The Knānāya, also known as the Southists or Tekkumbhagar, are an endogamous ethnic group found among the Saint Thomas Christian community of Kerala, India. They are differentiated from another part of the community, known in this context as the Northists (Vaddakkumbhagar). There are about 300,000 Knanaya in India and elsewhere.
Kaipuzha is a small village in Kottayam District and sub-district in the Indian state of Kerala. As of the 2001 census, it had a population of 6,991 in 1,565 households.
The St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy (Diocese) of Chicago is an Eastern Catholic eparchy (diocese) for Syro-Malabar Catholics in the United States. The eparchy (diocese) was erected by Pope John Paul II on 13 March 2001. It is one of the four eparchies (dioceses) of the Syro-Malabar Church outside India. It has jurisdiction over Syro-Malabar Catholics in the entire USA, including Knanaya Catholics in the US. The seat of the bishop is Mar Thoma Sleeha Cathedral based in Chicago, Illinois. The first and current bishop of the eparchy (diocese) is Mar Jacob Angadiath, serving since 1 July 2001. Mar Joy Alappat was installed as an auxiliary bishop since 27 September 2014.
Aboon Geevarghese Ivanios was the first Metropolitan Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and Major Archdiocese of Trivandrum. He was the founder of Bethany Ashram order of monks and Bethany madom Order of Nuns. He was the first M.A. degree holder in the Malankara Church. He also served as the Principal of the Kottayam M.D Seminary High School and as a professor at Serampore College. He is venerated in the Catholic Church, having been declared Servant of God by Cardinal Baselios Cleemis.
Margamkali is an ancient Indian round dance of the St. Thomas Christians community- based in Kerala state, mainly practiced by the endogamous sub-sect known as the Knanaya or Southist Christians. The dance retells the life and missionary work of St. Thomas the Apostle, based on the third- century apocryphal Acts of Thomas.
Cherpunkal is a small town in the Kottayam district of Kerala State in India on the Kottayam-Palai Road, seven kilometers from Palai city.
Bishop Charles Lavigne, S.J. was a Roman Catholic Latin Rite bishop from France who was appointed as the first Vicar Apostolic in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Vicariate of Kottayam on 20 May 1887. After shifting the seat of Kottayam Vicariate to Changanacherry on 16 September 1890, his term ended on 28 July 1896. He later served as the first Bishop of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka from 27 August 1898 until his death at Marvejols in France on 11 July 1913.
Mathew Makil was the second Vicar Apostolic and the first indigenous Vicar Apostolic of the Vicariate of Kottayam (Changanacherry), which is the Syro Malabar Archeparchy of Changanacherry today. Mathew Makil was also the first Vicar Apostolic of the Vicariate of Kottayam, which is the Knanaya Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam today. In 1896, he became the Vicar Apostolic of the Vicariate of Changanacherry, and in 1911, when a new Vicariate Apostolic of Kottayam was constituted exclusively for the Knanaya Catholics, Mathew Makil was transferred to Kottayam as its first Vicar Apostolic. He died at Kottayam on 26 January 1914 and he was declared as Servant of God on 26 January 2009.
The Knanaya Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam is a metropolitan Archeparchy of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India. The Archeparchy is exclusively for Knanaya faithful who are the descendants of Syriac Judeo-Christians who migrated from South Mesopotamia to Kodungallur (Muziris) in South India in 345 AD.
Kuriakose Kunnacherry was a Syro-Malabar Catholic hierarch. He was the fourth bishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam and the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kottayam. He served as priest in the Diocese of Kottayam for 13 years from December 21, 1955 to February 24, 1968. Then he was bishop for 49 years from February 24, 1968 to June 14, 2017. Kunnacherry was head of the Diocese of Kottayam for 31 years from May 5, 1974 to December 19, 2005. He was elevated as Archbishop on May 19, 2005.
Mar Mathew Moolakkatt, an East Syriac knanaya Catholic Archbishop was born in Uzhavoor, India. Currently he is Archbishop of The Knanaya Catholics of Kottayam Archeparchy, succeeding Kuriakose Kunnacherry upon his retirement, he is a member of the Order of St. Benedict. He was entrusted the whole Knanaya catholic community in 2006 January. His mother parish is St. Stephen's forane church uzhavoor. He was the synodal commission chairman of St. Thomas apostolic seminary Vadavathoor. He is one of the members of the permanent synod of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church
This article lists the various old and ancient churches that exist among the Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala.
This is a timeline of the history of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India.
Kaduthuruthy Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church, commonly called Kaduthuruthy Valiapally or the Great Church of Kaduthuruthy, is a historic church founded by the Knanaya community in 400 C.E. The Knanaya are the descendants of Syriac Judeo-Christians who migrated from Persian Mesopotamia to Kodungallur, Kerala during the medieval era.
Knanaya Region is a subdivision of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago. This region was officially established by His Excellency Mar Jacob Angadiath, the bishop of the diocese on 30 April 2006. On that day, the bishop appointed Rev. Fr. Abraham Mutholath, the then Vicar General for Knanaya Community as the first director of the Knanaya Region. The purpose of this region is to coordinate all the pastoral activities of the diocese under the leadership of Knanaya Region director who is also one of the Vicar Generals of the diocese.
Sacred Heart Knanaya Catholic Church located in Maywood, Illinois in the United States is the first Knanaya Catholic Church established outside the juridical boundary of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam. This church is also the first church of the Knanaya Region under the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago. The migrants from the Archdiocese of Kottayam living in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin were members of this parish at the time of its establishment in 24 September 2006. The parishioners were formerly members of the Knanaya Catholic Mission established by the Archdiocese of Chicago since 28 October 1983. Later another church was established in Morton Grove on 18 July 2010 for the parishioners living in the north side of 90 Expressway. The church was elevated as a forane church by Bishop Mar Jacob Angadiath on 22 March 2015. The parish servers around 400 Knanaya Catholic families.
The Thomas of Cana copper plates, or Knanaya copper plates, dated variously between 345 C.E. and 811 C.E., are a lost set of copper-plate grants issued by the unidentified Chera/Perumal king of Kerala "Co-qua-rangon" to Syriac Christian merchants led by Knai Thoma in the city of "Makotayar Pattinam", south India. The royal charters were reportedly engraved in Malayalam, Chaldean and Arabic on both sides of two copper plates. Archbishop Francis Ros notes in his 1604 account M.S. ADD 9853 that the plates were taken to Portugal by the Franciscan Order.
St. Mary's Knanaya Catholic Church located in Morton Grove, Illinois, in the United States is the second Knanaya Catholic Church established on 18 July 2010 for Knanaya Catholics living in and around Chicago. Formerly the parish was part of the Knanaya Catholic Mission that was established by the Archdiocese of Chicago on 28 October 1983 for the Knanaya Catholics migrated to Chicago and suburbs from Kerala. With the establishment of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago in 2001, the mission came under the new diocese. The mission bought St. James Church in Maywood, Illinois, from the Archdiocese of Chicago in September 2006 under the leadership of the mission director and Vicar General Fr. Abraham Mutholath. Bishop Mar Jacob Angadiath elevated the mission as Sacred Heart Knanaya Catholic Parish on 24 September 2006 with Fr. Abraham Mutholath as the first pastor of the parish.
St. Pope Pius X Knanaya Catholic Church located in Montebello, California in the US was established as a mission on 17 March 2002 and elevated as a parish on 31 July 2010 for the Knanaya Catholics living in Southern California by Bishop Mar Jacob Angadiath. Before the official establishment of the mission, the community had monthly Syro-Malabar Holy Mass while being members of the local Latin Catholic parishes.
Bishop Mar Thomas Tharayil( born 2 February 1977) is the auxiliary bishop of Syro-Malabar Archeparchy of Changanacherry. He was conferred as the auxiliary bishop by His Grace Mar Joseph Perumthottam on 23 April 2017. He is also the Titular Bishop of the episcopal see of Agrippias.
