ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE

SHORT HISTORY OF MALANKARA RITE The catholic Malankarese go back

only thirty years. From the Syrian Jacobites of Malabar coast a group of 35000, under the leadership of their archbishop, Mar Ivanios of Trivandrum, broke away in 1930. these came over to catholic church.

Liturgy of Syro Malankara church is of Antiochene rite, west Syrian in character.

Mar Ivanios one who lead Syriac Orthodox Christians to catholic church

MALANKARA RITE PRESENT STATUS Syro Malankara Archepiscopal

Church Present head of Malankara Christians

is Major Arch Bishop Baselios Cleemis.

At present they are 500000 faithful and 500 priests.

Liturgy today celebrated in Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi and English.

Major Arch Bishop Baselios Cleemis.

STRUCTURE OF MASS

The priest prays the prayer at the foot of the altar. Then he vests and commends himself to the prayer of the faithful.

The holy mass begins with the offering of bread and wine.

The incensing of the gifts and the people, where upon the praise of the lord Jesus christ, the so called Trisagion.

Then follows the reading of Epistle and Reading of Gospel

After the reading, the priest does reverence to the Gospel.

The Mass of the faithful consists of a solemn Entry Prayer, with commemoration on the Mystery of the Feast, an anthem of praise to the Most Holy Trinity with an impressive ceremony on the chains of the thurble, and finally the Creed.

The Eucharistic Sacrifice is introduced by the Prayer of Peace, the Kiss of Peace, and the Prayer of the Laying on of Hands.

The Holy Gifts are uncovered, fanned by the veil, lowered before and behind them (signifying the earthquake on Calvary).

Then follow the Preface, Sanctus, and Consecration, with no elevation of the Sacred Species. After the memento of the Lord (anamnesis) and the Invocation of the Holy Ghost (epiclesis) follow long intercessions for the Pope, the Bishop, the living and the faithful departed, and a memento of the Mother of God.

The repeated breaking of the Bread then follows, with the sevenfold intinction of the Host with the precious Blood-a practice peculiar to the Syrian rite.

The third portion of the Mass, the Eucharistic Banquet, begins with the Our Father and the Prayer of the Laying on of Hands.

Thereafter comes a threefold elevation of the Sacred Species, at first singly, then together, each time accompanied by a doxology.

The Communion of the priest is followed by the Sacramental Blessing and Absolution, Dismissal and Final Blessing, distribution of Communion to the faithful, and the Post-Communion of the priest.

Thereafter follows the Thanks-giving

TRADITIONAL CROSS OF ST. THOMAS CHRISTIANS

THE COONAN CROSS OATH

The Coonan Cross Oath in 1653 at the Church of Our Lady of Life in Mattanchery was the culmination of several years of latinization by the Portuguese, and the crowd gathered there took an oath that they would not be subject to the Portuguese Archbishop of Goa, Francis Garcia.  St. Thomas Christians who gathered under the leadership of the Archdeacon to receive a Bishop from Persia, took the oath touching the cross there that they would not obey any more the Jesuits who were the main European Missionaries in India at that time; Coonan Cross Oath was a revolt against the oppressive rule of the Europeans andnot against the Pope or the Holy See. After the Oath 12 priests at the instigation of one of them laid hands on the head of the Archdeacon and "ordained him Bishop". There began the division in the Church of the St.Thomas Christians into two major groups: one group continued to recognize the prelates appointed by Rome and the other which broke away from Rome and joined the West-Syrian Jacobite Church of Antioch.   This group came to be known as the Jacobites (Puthankootukar) or Syrian Orthodox Church of India.