacca in the Malay archipelago, in response to the scandalous lifestyle of the Portuguese sailors who had made the port city home, where he criticizes John III himself (something very rare at that time) about his officials who only care about collecting taxes and not about maintaining discipline amongst his subjects, and hence asks that
19321-812: Was viewed as a challenge to the Church's mission of religious unity. Those accused of such practices were often given the chance to confess and realign with Catholic teachings. Imprisonment, and in extremely rare cases, harsher penalties, were not seen or intended as cruel measures by the Portuguese but were viewed as a way to maintain the sanctity of the faith and to ensure that those who had been introduced to Christianity fully embraced its principles, for their own spiritual well-being. The Inquisitors also seized and burned books written in Sanskrit , Dutch , English , or Konkani , as they were suspected of containing teachings that deviated from Catholic doctrine or promoted Protestant , Polytheistic and/or Pagan ideas. The Portuguese did not see this an act of oppression, but as
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