The
Puthankoor faction of the Saint Thomas Christian community which remained unwilling to restore ties with the Catholic Church and the Pope and instead chose to align with the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. They organised themselves as the 'Malankara Church' and developed a relationship with the Syriac Orthodox Church starting in 1665, when Thoma I was recognised as their legitimate bishop by the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. Thoma I was succeeded by dynastic priests from his Pakalomattam family. Their relationship with the Syriac Orthodox Church gradually strengthened over the years. Thus they changed their liturgical rite from
East Syriac to
West Syriac, a process which was complete by the 19th century. This also led to emergence of resentment towards the ever-growing authority of the Patriarch of Antioch in the
Puthankoor Malankara Church. Thus this church suffered further divisions in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, resulting in the formation of multiple Malankara churches.
18th century Although Thoma I and his dynastic successors recognized the spiritual authority of the Patriarch of Antioch and the Syriac Orthodox theology. However they were reluctant to compromise their local church governance rights in any way. In the 18th century, a delegation of three Syriac Orthodox prelates led by Maphrian Baselios Shukr-Allah arrived in Malabar during the reign of Thoma VI. Very soon, a power struggle broke out between him and the Syriac Orthodox bishops. Thoma VI was initially hesitant to submit to the delegation and was unwilling to receive Holy Orders afresh from them as they had declared his orders to be invalid. Thoma responded by trying to reunite with the Catholic Church under the Pope by collaborating with kindred spirits in the
Pazhayakoor faction, such as
Yousep Kariyattil and
Paremmakkal Thoma. Frustrated of his defiance, Gregorius Hanna, one of the Syrian Orthodox bishops, consecrated Kurillos as his rival in an attempt to secure their foothold in the Malankara Church. However Thoma's reunion attempt with the Catholic Church failed due to opposition from the Carmelite missionaries, and by then Thoma finally yielded to the demands and received ordination and consecration anew from the Syrian Orthodox bishops and changed to the episcopal name Dionysios I in return for their support against Bishop Kurillos. The dispute between Kurillos and Dionysios was decided in the latter's favour by the Travancore King and subsequently he lost the favour of Cochin King as well. This forced Kurillos to flee from the territories of both of these kings and he eventually settled in Thozhiyur in
British Malabar. There, Metropolitan Kattumangatt Kurillos led the community which in later decades evolved into the Malabar Independent Syrian Church.
Anglican relations Beginning of Anglican - Malankara Church relationship The Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church evolved from the Malankara Syrian Church in the late 19th century. It was a resultant of a reform under the patronage of Anglican missionaries among the Thomas Christians. The relationship between the Anglican church and the Malankara Syrian Church dates to the late 18th century when the British helped Dionysios I (Thoma VI) to secure his position against his rival Bishop Abraham Kurillos Kattumangatt. It further solidified during Dionysius Joseph I's term due to the support the Anglicans offered him to overthrow Thoma XI, the last dynastic leader of the , and establish himself as the Malankara Metropolitan recognised by the State. They collaborated with the Malankara Church in founding the
Syrian Seminary in Kottayam and this relationship reached its peak during
Dionysius Giwargis Punnathara's reign. He was succeeded by
Geevarghese Mar Philoxenos II the Thozhiyur Metropolitan and an ally of the Anglican
CMS missionaries. However he had to relinquish the throne in two years and consecrate
Dionysios Philippos of Cheppad as the next Malankara Metropolitan without informing the Patriarch of Antioch.
Opposition to Anglican relationship The efforts of Anglican CMS missionaries were aimed at an Anglican-inspired reformation in the Malankara Church and its eventual merger into their hierarchy. This was opposed by a large section of the Thomas Christians who stood for Syrian traditionalism and loyalty to the Patriarch of Antioch. Cheppad Dionysios eventually aligned himself with them and convened a Synod at
Mavelikara on 16 January 1836 where it was declared that 'Malankara Church' would be subject to the Syrian traditions and
Patriarch of Antioch. The declaration resulted in the separation of the
CMS missionaries from the communion with the '
Malankara Church'. Those who were vocally in favour of the
Reformed ideologies of the missionaries, stood along with them and joined the
Anglican Church.
Reformation movement and schism The work of Anglican CMS missionaries in the 19th century resulted in widespread support for reformist ideas in the Malankara Church. A group who were in favour of the
Reformed ideologies, led by priest
Palakkunnath Abraham Malpan amassed support against Dionysios Philippos and sent Deacon
Mathew Palakkunnath, a nephew of Abraham Malpan, to the patriarch. The patriarch consecrated him the bishop for Malankara Syrians, against Dionysios Philippos who had previously assumed their leadership without his approval. Dionysios was reluctant to receive or step down from office for Athanasius. Instead, Dionysios transferred his power to
Yuyaqim Kurillos, a Syrian bishop sent by the patriarch. The dispute between Kurillos and Athanasius was brought into the court, which in 1852 decided in favour of Athanasius. Kurillos was exiled to British Malabar where he amassed support and selected Pulikkottil Joseph to be sent to the patriarch. In 1865, Pulikkottil was consecrated metropolitan as Dionysios Joseph II by the patriarch.
Synod of Mulanthuruthy Athanasius managed to ensure the support of the British and maintain his position against Dionysios Joseph II. In 1868, he selected his nephew, Thomas as his heir and consecrated him as
Thomas Athanasius. Pulikkottil Dionysios and his supporters appealed to Patriarch
Ignatius Petros III for his direct intervention. The patriarch arrived in India and convened the
Synod of Mulanthuruthy in 1876. At this synod, Pulikkottil Dionysios was declared Malankara Metropolitan and Athanasius was excommunicated for his alleged Protestant views.
Establishment of the Marthoma Syrian Church Athanasius neither submitted to the patriarch nor participated in the Synod of Mulanthuruthy. He retained his position as the Malankara Metropolitan until his death in 1877 at the Kottayam Seminary, the seat of the church. He was then succeeded by Thomas Athanasius. A case was filed against Thomas Athanasius by Dionysios in the Court. In 1889, the Travancore Royal Court division bench ruled its final verdict in favor of Dionysios Joseph, considering his appointment by the Patriarch of Antioch, and Thomas Athanasius was forced relinquish his authority and to vacate the church headquarters. Those aligned with Thomas Athanasius became the Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church. Thomas Athanasius died before consecrating an heir to the episcopacy and hence, the next metropolitan, Titus Marthoma was consecrated by the metropolitan of the Thozhiyur Church.
Formation of the Malankara Jacobite Church The landmark event in the history of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church was the Synod of Mulanthuruthy, convened by Ignatius Petros III, the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, in 1876, which led to its complete union with the Syriac Orthodox Church. The historical Malankara Church, which had been functioning until then under a single bishop, the Malankara Metropolitan, was divided into seven dioceses with this event, each having its own bishop. In addition to this, the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Christian Association, a general body which included clerical and lay parish representatives, was also established. Thus the modern Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church dates to the Synod of Mulanthuruthy.
Orthodox-Jacobite schism and disputes Catholicate of 1912 and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The early 20th century saw a resurgence of jurisdictional disputes in the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church when Malankara Metropolitan Dionysios Giwargis Vattasseril was excommunicated by Patriarch Ignatius Abdallah II. In 1912, Vattasseril managed to bring the former patriarch Ignatius Abdal Masih II to India and establish an independent (and later autocephalous) Catholicate for the Malankara Church. Thus he and a group within the Malankara Church declared itself independent from the Syrian Orthodox patriarchate of Antioch. They called themselves as the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church - Catholicate of the East and also as the Indian Orthodox Church.
Constitution of 1934 The Malankara Orthodox were simultaneously led by two leaders titled the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan until 1934, when they finally drew up a constitution wherein the two positions were ultimately merged and was made to be held by a single person. However the constitution retained the Patriarch of Antioch as a strict ceremonial figurehead of the Malankara Church, which was further defined as a division of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Meanwhile, the other faction which remained aligned to the Patriarch of Antioch continued as the autonomous branch of the Syriac Orthodox Church and was led by their own local Malankara Metropolitans.
Brief reunion of Orthodox and Jacobite factions The two factions – one loyal to the patriarch and the other, the independent Malankara Orthodox – were reconciled in 1958, when the Indian Supreme court declared that only the Malankara Orthodox had legal standing. In 1964, Patriarch Ignatius Yacoub III elevated Baselios Augen as the new Catholicos for the united Malankara Church only to excommunicate him in 1975 due to jurisdictional disputes, which resulted in a second schism. Attempts at reconciliation were unsuccessful as severe quarrels over church property and court suits followed.
Supreme court verdict of 1995 In 1995, the supreme Indian court in its judgement ratified the Malankara Orthodox constitution of 1934 and decided that the Patriarch of Antioch was the supreme spiritual head of the universal Syrian Church subject to the aforementioned constitution, while the catholicos had legal standing as the vicar of the patriarch and thus as the de facto spiritual head of the Malankara church. It further declared that the Malankara Metropolitan was the custodian of parishes and properties of the Malankara Church. Following the Supreme Court ruling, churches under the control of the Jacobite church have also been legally brought under the control of the Malankara Orthodox Church. However the efforts to bring this to a practical level often turn out to be a conflict between the local faithful of the Jacobite church and the police.
Reunion movement and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church Following the schism among the Saint Thomas Christians, there were several attempts to reunite the two factions. Almost all of them revolved around the leader of the , initially belonging to the dynastic line, submitting to the authority of the Pope and reuniting both factions of the community under his leadership. However none of these attempts materialised. The split in the Malankara Jacobite community in 1912 resulted in several bishops carrying out negotiations with Rome, most notably
Giwargis Ivanios Panickerveettil. Panickerveettil was an erudite mystic and a key architect in the establishment of the autocephalous catholicate for the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in 1912. In 1930, he and bishop
Yacub Theophilos formally declared themselves Catholics. They were followed by
Dioscoros Thomas, a bishop from the
Knanaya diocese of the patriarchal faction, and Philexinos, the Metropolitan of the Thozhiyur Church. A significant number of faithful accompanied them, into what was named the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (SMCC). From its beginning, the leaders of the SMCC asked for the preservation of the West Syriac Rite that they received from the Syriac Orthodox Church and they were permitted to do so with a distinct Eastern Catholic
sui juris hierarchy and dioceses of their own. In 2005, Pope John Paul II elevated the SMCC to the rank of a
major archiepiscopal church. ==Syriac denominations==