Kayamkulam Philipose Ramban was a Syriac scholar of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, known for translating the Bible into Malayalam for the first time. His work, completed in 1811, made the Bible accessible to the Saint Thomas Christians. [1] [2]
Philipose Ramban was born in Kayamkulam, Kerala, and resided at his family home, Mananganazhikathu, which later became known as Mananganazhikathu Rambachan's House. At the time, Syriac, or Suriyani as it was locally known, was the liturgical language used by Christians in Kerala.[ citation needed ]
In the early 19th century, Rev. Claudius Buchanan, a Scottish missionary, visited Kerala and encouraged local church leaders to translate the Bible into Malayalam. During this visit, the church authorities in Travancore provided Buchanan with a Syriac copy of the Bible. He then urged scholars, including Philipose Ramban, to translate the holy text into Malayalam, offering guidance to Syriac and Tamil scholars. [3]
Philipose Ramban completed the translation of the Four Gospels. In 1811, the first version of the Bible in Malayalam, known as the Ramban Bible, was completed. This translation, titled Visudha Veda Pustakam, was composed in a hybrid language of Malayalam and Tamil. [4] [5]
The Ramban Bible was printed using lithographic technology, known locally as "Kallachu," at a press in Bombay (now Mumbai). It was the first Bible to be published in Malayalam. [3]
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Philipose Ramban passed away in 1811, and his remains were interred at the Kannamcode St. Thomas Orthodox Cathedral in Adoor, Kerala. This church, which belongs to the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, remains a significant center of worship in the region.
Following Philipose Ramban's initial translation, other versions of the Bible in Malayalam emerged. Benjamin Bailey, a missionary-scholar, produced a more complete version of the Bible in the 1840s, with assistance from Chandu Menon. In the 1850s, the German scholar Herman Gundert, who compiled the first Malayalam lexicon, translated the New Testament into Malayalam.
Every year, the church commemorates Philipose Ramban's contributions with a memorial feast ("Shraadha Perunnal") on the 26th day of the Malayalam month of Thulam.
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. It serves India's Saint Thomas Christian population. According to tradition, these communities originated in the missions of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. It employs the Malankara Rite, an Indian form of the West Syriac liturgical rite.
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The Madhya Kerala Diocese is one of the twenty-four dioceses of the Church of South India covering the central part of Kerala. When the Church of South India was formed on 27 September 1947, the diocese was called the Diocese of Central Travancore. It was a part of the erstwhile Anglican Diocese of Travancore and Cochin founded in 1879. The Diocese was later renamed as the Diocese of Madhya Kerala.
Translation of the Bible into Malayalam began in 1806. Church historians say Kayamkulam Philipose Ramban, a scholar from Kayamkulam, translated the Bible from Syriac into Malayalam in 1811 to help the faithful get a better understanding of the scripture. The Manjummal translation is the first Catholic version of the Bible in Malayalam. This is the direct translation from Latin. The four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles were translated by the inmates of the Manjummal Ashram, Fr. Aloysius, Fr. Michael and Fr. Polycarp. The Pancha Granthy came out from Mannanam under the leadership of Nidhirikkal Mani Kathanar in 1924. The Catholic New Testament was published in full in 1940, and has influenced development of the modern language.
The Saint Thomas Christian denominations are Christian denominations from Kerala, India, which traditionally trace their ultimate origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. They are also known as "Nasranis" as well. The Syriac term "Nasrani" is still used by St. Thomas Christians in Kerala. It is part of the Eastern Christianity institution.
Malankara Malpan Arch Corepiscopa Curien (Kurian) Kaniyamparambil was a priest in the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church and a scholar of the Syriac language, who translated the Bible (വിശുദ്ധഗ്രന്ഥം) from the Syriac Peshitta text to Malayalam. This is the official bible used by Syriac Orthodox Church in India.
