The Indian Church that traces its apostolic roots back to Thomas the Apostle

Countries & Cities · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox body based in Kerala, India. Rooted in traditions dating to the first century, it maintains a unique identity through the Malankara Rite, a distinct Indian evolution of the West Syriac liturgy, and the ancient office of the Catholicos of the East.

The origins of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church are tied to the Saint Thomas Christians, a community that traces its founding to the missions of Thomas the Apostle in 52 AD. For centuries, these Christians remained largely independent, maintaining ties with hierarchies in Persia and Antioch. This isolation helped preserve a democratic administrative structure, where local parishes were represented by elected members in the Malankara Palliyogam, the precursor to the modern Malankara Association.

The church's modern structure was shaped by centuries of colonial interaction and internal schisms. Following the 1599 Synod of Diamper and the 1653 Coonan Cross Oath, the community split, with many rejecting Latinization. In 1912, the church re-established the Catholicate of the East in India, an act that sparked long-standing disputes over ecclesiastical authority with the Syriac Orthodox Church. These tensions led to the formation of two distinct factions, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, which have been embroiled in legal conflicts for decades.

Central to the church's governance is its 1934 constitution, which systematized its administration and vested spiritual and temporal authority in the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan. This document has been the subject of multiple Supreme Court of India rulings, including major verdicts in 1958, 1995, and 2017 that upheld its validity. Today, the church adheres to miaphysitism, rejecting the Council of Chalcedon's dyophysite doctrine, and continues to use the Liturgy of Saint James in various Indian languages.

With a membership estimated between 1 million and 2.5 million, the church operates across 32 dioceses worldwide. It maintains a rich liturgical life, including the daily prayer cycle of the Shehimo and the use of numerous anaphoras. The church's headquarters in Devalokam, near Kottayam, serves as the seat of the Catholicos, who oversees the community's spiritual life and its extensive network of institutions.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• How an ancient Indian church blends apostolic roots with modern democratic governance
• The ancient Indian church that survived centuries of colonial pressure to remain uniquely itself
• The Saint Thomas Christians: An Ancient Indian Community With Roots in Syriac Tradition
• The ancient Indian Christian community that survived a thousand years of isolation and schism
• India's Christian roots stretch back to the first century, long before European colonial arrival.
• From selling watches door to door to owning global sports empires
• East Java’s cool highland city once named Tumapel
• A South American twist on European football in the Mediterranean
• How the Deputy Ruler of Dubai is reshaping the emirate's financial and media landscape
• Malwa: The Volcanic Plateau That Shaped India’s Intellectual and Commercial History
• Makhachkala: The Caspian Sea's rapidly growing, ethnically diverse, and historically complex capital city
• The high-stakes journey of a dual-national football prodigy

More in Cities · More in Countries & Cities · Latest · A–Z · All topics