Editing Saint Thomas Christians (section)

=== Division and defiance ===
Over the next several decades, tensions seethed between the Portuguese and the remaining native hierarchy, and after 1641 Archdeacon [[Mar Thoma I|Thomas]], the nephew and successor to Archdeacon George of Cross, was often at odds with the Latin prelates.{{sfnp|Frykenberg|2008|p=367}} In 1652, the escalating situation 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".{{sfnp|Frykenberg|2008|p=367}}{{sfnp|Neill|2004|pp=316–317}}

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 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.{{sfnp|Neill|2004|pp=316–317}} Ahatallah was never heard from in India again, inspiring false rumours that the Portuguese had murdered him and inflaming anti-Portuguese sentiments even more.{{sfnp|Neill|2004|p=319}}{{sfnp|Brock|2011a}}

This was the last straw for 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.{{sfnp|Neill|2004|p=319}} 
There are various versions about 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 Catholic [[Latin Church]].<ref name=Gazette>{{cite book |title=Census of India (1961: Kerala)|year=1965 |publisher=Office of the Registrar General|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0JCaAAAAIAAJ|language=en|page=111|quote="There are various versions about the wording of swearing, one version being that it was directed against the Portuguese, another that it was directed against Jesuits, yet another that it was directed against the authority of church of Rome."}}</ref> The independent [[Malankara Church]] regards the [[Coonan Cross Oath]] as the moment their Church regained its independence from the Catholic Church, which they lost during the [[Synod of Diamper]].<ref>{{harvp|Neill|2004|p=319}}: "...which to this day all members of the independent Malankara church of Kerala regard as the moment at which their church recovered its independence and returned to its own true nature."</ref>

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 the governor of their Church{{sfnp|Neill|2004|p=320}} and four senior priests were appointed as his counsilors, namely, [[Anjilimoottil Itty Thommen Kathanar|Anjilimoottil Itty Thommen]] of Kallisseri, Kuravilangad Parambil [[Palliveettil Mar Chandy|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 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.{{sfnp|Neill|2004|p=320}} 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.{{sfnp|Neill|2004|p=320}} The letters were read with enthusiasm in the churches of the Thomas Christians and Archdeacon Thomas was later proclaimed bishop in a ceremony in which twelve priests [[laying on of hands|laid hands]] on him, elevating him as Metropolitan with the title ''[[Thoma I]]''<ref name="Frykenberg_on_ADeaconAsHighMetran">{{harvp|Frykenberg|2008|p=368}}: "Archdeacon Thomas, having been elevated to High Metran by the laying on of hands by twelve cattanars, took the title of Mar Thoma I."</ref>{{sfnp|Neill|2004|pp=320–321}} and he added such ancient titles as 'Metran of All India', 'Gate of India'.<ref name="Frkbrg_MetranGateOfIndia1_Thoma">{{harvp|Frykenberg|2008|p=361}}: "At the beginning, most remained with the old Archdeacon who, after his elevation at Koonen Cross to the position of Metran, took the title Mar Thoma I and added such ancient titles as 'Metran of All India', 'Gate of India'."</ref>

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 the head of a [[Carmelite]] mission of the ''[[Propaganda Fide]]'' to regain the trust of the dissident St. Thomas Christians.{{sfnp|Mundadan|Thekkedath|1982|pp=96–100}} 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.{{sfnp|Neill|2004|p=323}} 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 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 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'.<ref name="Frkbrg_MetranGateOfIndia2_Chandy">{{harvp|Frykenberg|2008|p=361}}: "...the Dutch permitted 'old party' Catholics to be placed under the 'guidance' of the Carmelites and allowed them to keep Mar Alexander Parampil (aka Alexander de Campos) as Vicar Apostolate. He soon also designated himself as 'Metran of All India' and 'Gate of India'."</ref>

[[File:Branches & Denominations of Saint Thomas Christians.svg |thumb|upright=1.8|A diagram showing the history of the divisions among the Saint Thomas Christians]]
Thoma I, meanwhile sent requests to various Oriental Churches to receive canonical consecration as bishop. In 1665, [[Gregorios Abdal Jaleel]], 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.{{sfnp|Brock|2011a}} The bishop was sent in correspondence to the letter sent by Thoma I to the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Oriental Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch]]. Bishop Abdul Jaleel consecrated Thoma I canonically as a bishop and regularised his episcopal succession.{{refn|{{sfnp|Joseph|2011}}<ref name=M3>{{harvs|txt|last1=Menachery|year1=1973|year2=1982|year3=1998}}</ref>{{sfnp|Podipara|1970}}{{sfnp|Brown|1956}}{{sfnp|Tisserant|1957}}{{sfnp|Mundadan|Thekkedath|1982|p={{page needed|date=July 2019}}}}}} This led to 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 ''[[Pazhayakoor|Paḻayakūṟ]]'' (or "Old Allegiance"), and the branch affiliated with [[Thoma I]] came to be known as ''[[Malankara Church|Puthenkur]]'' (or "New Allegiance").{{sfnmp|Vadakkekara|2007|1p=84|Frykenberg|2008|2p=361|3a1=Fernando|3a2=Gispert-Sauch|3y=2004|3p=79|Chaput|1999|4pp=7–8|Perczel|2013|5p=425}} These appellations have been somewhat controversial, though, as both parties considered themselves the true heirs to the Saint Thomas tradition, and saw the other party as schismatic.{{sfnp|Vadakkekara|2007|p=84}} The ''Paḻayakūṟ'' faction was also known as Romo-Syrians<ref name="MS">{{cite book |last= |first= |title=The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society. Vol.3 |year=1911 |publisher=Mythic Society |page=141 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4JtEAQAAMAAJ |language=en |quote=This incident marks an epoch in the history of the Syrian Church, and led to a separation of the community into parties, namely the Pazhayakuru (the Romo-Syrians) who adhered to the Church of Rome according to the Synod at Diamper; and the Puttankuru, the Jacobite Syrians, who after the oath of the Coonan Cross got Mar Gregory from Antioch, acknowledged the spiritual supremacy thereof. The former owed its foundation to the Archbishop Menezes and the Synod at Diamper in 1599 and its reconciliation after the revolt to the Carmelite Bishop Father Joseph of St.Mary whom the Pope appointed in 1659.}}</ref> and organized as the Syrian Catholic Church whereas the ''Puthenkur'' faction was also known as ''Jacobite Syrians''<ref name="MS"/> and organized as the Malankara Syrian Church.<ref name="ChurchInIndiaAndPak">{{cite book |last=Neill |first=Stephen |title=The Story of the Christian Church in India and Pakistan |year=1970 |publisher=Christian Literature Society |page=36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OwgXAAAAIAAJ |language=en |quote=At the end of a period of twenty years, it was found that about two – thirds of the people had remained within the Roman allegiance; one – third stood by the archdeacon and had organized themselves as the independent Malankara Church, faithful to the old Eastern traditions and hostile to all the Roman claims.}}</ref>

Between 1661 and 1665, the Paḻayakūṟ faction (Syrian Catholics) claimed 72 of the 116 churches, while Archdeacon [[Thoma I]] and the Puthenkur faction (Malankara Syrians) claimed 32. The remaining 12 churches were shared between the two factions until the late nineteenth century.<ref>{{cite book |title=Christianity in Travancore |first=Gordon Thomson |last=MacKenzie |year=1901 |publisher=Travancore Government Press |isbn=9781230341651 |page=28 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cVQoAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> 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 [[Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church|Jacobite]], [[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church|Orthodox]], [[CSI Syrian Christians]], [[Mar Thoma Syrian Church|Marthoma]], [[St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India]], [[Syro-Malankara Catholic Church]] and [[Malabar Independent Syrian Church]] originate.{{sfnp|Brock|2011a}}{{sfnp|Amaladass|1993|pp=14–15}}{{sfnp|Frykenberg|2008|p=249}}

This visit of Gregorios Abdal Jaleel gradually introduced the [[West Syriac Rite|West Syriac]] liturgy, customs and script to the Malabar Coast.{{sfnp|Vadakkekara|2007|p=88}} The visits of prelates from the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|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 [[Miaphysitism|Miaphysite Christology]] of the [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox Communion]].{{sfnp|Brock|2011a}} Furthermore, ʿAbdulmasīḥ I sent [[Maphrian]] [[Baselios Yeldo|Baselios Yaldo]] in 1685, along with Bishop Ivanios Hidayattullah who vehemently propagated the West Syriac Rite and solidified the association of the Malankara Church with the Syriac Orthodox Church.{{sfnp|Brock|2011a}}

The main body of the Paḻayakūṟ faction (Syrian Catholics) came to be known as the [[Syro-Malabar Church]]. They continued with their [[East Syriac Rite|East Syriac]] traditions and stayed within the Catholic Church with [[Diophysite]] creed.{{sfnp|Perczel|2013|p=417}}{{sfnp|Brock|2011a}} They had to remain under the foreign Latin bishops, with the only exception of Palliveettil Chandy and [[Kariattil Ousep]].{{sfnp|Brock|2011d}} Their Indian [[East Syriac Rite|East Syriac]] Catholic hierarchy was restored on 21 December 1923, with [[Augustine Kandathil]] as the first [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] and Head.{{sfnmp|1a1=Medlycott|1y=1912|Koonammakkal|2013|2pp=266, 267, 276|3a1=Thalian|3y=1961}}