What is the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church in India?

The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church is an autonomous maphrianate of the Syriac Orthodox Church based in Kerala, India. Tracing its roots back to the missions of Thomas the Apostle, the community adopted West Syriac liturgical traditions following historical resistance to Portuguese Latinization. Today, it operates as an integral part of the Syriac Orthodox Church under the local leadership of the catholicos of India.

What we know

• The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church is an autonomous maphrianate of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch based in Kerala, India, and is headed by the catholicos of India. [2]
• According to tradition, the community traces its origin back to the mission of Thomas the Apostle in South India in AD 52. [2]
• In the 16th century, the community rejected Portuguese Latinization through the Coonan Cross oath and subsequently established contact with the Syriac Church, adopting West Syriac liturgical traditions and canonical governance. [2]
• Differences regarding the extent of the authority of the Patriarch of Antioch between 1909 and 1912 led to a division in the Malankara Church, creating the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. [3]

Still open

• Sources note varying self-reported and estimated membership figures across the broader Malankara traditions, with the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church serving a global population of around 1 million people.

Where to go next

• what caused itHow did the Coonan Cross Oath shape Indian Christianity?
• compared withWhat is the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church?
• the bigger pictureWho were the Saint Thomas Christians?
• how it workedWhat role does the Liturgy of James the Just play?
• whereWhere is the patriarchal centre located in Kerala?
• an unexpected connectionHow did a Portuguese colonial synod redirect an ancient Indian church toward Syrian liturgy?Portuguese attempts to impose Latin jurisdiction and rites provoked resistance that ultimately severed ties with Rome and drove the community to adopt West Syriac traditions from Antioch.

Sources

• [1]Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (Wikidata Q1077454) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Jacobite Syrian Christian Church · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Saint Thomas Christians · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Malankara Church · CC BY-SA 4.0