St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Puthencavu

Last updated

St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Puthencavu
St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Puthencavu
Denomination Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
Parish
Tradition Malayalam
Website www.puthencavucathedral.com
History
Founded2 December 1793
Administration
Diocese Chengannur Diocese

St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Puthencavu is one of the important churches in South India, located at a village named Puthencavu (near Chengannur), Alappuzha district in Kerala state of India. [1] [2] [3] The church is one of the oldest Christian churches in the Central Travancore region of Kerala.

Contents

History

The people of Puthencavu depended on the old Suriyani Church in Chengannur or the church in Maramon before the establishment of this church. Due to the distance to the nearest church, Christians in the area decided to construct a church in Puthencavu itself. The Christians of Puthencavu decided to approach the Marthoma VI. During that time, the Travancore Maharaja had penalised the Marthoma VI per the request of the Dutch for the delayed payments of expenses in bringing the bishops: Mar Baselious Malprina, Mar Gregorios and Yohananon Ramban from Sheema during the times of Mar Thoma V. The Travancore government confiscated the metropolitan bishop's items and the goods and movable properties of the Niranam Church. It is believed that this church bell from Niranam Church is that which hangs even today on the East Fort gate of Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram. It is legendarily believed that the Tharakans and the Christians in Puthencavu saved the arrest of the metropolitan bishop by giving the money which was gathered for the construction of the church. The excess money after settling this was believed to be the source of vattipanam later, as follows: soon after becoming the Metropolitan Mar Thoma VII continued to discuss with Col. Macaulay, the British resident, and the church decided to deposit as loan in perpetuity a sum of 3000 Poovarahan (a poovarahan, known as Star Pagoda, had a market value of Rs. 10300). The deposit was handed over to Col. Maccaulay on 1 December 1808 and he issued the receipt. [4] The agreement stipulated that interest should be paid to the Malankara Metropolitan. This deposit is now known as Vattipanam. Later when there was more than one metropolitan in the Malankara Church, it became necessary to decide the rightful authority to receive the interest. So the government convened meetings with the church leaders and according to their decision issued proclamations authorizing that person to be the metropolitan to receive the interest. This resulted in several court cases for several years until 1958.

The church was consecrated in the name of St. Mary in 1793 ( malayalam year 969 Vrishchikam 19) by Mar Thoma VI. The church still preserves, even today, the room, bed and chapel of the first Holy Qurbana (eucharist) conducted by Marthoma VI. [2] Mar Thoma VI stayed in Puthencavu from 1794 to 1808, due to which the place become the centre of Suriyani Christians of Puthenkoor of the Malankara Church. The remains of Mar Thoma VI, [4] [5] [6] Mar Thoma VIII and Geevarghese Mar Philoxenos (the famous Puthencavil Kochu Thirumeni)[ definition needed ] [7] who led the Malankara Sabha, are interred in this church. [2]

Ayrookuzhiyil Abraham Kathanar (Sr.), youngest son of Ayrookuzhiyil Idicula Tharakan (Sr.) was the first vicar of this church in 1793 and was ordained by Marthoma VI. [8] Thomas Kizhakethalaykkal, the father of Mar Philoxenos Thirumeni, [2] Ayrookuzhiyil Abraham Kathanar (Jr.) etc., served long years as the vicars of this Church. [8] Thomas Mar Athanasius (current Metropolitan of Chengannur Diocese) and nephew of Puthencavil Kochuthirumeni, Rev. C M Philipose Cor Episcopa are members of this church. [9] The body of Ayrookuzhiyil Abraham Kathanar (Sr.) was buried inside the church. [8] During the times of Abraham Kathanar (Sr.), Puthencavu church was the centre of the Puthencoor section of the Malankara Church. Ayrukuzhiyil Chandy Kathanar, youngest son of Abraham Kathanar (Sr.) followed the vicarship of the church after his father. Chandy Kathanar was ordinated to the priesthood by Mar Thoma VIII. Chandy Kathanar's youngest son, Abraham Kathanar (Jr.) (1818–1901), who was raised to priesthood by Cheppad Philipose Mar Dionysius, become the vicar of the church later. As the vicar of the participating church, Abraham Kathanar (Jr.) co-signed the famous Mavelikara Padiyola (1836) [10] and Kallumkathra Padiyola (1843). [11] Joseph Kathanar (1863–1947), [12] son of Abraham Kathanar (Jr.) was the assistant vicar of the church. The body of Ayrookuzhiyil Abraham Kathanar (Jr.) was also buried inside the church even though he had moved as vicar of Puthencavu Marthoma church upon the formation of Marthoma Sabha. [8]

On 9 December 1896, Rev. P.J. Dethos was consecrated as Titus II Mar Thoma Metropolitan at the Puthencavu Palli (then shared between both Orthodox and Mar Thoma churches). He was consecrated by Titus I Mar Thoma with the assistance of Geevarghese Mar Koorilose (Karumamkuzhi Pulikkottil) Metropolitan of the Malabar Independent Syrian Church.

Two perunals[ what language is this? ] (church festivals) of Mar Anthrayos, the 17th-century Syrian saint who was buried at Kallada, and Geevarghese Mar Philoxenos are celebrated in this church yearly. [13] The wooden horse of Mar Anthrayos is still preserved in the church. There are a lot of folktales about the horse, on which the Anthrayos Bava used to travel at night. [13]

The church is also the parent parish of several parishes within and around of the same diocese which includes Arattupuzha, Kurichimuttam, Piralassery, Mulakuzha, Koorthamala, Nellikkal, Idanadu, and Mangalam. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malankara Metropolitan</span> A title in Indian Christianity

Malankara Metropolitan is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of the Malankara Syrian Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maramon</span> Village in Kerala, India

Maramon is a small village on the Pampa River, in Thiruvalla Sub-District & Taluk of Pathanamthitta district in the state of Kerala, India. The nearest railway station is Chengannur (13 km). Maramon is about 16 km from the Thiruvalla Town headquarters, the town of Thiruvalla The M. K. Road connects the town to other major towns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathews Athanasius</span>

Mathews Mar Athanasius (Mar Thoma XIII) (25 April 1818 – 16 July 1877) was the Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Church from 1852 until 1865. As a reformer, he spent most of his reign attempting to reform and heal rifts within the church. However in 1865, he was deposed by the traditionalist faction of the Malankara Church and Pulikkottil Joseph Dionysius became their leader.

Mar Thoma I, also known as Valiya Mar Thoma and Arkkadiyokkon Thoma in Malayalam and Thomas de Campo in Portuguese was the first native-born, popularly-selected Metropolitan bishop of the 17th-century Malankara Church. He was the last Archdeacon of the undivided St. Thomas Christians of Malankara (Maliyankara).

Mar Thoma II was the second Metropolitan of the Malankara Church from 1670 to 1686.

Mar Thoma V was the 5th Malankara Metropolitan from 1728 to 8 May 1765. He was born as Ousep to the Pakalomattom family, one of the oldest families in Kerala. His tenure faced numerous challenges and conflicts with bishops sent from the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate in Antioch, resulting in some of these Syriac bishops being banished from the country and forced to return.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Malpan</span> Founder of the Malankara Mar Thomas Syrian Church (d. 1845)

Palakunnathu Abraham Malpan, was an Indian cleric and theologian known for the Reformation movement within the Malankara Church during the 19th century. He was born in the ancient Syrian Christian Palakunnathu family which practiced West Syriac Rite Oriental Orthodoxy after the Coonan Cross Oath of 1653.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titus I Mar Thoma</span> Indian bishop (1843–1909)

Titus I Mar Thoma Metropolitan (Mar Thoma XV) (20 February 1843 – 20 October 1909) was known as Thithoos Mar Thoma Metropolitan (Thithoos is Aramaic and Malayalam) was the second Mar Thoma Metropolitan (1893–1909) after the Malankara Church split as the Orthodox and reformist factions.

Mar Dionysius I (Mar Thoma VI) (died 8 April 1808), was the 6th Metropolitan of the Malankara Syrian Church from 1765 until his death. A member of the Pakalomattom family (Thazhmon, Ayroor) he appealed to outside authorities to assert his position as the sole leader of the Malankara Church and to attempt to reunite all the Saint Thomas Christians.

Mar Thoma VII was a Bishop of the Malankara Church from 1796 and the 7th Malankara Metropolitan from April 1808 to July 1809. Born in Pakalomattom family in Kurichithanam, Pala, he was well known as an efficient administrator, deeply religious but was a quiet and reserved person. During his time, a difficult period in the history of Travancore State, the church was able to help Travancore government by depositing an amount as fixed deposit, which came to be known as Vattipanam.

Mar Thoma VIII was the 8th Metropolitan of the Malankara Church in Kerala, India from 1809 to 1816. He was a man of vision. It was during his time Malankara church opened the first formal educational institution, in Kerala. With the opening of Kottayam Suryani Seminary, modern education dawned in Kerala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punnathra Dionysius III</span>

Mar Dionysius III, also known as Punnathra Mar Dionysius and born Kurien was 11th Malankara Metropolitan and Successor to the Holy Apostolic Throne of St.Thomas from 1817 until his death. Dionysius had a long career in the Malankara Church prior to his consecration as Metropolitan. It was his suggestion during the time of Mar Thoma IX to establish the Syrian seminary at Kottayam, Kerala's first educational institution. He also welcomed some of the first missionary teachers who arrived from England to teach in the seminary. In 1816, following the demise of Mar Dionysius II, who had not appointed a successor, Kurien was elected to succeed him as the Malankara Metropolitan by the general assembly of the Church and was ordained as bishop by Geevarghese Mar Philexenos II of the Malabar Independent Syrian Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Syrian Church, Chengannur</span>

Pazhaya Suriyani Pally a.k.a. Old Syrian Church, Chengannur is an ancient Syrian Christian church of Kerala. It is considered as one among the oldest still standing church buildings in Kerala and across India, that predates several centuries before the arrival of European Christianity in India. It is located at Chengannur, a major town along the MC Road, about 117 km north of the Kerala state capital Thiruvananthapuram and about 98 km south of Kochi.

Puthencavu is a village in Alappuzha District of Kerala, India, located 2 km east of Chengannur along the southern bank of the river Pamba. The village is around 2 km from Arattupuzha, and can be easily accessed from Chengannur and Arattupuzha.

St. Thomas Marthoma Church, also called as Kozhencherry Valiya Palli is a prominent Christian church under the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, located in the heart of Kozhencherry town on the banks of River Pamba in Pathanamthitta district of Central Travancore region of Kerala, India. The Maramon Convention, the largest Christian gathering in Asia, is held in every February on the sand bed of Pamba which is near to the church. This is one of the oldest churches in Kerala, established in AD 1599. In 1941 the new church was built adjacent to the old church. At the time of construction of the new church, this was the biggest Christian church building in the Central Travancore region.

Geevarghese Mar Philoxenos aka Puthencavil Kochu Thirumeni was an administrator, orator and an advocate of Orthodox and the Catholicate of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church of India. He served as Metropolitan of Thumpamon Diocese from 1930 to 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Church, Meenangadi</span> Church in Kerala, India

E. A. E St. Mary's Soonoro Syriac Orthodox Church, Meenangadi, is a Marian Pilgrim center of the Syriac Orthodox Church located at Meenangadi in Kerala, India. The church is under E.A.E Arch Diocese, the first missionary association of Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and is currently under the direct control of Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. In 2006, the church was elevated to the status of "Marian Pilgrim Centre", and in 2018, it celebrated its diamond jubilee. It is the first church to adopt the 8 Day Lent in Malabar Region.

KovoorIype ThomaKathanar (1842–1917), popularly known as Kovoor Achen, was a renowned and pioneering clergyman of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church.

His Grace was born to Mr. K. T. Thomas and Mrs. Aleyamma Thomas on the 3rd of April, 1938 in the Kizhakkethalackal family at Puthencavu, Chengannur, Alappuzha Dist. He was the grandson of Kizhakkethalackal Thoma Kathanar and the nephew of the late Geevarghese Mar Philoxenos, Thomas Mar Athanasios is Metropolitan of Chengannur Orthodox Diocese of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.

References

  1. ↑ "Puthencavu St. Mary's Cathedral Alappuzha (Alleppey) and Kerala, India". Alappuzhaonline.com. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Puthencavu, Chengannur". Mar Philoxenos Memorial Friends Association. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  3. ↑ "Puthencavu". india9.com. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  4. 1 2 "The Fathers who led the Sabha". indianchristianity.org. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  5. ↑ "MOR DIONYSIUS I : The sixth Metropolitan of the Malankara Syrian Church". syrianchurch.org. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  6. ↑ "The Heirs to the Throne of St. Thomas (Mar Thoma)". marthomasyrianchurch.org. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  7. ↑ "History of H.G.Geevarghese Mar Philoxenos Metropolitan". marpfa.org. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Pakalomattom Ayrookuzhiyil Kudumbacharitram. Pakalomattom Ayrookuzhiyil Kudumbayogam. 2005. p. 372.
  9. ↑ "H.G. Thomas Mar Athanasios — Chengannur Diocese". malankaraorthodoxchurch.in. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  10. ↑ "Mavelikar Padiyola". saintgregorios.org. 1836. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  11. ↑ "Kallumkathra Padiyola of 1843" (PDF). kallumkathrachurch.org. 1843. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  12. ↑ "Clergy list of The Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar -Seniority Order" (PDF). kuwaitmarthoma.com. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  13. 1 2 "ST . MARY 'S CATHEDRAL". Kunnumpurathu Kudumban. Retrieved 25 June 2009.

9°19′14″N76°37′57″E / 9.320684°N 76.632514°E / 9.320684; 76.632514

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.