PART -1V

CHAPTER -I

IMPACT ON ASIAN CONTINENT IN GENERAL

Asia is the birthplace of world's major religions like Hinduism,

Sikhism. Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity and

Islam, which have flourished and prospered in different parts of the world'.

Three of the principal centres a t civilization namely ancient Middle East, India

and China conceived the above religions. The philosophical traditions of the

world had their origin here. It is to this place that leading prophets, great saints

and religious genius of the world. who have given life and salvation to millions

of men, owe their origin. The principal contours of any nation's faith and

thought were related with outburst of philosophical and religious expression.

Religious allegiance is a force in unifying centres in creative arts and

intellectual exchanges. The history of Asian Christianity contributed much for

an all round development. of the society and of the world at large2. Religious

belief may sometimes lead to the cause of persecution, which may provoke

wider travel, missionary endeavour and settlement.

Asian Christians cndured the greatest persecution. They mounted global

centres in missionary expansions. It is the place in which Asian nations and

peoples developed their own histories, independent of the history of the other

parts of the world. It is not an empty space, but containing some of the

cultures that have flourished for long period. It is in Asia that the roots of the

present great civilizations are to be found. These cultures and ethos were

I . Among these religions. Judaism, C'hristlanity and Islam collectively have influenced the spiritual life of a significant proponion of all thc people who have ever lived.

2 fht. movemenls of Chrlhlianlty l'ro~n lhc very beginning of the Christian era, throughout central, soulh. soulh east, and north East of Asian countries have been largely ignored and seldom outlined ill an) complctc form, though il has long and rich diverse operations

310

unique in the world history. But on many occasions, this ethos created some

compounds ant1 withdrew into them

A network of urban civilizations and cultures of the World

The eastern Mediterranean was part of a much wider network of cities

and civilirations that stretched across a wide expanse of the ancient world.

This urban network connected four broad, overlapping cultural regions on

three continents in a continuous flow of politics and trade.

On the western end was the Mediterranean basin, a civilization that

incorporated a multitude of ancient cultural traditions including Egyptian,

Ethiopian, Greek, Jewish, Mesopotamian, Persian and Latin, usually referred

to as Greco-Roman cibilization'. East of the Mediterranean basin, ancient

political dynasties had succeeded in uniting the various lands and peoples from

the Euphrates River to the Himalaya Mountains, into a more or less unified

empire and civilization. Mostly dominated by peoples from Iran, the Persian

Empire incorporated a multitude of cultures and traditions, including Greek,

Jewish, Mesopotamian, Iranian and 1ndian2. A third cultural field extended

east and south of Persia, encompassing the Indian subcontinent and sections of

Southeast Asia beyond i t . This was the civilization of India, heir to the

religious traditions of thc VedasJ. At the eastern end of this urban belt of

civilization, across the Himalaya Mountains and Tibetan plateau was China,

the fourth great cultural centre in this network. For many centuries China was

a civilization in which small kingdoms or warring states had struggled for

I . By the time ol Jesus 11 tldd bcco~nc unified by the diffusion of a common Greek language and culture under the imper~al rule of llir city of Rome.

2. Thc Persian world was dominated by clties, and was tied together by commerce and trade. At the time of Jesus it was under the rule of a Fanhian dynasty, a people from northern Iran.

3 . Its language. rcl~gion and culture ,bere formed by the creative interaction between descendants of thc ancient Aryan invaders and the vast array of indigenous peoples in the land

: Around the year 260 BC, a single inililary ruler named Ashoka had succeeded in consolidating most of India into one empire before converting to the religious faith of Buddhism and renouncing all viulcnce and war&. Ashoka's piilit~cal domains included most of the Indian sub-continent. His cultural legacy was tu cxlrnd the uni*ing vision of Buddhism as a missionary movement beyond thc land af its origin

control over one another. A common written language and a common heritage

of ancient texts provided the basis for a unifying cultural identity1.

Nature of the ancient civilization

The ancient civilizations were scattered across numerous cities, which

concentrated high numbers of people, with material wealth and political power

in relatively small geographical areas of space. Cities were home to the ruling

elite of the ancient worlds, but they also housed significant numbers of

merchants. artisans, workers, slaves, etc. Outside the cities' walls the vast

majority of people in the ancient world, lived in small villages or in the

countryside. 'Their lives were dominated by agriculture and herding, although

other forms of production were also practiced among them.

The regions themselves were in turn often separated from one another

by expanses of mountains, deserts, and seas. Such natural barriers helped to

preserve the distinctive identities of cultures and civilizations by separating

them from one another. War and trade, on the other hand, were two common

pursuits that brought people from different regions into contact with each other

across the barriers of both geography and culture in the ancient world 2.

The role of religion for the network of civilization and culture

The religions of the Asian continent fertilized the ground. The seed fell

upon that soil, sent down its roots and grew to a mighty tree. The works of the

ancient philosopher- teac,hers still inform the project of human civilization

today. By the: first century B.C:. these civilizations had witnessed the rise of a

number of especially important 01. inspired teachers whose writing transformed

I . In 206 BC a unified guvemment crncrged from the successful rebellion of a peasant movement . ~ J L . C a leauc, hnourl :I, I .. I ~ I I ~ ! 11 pr8nlrli.l A ~ . ~ I I C I C I I ~ puI1Irc31 rel~giuus Ideology that coincided . r . t r i the camll . 11 tang . . t . i i J 13 .'u :.r: .it ( ' l l lnr' ,~ people dnd hslpsd to unltj the emplre

2. Over the icenruries a numbcr of city based empires rose and fell in these civilizations. Each empire In its owrl way sought to extend political control over lands and peoples under the rule of a small elite. Power was concentrztted in the hands of a few.

the relig~ous and philosophical character of human kind.' Christianity is the

religion which embraces everything, yet it can always be expressed in

perfectly simple terms. one name of Jesus Christ still sums up everything. It

was in confrontation urith Jewish nationalism that the church began to

understand its own catholic nature. The primitive church for a long time

remained in Jewish society. At this juncture the role of the East Syrian Church

missionary is to be counted. As a missionary community the East Syrian

Church community sought to relate its understanding of the Christian faith to

the neighbouring nations and their cultures. It is the continuous reformulations

and re-appropriations of the Christian faith founded by Jesus Christ and his

Apostles in a new and varying politico-cultural contexts.

The Ecclesiastical authority of East Syrian Church

Among the Asian churches, the East Syrian Church was the foremost

one, which took its root during the apostolic period in Edessa, the centre of an

early Asian Christianity. The East Syrian Church grew east of the frontiers of

the Roman empire around the cities of the Seleucia-Ctesiphon, situated on

either side of the river Tigrits . The East Syrian Church evolved under different

secular powers with many ups and downs.' It penetrated to the different parts

of the world vigorously. -' The Christians under Persian rule had established a

hierarchic independenr church of their own .The King favoured the

establishment of an independent church in his realm, which was a mark of his

goodwill towards the religious minority. Gradually, by the 8" century AD, it

I . Confucious. Lao-Tzu, the Buddha wrltcrs of the Upasishads, Zoroaster, the prophets of Israel the philosophers of Greece belonged to a revolution in human consciousness that had significantly shaped the world into which the dibclples of Jesus first moved

2. Its hlstory can be divided under the Arcacides (until 3'd century), under the Sassanids (3'd to 7Ih cenlgries), under the Arabs 7Ih to I j th century). and under the Mongols. ( 131h to 1 5 ' ~ century)

3. I.hc developmcrlt of the !.:as1 Syr~an Church history since 5'h century AD was a response to the challenging crcnts in thc Roman Empire in the 4'h century and the rise of the established Roman church with the idea of :a 'Poiit~cal Theology'. The East Syrian Christians had to take into cunslderation the hostile reactio~i of their own ruler and they could with stand the general persecution only by confirming the~nsclves to their Christian convictions and the superiority of their own interests. which arc based on dnclrine of penance and eternal bliss.

became a mighty organization of about two hundred and fifty bishops under

several metropolitans with missions in India, China, Central Asia, Mongolian

region, Tartary, and in other places. in the midst of persecutions, the monastic

communities proved to be an important factor for spreading the Christian

message across the boundaries of the Euphrates River.

The dominant theological institution for learning in the east was the

famed school of Edessa, which was populated by Persians and Syrian students

alike in the Christian country. They provided safe havens where worship and

prayer could be carried on, texts could be protected, and theological ideas

could be debated. Numerous Greek texts, including the philosophical works of

Aristotle and other theologjms were translated into Syriac by scholars of the

Edessan school.

The cu~~iculum centered on the art of exegesis, but included

philosophical and theological works. Chief among these were medicine.

Historical contacts with the west had given Persian Christians access to Greek

medical texts, which were arguably the most advanced in the ancient world.

Copies of these texts were carried across the Persian eontier by refugees from

persecution. and were kept closely guarded scriptures in the Christian schools

in Persia. They were translated into Syriac. Students had access to them

through teachers in the Christian schools. Christians were disproportionately

represented among the medical profession in the Persian Empire. Its result was

the integration of the Greek s:ystem of medicine with the local system.

Cultural confrontatior~

fhe Christ~an falth was not born into a vacuum. It was issued out of a

well-defined culture; the deepl) rel~gious, monotheistic and highly organized

Jewish culture. It soon entered mainly into a highly sophisticated Hellenistic

culture within the vast frame ofthe imperial order around Mediterranean. It

flourished on the banks of the Euphrates and the Tigris (Persian Empire), in

the Nile Valley (Egypt), Sudanand Ethiopia, along with the southwestern

coastal region of India. In these places Christian faith was introduced to

contexts highly flavoured with the ways and valleys of ancient civilization.

But the major encounter between Christian faith and secular culture during the

first four centuries took place with~n the Graeco-Roman context.

The Church's main encounter was with the culture in general, since

culture is the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behaviour.

Culture thus defined would consist of language, ideas, beliefs, customs,

taboos, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, and works of art, rituals,

ceremonies and other related components. The development of culture depends

upon man's cdpacities to learn and to transmit knowledge to succeeding

generations. Generally, the church borrowed or adapted many things from the

Mesopotamian and the Graeco-Roman culture. The Graeco-Roman culture

(Western Civilization) is nurtured by mainly two sources, the Mesopotamian

and Egyptian. Mesopotamian civilization contributed much for the East Syrian

Church activities.

Mesopotamian culture

The word Mesopotamia derived from Greek 'Mesopotamia' means land

between the rivers. Anatolian plateau, the Iranian plateau, the Persian Gulf,

and the Arabian and Syrian deserts bound it. Though Mesopotamia consisted

of a multitude of independent city-states. two finally emerged namely, Assyria

in Upper Mesopotamia and Babylonia in Lower Mesopotamia, each very

different in character, but both sharing a common civilization. Mesopotamia

ceased to be politically independent after the Persians occupied Babylon in 539

BC, and its cultural and economic importance was to remain considerably for

some 1800 years longer. During the last four of these centuries, it steadily

declined. The end came in 1258 .AD, when the Mongo1 invasion resulted in

such destruction and loss of population.

Hellenisation

With the arrival of Greeks, Mesopotamian civilization had run its course.

It was increasingly drawn Into the orbit of Greek civilization until admiration

for the foreign became so don~inant that it led to limitation. The early Christian

community arose from the Jewish matrix and was profoundly marked by the

religious culture of the Jews. The Christian Church was understood for a long

time by the Roman authorities and cultured elite as a rather curious sect of

Judaism. They heaped all the displeasure and prejudice they had about Jewish

religion and way of life on Christians as well '.

As the Christian Church gradually emerged from the Jewish religious

tradition as a distinct faith, the church confronted hostility from the Jews on

the one hand and from the so-called pagan world, with its reputed Hellenistic

learning and forms of popular religions, on the other. The Church began a

long weaning process with the Jews while admitting the Hebrew scripture as

part of its own scripture. The Church took up the double task of dialoguing

with the high culture in a spirit of appreciation and respect with the gentile

people, while sharply criticizing the popular idolatrous pagan religion. In

Christianity's cultural encounter the dominant partner was Hellenistic culture,

which had already establrshed itself three centuries before Christ around the

eastern Mediterranean and of which outpost were found as far away as the

borders of 1ndia2. The Jews of the Roman Empire were Hellenised, both in the

Diaspora and to a great extent even in ~a les t ine .~ St.Paul, the Hellenized and

I . The Jews' exclusive religious beliefs and practices , their imageless and strictly monotheistic worship aroused suspicion among the polytheistic Gentile ne ighbou~ . So the Christian communiiies too were looked down on with eyes of mistrust and contempt

2. Thc word Heil<,nisms i kern helirnco. 'to s p e k Greek') originally denoted the correct use of the Greek languagc unadulterated by rhr crrrupting influence of foreigners coming to Athens in the 4'" century RC. By the time of ear!\ Christianity, it evoked a whole complex of concepts, throught- pattcrns. icalegories, ilnages and rnctilphors conveyed through the Greek language. Werner. Greek. 6

3 . Phclu of Alexandria, an cldcr colrtccripurary of St. Paul was a shining example of the Hellenized Jrw who could interprrt the Jewish tradition entirely in terms of Greek Philosophical concepts and caicgoriei

converted Jew, spoke to the tipicurean and the Stoic; philosophers there about

the 'unknown god' and quoted a Greek poet'

The kast Syrian church with the help of the Hellenistic culture grasped

the meaning of universality This enabled the gospel to express itself in all

particular situations and become relevant and meaningful to each situation in

the East Syrian Church theology and worship of the East Syrian church. The

structure may vary from time and place, which may not be considered as

permanent elements in the church's tradition. The Christian tradition is not

static but dynamic and theologicallq, plurals are the natural and essential

expression of it. The Church was not based on ethnic homogeneity but rather

was rooted in the issues of humanity itself. It was in the church's encounter

with the Hellenistic culturc ihat the church was able to see clearly the

distinction between faith and the universal nature of the Christian faith. In the

history of the encounter of East Syrian Church with other cultures, the church

not only received elements form other cultures but also contributed towards

the christianization or sometimes the destruction of other cultures.

Two streams of Missionary Endeavour

In Church history there are two streams of missionary activities viz, the

history of the church in the Christian state and the history of the church under

non-christian rulers. This was an important aspect affecting all areas of Church

life. Christian mission of the RomaniByzantine church at that time used to be a

political matter, since the authority behind the missionary enterprises was not

the Patriarch, but the Emperor himself. Soon afterwards, other established

churches arose even outside the KomanJByzantine Empire according to its

pattern. In contrast to that. the missionary enterprises of the East Syrian

Church were carried out by the East Syrian Church itself and some times only

I . St Pdul's asccnls to thc Acropayui of Alhcns lhal venerable spot of Greek philosophy. Drarnalically narrated in thr Acts of Apostle is considered highly symbolic of the meeting of the Christian faith and domtnant culture For more details. 'The Book oi-lrrs 01 iiie Aposrles. Chapter 17

indirectly the EJast Syrian Church was able to make profit out of the military

success of its political authorities

Having been exposed to divergent cultures and faiths, the society was

subjected to a :slow but steady metamorphosis, triggered at the instance of the

arrival of Christianity. The East Syrian Christians in this background of rich

cultural heritage, philosophical insight, clarity of Christian vision, felt that the

time was ripe enough to cany the Christian message to the end of the world.

The Media of Contact

The influences ot'the merchants were more important than warfare for

sustaining trans-regional contacts and cultural influences. It was they who

established the most enduring contacts between cultures and peoples. They

brought people of various languages and cultures into contact with one another

regularly as goods passed back and forth along their trail. Chinese merchants

also were engaged in trade with peoples further east, extending Chinese

language and cultural influences further in those directions. In the

Mediterranean world an extensivc system of roads built by the Romans by the

first century effectively linked up the various regions into a vast interconnected

network of cities. Although goods that were produced and transported were

most often reserved for the exclusive use of the upper class people, the process

of making. moving and rrading them brought about wider social contacts

among people.

It is evident thar there \vas East Syrian Christian merchants living

among the communities. 'The presbyters and the deacons who were present in

these communities instructed the Christian morals and they baptized those who

believed in Christian faith. In some communities the rulers took the initiative

for baptism. As a result. most people of the tribe followed their ruler. This was

evident among the 'Turco-Mongol Kereites and Turco-Tartar tribes in Central

and East Asia. It is believed that there were more than 2,00,000 Christians in

Turco -Mongol tribe of the Kereite.

East Syrian Church presence in different parts of Asian continent

Eastern representatives of the East Syrian Church were present in the

Central .h ian countries os long as Christianity flourished there. The

Christianity in Central Asia had deeply penetrated among the native peoples

themselves. There was a large and widespread Christian community

throughout the whole of central Asia in the first centuries of the present era.

Central Asia and China

East Syrian Christianity penetrated the landscapes of Central and

Eastern Asia since the earliest century. According to the Nestorian Monument,

during the Tang Dynasty in China Christianity reached the city in 635 AD,

which met the favour of the Emperor and the East Syrian Christian

communities in China flourished. Christianity in China in that period was

essentially a monastic one with few believers from the native Chinese

population. At the same time the people of Central Asia such as Uighur,

Tibetans etc stood under influence of the East Syrian Christianity. After a

history of more than 200 years Christianity disappeared with the expulsion of

all the monks out of the empire.

Mongolian Region

The Mongol conquest opened a second entry of Christianity in China.

During the early pan of the I I" ' century the new missionary successes of the

East Syrian Church were based on the native Turco-Mongol people under the

Mongol leadership. l 'hz gro\+th of Christianity in the eleventh and twelfth

centuries all through T'urkestan and Mongolia due to the activity of the East

Syrian Christians was :so extensive that metropolitanates, with bishops

subordinate to them, were established throughout the provinces of Kashgar,

Nuakit, Turkestan, Gunda and 'l'angut. The missionaries of the East Syrian

319

Church made us; of thi: inner Asian routes that proved important messengers

of the Christian faith '

East Syrian Christian domination in the Mongol Empire

At the: beginning of t h c 1 3 ~ ~ century the Mongol ruler GenghisKhan

established his power at Lake Baykal, which became a strong hold of

Christianity. The importance was that Christianity was no longer a foreign

religion in Central Asia during this time, since the representatives in China

were people of Central Asian Turco - Mongol population, the ruling class of

the empire. This caused the spread Christianity among the tribe of Naiman

whose prince became Christian and there by an influence on the tribes of

Merkit and Oirat. There were many Christians among the Mongols and more

than one of the emperors and viceroys were known as followers of Christ.

Guyuk was a Christian and in his days the prestige of the numerous Christians

bodies in his dominions was high. His camp was full of bishops, priests and

monks. Hulegu, Viceroy of Persia, a cousin of Guyuk, is described as a

supporter of the Christian religion. Mangu, brother of Hulegu, who succeeded

Guyuk on the throne of the Mongols is described as a follower and defender of

Christianity. Christian teachings and influences spread widely among the

Mongols.

The influence of the East Syrian Church in the region

The Mediterranean Persian, Indian and Chinese civilizations were all

ones in which cities were central. They were also the civilizations that had

developed writing. By the: first century each of them could lay claim to an

extensive literary tradition. Syriac sacred writings in particular passed on the

heritage of religious faith through hymns, priestly writings, philosophical

treatises and sacred stories.

I . I h c Easl Syri~in Church s~~cceedcd in converting the prince of'lurco - Mongol tribe of the Kereit. I n I007 AD there is a rcl'crcnce of;! Christian king of the Kereits..

Prophetic voice of the Christ ian officials

One record is extant which influenced Genghis Khan and Ogetai.

Khittan Yeh-lu chu T'sal ( 1190-1244 AD) was a High Chancellor to them. He

intervened to prevent mass slaughter or the destruction of settlements and

agriculture The fullest such record now extant, is found in the biography of

Ai-hseih, Christian assistant to Guyuk, and Astronomer, Physician and

Counselor to Kublai.

The long tradition of the East Syrian Christians states that servants in

Persia, Mongolia and elsewhere had clearly the prophetic elements, enabling

officials such as Ai-hsieh to take courageous stand on issues of justice. And

this was obviously recognized by the Ming compilers of the history of

Mongols.

Christian thought-forms and patterns of life entered even into the

official life of the ruling class due to the surprising saintliness and dedication

of the East Syrian Church missionaries. The courage of the prophetic

administrators, pastors, physicians or writers across these territories personally

shaped the thoughts of the sc~cietles

The use of Syriac language and its impact

For the study a f Christianity anywhere in the world, the language

Syriac and Syriac Literature is a main source. The Aramaic dialect of Edessa

(Urhay, modern Urfa in SE Turkey. with its own script, first attested in

inscriptions of the first century AD.) known as Syriac became the liturgical

language of the people from the Mediterranean to Babylon and kern the border

of Armenia to the Arabian Peninsula. It must have been adopted as the literary

language of Aramaic-speaking Christianity at an early date, and as a result of

this its use spread rapidly along with the spread of Christianity in the eastern

provinces of the Roman Empire and in the Persian Empire further east.

In the light of the discovered numerous fragments of literary

documents, there were seventeen different languages. One among them was

the Syriac of the East Syr~an Church. Though Syriac remained present in

Central Asia as ;I foreign element, it was present at the centre of all religious

activities But the native Christian people generally grasped their Church

language only imperfectly In central Asia, the cultivation of the native

language by translat~ons, and ~nsistence on Syriac as the official language of

the liturgy. was characteristic of the East Syrian Church with its chain of

metropolitan sees all over the continents from Samarqand in the west to

Khanbaliq (Peeking) in the East

a. Liturgical Purpose

The language Syriac remained all the time among the native Christians

in the liturgy of the Christian community. The East Syrian Church was not

interested in accepting various vernaculars for liturgical languages in place of

its own Syriac. The common East Syrian Christians considered the liturgical

language, Syriac as an important bond between the remotest Christian

communities and the East Syrian Church Patriarchate. Though the East

Syrian Church essentially insrsted on Syriac as the liturgical language, it

endevoured to teach the Christian faith by means of the various

vernaculars of the Central Asian peoples.

b. The Inscriptions on the Tombstones

The Ongut people far ir, the East, who composed their inscriptions

exclusively in Turkish, wrote them in Syriac character also. There are even

Turkish and Soghtiian texts, written in the Syria 'Estrangela'. There were

several Christian tombstanes written in Turkish with a few passage in Syriac.

In the territory of the Ongul at the north bend of the river Hwang-Ho, the

native Christians had written countless tombstones in Syriac with only small

portions in their own native Turkish language. The inscriptions on the tomb

inscriptions near L.ake lssyk Kul and Ongut in the further East were written in

Turkish language. The inscription on the tombstones in the area of Lake Issyk-

kul clearly demonstrate how the elements of the native Turkish cultural

tradition met the imported tradition from the West.

The native Christians from there gave the date of death according to the

traditional central 4sian animal Cycle of twelve years starting with the 'Year

of mouse' (Rat) and beginning the New Year in the middle of January. But on

the majority of the Tombslones, the western chronology was according to the

'Era of the Seleucides', beginning the New Year from 1 October. These

phenomena clearly indicate the influence of the liturgical life of the East

Syrian Church on its people in the far eastern parishes. They used Syriac with

mistakes. They made use of the foreign church languages even outside the

divine service. The Syriac language in the innermost Asia remained language

strange to the people, as h e can gather from the Christian Central Asian

inscriptions written in faulty Syriac. I

c. Influence of Syriur on the vernacular language

Syriac language influenced the vernacular languages by single words and

phrases, and 'Christianized' them according to the Syriac tradition. This

influence. of course, firstly concerned the terms of Christian theology and

Church affairs were accepted by the native people automatically along with

the new religion itself.

1. One lurkish monk, Yahnbwllaha, fruin the East, became the Catholics- Patriarch in spite of his poor Syrlac . This Mongol Pairlarch from t l x far east was poorly acquainted with the Syriac language of his church, its liturgy and tlieology.

: The Mongol Patriarch Yahaballaha was clearly aware of his limitations and therefore hesitant to becoirie the Patilarch. Hc asks about his selectiun to the post of the Patriarchate. ' I am deficient in education and in eccles~dstical doctrine. and the member of my tongue haltch. How can I possibly become your Parriarch '? And, morcuvcr. I am wholly ignorant of your languages, Syriac which is absolutely rleccssary for thc patriarch lo know.

2. The words 'amin' 'mahayrnna' mean 'as it is', believe 'amin', 'mahaymna' with (fem) 'mhaymanfa' and t k titles 'melropolira' (Metropolitan) 'episcopa' (Episcopos) and 'qasia' (priest). But native people took over in thslr Turkish language even such a common and not typical Christian tt:rm as 'qabra ('tomb').

Syriac language of the liturgy contributed some terms and phrases to

the vernaculars of the native Christians. Syriac alphabet at the same time

became the model for a wider use, because 'Esrangela' was used in the

immediate sphere of the East Syrian Church mission in Syriac texts and

in the vernacular ones. The Christians in the area of Lake Issyk- kul

made use of the 'Estrangela' in their mostly Syriac inscriptions and in

the Turkish ones.

Early Christian writings in Chinese are yet to receive full scholarly and

theological attention. Thc manuscripts from 7Ih to 1 lth century interpreted and

contextualized Christian teaching in Turkestan and china'. The overall

framework and intention remains clearly Christian and any use of Buddhist

terms-even the use 'Buddha' to mean God are adaptations from Buddhism, for

Christian teaching. Buddhist :md Christian terms are blended to present a full

monotheism and the liberation from sorrow through Jesus Christ.

Most of the writings in Chinese are the earliest examples of inter

religious collaboration and throw light on the extensive understanding of

Buddhism, which emerges in other writings. The imagery and thought forms

of the writings directly reflect the particular cultural and religious contexts in

which they were: written. There are collections in Chinese, Sogdian and Uighur

languages, and :frescoes. silk paintings and seals, from shurches and caves in

Turkestan and west China. Syriac Sogdian and Uighur writings have been

found at many points on the ancient trade routes between Persia and China,

and in many provinces of China itself.

Docurner~ts between the 4Ih and 15Ih centuries found in Turfan,

Karakhoja, Dunhuang and Ka<;-chang are liturgical, Biblical, Medical and East

I Alopun Docurncnts. Cyrilicus ,I: Ching-ching documents, the Jesus (Hsu) Messiah Sutra , A dnscourse on Monotheism ig P!irablr Par; N . Discourse on the Oneness of the Ruler ofthe Universe. Histoy of Rabhan Siricmo iind Yabhalloha 111, The Lord of th Universe's Discourse on Alms-giving . The Nestoria,, A4,?rwo Hymn Honouring the Majestic Three. The Tung-chen Sutro- the Nesroria,, Hymn in Adorulivri qfrhr Trons/igurution of Our Lord

Syrian Church manuscripts ' . These writings are either in Sogadian or Uighur

language. Some are translations from the Syriac or depended on the Syriac

original. These illustrate the w~de -spread practice of the East Syrian Church

in retaining Syriac in the church worship, while also freely used the vernacular

language in extensive translation. The texts discovered in Turkestan or China,

which have been shaped. at least in part, by their Central Asian or Chinese

context were apparently in use in many Asian provinces of the East Syrian

Church.

According to Scott A. David, these texts unfold the story of all the

major cultures and religions encountered by Christianity as it travelled across

Asia from Syria to China.' These writings show both the careful articulation of

Christian beliefs and a flexible accommodation in life and expression within

particular cultures. The looseness of the church organization is also apparent,

along with the importance given to festivals and pilgrimages, the veneration of

sacred relics and the practice of healing3.

The East Syrian C'hurch at Turfan was able to win Christian faith from

Turks and Sogdhian speaking Iranians who belonged to Manichaeans,

Buddhists and ~hr i s t ians .~ The Sogdhian language was in fact something of a

Lingua Franca for Central Asia in this period. The Sogdhian translation from

Syriac of The Acts of George had local references and Hellenistic concepts

replaced by general terms niore applicable in Buddhist environment. The texts

from Turkistan show a Christian disdain for image worship that prevailed in

I . I hcse ~nclude, in Syr~ai . hymn, and anthem cycles, anaphorar, prayers, calendars, lectionaries, gospels, commentaries. ihomilies. in Greek, creeds, gospels and apocryphal writings; Psalters and Irctionaries in Pahlavi; Christian apucalyptic and apocryphal writings in mid-Turkish and Parthian translation; as well as paintings and church furnishing of Byzantine style.

2. Scott, Aria. 25

4. Turfan, in the northern part of the basin of the river ' h i m , formed only a religious minority among 31 population of mostly Buddhists and partly Manicheans. Christianity at Turfan can roughly be set into the period ofthc highcr kingdom. which lasted from 850 -1250AD

the local religions.' These writings, however, include many elements native to

their own environment, whether in language, metaphor, or imagery, and often

present extensive variations of theme and emphasis in response to the realities

of a particular Turkistani or Chinese context.

These features along with the established use of vernacular languages,

Soghdian. Uzghur and Chinese show the extent to which East Syrian Church

traditions found local and indigenous form across vast areas of central or east

Asia. These contextual expressions of faith are, therefore, clearly

distinguishable from the documents in Syriac, similarly discovered in widely

scattered locations.

They demonstrate a freedom in shaping content and artistic style, which

on the basis of Soghdian and Byzantine models create a new Christian

imagery. The literary document clearly showed that the Christians of Turfan

had formed part of the ethnic variety in this culture centre of innermost Asia,

since the discovered fragments were mostly written in the Sogdhian language,

and to a smaller extent ~ J I ancient Turkish (Uighur).

'The local vernaculars had not been completely excluded from the

church, as seen from the contents of the native Christian texts from Turfan. In

the Middle Ages the Christian Turks and Mongols in Central Asia, Persia and

Mesopotamia was so numerous that the East Syrian Christian hymn writers

were obliged to compose hymns in Mongolian for their special benefit. Some

fragments of a lectionary of the gospels as used by the East Syrian Christians

were found near Turfan In Chinese Turkestan. These agree with the text used

by the East Syrian Chr~stian church in Mesopotamia and Persia. They are

written in Syriac characters. but in the Soghdian dialect of middle Persia with

some complete sentences in Syriac:

I. In one East Syrian church Sogdian text. criticize Buddhist cults like the Mahakala

The recognition of the Uighur Script as the official script

Central Asia has its native Christian literature, which consist of

Soghdian and ancient Turkish (Uighur) texts'. It was known for a long time

that the Mongolian characters officiially were used in the administration of the

Mongol Empire. They were derived step by step from the 'Uighw script' in the

thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Uighur script is quite similar to the

Syriac alphabet. Thus scholars had come to the conclusion that the Uighur

characters directly depended on the Syriac ones, especially on the East Syriac

style. They regarded this as the result of the East Syrian Church missionary

activities in Central ~ s i a ' The Far Eastern Christians themselves composed

their texts in the native language and made use of the Syriac 'Estrangela', the

Soghdian and rnostly of the Liighur alphabets.

Administrative language in the Mongol Empire

In the thirteenth century the less civilized Mongols accepted the script

for the administration of'their new empire. But the more civilized Uighur, the

Turco - Mongol Christian people also took part in this process and under

Mongol rule ascended to the highest ranks in the government, including the

ministerial offices. In the service of the Mongol rulers they wrote the Uighur

language and taught it to the illiterate majority. As told by the Franciscan Firar

William in the middle of the 13"' century, the secretaries of the Mongols were

principallq Uighurs. whose script could be read by nearly all native Christians.

I . Firstly there arc the Bib1~c:sl texts in thc form of iectionaries to be used in the divine service within the frame: o t the generally !Syriac liturgy, in order to address the simple people immediately. Secondly, therr are texts in the vernacular, which brought Christian ideas to the native people even outside the service. It was these tcx~s. which familiarized the central Asian believers with the near and middle E a ~ t Syrian Church tradition of the faith, piety and life

2. Some scholars argued that ih': re1atii:riship of the 'Uighur script' to the Syriac alphabet was not so d~rcct, because of the relationship o t Syriac and Uighur. Both these alphabets were not that o f mother and daughter' but rather <,i 'aunt and nxece'. The Uighur characters were independent of the Syriac ones. The) had descended from an older Aramaic alphabet, from which the Syrian 'Estrangela' also was derived. This knowledge however about the system of dependence on each other does not deprive Lhc East Syrian Christians of all significance because they had nevertheless a share i n the development of the Central Asian alphabets, although in a less striking manner than uas assumed in the pail

The Mongol style of writing according to the Syriac prototype would

exactly correspond to the knowledge about Christian secretaries among the

Mongols and the presence of Syriac as the liturgical language of the East

Syrian Church is the contribution of philology regarding the influence of

Eastern Christianity on the wider world of Central Asia outside the Christian

community.

The East Syrian Church used to respect the vernaculars of the

christianized people by translating the parts of their Syriac literature and the

literary documents of the Christians in the Central and East Asia, which were

written in Soghadian, Iiighur or Chinese. The multiform character of the

population, which the East Syrian Church mission had addressed to, was

reflected by a multiform eccles~dstical literature in those areas. This reflected

the international character of the 1:dst Syrian Church.

The Contribution of the East Syrian Church to the Arab World.

One of the greatest contributions of the East Syrian Church to the

history of human thought was its key role in transmitting to the Arab Empire

the heritage of the Greek classics and through the Arabs, preserving them for

rediscovery and transformation of the west in the Renaissance and

~eformation'.

Arabian education remained indebted to the scholars of the Christian

dhimn~is all through the first hundred years of the 'Abbasid Dynasty'. One of

the reasons Caliph Mahdi welcomed Patriarch Timothy to debate was

undoubtedly because Timothy was zealous patron of education, familiar with

Aristotle and well versed in Greek and Syriac texts2. There were pioneering

Christian translators among the Arabs, who hitherto had been little schooled

but were possessed of quick and enquiring minds, which propelled into an

I . Hitt~.Arahs. 307

2. Frolrsue. Churches. '15 : Malzch, h'alion 269

intellectual revolution. The Arab Christians werz given responsibility over all

the court's scientific translation projects, where texts were usually translated

first from Greek into Syriac, and then from Syrian into ~ rab ic ' .

The Syrians taught and translated their proper culture, Greek

philosophy. Logic. Rhetoric. Mathematics, Medicine and all other Sciences on

behalf of their so-called kinsmen. namely the kabs2 . Some astronomical and

mathematical works were brought to Baghdad by travelers from India, but the

earliest and by far the most important source was classical Greek

communicated through Christian Greece to Christian Syrians and Persians and

passed on by them to the ~ r a b : ; ~ .

World wide recognition of the Semitic Culture

It is during the Abbassids whose capital was Baghdad that the East

Syrian Church had their golden age. Encouraged by the Abbassids, both the

Syrian Orthodox and the East Syrian Church, including Nestorian, physicians,

philosophers, scientists and clergymen translated into Arabic thesemitic and

Greek cultures, so that, once transmitted to Europe after elaborating it, Europe

attained the pinnacle of its culture and civilization. The Arabs, after that, via

Spain, transmitted both Greek and Syriac cultures to Europe. According to

Ernest Ranan, 'the chain is a connected link from Alexandrain School till the

Syrians and from the Syrians till the Arabs, and from the Arabs till the

Christians of the Middle Thus the East Syrian Church influence was

the first to mark the Arab and Muslim world with its special and typical brand.

I . Humayarl's son- lshaq who hccarnc the Arab empire's foremost translator of the works of Aristotle, did much of the translation into Arabic. Humayn himself is credited with translations of Galen, Hippocrates, I'lato's Republic and man). other works. He translated the most famous medical books of the world of his time sill timcs long before. and was a trusted one in the Muslim court. The tenth caliph. Mutawakkil. mnue hxm his personal physician.

The East Syrian Church. in turn enhanced, enriched and extended that glorious

Church through their martyrdom too. Therefore the marvelous martyrdoms of

the East Syrian Church missionaries and prelates will certainly precede them

to bear witness to Jesus Cluist.

Syriac Medical School

It was in the 61h century that Khusro-I (531-579) either founded a

medical school or strengthened an existing one at Gundeshapur. Beth Lapat

was the Christian name for the city. The school must have utilized Persian

medical lore. From the 6th century onwards it was Persia's famous medical

school. In the Islamic world it was known as Jundi -Shapur. Some of the

teachers were undoubtedly Persians, but others were East Syrian Christians.

Many medical works in Syriac were produced during the Abbasid period of 8"

and gth centuries, although (on14 very few of these survive. One particularly

influential work is Hunyvan ihn Ishag's Medical Questions. This work is

extant in both Syriac and Arabic, which were translated into at in'. It has

been described as one of the most widely diffused early translations of the

Arabic Medicine in Western Europe.

When the Muslim era opened, the family of Bukht-Jesus, an East

Syrain Christian physician. was active in the school of Gundeshapur and for

six generation:<. members of this family continued to be conspicuous in the

school's life. It is thought that the Christian, Al-Haritha Ibn-Kalada of Al

Ta'if, who wa,s well known in Arabia in the 7th century, had been trained at

Gundeshapur. In the 8"' century, Caliph A1-Mansur(754-775AD) who suffered

from stomach, illness the East Syrian Christian physician Jurjis, George ibn-

-! Bakhtishu improved the Chliph's health, remained in Baghdad and he became

the founder of a line of physicians to the caliphs2.

I . In i atin it was known as thc i:,sugtipti ;,/loannilius.

2 Mr('ullouf;h, Isl,?m. 182

The world historian. P.K.Hitti reports that Hunayan , the East Syrian

Christian Scholar. translated the most famous medical books of the world of

his time and times long before. The tenth Caliph, Mutawakkil made him his

personal physician who yer refused to concoct a poison when so ordered by

the Caliph. His reasons tor such a refusal constitute a remarkable statement of

Christian belief and medical ethics.'

Introduction of Greek Philosophy to the Asian continent through Syriac

The first Syriac author to pay serious attention to Greek philosophy was

Sergius of Resh'aina . He provided Syriac readers with introduction to the

earliest of Aristotle's logical works (Organon), which formed the basis of all

higher education in late antiquity. Many subsequent writers dealt with similar

topics and several provided commentaries, either to specific books within the

Organon or lo the entire Orgunorr. Athanasius of Balad and Jacob of Edessa in

the 7lh century provided introductory materials for the benefit of Syriac readers

embarking on philosophical ,studies.

The scholars from the t:ast Syrian Church played an important role in

the transmission of Greek philosophy and sciences to the Arab world through

their translations and commentaries. The translation of the Greek scientific,

medical and philosophical works by the East Syrian writers took place in three

main phabes, the 6'h century translations, seventh century revisions and ninth

century translations and translation into Arabic. The 9" century translation

witnessed a great flu- of translation activity from Greek into Syriac.

One vf the earliest Syri;.~c writers to undertake this sort of work was

Sergius of Resh'aina. who, !>esides translating the Dionysian Corpus into

I. The Cal~pl i asked what kept hlni liom obcying the order. He told the Caliph: Two things: my rrliglo~l and my profession. M) religion decrees that we would do good even to our enemies, how much more to our friends. And my profession is instituted for the benefit of humanity and limited to their reliefatid cure

: Hitti. Anihs, 31

331

Syriac, translated an influential Pseudo-Aristotelian treatise 'On the Universe',

and Alexander of Aphrodisias' 'Causes of the Universe' together with a

considerable number of works by Galen.

Various anonymous translations of more popular Greek philosophical

literature of an ethical naturc wcre probably undertaken in the earlier period;

which include translations of treatises by Isocrates, Lucian, Plutarch,

Themistius. as well as a pseudo-Platonic dialogue on the soul (whose Greek

original is lost), various sayings nf Greek philosophers Also belonging to the

first period will be the earliest translations of Aristotle's logical works.

During the second period, a number of revised translations were made

of books of the Organon. Many of the scholars, engaged in this work, seem to

have had connections with the monastery of Qenneshere (on the Euyphrates):

prominent among them was the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Athanasiusi (687)

and George, bishop of the Arab 'l'ribes (724)

'The third period (late eighth and especially 91h century) witnessed a

great flurry of translation activity from Greek into both Syriac and Arabic,

thanks to the general patronage 01' a number of the Abbasid caliphs and the

growing interest of' Arab scholars in the heritage of Greek philosophy and

science. The most famous of these translators was Hunayn ibn Ishaq (873),

whose translation work covered biblical, medical and philosophical texts.

East Syriac Literature in different fields

Syriac literature is nlustl) religious and concerning the church which

provides a clear knowledge of the C~hurch especially of the Syrian church The

main source of the literature is the Syriac manuscripts, which formed such a

worthy deposit of theology and traditions and which are found mostly in the

famous collectic~ns of the British museum' and the Vatican library. Moreover

I . Uritisli Mu:;curn alone c,!:llalns o i c r 1000 manuscripts. They are Biblical. Liturgical and Theoii,l;lcal. w h ~ c h help I!>< study of 1171: urjgin oFChristianity.

many scholars both from the east and the west did research work in the ancient

Syriac literature. Aniong thcni the Syriac scholar of Oxford, Prof.

Sebastian.P.Brock. brought light to a large volume of writings about the Syriac

works from its origin. According to him Syriac literature is a continuous one

upto the present day. the focus of the outline has been on the period upto the

early 16"' ccrrtury.'

The main centres of Syriac literature continued to be located in East

Turkey and Syria, but also to be found in Iraq. The important centers were

Tagrit, and the Monastery of Mat- Mattai, SE of Mosul and the church of the

east primarily in Iraq and N W Iran.

The East Syric literature, which covers upto the 16th century, can be

conveniently splrt up into five rnain periods. It is as follows, 2"d and 3rd century

AD, 4th -centuq/ writings. 5th to m ~ d 7th century, mid 7th to end of the 13lh

century, 14th to !611' centur) Of these 4Ih to 13Ih century provides most

extensive and important literxturc.

Notable w o r k s during this period

During the period of Titnothy-l (728-823 AD) manuscripts of

translations from Greek patristic writers are available, in addition to new

translations from Greek into Syriac, of Greek Philosophical texts, a discussion

with an Aristotelian philosopher at the caliphs court, a discussion with the

Caliph al Mahdi (775-85 AD) in fonn of a defense of Christianity.

During the 9"' century Job of Edessa mentions various works that he

had written on C:osmology. th~ : Soul Syllogiasms, the Senses, Medicine (on

urine) and the Faith: none i)l'tIiese. however. survive. The surviving works of

Anton of 'l'aprit probably during 9'' century are on the science of Rhetoric in

I. Dr Woll&ang t l a ~ c . Protuxx 0 1 Marhujf I:nivcrsity. Germany did a detailed study and brought somi' light on this subject l )r IFians Joachirn Kinkiest made research work between the scientific dcp~ir tn ic~~ls , the ln icr disc~pl~n;ir\ d i s c u s ~ o ~ ~ helween Church History and Sciences of Religion

live books who states that his aim in writing the important work was to refute

those who call Syriac language meagre, narrow, stunted and feeble and who

designate our- literature as poor and niggardly. Michael the Great (1 199 AD) is

the author of the most extisnsi~c n f all Syriac world Chronicles covered from

creation to his own day, Jacob Severus bar shako 1241 AD, in his 'Book of

Dialogues'arranged the subject:, such as grammar, rhetoric, poetry and metres ;

the second book deals with logic and syllogisms, philosophy which includes

definitions and divisions of philosophy, philosophical life and conduct, physics

and physiology, arithmetic. music, geometry, mathematics metaphysics and

theology

The 121h and the];"' centuries witnessed a great deal of activity of an

encyclopedic nature. covering ail areas of human knowledge, many of the

relevant texts ;till await proper publication and study. This applies to

Barhebraeu's largest and most important encyclopedic work on philosophy,

the Cream of Sciences. In the field of rhetoric the main works are by Anton of

Tagrit , Jacob Mar Shakko and Bar Hebraeus. The standard Greek grammar of

the late antiquity by Dionysius Thrax was translated into Syriac as early as the

6"' centur). Patronage that was enjoyed by the East Syrian Church caravans at

the instance of the11 rulers of thc regions resulted in the creation of indelible

land marks in it history ol'thc East Sprain Christianity in the Asian continent.

Nevertl-ieless it can be safely concluded that the East Syrian Church

missionaries acted as carriers of Greek scientific and philosophical

developments, even to the hooks and corners of the Asian continent. They

were successfill in providing advancement in various fields by integrating

Greek and indigenous developments. The Syriac literature may concern a

variety of different fields, il:trtural Sciences. Geography, Astronomy,

Mathematics, Medicine. t'hilosupl~t~. Rhetoric etc in addition to the popular

literature. It needs to be remembered that many works in these areas have been

lost.

The hieroglyphics and art forms

Christian inscriptions in Greek, Syriac and Arabic have also been found

at Harran and Zabad. The form and symbolism of the art and inscriptions

found in Korea show clcarly that the East Syrian Church was able to express

Christian truth in the art forms and imagery of central and East Asian cultures.

A central symbol of this incarnation of Jesus Christ was the eastern

cross standing in a lotus. ' I he cross is always empty and similar in shape to the

Maltese cross, although often embellished with precious stones and pearls at

the extremities. With the lotus beneath, the symbol therefore signifies the

historical events of the Gc)spel within the spiritual quest, and purity of Asian

religiosity.

Many ,versions of the lotus and the cross have been discovered,

sometimes also embellished wit11 plant-life, clouds, animals or angels. Their

locations vary from sanctllar! crosses in Sogdiana, and rock inscriptions in the

Pamir Mountains and I.adakh, Se~niryechensk tomb inscription and engraved

steles in central or south China. According to one tomb inscription at

Semiryechensk., during the Kitan ruler ship, Chowlson believes that by 1095

AD Christian teachings and practices influenced Turco-Tartar tribes who were

the Moal or hlongols. Later there were known as Moguls or Moghuls. In

Dunhuang and Turkistan, there are examples mentioning graphically to show

both how early Asian Christianity became rooted in local cultural context

influencing the natives and yet maintained distinctive Christian features. I

I . Therc IS a Silk painting of 1.e Bon I'asteur discovered by Stein in 1907. It depicts a Bodhisattva- like tigure with lwgc Persian crosses nut only in a winged coronet, but also in a necklace pendant and upon a libarum held in the lefi hand A large halo and aureole surrounds the head and the right hand has the thun~p and third fingerjomed as if symbolizing the three-in-one. From a ruined church al Khocho, Turfan. comes a wall painting discovered by Le Coq in 1905, which shows a priest or deacon wilt1 thurlble and vcssel of holy water facing two men and a woman who are carrying the willow-like branches used b) Syrian churches in place ofpalm fronds. This has been identified as a Palni Sunday scene, poshibly o f a Baptismal scrvicc. From the same church there is a wall painting o f a contemplat~ve figurr in long flowing robes. believed to be that of a young East Syrian Church worshipper, possibly a priest as:;ista~i~. T h ~ s painting of a young Uighur Turk differs markedly from Ruddh~st and Manichean art found nearby and dates from the 91h century.Amongst the number of artworks from Turkestan w h ~ h haic also been identified by some scholars as Christian is an embroider),, also from Khocho. of ;in i!ighurian princess and child from the 9Ih or 1 0 ' ~ centuries showing t ig~reh standing on lutus-shapcd cushions.

Art and Architecture

The early period of Mesopotamia brought no style of their own, when

they conquered Byzantine. Iranian. Visigothic and later Indian lands that had

long and ancient artistic traditions. In order to create a meaningful art to

identify the Persian or Mesopotamian art, they had to use and modify the

forms of the conquered territories. Hence the Persian art is a synthetic art that

has Graeco-Roman forms in one area, Iranian forms in another, Indian high

Byzantine forms in yet other areas. The ability to transform themes from

diverse origin and its other tendencies towards synthesis explain why the

Persian art so easily adoptyd influences from elsewhere. Byzantine, Sassanian

and Central Asian art contributed to Persian art during its first centuries. Later

Indian, Chinese and even hestcrn art became sources of inspiration for the

Persian artists. The Umayyad period (661-750 AD) was the formative one for

the Persian art. The centre was in Syria and Palestine where most of the

monuments from this time are Sbund.

Persian Art

The outstanding artistic sites are Persepolis and Susa. Rock reliefs

from the middle of thc first millennium are a political and religious

manifestation in a rnedii~n~ chal-acreristic for Persian Art throughout the ages.

Seleucids and iZrsacids I'eriodb (323.226 A D ) are dark ages of Persian art.

Following the conquesl ill' Alexander, a thorough Hellenization of Iran took

place. E\ en the few prcserved architectural remnants and pieces of sculpture

reveal thi\

The Sassanian period (226-636 AD) art represents the national reaction

against the Hellenistic afl lran Mas on the trade route for silks from China and

herself produczed fine fabric:;. We know them from preserved specimens often

found in church treasuries and from representations in rock reliefs. The silks

exercised great inlluenct: on othcr media such as metal, ceramics, stucco tiles

etc. The! were also appreciated outside the country such as Byzantium and

336

Egypt. The Far East people imitated them or used them as a source of

inspiration. Metal was another l':ivourite medium of the period. Silver was

especially popular. The art (11' the Sassanian period, like that of the

Achaemenid, is again one 01' !he court and therefore strictly official and

nonpersonal in character. The Sassanid art due to its heraldic style, influenced

wares imported from Mesopotamia and China.

The Great limayyad Mosque (705 AD) in Damascus and the Dome of

the Rock (691 AD) in Jerusalem are the two major Umayyad religious

buildings. In construction. the use of the arches on columns piers and domes

and in decoration. (mosaics:~, they follow the early Christian civilization. The

period from 750 At) to the rniddle of 1 I"' century AD saw the formation of

new Islamic metropolitan ant1 cultural centres such as Baghadad (founded in

762 AD) and Cairo (96(1 AD), l he Persians used brick or stone pillars or

columns long navcs or squarc I ~ y s and flat roofs in their architecture of

religious buildings.

In the Seljuk period from the middle 11' century to the middle 1 3 ' ~

century, the Persian ideas inlluenced the whole of the Middle East. It was

during this period that Persia largi.1: took over the cultural leadership of the

Middle East. Architecture of the Seljuk period introduced two major

developments. One was the adoption of brick architecture, which soon became

very elaborate and spread through the Seljek Empire.

l 'he second architectural novcity of the Seljuk period is the appearance

and rapid expansion of mausoleums, often attached to pious foundations such

as mosques. hospitals, and schools. The art of the post Mongol Persia was

miniature painting. The origins of Persian miniature painting are to be found

in China and in (:entral Asia. There are four major moods in Persian

miniatures-heroic, lyrical. identifiable personalities and portraits of courtly

personages. Every where in the continent, especially the centres of trade

along the Silk Road and political ccntres of the Mongol Empire, Christians

337

had to live in the immediate neighbourhood with the Zoroastrians, Buddhists,

Manichaceans, Muslims. ('onfusionists and Taosists in China and its Central

Asian ~icinity. All the religions took some of the ideas and views of

Christianit)

The Influence upon Shamanistic Society

The people:; of Central Asia were not able to overcome spiritually the

permanent threatening of' the human life by the crowds of evil spirits and

demons in this Shamanist context. 'The East Syrian Christianity capitalized in

this and impressed upon the Shamanistic people the importance of eternal life

and the necessity of maintaining Christian discipline in worldly life.

The question of true faith, the difference between orthodoxy and

paganism was of no importance for the Mongol believer. Such a difference

disappeared behind this general awe towards the expressions and meanings of

all the religion. This toleranct: was self-evident to each Christian believer

who was acquainted with i t from his own non-Christian past, and as a basic

idea this tolerance dominareti the world the Christians had to live in.

The Central Asian (1liristian communities. even in their heyday, were

no more than tin), islands in a mainly Shamanist environment which they

remained in contact with i n every day life. Moreover, one wonders, if in those

remote areas the East Syriari Church of the missionary enterprise was at all

able to obtain more than an outward success by only baptizing the native

people, and i t ' the Church was able to christianize the people in a deeper sense,

achieving a slrict elimination c~l.all non-Christian machinations.

This spirit of tolerance had influenced the daily life in the Christian

Communities. The mrious i.i.~,nts of every day life can be summarized in the

general impression that all the regulations of the ancient synods to shelter the

Church from all non-Christian influences from its surroundings remained

inefficient in the mediaeval Central Asia. The Christian faith could satisfy the

piety concerning life beyond human death, and Shamanism by means of its

superficial practices was able to ensure the well-being in the permanently

endangered earthly life.

Buddhist use of the Cross

Hans-Joachim Klirnkeit describes the syncretic use of the symbol of

the cross on the portraits the of Buddha in a west Tibetan monastery in the

eleventh or twelfth centur) . ' In the Buddhist use of the cross he supposes the

influence of the Manichaeans, because the Buddhists could more easily accept

original Christian ideas, it' they were presented in the format of a dualistic

docetistic Christology, represented in the religious world of central Asia by the

influential community of the Manicheans. The sign of the cross was deeply

venerated by the Central Asian Christian at the central of their piety according

to the finding of the many excavated cross-shaped amulets They took over the

portrait of an East Syrian Saint , interpreting him as Bodhisattva , and' actually

placed some text of Christian Chinese literature in their famous library in the

'Caves of the thousand Buddha's' along with other writings of non - Buddhist

origin

f h c Symbol of the cross in Buddhist paintings had been influenced

directly by the Manicheans. 'This was the indirect contribution of the Central

Asian Christians to the syncretic phenomenon.. There were Buddhists monks

who settled in a deserted Christian monastery near Khanbaliq (Peking),and at

Tunhwand in Western China 2 .

1. Hans- Joachim Klimkcit publislird his views regarding The 'Relations o f Christology with Buddhology in Centrai Asia art.

: 13.1 Klimklcl. Ilas Krcuicwssyrnhol in der zentraiasiatischen Religions begegnung zum Vcrhaeltnis vun Chr~htologie and 13uddhologic in der zentralasiantischen Kunt in Zeitschrifi Suci Religions und Geistcsgt:schicrrc. vo1 3 1 Kaeln, 1979, 90-1 15.

2. I-lag~.Christianlty,44 quoted from O.Hansen,Die Christiliiche Literature Der Sogdier ,Vol.4,2 91-99AVGabain. Zentralasiatische Turkischr Literaturen I , Vol ( 5 , l ) 21 7 222-227

Apart from the vicissitudes of growth, decline or survival, the East

Syrian Church had often been silicessful in transmitting to various regions,

cultural heritages, philosophical insight, knowledge of science, medicine, art

and architecture, and above all the Christian vision. The East Syrian Church

contributed a blend of cultural and religious openness with a clear Christian

identity, the integration of worship and secular life and spirituality with

education and medicine. agriculture and administration their mutually

beneficial co-existence with the neighbours of other faiths, their survival

despite oppressions and persecutions.

Chapter I1

Apostle Thomas, who landed at Kodungalloor in Malabar, was

instrumental in founding :he c:hurch in India, which is called the Church of St.

Thomas in India or Thomas Christians of India. Tradition holds that as the

other Apostles did in the churches they founded, so did St. Thomas to succeed

him in the Christian communities he had evangelized. If the leaders appointed

by the Apostle: were his successors, then naturally a local tradition of the

Episcopal succession might have emerged and continued within the Indian

Church as this had been the situation in other churches. Indian Church

historians like, Dr. T.I. Varghese are of the opinion that St.Thomas naturally

would have set up in it a life and ministry similar to those set up by the

contemporary apostles and their Christian communities'.

Semitic influence upon lndia

Ilue to India's co~i~mercial and cultural contacts with the Semitic

people. the socio-cultural life of India in general had developed, under

various influences from outside. Successive waves of people such as the

Greeks. the Bacteria's, the Scythin Sakas and Parthians, the Kushans, the

Huns entered the country tiom the north-west2 India always had

commercial arid cultural contacts with the Persians, the various other religious

and business peoples. The religious communities Greeks, the Romans, the

Chinese, the Arabs and such as Hindu, Christian At the nascent stage it had

traits of this c:osmopolitarr culture. a mixture of Dravidian, Buddhist, Jainist,

Jewish. Persian and Hindu influences.

Islamic coexisted, mutually borrowed custom and symbol, yet retained their

identity in creed and way of'lile.

The Influence of Mesopotamia upon Malabar Christians

The influence ot Mesopotamia on the religious thought of India,

Dravidian and ,4ryan makes an interesting study. It has been established that

the ancient civilizations of' Ecgypt. Sumer (Mesopotamia) and Indus Valley,

which flourished in the third millennium B.C., had close contacts with each

other. There was a marked similarity between the religious practices of the

Egyptians, Mesopotamians and the Indians, since the 2nd century AD.

Gilbert Slater, afier examining various evidences, concludes that

Dravidian civilization resembles that of Egypt and Mesopotamia.' The early

Persians or Iranians who wer.: supposed to be of Aryan origin and kinsmen of

the Aryans came and settled down in India. Afterwards Persia had influence

upon India and so it deserves our special a t ten t i~n .~ Persian travellers visited

far off nations to study other people's ways of life, their philosophies and

sciences. They brought back books. and scholarly works in Greek, Syriac,

Zend . Latin and Sanskrit which were later translated into Arabic.

Indian 'scholars arc said to have gone to Baghdad taking with them

books on Mathematics and .Astrology. The results were amazing. A new

culture was developed \ \ ~ t h the ~mprint of Persian identity, sometimes called

the Persian culture. that ilourished for five centuries. The whole life style,

dress and customs in lndid were affected by Persian influence. Culture and

religion are inter-related and to some extent religion is part of the culture of a

people Baghadad became a great centre of learning by the 8' century.

-. .. - .- I . Gillbert, lhavidian , 8

2 . Among the people who bei:ame Christians were probably the Jewish settlers followers of Dravidians , Jainism and Buddhism . There was the possibility of a few Aryan settlers among the early Christians ,since the first batches of Aryans. Brahmins who had settled down in Tamilakam could have arrived before the beginning of the Christian Era .

: PadmanabhaMenon . I l is lory , 504.520

While Baghdad flourished as a centre of intellectual activity, there was

another renowned school of Christian theological studies at Nisibis (Edessa) , considered to be the first Theolc~gical University in Christendom . The eminent

teachers of this school translated the works of Aristotle and other Greek

philosophers into Syriac and applied them in exegetical and theological

investigations. It is said that students from the church in India also attended

this school I

The use of the language Sy riac in lndia

During the first centuries of the Christian era, South India had

commercial relation with Mesopotamia and other countries of the Middle East

where Ararnaic was spoken. Aramaic was the 'Lingua Franca '.' The language

is not a mere vehicle of abstract ideas. It is really the authentic expression of a

way of life. the living manifestation of culture3. Most probably the Aramaic,

the most popular comn~ercial language of the East, would have been the

language of the apostle. St. rhomas who communicated the Gospel to India. In

a cross-cultural s~tuation 11ke Ind~a, the use of the native language is very

important for effective communication of the gospel. Still the St.Thomas

Christians in India used thc E;ast Syriac, which they considered an inestimable

treasure and a hieratic language. The Christians in India were passionately

attached to this language. which was intimately connected with their faith.

1. Sharma , Hislory ,15R : Mooherjee.. Asoka ,246 : Mookerjee, Studies ,47 : Srinivas ,TamilS/udir.r. 128 : Muhammad Kunju ,Muslims ,208 : Chopra , Religions ,191 : Sayed Mahidin , Semi~ii . 3 2 : Jawaharlal , Discovery, 231 : Majumdar History , 395

2. I t was the official language ~f the I'crs~an emplre and was used in international commerce and communication in the Iiasr. until the middle ofthe seventh century AD

: The Aramaic edicts of Asoka i n North-Western lndia bear witness to the importance of the lairguage and the prese:lce of .\rdmaic speaking people in the region, even before the time of

Christ.

3 . Wiirn thr Jewish bclt~..rrr< lnct logctlier they must have used the Aramaic or Syriac language. In a ~nlxcd Jcwlsh congregation, natlii. believers must have used Aramaic. Singing of Psalms and reading passages from the Bible were I I I Hebrew Aramaic (Syriac).

T h e Eas t Syrian Church relationship with t h e Indian Church

According to the Malabar tradition, St. Thomas consecrated a certain

Kepa as his successor and bishop. The same tradition holds that he ordained

priests and deacons from several families and thus organized the church of

Malabar before he left for Mylapore . To carry out the ministry of the church

there were offices of metropolitan. bishop, archdeacon, corepiscopos, priests

and deacons. Some kind of relation between the Christians of India and the

East Syrian Church existed fronl very early centuries in the Church of St.

Thomas Christians in lndia. which is alleged to have suffered, in course of

time, a decline'. The common ,l'lromistic heritage of which Malabar Church

enjoyed along with churches such as Edessa, Seleucia-Ctesiphon brought them

into closer relations2,

From time to time, the Catholicos would consecrate and send prelates

to India. According to the eyewitness of Cosmos (520-525 AD), the Persian

Church was hierarchically conriected to the Indian Church. A clear and a

precise picture of the relations between the two churches can be gathered from

the lettersi of the Patriarchs Mar Lshoyahb - 111 (647- 650 AD ) and Mar

~ ~

1. Ihe stones 01 Bishop I)cii,~ll oS li.i>;na and Bishop John arc perhaps pointers to that relation.

2 . I lie Apostlc i'homas uus ti~cir coinnnc,n !:ather and for tllis reason there was solidarity and mutual esteem among them Their common .ipostoiiu identity paved the way for Inore intimate fellowship. l l ~ e E+st Syrian Ciiurcll conneztaon of the Thomas Christians led to the reconstitution and rsmvigoratio~ls of the latter

: Among these church. dle Church 01' Seieucia-Ctesiphon merged as the organizational centre, mainly uwing to the pdilical iinporrancc olthls place as the capital of the Persian Empire. t3istorrans, like Mingana, say thai Thomas Christians in India got some how integrated with East Syrian Church from the 3'' century. which continued upto, the arrival ofthe western missionaries in India in the 16" century

3. The letter uflohoyahb indicates that then were a number of Christians in India. Though they were directly dependent on ihe metropalitan of Rewardashir, they had to acknowledge ultimately the suprtmacy of Ule patriarch according to church regulations.ln his letter Mar Timothy mentions the possibility of inter-marriages kt\been Christians of lndia and Persia. He says that in the election of h: metropolitans the Christians of lndia were primarily to abide by the advice of the palrimh and not therr king. Onl) aRer tbc patriarch had approved the election the matter could be referred lo h King. Mar Timothy also refers to some canonical abuses that had crept into the Christian community of India. cspeciall) in Uie matter of ordination of melropolitam, bishops, priests and deacons

Timothy -l(780 -823 AD). These letters bear testimony to the fact that the

Christians of India were juridicall? subject to the East Syrian church.

rradition is unanimous in asserting that the prelates of Thomas

Christians came fi-om the i k t Syrian Church for many centuries before the

arrival ot'the Portuguese in lndiu. Delegations were also used to be sent from

India asking for bishops Such a Jtlegation was sent in 1490 in which Joseph

the Indian was a member'. From the writings of the sixteenth century,

especially from the canons of the Synod of Diamper, we understand that the

East Syrian Church prelates who reached India brought with them many East

Syrian Church law-codes'. These prelates visited India as a part of East Syrian

missions to propagate the Christian message.

T h e Eas t Syrian C h u r c h Prelates in M a l a b a r C h u r c h

According to the Joint Commission Report of the Malankara Orthodox

Church (Malabar) and the Rornan Catholic Church in India, although

Christians in Kerala had been under the ecclesiastical leadership of the priests

ordained by Apostle l'homas. for apostolic succession they occasionally had

to depend upon the Churches elsewhere. Whenever their own bishop died

before being able to consecrate successors, they applied to the Catholicos of

Persia to send them a bishop. Niranam Chronicles gives a list of the East

Syrian metropolitans and Patriarchs who came to Malabar (875-1751AD) 3.

Thus there developed a long relation between the Malankara Church and the

East Syrian Church, both founded by St. Thomas. The Christians not only

received the foreign bishops with great enthusiasm but were always very

much attached to then) and sho\\,ed them great respect. All the 16th century

I. -2ccorrllng in the lcucr iltc (bur 1:ast-Syrian bishops Mote in 1504, the first thing the two bishops d ~ d when they came lo Millabar whiclr liad been without bishops for a long period was to consecrate altars ;md ordain priests for they liad been wilhout Fathers for a long time.

3 Kurien. h\;lranam (;n,ndirau,,zrr, 0 1 02. 01.03. (16-62) : Ibid, Ch.3 (Footnote 3). 198

documents, and t h ~ s attachment and the Portuguese attest this to considered

respect of the Chr~stians for thelr prelates an obstacle to their plans of

latinization.

The impact of this hierarchical relationship upon the Malabar Church

The Thomas Chr~stians through their hierarchical relationship with the

East Syrian Church maintained the ecclesiastical communication with the

other Churches. The hierarchical relation and ecclesial afinity with the East

Syrian Church did not hinder the identity and administrative autonomy of the

church in India. Occasionally. the bishop sent out by the East Syrian Church

Patriarch headed this church and the chief ecclesiastical head of the Malabar

church was called the Mefvopolifun and !he Gate of Jndid. Some times these

prelates were also called Merropoliru Jndianum.

Communion of East Syrian and Indian Churches

The See of St. Thomas Christians was known for generations as the

Metropolitan see of All India, and the metropolitans were referred to by the

same qualifying title. 'She openness of the Thomas Christians to the East

Syrian C'hurch and other Churches was the result of their awareness of the

concept of the communion of Churches. Such a regional grouping or alliance

of the Churches was a common phenomenon among the early Churches.

Though they were not used to any centralized administrative structure of the

monarchical pattern at the universal level in the Church, the special

1. Gatc in the Orzcnt stands for the 'sublilnr power'

: The (jaw of All India' (Me~ropolita' utharaa' d'kolla'hendo) in the tenth century, accwding to the Trrdtix ofthe Law of Chr~stians of thin Attib, seems to be that the metropolitan was elected by Ihc people in the presence of llle sufliangsn bishops. He was expected to get the approbation from the i'atriarch.

: According to tile Syriac C ' d e x 22 ibrlttrn in Cranganare, Kerala, in 1301, by s deacon called kacharias, thc Metropolalari o i thc period was Mar Jacob, 'Bishop Metropolitan, Prelate and Ruler of the Holy Sre of the Apostle Tllumils, namely our Ruler of the entire Holy Church of the Christ~ans of India'.

: In 1567 the 1:ast Syrlal? I'atriarcll Ahdiso uses the title Superior of all the Bishops and Metropolitans iur the Prelate Mar Ahial~imr of the Thomas Chrialians.

: Clier~an, Malonkora Chi~rch, ('om!,;isron. 204)

346

relationship between the Malabar Church and East Syrian Church, which was

also associated with the sarne St. Thomas tradition, must have led them to

form part of a conlmon ecclesiastical set up while maintaining their own

ecclesial identitry and adm~nistrativc autonomy.

The fullness of Christian tradition is achieved only when the different

traditions of the apostolic Churches are brought into full communion. The

early traditions enshrined in the different Churches reveal the multi-

dimensional aspects. They are mutually complementary. The different

traditions in their authentic forms reveal the richness of the divine truth

manifested differently by different communities but united in the same faith'.

The Prelates: the Source o f Spiritual Strength for the Community

The common liturgical heritage that was the celebration of their

common faith was the most intinr;~te bond of ecclesial communion. Following

the pattern of life of the saints and sages of eastern and Indian tradition the

East Syrian Indian Bishops preferred to live as spiritual men spending their life

in prayer, study, fasting and other ascetic practices. Liturgical celebrations

were solemri occasions of the public manifestation of the faith of the

community. The bishops presided on such solemn occasions

[ 'he hierarchical dignitaries such as Metropolitans and Bishops were

instrumental in the spirirual growth of the community. The important functions

of the Metropohtans included thc consecration of altars and the ordination of

priests. The: bishops \\Ere spiritual men who were mostly monks content with

their spiritual leadership ie. liturgical celebrations, conferring of sacramental

orders. hierarchical colnrnuniot~. teaching of sacred scripture and the teachings

1 . ('onsequeiiti) the Cliurchcs have t l x obligation to maintain their awn traditions in their totality. If they give up their genuine lrilditiuns the llniversal Church becomes impoverished. Traditions cannot be presaved i f the) are 1101 properly understood, appreciated and faithfully lived. A living cornmunit? alone can give an adequate expression to an authentic tradition.

and interpretation of the Fathers etc. They were following an austere

asceticism, which was an inspiration to others especially in the Indian context.

Their abstention from administration helped them to keep up their spiritual

leadership. They are natural judges of all civil and ecclesiastical disputes

within their diocese. The pagan princes and judges have no concern with

them, excepting only in crirtiinal cases.

'Though it is not quite sure to what extent the bishop was involved in

the temporal administration of the community which included such things as

the maintenance of and guarding against foreseen threats to the privileges and

rights which the community enjoyed under the local kings, the bishops of the

St. Thomas Christians were not involved in the administration of the Church.

Autonotny to Malabar Church

As in the secular life, so too in the ecclesiastical, the Christians of St

Thomas had a sort of individuality and autonomy1. Though the Church of India

had been counted as one of the provinces of the East Syrian Church, as far as

the Indian Church was concerned, the East Syrian Church Patriarch was only a

figurehead. t'i~nctioning as ;I coi-lvetilent intermediary in her communion with

the Indian Church. The bishop always being a foreigner and stranger to the

local custolns and language; the archdeacon enjoyed supreme powers in

ecclesiastical and civil matters of the Christian community. The competence

of the East Syrian Church metropolitans and bishops was practically limited to

the exercise of the powers of the Episcopal order and to a general vigilance in

matters canonical and liturgics!. The Indian Church had all fundamental

features of an individual church and also succeeded in maintaining this identity

and unity t i l l the 16"' century. 'The hierarchical relationship with the East

Syrian Church never hindered the functioning of the autonomous nature of the

I . It was l'imothy who made h e Indian cturch Sully independent from Fars (South Persia) by giving it a rnetropolilan of ils own The rnetiopoliran of India held the tenth place and came before that of China in the list of Episo,pal sees.

lnd~an ('hul-ch The local adrnln~strat~on of the Church was carried out by a

powerful figure called Archdeacon

Cont r ibu t ion to t h e admin is t ra t ion of t h e M a l a b a r C h u r c h

I'he central admin~strat~on of the Malabar Church was effectively

organ~zed under the direction of the princely Archdeacon of All-India,

popularly known as '.Juthikku Karthavyan'in Malabar Church, who is

responsible for and head ofthe caste (Malabar Christian community) ' He was always 21 native and represented the Christians for their socio-

political purposes. It is reported that the archdeacon was even more powerful

than the East Syrian Church ~netropolitans. He was the president of the 'Pothu

Yogun1 (General Body) of the Christians and was the executor o f the

decisions. The ecclesiastical organization under the leadership of

'Jahikkukartuv;yan' gave the Christian's unity and growth as well as political

force. They formed a kind of Christian Republic.

Whatever may have been the central administrative power enjoyed by

the archdeacon. the office prevented the Malabar Christian Community f'rom

introducing an effective local Episcopal ministry. From among themselves,

their bishops who were foreigners were eclipsed by or were under the shadow

of the Archdeacons. Such was the canonical set up that had developed the

autonomous state and oneness No foreign heresy or religious controversy had

any impact on them. and they wcre quite content with their Archdeacons in

preference to the bishops from among themselves. He was given the first place

1. In the Synod held l o 410 h e East Syrian Church seems to have made a legislation determining that every bishop must have an archdeacon, who is eloquent, learned, solicitous about the poor and stmngers and one who knows how lo arrange things for the ecclesiastical ministry. The Synod qualifies the archdeacon as the lhaod, tongue, and glory of the bishop, a torch before the bishop and the whole Church. The archdeacon has the complete care of the clerics.

: Historical document show that, atleas! from around 800, Archdiaconate existed among the Thomas Christians. Patrairch 'Timo!hy (780-823) wrote to the Archdeacon, the Head of the faithful in India about the righl norin u, br followed in the ordination of the priests, bishops. Archdeacon was known in Kerala u 'Jalhikku karthavyan'. In the course of centuries, this archdeaconate emerged ~nto a royally privileged position

: A Padiyoiii in the passession a t Puthanikatt faniily styles the archceadon as Jarhikkku Korrhavyan'

known generally as 'raja', owing allegiance to the king of Cochin. Though the

archdeaconate headed the central administration of the Malabar Church, the

priests and their parish asse~nblies discharged the functioning of the local

churches'.

It appears that in the Malahar Church during the pre-Portuguese period

the bishops did not interfere in the administration of the church2. To maintain

an over all supervision and centralized control over the Church, while in the

presence, and longer absence of the East Syrian Bishops, the Archdeacon

functioned in the Church. Thus we find that the post of the Archdeacon was

created in the Malabar Church by the East Syrian Church prelates in

conformity with East Syrian Church system of administration as per the

decision of the 410 AD Synod of the East Syrian Church.

This system tiad two advantages; that the prelates gained active

confidence of the native (:hristians for the reason that they kept themselves

from the temporalities of the Malabar Church; and that the East Syrian Church

prelates were able to confirm themselves to the spirit of ascetic devotion and

the source of spiritual nurture without being disturbed by the internal disputes

of the temporal mattel-s.

The unique ecclesiastical set up of the pre-sixteenth century Church in

India did succeed to maintain their early Christian tradition. But with the

arrival of the Portuguese and the western missionaries, an entirely different

type of bishops and clergy was introduced.

I . I ihis was l o tune w1111 thc i-eligiou.; and soc~al custoins of the country as this can be found in the ;~dministrut,un of local temples xnd >Is properties, which most probably was an heritage o f the C'hristcans o i M a l a b ~ r fioni the lluddhist temples and its assemblies.

2. 1 lie assemlrly of ilie ~ i i i r f sh io~~c r~ ~o~lsislilia <)I' adult males and local oriests carried on the J . n o i I . . 1, \ ;u rlt ;r>r.~nhl! ..ulkcA aitzr tnc tcmporallr6cs o i thz ihur;h 11 , . l o .e; JC I case, : % . 0 1 . . ,..I I s ~ t i J I I I I ~ I C I C . ~ pLnlanmenL? .cncludiog excommunical~on I lhe cxcommun;cdted wcrc e~c iudc~ l ljor11 tllr cllurch assemblv and sacraments. To decide on matters .I locll .~ t t<rcw\ rclu;.wtlt.\i. .,I -.tr.rdl par,rhcs LSCJ 1%) a,rzmblt togcthzr. r r h ~ l c the ;rrrembl) , I ihc rcpr:,cruath~. 8 1 2 .1 a l ~ r . I . c . > 1 . d LP 11111ig> 8)igzrbcral . n r aae r

: l'allipurathukunnel, /.!I? and Mir>c\/rv. quoted in ~oodapuzha , Commission, 267

The Doctrinal influence of East Syrian Church upon the Malabar Church.

Since the Thomas Christ~an church's identity had been with the East

Syrian Church, undoubtedly they professed all doctrinal positions of that

church. The questions whether they understood them all, being they were in

the Syr~an form and language and due to the lack of theological insight or

whether they were Orthodox or heretics, do not arise at all here.

The doctrinal position, especially Christological, maintained in the

Malabar Church was definitely Antiochene position that came to be

characterized as Nestorianisrn later on, a theological tradition developed in the

Antiochene areas from about the closing decades of the 4'h century. The men

who worked out that tradition in the East were pre-eminently Diodore of

Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia. These luminaries along with Nestorians

were highly honoured and included in the list of saints by the East Syrain

Church and the Church of' Malabar .If the Malabar Church's doctrinal position

was East Syrian obviously the prayer 'Hail Mary' addressed to the Mother of

our Lord was in use in the worship of the Church in Kerala, but the concluding

petition. '0 Mother of God' had in its place '0 Mother of Christ'.

I'hen: were books ~vhicli contained Nestorian formulas and expressions

which \\ere in use amc>tig the i'homas Christians. They were of very subtle

nature. There &ere certain superstitious practices and errors, which had crept

in among the doctrinal practices. But in spite of all these they professed the

orthodox faith.

Zntroductiort of East Syrian Church liturgy in the Malabar Church

Since all the doctrinal tenets of Christianity are being exposed

throughout the liturgy. the lit~~rgical traditions found within the Malabar

Church. contained all thc doctl-inal tenets, which it had followed, and that the

doctrina! position found within tlic liturgical tradition of the Kerala Church

was ilndoubredl? Easc Syrian. l'i:i.~-e is no evidence to show that the lndian

Christians developed a liturgy of their own on the basis of primitive liturgy

performed by St. Thomas himself:

According to somt: the Pre-Diamper manuscripts, the decrees and acts

of Diamper and the Pofluguese accounts and the life and customs of the Indian

Christians show that they were the adopted practices of the East Syrian Church

for their worship in liturgy. Moreover, there is also no evidence to show that a

liturgy other than that of the East Syrian Church had circulated in the Kerala

Church. The Synod of Scleucia in 420 AD had decreed that all Churches under

Seleucia should follow !he rites of that Church. In the above circumstances

we can safely conclude that the East Syrian prelates who reinforced the

liturgical practices of the Malahar Church carried this decree of the Synod of

Seleucia to India. Thus the liturgical rites took their final definite shape only

by the 5" or 6th century There is no shade of evidence to show that in

Malabar there ever exisled ; I dcli~iitely shaped rite other than the East Syrian

one.

According to Vatican Syriac Codex 22, due to the cultural, commercial

and colonial relations Malabar was having with Middle East the development

of the East Syrian rite \\.as known in Malabar from the very beginning. The

Malabarians gave to the East Syrian rite a local colour. They passionately

loved it. connecting it, in some way. with St. Thomas. In fact, it was the only

rite to develop in the regan out slde the eastern 'Limes Romances'. Local rites

k n o ~ n often a i the l n d ~ ~ n customi and traditions of the Thomas Christians

prevailed on such occasic-)ns as birth, marriage and death. The rites of Baptism,

Eucharist anti ordination were more in conformity with the East Syrian Church

liturgy.

Hut to the external of all items of this liturgy were added many things

adopted form the local non-Christians. Thus the architecture of the churches,

instrumental music and Church paraphernalia were all adopted from the local

community. The socio-religious ceremonies of the local non -Christians,

which were performed from birth to death, and after death were Christianized.

They were given Chr~stian significance. Liturgy played a great role in

transforming rhe pagan society into a Christian one. The living Syriac liturgy

fostered a flourishing community, developed in a foreign cultural milieu,

clothed in an alien language and symbolism

Influence of sacraments, rites, feasts a n d fasting

Sacraments are the most intimate encounters of man with God. They

play the most vital role in rhe growth and development of Christian

community. Hence the sacramental system of the Malabar Church has been

justly proud of her orthodoxy and spiritual vitality down the centuries. The

rites and sacraments of the entire Malabar Church before the 16' century were

almost the same as those of the East Syrian church'. Though the sacraments

and liturgical ceremonies were in use in the Malabar Church from the very

early times their codification into separate liturgical rites was begun only

towards the end of the 5'' or 6'h century.

Mar Aba Catholrcos seems to have brought some order into the

ordination ceremony. Mar Ishoyahb Patriarch methodized and systematized

the rituals of baptism, confession, ordination and some sacraments such as the

consecration of the Church. Confirmation is found included in the baptismal

ceremony. It was owing to this dependence that the East Syrian liturgical

ceremonies :such as the sacraments and other sacred functions came to be

accepted anti performed by the Malabar Church. But before the Malabar

Church adopted all the rituals. they had been modified and adapted to the

social customs and ceremonial observances of the times.

Sacraments in the East Syrian Church

According to the canonist c~f'the East Syrian Church Mar Abdisho (1318

AD), there are seven sacr;rments, I'hey are Priesthood, Baptism, Oil of unction,

I . Ihr Vatican Synan Codes 2: bears ample testimony lo the fact that M a l a b Church had in use the liturgical riles and Syriac language of lhc Earl Syrian Church before 1400AD.

Qurbana, Absolution, Holy I-caven, Sign of the life giving cross. Marriage

and Extreme Urrction are the two sacraments, which the East Syrian Church

does not count. Instead they count Holy Leaven and the sign of the cross.

Baptism and Confirrnatiotr

The sacrament of conlirmation was given in the ancient church of

Malabar along with baptism. The sacrament of baptism performed in the

Malabar Church was different from that of the Portuguese in 1523 AD. The

names given at baptism were scriptural. This practice is still continued in the

Malabar Christian Commul~it). Here as in the other Eastern Churches, priests

used to anoinl the infant during baptism. Baptism and confirmation were

administered together. Children were generally baptized on or after the 4oCh

day after birth according to the East-Syrian Church formula. Near the

sanctuary was the baptismal font. I t was usually made of huge granite stone

and often exquisitely carved ~ ~ t h Indian and Persian artistic genius. The

baptismal font of J:dappilly IS an excellent example. I

Celebration of Holy Eucharist

Even the most anti Syrian zealots have admitted that the StThomas

Christians have !he greatest devotion for the Holy Eucharist. Liturgy of the

Mass or Kurbana as it was and is called by them was celebrated with great

solemnity. The) receivzd lloly C:ommunion with the greatest devotion and

reverence. For the celebration 01' Holy Qurbana, there might have been in use

all the three anaphoras of'thr East Syrian C h u r ~ h . ~

Sacrament of Penance

According to the report of Joseph the Indian, the Thomas Christians

practised the sacrament of penance. Nevertheless, they did not have a

developed system of private (auricular) confession like the Portuguese

Christians. Public sinners were subject to penalty which was remitted by the

1 . *ndrev,s. Juridical Sources. 49

2. llaby Varghcse, Svri(i,i Iiiurm. 2115 ? 18. Tire Harp XV, 2002

assembly ( yogam) ot'the parishioners headed by priests. Auricular confession

before a p e s t was not in practice in the Malabar Church. In the Eastern

Church, though they provided far it, the custom of making confession before

receiving of communion every time, was not in vogue'. It may be that this

eastern practice was being followed in the Church of Malabar.

Anointing the sick No pre- sixteenth century document is available to show the existence

of the sacrament of anointing the sick in Malabar, as in the West. But priests

used to bless the sick, to read the Gospel over them and to place upon their

bodies pieces of palm leaf or paper on which were written verses from the

Bible. Earth taken from the tomb of St. Thomas at Mylapore was mixed with

water and was given to the sick to drink

Death and Buriul

The East Syriari rttual was followed for the burial of the dead.

Documents are not clear about the funeral services of the Thomas Christians.

Only Mar Jacob's time: the 161h century, saw the beginning of common

cemeteries in the churchyards. Previously, it is asserted that they used to bury

their dead in their own premises. We may suppose that the priests, who could

attend the burial, made use of the East Syrian ritual.

Educational and formation of'rhe Holy priesthood

It is recorded in the 'Doctrine ofthe Apostles' written in Edessa (250

AD) tha~ India and all its parts and those around, had received priesthood from

Juda ~ h o m a s ' . Regarding the education and formation of the clergy Thomas

Christians fidlowed the discipline of the East Syrian church. But they had a

method and system of education peculiar to themselves. Their method of

education was carried out at the residence of the senior priest known as

'Mulpuns ' Besides these Matpanates there were also certain educational

1. \ Syriac Manuscripts wrillcn in 1594 contaming some portions af the above work which was in possession of Paremmukkal Mathai Kathanar

centres where a, selected few were trained . The priests in Malabar were

generally married. In this matter they followed the discipline of the East Syrian

Church. Joseph the Indian reports that the priests of Malabar lived in chastity.

Here he might have meant corijugal chastity. The priests kept conjugal

chastity, that is after the death of the first wife they did not marry another.

Rite for Marriage

The marriage ceretlrionies of the Thomas Christians were indicative of

their identity. For marriage they displayed their privileges and noble status

more than on any other occasion. Some of the marriage customs are preserved

even today.

Lent and Fasting

According to pre- Diamper manuscripts still extant and the Portuguese

accounts, the Thomas Christians practises quite a number of fasting. They

were 24 days before Christmas, 3 days a fortnight and more before the Great

Lent, 49 days before the Easter, 39 days before Pentecost, 14 days before the

feast of assumption of St. Mary. ! 2 Fridays after Christmas and three days of

Jonah's lent.

The Holy week was observed with a special care and veneration

keeping vigils in churches and by giving alms and by long prayers. The days

of the fasting were computed from sunset to sunset. The Thomas Christians

had accepted fasting as the most important form of their life penance and their

fasting was centered on the liturgq.

The Feasts

The feasts of the Thomas Christians of Malabar observed among them

before tht. 16"' century was purely East Syrian because it was then that they

were having feasts of thvir omn. unadulterated by the western influence

especially by the Synod of ilialiiper of 1599. Although the pre-seventeenth

century feasts then~selves were partly influenced by the Chaldean rule, these

had already been adapted. modeled and updated to the local needs and

356

traditions. so much so that one could say that the Thomas Christians were then

observing their own feasts. They had almost all the Christian feasts like

Epiphany. Easter. Good Friday, Ascension, and Pentecost etc. The feast of St.

Thomas was celebrated with great veneration. Besides the common feasts,

there had feasts of Quaddissagal (saints), that of Mar Sapor and Mar Prot on

May 9 and in their names the Thomas Christians had many Churches.

There is a mixture of Aryan elements, Jewish Babylonian community

traces and East Syrian Christian liturgical customs and traditions. The

spontaneous adaptation i r t the past of the Thomas Christian community in

India to its cultural environment is evident in its ecclesio-socio-political life.

The injluence of Church Inscriptions and Granite Crosses :

'1-he epigraphic sources consisting of lithic inscriptions as well as

Copper Plates, spread over a period of five centuries from the 51h century to

141h century AD would be treated as historical evidences showing the extent

of royal patronage enjoyed by the Syrian Christians in Malabar through the

East Syrian missionary enterprises There are some Church Inscriptions in East

Syriac script. which contain many golden verses for meditations. The carving

on the main door of the Mulanthuruthy Marthoman Church is significant

examples of creative art. The doorframe is made on black rock on which is

etched Chaldea script. Writings are also found on slabs embedded on the floor

of the .Sc~nctum Sanctoriml on the walls of thechurch and parish halls. The

scripts are written in syriacl. According to Travancore Archological Series,

the granite inscription at h4ulanthuruthy Marthoman Church is indicative of

the East Syrian Churcll influence in Malabar Area (Kerala) m he Thomas

Christian had great devotion towards the cross3. As already mentioned,

1. l'he door ofthe Manhornan church \\.its crected on 9' Thulam 1575 AD. . George, Ancient Script ond Writing.,.

2 I ravacore A~.cheologrcai Series. Vl. 2 176- 181

3. I heir i:hurchrs were dbstinguished t roo~ the Hindu telnples by the Cross at the top of the building acid hy the Cruss at the altar. A hi8 granite Cross was also erected in h n t of the church

crosses erected in front of and inside the Thomas Christian churches are

monuments of historical and cultural interest. The Persian Crosses (St.Thomas

Crosses) with some Palhavi i:l\criptions found at Mylapure Kottayam,

Kadamattom and Alangatl are i~~dicative of the cult of the Cross among the

Thomas ('hristians and of the East Syrian Church intluence in Malabar.

It is a proven fact that thc East Syrian Church because of the semitic

mentality and Jewish intluence \+as intolerant of statues and images. The East

Syrian Church prelates who governed the Thomas Christians tried to abolish

the use of statues and images. 'The liturgical and other books they had from

the East Syrian Church contained Nestorian formulas. But as they did not

know anything, of the theological or controversial nature of these formulas, the

heretical aspect of such formulas. which remained a dead letter in their books,

not in any way affected them. Anything pointed out to them as erroneous they

readily corrected, as the history ot'the sixteenth century bears witness to .

The Indian Church used the East Syrian liturgy from the early

centuries. The formularies of Holy Qurbana, the other sacraments, the office

of the dead, the prayers for the consecration of the Churches and altars and the

divine office are examples of liturgy adopted from the East Syrian Church.

There is no evidence so far that any other liturgy was in use in the Indian

Church. Now the Indian Church uses a developed from of liturgy. The

Thomas Christians though in their ecclesiastical rite were East Syrian; they

developed an individuality of their own in the socio-political environment of

the country (socio-political Malabnrian identity).

Enhancement of the Spirituality through Asceticism

'The spiritual heritage of thc Indian Church was fundamentally based on

East Syrian Church Liturgj and its Holy Seasons. Liturgical prayers, vigils,

fasts with abstinence, al~iisgiving, pilgrimages etc., characterized the spiritual

heritage. The people participated in all these disciplines. The ascetic life of the

St. Thomas Christians was based on the theology, liturgy and canonical

discipline of the East Syrian ('hurch. The Divine Liturgy and liturgicvl

calendar of the East Syrian Church were fully capable of involving the faithful

into the salvation history, which has its focal point in the mystery of Christ and

of the Church. Through the liturgical services, especially through the

Eucharist the Thomas Christians achieved their full Christian meaning

establishing a close relation with the Paschal mystery of Christ. The religious - mindedness of India had its irifluence on spiritual heritage.

The influence upon Kerala Christian Community

The local rulers mainly irl view of foreign trade and other economic

interests always welcomed the different immigrant groups who included the

East Syrian Church missionaries. Under their direction the native Thomas

Christian community got engaged in business. Due to their skill in trade, the

kings invited the Thomas Christians to live in the capital cities and entrusted to

them the duties of tax collection and trade regulations.

The commercial success ofthe Christians gave them a high position in

the society. During this gradual revolution, the Christians, who were experts in

trade, agriculture and warfrtre managed to keep up their existence and prestige

and attained social status. The ESasr Syrian Missionaries had a reputation for

integrity, as well as a recognized position in the church. At their instance the

Thomas Christians enjoyed certain privileges which were engraved on copper

plates. As a result they rose in wealth, power and influence. These various

privileges were granted and renewed by different kings from time to time. In

order to maintain this high position and rank in the Hindu social scale, one had

to observe the social customs and regulation of the high castes of the Indian

society.

'The Christian community in Kerala especially immigrant Christians

had such a great intluencu rhat the) managed to develop their own mode of

worship in their, language (Syrias) and made arrangements to bring their

bishops from the East Syrian primate. The Syrian Christians in Malabar during

some par! of the time bet~rezn sixth century and sixteenth century enjoyed a

certain independence of the Hiindii Rajas in India. They are said to have had a

king or ruler of their own called .llellaire or Villaiarvattam". George Moraes

notes that many of the old kings and princelings of Travancore, North of

Quilon, and in Cochin had Syrian ministers ( K ~ r y a k a r s ) ~

East Syrian (7hurch Influence upon pagan atmosphere

Although the Thomas Christians were small in number and had pagan

atmosphere, which surrounded theill on every side, they formed a bright spot

amidst the encircling gloom. Nagam Ayya makes a remarkable statement . ',From the earliest pr.~.iods of the history of Travancore, the Hindus

and the Christians have all equally enjoyed the protection, friendship and sympathy of the native gowrnment, while on their part they all willingly laboured for the well-being and prosperity of the common wealth without any fanatical outbursts of bigotry or unpleasant asperities and collisions 1 '

Probably this wa5 becduse the East Syrian missionaries were

successful in transmitting the Christ~an message its tune in letter as well as

spirit, to the native Chr~bt~ans. Thr administration and the observation of the

sacramenls of Thomas Chr~stians were carried on with adoption of Indian

I ll le ihornas C71ristianb' ti;id~tmn hi lni .!r tlrc cn~stcnce of a Christian dynasty around the period cxtcuding fron~ the nint i~ tiftceni!l cenlury. Finding themsel\~es powerful, the Christians chose a king from a n ~ o i ~ g ihemscl\,cs lo ruic over them Many historians identify this dynasty with the Villarvattam ( I3iliartr) ruyal farnil) Villarvstto~n kings were at least protectors of (he Thomas Chrirtians When the robal lamil> hccdmr extinct, this right and duty was passed over to the king ol'('uchin who mherited the Villarvatiolii principality.

: 1-he Christians \+ere ver) Iobal lo tlirjr kings and they took arms in times o f war. Ibe kings used to build Churches and to endow thcm with tax- free lands.

: According to a document uncc fixlnd in Chiramel family at l'richur, the king o f Cochin used to appoint psrtors for the parlshrs and cxact is share o f the dowry of the Christian marriages.

: Nagam, S~ore Manuel. 11-147 : Panjikkaran, Church, 34 : Mckrnzie, Chrirlroni~y. i(2 : ,\wcmani, BO, IV, 442

2. Morars, Chruiionrly, 29'

3. Nagam Ayya, Srate Manuel, Vo. II. i

lifestyle especially in the Malabar Church. The East Syrian prelates developed

an ecclesiastical life quite in harmony with the culture of India. Thus the

natives carried on certain customs and practices of the country in which they

lived so that they could not be easily differentiated from the non-Christian

communities. 'The parti~tl accommodation to the local culture and the

accommodation made even to some unhealthy and unredeemed pagan customs

helped the Church to take root in the Indian soil. Hence the Malabar Church

was able to keep a good relationship with other religions like Hinduism,

Buddhism. Jainism and Islam in Kerala.

The survival of the Christiun cummunify outside Hindupantheon

The missionary enterprises of the East Syrian Church through the

various immigrant groups incorporated into the Malabar Christian community

in the course of centuries helpeii the survival as well as the existence of

Christiar~ community oi~tside the Hindu pantheon. Of course the presence of

Jewish elements within the h l d o f the Thomas Christian Community was also

an added factor. 'The ultimate cause of the extinction of various churches in

the Asian continent was the cliiergence of the Islamic power. But Malabar

Church escaped that fate largel! due to the stemming tide by the empire of I Vijayanagar

Enabled to develop the identity and individuality of the Indian clzurch

The church established in Malabar probably on the basic nature of

south-\wst Asian Ch~ i r c !~ identity. including in it a nucleus Jewish and a

majorit), of Hindu population, ~vo i~ ld have made attempts to develop as an

indigenous Christian co~i~rnunit\. adopting the local cultural elements with the

1 . At the ttme uf the l i l 3 n 1 ~ c cmrrgcncc. :here existed the Vijayanagar kingdom to which all the old kmgdoms had submitted I t was probably the largest and wealthiest Hindu kingdom. Its kings kept [he Mohamll~zdms a1 ha? f c r over two centuries. The Muslim invaders were never able to establish tbemselves down thc line of 'lungahadra and Krishna rivers. For they were checked by the Vijayanagar k i w till tile 14' century When Vijayanagar fell, the Mohammedan scourge resumed i ts course undw Akbar and later h) only to a limited exten1

Christian faith. ilowever, one cannot strongly say that in the later history they

were successful in develop~ng an ind~genous church, because there is no

tradition handed occr to later gt:nerations with reference to any such internal

developments.

The liturgical and disciplinary norms, customs and ~ r i v i l e ~ e s of lndian

Christians of St Thomas. col.lveyed through the traditions since the time of St.

Thomas, expressed the individuality of the Malabar Church. It Christianized

Hindu customs. This made the Malabar Church fully at home in the Indian

soil both fiom the religious and the cultural point of view.The identity and

individuality of this church in the course of time grew in the relationship with

the East Syrian Church. Though the lndian church had maintained in its church

identity relation with the East Syrian Church, the lndian church had a unique

individuality, %which was expressed in the words of Placid Hindu in culture,

Christian in religion and Oriental in worship.

.The church had spread its roots deep in the soil of the country. Majority

of its members are from the sons of the soil and from high social standing,

although some among them are immigrants from the East Syrian Church at

various intervals, it had fully identified itself with their socio-political life

style and with the cultural aspects of the country. The Thomas Christians had

adapted themselves to their circumstances. They regulated all spheres of their

life - social, political and religious. When the existing usages and practices

were found to be inadequate to their ever-growing needs, they sought norms

from the similar Asian churches and communities. This was a matter of

adaptation and enrichnlent.

The Missionary spirit of' Thomas Christians of India

I 'he Easl Syrian Church \vhich is otherwise called the 'Church on Fire : spread fir and wide as a consti~nirlg fire and lit the light of faith into remote

countries and nations, such as Turkey, Mongolia, China, Japan, India etc. The

missionaries and the monks froln the East Syrian Church, who came to India

for missionary work, might have assisted and inspired the Indian church. The

church in lndia under the jurisdiction of the Catholicos o f the East Syrian

Church shared in the missionary spirit of the same church and spread the

gospel not only in this country but also sent out missionaries to the

neighbouring places such a:j China, Socotra Java, Maldives etc. The St.

Thomas Christians of lndia possessed a genuine missionary spirit in the remote

days, the more so because it was spontaneous. In point of fact they had always

made proselytes among their non-Christian neighbours. Cardinal Tisserant,

who is an authority o:~ t h e church in lndia, has paid rich tribute to the

missionary spirit of the Thomas Christians. He says that the zeal was to be

hampered. during the hllo\ving centuries because the Christians lost their

normal independence and, therefore, their religious spontaneity1.

In olden days, the people belonging to the honourable to the prominent

and also to the poor families, houses and races of Malabar generally used to

accept the Christian faith with no aversion or dislike for it. Those who

accepted it, as children of the same father, procured everything needed for

each and every one of the Christian communities and for the whole

community, in the spirit of Christian charity and unity without any quarrel or

misunderstanding. The Christians in Malabar, no doubt, enjoyed some

privileges of the high casie people. But it is not sure about the social

conditions oftheir fellow religionists in other parts of india. Though we are

not sure about the extent of the missionary enterprises, we can be certain that

the Church was engaged in preaching the gospel to the non-Christians. In the

midst of harrowing trials and circumstances, the Thomas Christians of course

kept the flame of faith withiri and outside lndia.

The Inf luence of Syr iac L a n g u a g e a n d L i t e r a tu r e

The respect, which the Hlndus show towards Sanskrit, their Vedic

language. and the love. and attachment the Muslims have for Arabic are clear

examples of the religious attitude. So also the Christian Church has some

affinity towards Syriac language. Aramaic was the language used by Jesus and

the Apostles. It was the ordinary language of Palestine. The respect of the

language of revelation 1s quite natural as is observable in other religious

traditions. The Thomas Christians were also passionately attached to the

Syriac language and East Syriac which had been used in Malabar substantially

retained the pronunciation of our Jesus Christ's language, Aramaic.

The High Esteem towards Syriac

The Thomas Christians in lndia who are now divided into different

denominations use the East or West Syriac liturgy with East or West Syriac

language. Their hieratic language is Syriac. Later, the western form of Syriac

and the West Syriac l i t~~rgy \vcrc introduced among some Thomas Christian

communities kmy about thei7'" century. The Thomas Christians possess an

inestimable treasure in Syriac, in hlalabar both in East Syriac and West Syriac.

Worshipping language qf Thomas Christians

The early Christians i i i lndia used the Syriac language in their liturgy

and worship instead of using the native language. Though the mother tongue

of the Thomas Christians is Malayalam, they have high esteem for Syriac. It is,

however certain that the Syriac (Aramaic) language and the very ancient

liturgy of Thomas Christians. which originally took shape in the East, have

been our precious patrimonyfor a very long period. The worship form and all

other church tradition, which St.Thomas arranged in his communities, would

have been in Aramaic. I'his may be the reason why the Thomas Christians

show much affection and esteem towards that Semitic language. Syriac music

of our liturgy influenced C:hristian folk songs. Traditional ancient songs of the

Church in Malabar are intluenced by Syrian tunes'.

~~ ~-p

I . Margamka I l'altu. whlcll 1s pupulai slionp Thocnas Christians, is taught by the Asvns in Syriac tulle\

The influence of Syriac liturgies upon the Malabar Church

The ancient liturgies of the Church developed in important Christian

centres where the Fathers of the Church and other ecclesiastical writers

flourished'. The). developed into definite liturgical forms by a slow, gradual,

steady progress in important Christian centres. Churches or places, which

were not centres of Christian knowledge, did not develop their own liturgies,

but received them from centres, Ivhich were near, or dear to them. They also

gave them their own modaiit)~ on ~ninor points. The East Syriac homilies and

commentaries contain many niysttcal explanations of the liturgical ceremonies.

The different items of the liturgy. their traditional order, the reasons for

preserving this order etc. can dl1 he known from the following manuscripts2.

Syriac Manuscripts in India

Many scholars both fron! !ndia and abroad contributed for cataloging

the available Syriac manuscripts in India. The following libraries possess the

manuscripts3. Manuscript Archives in Kerala, Library of the Dharmaram

College in Bangalare. L.ibrary u f the Syrian Catholic Bishop in Thrissur,

Library ot'the Syrian Catholic Archbishop at Ernakulam, Catholicate Aramana

Library. Kottayam, Library of tlre Konat family Pampakuda, Koonamackal

priestly family manuscript collection, Kuruvilassery Library of the CMI

Thrissur. St.lgnatious Dayara, Manjinikara, Library of the Monastery of

St.Joseph Mannanam, Mar Aprern collection Library of the Metropolitan's

1. lidcssa was the ereatest Christian centre in the East outside 'Limes Romonus'. Nisibis in the - ncighbourhood a lw aamr up 1; that status keeping up the Edessa vaditions. To ali probability the Last Svriac I~turev. tlic lilurev of llic East outside the Roman emoire, had ik initial develooment in - -. idessa which was also a Judt:o-Chrisicail Syriac centre

2. l the Portugucre sloa!! .~nd gradu~ll! iolmduccd the Latin laws among thc Thomas Christians bolh h) personal iilitiatlvcs ,ind k) i l i c c~iaclmcois of llic Councils of Goa (1575 A D and 1585 AD). i l ien in 1599 the synod of l l iampu~ altcmpted to wipe out East Syriac influence upon the Malabar (hristians

3. isivan I'erczrl madc s ~.un l r ibu l~u~t ot' cavaloging the ancient Syriac manuscripts by consulting with Father Jacob i hekkepara~~~hi l . Seeri, alain Desreurnaux, David Taylor, Fr.Antony Vallavanthilil. Fr. €ormanuel Tbclly, 1:r John Abraham Konat, Fr. Baby Varghese, Fr. Mad~ew lioshy, Fr. l l iomas Koo~~amnkk;rl ariJ i:r. Jamcs Aikkaramaltam.

Palace, 'Shrissur. Mar rhoma Seminary, Kottayam, Private manuscript

collection of the Nidhiri priestly family, Pulatheen Metropolitan Palace,

Tiruvalla, Saint Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Vadavathur, Library of the

Orthodox Tk~eological Seminary. Kottayam , Library of the Saint Ephrem

Ecumenical Research Institute. Kottayam, the Library of the Metropolitan's

Palace, Thozhiyur, the Liblmr? of the Archbishop of Trivandrum .The

Thomas Christians ought to be grateful to the East Syrian Church for the

inestimable treasures the) possess in the Syriac language and literature. Any

other liturgy was u n k n o ~ ~ n to 111aiabar upto the 161h century. It is alleged that

since the synod of Diamper ( ! i V ) the East Syrian liturgical works were all

destroyed at the instance of the f'ortuguese.

T h e Ma laya l am Trans la t ion of t h e Sy r i ac Bible

The regular connection between the Christians of the Malabar Coast

and the Aramaic or Syriac world brought the Aramaic Bible to India in the

early centuries of the Christian era. The Christians of the Malabar Coast were

strongly attached to the Syriac language and all that it represented. Through

the Syriac churches of Mesopotamia the St. Thomas Christians maintained a

living contact with the apostolic and patristic ages. The commercial ships

sailing between South India and the Middle East and the missionary activities

of the East Syrian Church necessitated the need for the Malayalam Bible in

Kerala. Malayalam is thc only Indian language into which the Syriac Bible

was translated In I810 Colo~iel Munro was appointed the new British

resident in Travancore J-le was wry much interested in translating the whole

Bible into Malayalam with an intention to reform the Syrian Church in

Malabar by educating its members and by distributing the Scriptures in

Malayalam. He expressed his ideas clearly through the letters that he sent to

1. I he credit ior the first transiatio~i goes to Mar Thomas V1 known as Mar Dionysius, 1808. Undcr h ~ s supcruision Rambar) I'hilipose of Kayamkularn translated the four Gospels from S ~ i a c into Malay;*lam Lmer Dr. ('laudius Buchanan who visited Kerala took the text to Bombay and got it printed there in 1810 i h c printed icxt was distributed in Malabar in 1811. Though the translation was done imperfectl). ~t mrrits curnn~rndation as the first attempt by a Malabar Christian before the .)i-rival of the Englisl, ii~tsii-naric, , t i Iravancore

: t$ernard ~ l ~ l ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ v ~ s . 7'h,,,mt.$ 1 'h r~s~,<t !zs . : I'lvIq~, lndio,~ Church

the English missionaries working in Travancore. Pulikkottil lttoop Malpan,

who became the bishop of the Syrian Church in Malabar in 1815, with the

name Joseph Mar Dionysius (Pulikkottil Mar Dionysius-II), with the support

of Colonel hilunro. in 1815, founded a Seminary, later known as the Old

Seminary (O~thodox Theological Seminary, Kottayam). The Seminary soon

became the centre of the Malayala~n translation of Syriac ~ i b l e . '

Relationship between Tamil a n d Aramaic

It is believed that St. Thomas left Malabar and went to Mylapore,

where he was laid to rest. blylapore is a place in South India, which is now a

part of the state of Tamilnadu. 'Tamil is the language used in that part of India.

Certain relationship is noticed between Tamil (Dravidian language) and East

Syrian form of ~ramaic.'

T h e Suffix 'Ur' in M a l a y a l a ~ n a n d Tamil languages

The teak beam5 etc. which are found in the ruins of Chaldean Ur,

indicates the relation with .Malabar. Ur means town or village or place of

residence. Ur has the same meaning in the Dravidian languages Tamil and

Malayalam. The Biblical term ' I J r ' of the Chaldeans has also the meaning of

town, or habitation3. Wc have i n South India, especially in Malabar, a number

I hlunm warttrd to haw rlte uansiauon done under the supervision o f the English missionaries. I n tact he asked the Church m~!;sionar\ Society to send suitable persons to undertake the task. Thus IRcvd. T Nonon was \c l~ t tu iravicniori. In 1816 Norton visited Koltayam for the first time . But hc could not engage in the work i i l~ t i l he lhad mastered Malayalam. Colonel Munro w a very .inxiour that Norton should u7det.takc tlie translation of the Syriac Bible at the earliest. Meanwhile, i'ulikkottil Mar Duonjsius. without rccciving any direct instruction from either Munro or Norton, b~arted the tianslatio~~ H I 1816 hcylnn~ng with the Book of genesis. C.M.Agur, who was the nlanager in thc reside~tcc iravancurc writes: ' Colonel Munro was discouraged at this, as he wanted t i ) reserve the wvork for thc rnissioiiarncs who lie thought would be more correct and faithful, though thi: Syrian priests wcrc mu:h siurc capable o f it, being fully acquainted with the Syriac and Malayalam languages Ilahy Vi~rghc>e. Synm ll,hle,. 63-Xli 1 the Harp V o l XIV. 2001

2. I amil and Illis fonn ,)I' Ar;lmaic Iiai i : thc same words for the following. Note the following c.vacnples Name of the word Tamil Aramaic Father A,*, A ba Mother Ank, Aema I En Aena l uschei- Ho,n,>~m, Rabo

3 I3wk oI'Gencsis. XI L i

367

of places and towns with the suffix Ur that means Ur so and so. In fact

Malabar, the home and habitat of the Thomas Christians is dotted with towns

and places with Or suffixed to them'. In Malabar, moreover, there were once

villages or places generally ~ ~ n d e r the government or the authorities of the local

Hindu temples2. 4 1 1 this speak5 in favour of the commercial, cultural, as well

as probably of' the ethnlcal relations of the Thomas Christians with the

countries and inhabitants of thebqiddle East. During the early centuries of the

Christian era. in South India, including Malabar, flourished the Dravidian

culture. Aramaic ivas also th'2 vcli~clc of the Gospel in places east of Antioch.

Cranganore in Malabar, known !<I, the Greeks and Romans as Muziris, was a

very important centre in those da)s

Influence of Syriac literature in Kerala

Syriac language has a vet-). vast and rich literature. It has influenced

Malayalam literature. It is predominantly Christian, patristic and ecclesiastical.

The better one understands the Syriac ecclesiastical literature, especially the

Syriac language itself, the better he can understand the Bible, especially the

New Testament. The domain of Syriac literature, extended in Malabar, covers

Biblical, ascetical, canonical. hagiographical, historical, liturgical,

philosophical, patristici polem;.cal etc.

The use of Syriac words in Malayalam

l'he following list shows the sbundance use of Syriac in Malayalam

today. Syriac words are taken directly into use in Malayalam. Some are

common. Contacts with the Jews, Syrian Christians and Arabs have enriched

Malayalam. It is estimated that there are more than 5000 words of Semitic

origin, Aramaic. Arabic and Persian currently used in Malayalam language

I. We Ihve Kodungi>il UK. i'ii1i~I:I.:. I ' ~ i i l l l K , Udayun~pcrUR. OIIUR, ValambUR, NechUR Outside hlalabar, there arc ThancllavL:ll. 'l'iruppallUl(

2 . l ' l ~ l r kind ol government wa, c;illed 'Ia'ralma' (Ciovernmrnt of the Ur) and the authorities who cncioscd lhr Govcrnmenl u.wc called ' I r lmakkar ' (those who govern the Ur)

Qurbana : Lia.

Qutiasa = L!M Kaza = h i /

Peelasa = / h ~ s

Aba = L/

Ruhadaqudisa = L!-! Lei Ruha : LO,

Quadisanmar = L+

Sleeba = '-J

Sleehn = b

Marnodeesa = /L!-

Kushma = L o i

Sahada = I!" Maudiyana = L-t -

Semrnasenmar = LIILp.LI)

Kabar = /SO

Madbaha : Danha : L!

Pdrutleesa : L!s

Hosanna = L O ~

Pestla = '-2 Marthrnari.yan1 = )%.a -1c.a

Moranesumeshiha : L rar ,a

Aloho = I=& Mishiho = L Alrnaya : LPll

Respathriyarkees = .LA* -i

Mar : -a

Maiaka = L L h

Husoyo = La.-

Skezpd = las~ Y cererlmar = ! -1

Indra (Hindu) = odd

Mauthbenmar =

Maranaya =

Mazmura :

Haikla = Urara =

Bukro =

Barekmor =

Mhaimneenan =

Ramso =

Suboro =

Thaksa =

Kanona =

Qnuma =

Sapro =

Bovusa =

Koruzuzo =

Sedra =

Malpan =

Ameen =

Kasa =

Keepa =

Methran =

Mahron = Ramban =

Uraha . Kaldaya :

Nasrayan =

Preesen . Yakobaya =

Samaryan =

Dayara =

Hannan . Aboon =

la-

\+= \ o ; s

ei Liol L+

Lis

Ls

La- /"! LIl-

369

Malayalam Karshon ( ~ d e m ~ m l , codcrop1 mdcrru3d)

In Kerala fiom ancient centuries the Thomas Christians used to write

Malayalam in Syriac charuct8:rs. 'This mode of writing is also called Karson

( ~ d c m ~ m l ) . perhaps, in imitation of' the mode of writing Arabic in Syriac

characters'. The Vowels of Malayalam ~a r shon ' are always those of East

Syriac. Malayalam Karshon developed in Kerala when East Syriac was the

common liturgical language of St. Thomas Christians of India. According to

Koonamakkalr, Malayalam Karshon existed in the pre-Diamper period.

Learned Malpans used to teach Syriac with the help of Karshon Syriac

dictionaries and Karshon Syriac Grammars. Many such works have survived

even today su manuscripts3. Syriac scholars and philologists have not yet

scientifically studied Malayalan~ Karshon though it is a desideratum in the

Indian context. 'The Malabarinns have been in the practice of writing

Malayalam in Syriac <hnrncte~-\ and :iew characters have been invented in

order to supply the Mnla:,'alam consonants wanting Syriac Alphabet. It is to be

noted that scholars including Koonamakkal Thomas Kathanar in Kerala have

noticed the existence of Karsho!~ '. He gives a list of the Malayalam Karshon

letters without claiming rhern to bc complete. He gave a list o f words, which

are copied fi-om a very dilapidated manuscript, which deals with Grammar,

which i s nearly 150 year5 old. Placing a short line below the letters forms

double letters.

2 . IKcgarding !IIC orisill or Malayaln l i~ harson one can only speculate and i n the absence ofevidence Lome lo no definite c,,r~i;lusion.

>. t:oonamakk.il. Ko.is.i 102

4.. Koonarnakk:~l Thoniits katliaoar. .l,i b,Iruducrio,~ lo ~~olrryolam Karxhon. The Harp Vo. XV, 2002

: The Malankara Ortliodox Encyclopedia calls il Karsoni (adom3rn? mdm~ml &domod) . m a e m a3dmano3&"d m m 3 ~ ~ 3 m a d h 3 c m 0 , Q&DSWO 1993

: 1:) Gahricl ol'S1. Jo>eplt. .S:vro-Cl~oid~~ic Grnmnrur .blannanarn 1922

: I r . L u d o v ~ of the Molhcr of Sormus .Q+-o-Chaldotc Gron9mar ,Mannanam 1951

: I - i . Ernmar>ltcl. Spru-('holdair f;uii!,a,,ir .Mamanam 1961

: I: Thayyil. Catechism nf Dr. Joseph kariatti The Harp 11 1969

kanyastri parusha naduv md tturarn nakari makkal p6thejrS~arn

vellam thanuppe WmPP- Zturnatukal finushen palli ivannam are arikuntu

even eval rngane enthe ettathae kore ettam ariv prathyaksham thskdl chantran che thel thampura ente thampurk iven onte rante mkte nale ache are ezhe ette ompathe pathe

Courteously: Koonammakkal, Karshon

Art fo rms of t h e M a l a b a r C h u r c h

Slnce rhe church in Malabar Coast in ancient days depended upon East

Syrian churcties for ecclesiajtical succession, it is natural the Christians here

inherited the traits of the culture and architecture of the East Syrian Church.

Hence there are traces of the strong mixture of the elements of Aryan, Jewish

and Babylonian Christian co~ninunity in Malabar Church. The East Syrian

Church bas oftell pushed rites :~nd symbols to the centre of religion and

relegated to the periphery some of the more important aspects of Christian

being ' .

Art forms in churches and temples bear close similarity with one

another and it is in systems of carving, architecture and sculpture that the

fusion of the two culture!;, is more visible. Consequently the art and

architecture of the Malabar church was a hybrid of the East Syrian and native

influence. There are specific e\:idences to prove that the distinction between

the two art forms was minimal in mural frescoes in respect of theme, colour,

representation and above all in dexterity. The practice of painting in the

frescoes of the churches might have begun probably in the 9th or 10th centuries

AD, with the. advent of the second batch of migration to Kerala. Art forms in

the old churches are not onl:y nierc monuments but they are the monuments of

communal harmony, v~sual art of communal concord, peaceful co-existence,

secular characteristics of society and above all materials of cultural symbiosis.

The pedestal structure of the Kulkkurissu is a unique feature in all the old

Churches in Travancore Cochin area ( ~ e r a l a ) . ' ~ h e pedestal basis of the

1 . I<itualism and symboliszn mean a gruilt deal which help to effect a synthesis between the reason and emotion. to evaluiilc io externdl not only to the Indians but also to the whole humanity at large.

2 . St. Mary's Orthodux Church, lialooppara, St. Mary's Cathedral Church, Thumpamon , St. Mary's Old Syrian Cllumh, Chcng~nnur, St. George Orthodox Church, Pallikkara , St. Mary's i'hurch. N~rilw~m, St Gcorg: Cl~ul-ch. Cheppad, St. Thomas Church, Kanhikappally, St. Mary's lorane Church, Kuravilagad, S t blary's Catholic church, Kadulhuruthy , Holy Cross Church, I'urakkad, Alirppey, All Saints' Cl~orch. Muouchiru, St. George Church. Karingachira, Marthornan church, Mulanthurutl~y. All Saint'i lloly synod church, Udaymperoor, St. Mary's Cathedral Llrurch, Arthat, Kunnilmkulam. Mar Sabore Afroth Church, Akaparambu, St. thomas Catholic ('hurch. Palayoor ctc

Kalkkurissu which were made of huge blocks of granite pieces appear to be

superimposed on lotus flowers and in some cases seem to be decorated with

numerous symbolic figures from both the Hindu and Christian pantheons.1 It is

also to be noted that in the Malabar Churches there are St. Thomas Cross,

which is the fusion of both the East Syrian Church and Indian traditions. St.

Thomas Cross is an empty cross, not a crucifix, which is in tradition of the

Chaldeo-Syrian. Again the tips of cross are like opening buds of a flower, the

flowerness is the symbol of life and resurrection. The Holy Spirit in the form

of a descending dove on the top of the cross is a symbol of resurrection. The

basis also contain engravings, inscriptions, motifs of animals, birds, plants,

flowers. tlora and fauna. icons, ligures of angels and demons '.

Influence of Persian Art in the paintings of t he Ancient Churches

The Official report of the Govt. of India published by the publication

division of the Ministry of' information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India,

Delhi, is as follows:- 'In some of the paintings we see proofs of our contact

with foreign countries and peoples in the old days. There are peoples of

several countries in their national dress; Turks, Chinese, Persians, Scythians

and Parthians' "

Antiques,.frescoes 11nd rnurnlpaintings of certain churches

There was a rich collection of antiques, frescoes and mural paintings at

certain churches in tierala such as Mar Sabore Afroth Church Akaparambu,

I . The .lace of lotus in the relieiuus snhere.: The lotus embodies the idea of man remaining incorruptible in a world of sin and temptation. The wafer in which the lotus flourishes does not wet the blossom. It plunges to great drph whish illusuate the idea of being rooted in God. The blossom of tho lotus pictures the concept of highest form of gmdness emerging from unpmmising material. Such symbols are full ofmeaning to the Christian minds and alsa to the Indian minds.

2. Varjous ( h e m have been represented on the bases. The most significant symbolic representation of salvation and punishment could be seen at Kaduthuruthy, Chengannur, Changanasery, Kalloopara, Akaparambu, Angdmaly, and Ku~amkulam. The themes like tiger and its prey (Akaparambu, Kalloopara, Kaduthuruthy and Kottayam), Elephant and lion ( Changanassety, Niranam and Chengannur ) nngcls, elephant tigers and vyali( Mulanthuruthy , Chenganoor and Udayamperoor) ;ire to be speccally mentioned.

st . Mary's Syrian Church. .4ngamaly, St.Mary's Church, Niranam,

Mulanthuruthy Marthoman Church and St. George Church, Chepad. The

collection of mural paintings in St. Mary's Syrian Church, Angamaly (900j is

unique in the sense that the paintings cover a wider area on the two interior

walls of the Church on .Hiekkela' and altar walls. The paintings contain wide

variety of themes Mural painting inside the walls of St. Mary's Church,

Niranam. seems to be renovated by using new dyes. Ceiling over the altar is

beautifully painted in the backdrop of blue sky and a descending dove

symbolizing the Holy Spirit. Altar on the south and the north are covered with

wooden carvings. which are found decorated with various designs. Antique

carvings and mural painting inside the Mulanthuruthy Mar Thoman Church

and on the ceiling have their own stories to narrate. Icons and carving are in

plenty inside the Church. The mural paintings and carving behind the altar and

sidewalls are well known

'The paintings of St. George Orthodox Church, Chepad executed in

vegetable dye on the interior walls of the altar are much older. It is believed

that the earliest Church building of the Chepad Church was founded sometime

between 900 AD and 1200 A.D. It was renovated and rebuilt later. Its antique

style and mural paintings on the three walls of the Madbaha (altar) have

attracted the attention of the American Geographical Society, the

Archaeological Department of Kerala and the Archaeological Survey of India.

According to scholars these paintings are very old. They are pre- Portuguese in

style and nature. The scholars like Klimkeit are of the opinion that the form

and the symbolism of the art and inscription show clearly that the East Syrian

Church was able to expreljs the Christian truth in the art forms and imagery of

central and Asian cultures'. According to J0hn.C. England, a wide variety of

Christian art forms were discovered in most part of the Asian continent. '

-~ .~ ~ ~. -.-

I . Klimkeil Chruritln An. 477

Extant items come from the period of the 6Ih to 1 4 ~ centuries in localities

between Mesopotamia in the west Korea in the East and Kerala in south".

Some observations from these paintings

Paintings on the altar walls represent various biblical themes. Apart

from their correct application of different colours such as blue, light red, black

and light yellow, they were prepared out of vegetable dyes. The colours

selected by the artists had direct bearing on the characters portrayed. Paintings

and colours applied to each piece of art correctly depict human sentiments and

emotions. Equally important is thc measurement and size of characters.

A team of professional artists, indigenous or alien, might have executed

the works related to these paint~ngs. Every episode is depicted in a separate

panel. Each one is distinguished from one another with decorative outlines and

by sketches of small columns, which are further decorated by the paintings of

plants, flowers and beads, flora and fauna, adding to its neutrality. These

works are noted for their aesthetic, technical as well as spiritual characteristics.

All paintings have been neatly executed. They are visible to devotees from the

'Hiekkela'. Identity of the artists is not known. Due to ravages of time and

weather conditions, their original colour seems to be little faded.

The Architecture of M a l a b a r Church

The life of'the Thomas Christians was always church- centered. Since

the lndian Church had more dependence on the East Syrian Church, it would

have influenced the architecture of the Indian Church. But the activities of this

early period are shrouded in obscurity. Therefore one can only make some

kind of surmises based upon the existing church styles, the development of

temple architecture and the available documents of the development of the

Churches in the West.

But due to lack of historical evidence, it is not possible to trace the

development cluonologically. So the attempt is based on typology. The general

plan of churches all over the world is basically the same, namely sanctum with

an altar and a nave for the congregation. At the initial stage Christianity was

only a microscopic minority. Their economic condition was very weak. The

primitive Thomas Christian community might have followed the Buddhist

'Viharas' or 'Pagodas'. They were simple constructions with leaves of trees;

they were the centre of 'Manram'. The 'Pali' or 'Palli', which was originally

used by the Buddhists to denote their 'Viharas' is still in use among the

Christians to denote their churches. The use of wood for temple, church and

house constr~~ctions became comlnon only after the fourth century. After the

establishment of the Aryan superiority, Christian Churches were modeled after

Hindu temples with adaptations ti-om the East Syrian Church architecture.

According to './oint Internutionul Commission for Dialogue between

the Catholic Church and the Muiankaru Orthodox Syrian Church', when they

discussed the church buildings, Church going and church function, the scholars

have been unanimous in stating that, 'regarding the interior, a few Churches

built centuries ago, resemble the ancient Selucian Churches. As in Hindu

pagodas, the churches have flagstaffs. Churches were constructed always

facing the east and on an elevated place".

The Influence of the East Syrian Church upon the non Christian Society

The influence of the: East Syrian Church religious thought upon India,

both Dravidian and Aryan, makes an interesting study '. The contact of

2.. Ir has been established tlwt the ancient civilizalions of Egypt, Sumer (Mesopotamia) and lndus Valky which flourished in the third millennium BC, had close contacts with each other. There was a marked similarity bctween the religious practices of the Eyptians, Mesopotamians and the Indians as have been pointed out by several authors. The Prc-Aryan people had most probably contacts and exchange with Mesopotamian(Baby1onians) Hebrews later in the first century A D with Syrian Christians who form majority of the Christian population oftk present Kerala

377

Christians of Kerala with the native people accounts for the strong

monotheistic religious philosophies of South India. Christianity, Hinduism and

Islam are the three main streams of religious culture of eral la' .At its nascent

stage 'the Christian faith in India' had traits of a cosmopolitan culture, a

mixture of Dravidic. Buddhist, Jainist and Hindu influences. At the beginning

of the Christian era the vast rna,jority of the people of the South practiced the

Dravidian religion. The Christian faith of the Thomas Christians in India is

dispersed mainly through oral traditions. There are some very ancient folk

songs. The cultural 'symbiosis' that has often been noted in the earliest Indian

Christian traditions is further illustrated between the sixth and sixteenth

centuries Hind. Jain, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian and In the early times

Hinduism came close contact with Christianity

It was common among the Christian institutions to attend religious

functions and thereby give encouragement not to certain aspects of Hindu life,

which helped in keeping the secirlar nature of the Indian state. The early

Christians ~n Kerala appreciated the Hindu practices, which were best in their

environment, lndian art and music. Indian Christians had rediscovered the

validity of Indian sanctity of the family, family socialism, and decentralized

econornrc and polltical life. There are many elements. Islamic communities

coex~sted, mutually borrowed cubtoms and symbol, yet retained their identity

in creed and way of life

The Indian Christian can be rightly proud of the various aspects of the

Hindu culture such as,for instance, the passionate search of a Hindu for

religious truth and reality, the profound reverence for life, the ideal of non-

attachment or detached interest in life, the family socialism underlying the

joint family :system and wilYingness to sacrifice all for the knowledge and joy

of God. There were other Christian communities in Tamil Nadu too, but due

p~ .~ -- -~ .~-

3. i'rlor r t Cki~tianily. perliaps for111 I l l O O BC on wards, lewish religion has played a prominent role 111 ~ha(,ing the nligiuil -social - culloral heri1a.g~ of Kerala

There are, similarly, striking resemblances between Christian

doctrines and some teachings found in the Hindu texts as we shall see presently;

by implication, there was possibly a good deal of borrowing from Christian

sources without acknowledgements. So the absence of direct evidenceof

acknowledgement need not necessarily preclude the possibility of alien

influence on Hinduism, when circumstantial evidence and striking similarities

are clear. The sacrificial Brahminism. as seen from the Brahmanas, is equally

negligent about God, and teaches the omnipotence of ritual. It is explicitly

stated in ancient texts that even gods are subject to Mantras, and the Brahmin is

proficient in Mcrntric lore and practice is superior to the gods.

The rise of the religious movement in South India.

It was a religious movement definitely, theistic and emotional. It rejects

the importance of law, the omnipotence of Manfras and rituals and the central

doctrine of sacrificial Bruhmunisin. It also teaches devotion to a personal God

who is the surest way to salvation. Chronology in Indian religious literature is

confusing, but the movement is definitely posterior to the establishment of

Christianly in south India. It is difficult to imagine that it is mere coincidence,

especially as the conceptio~i is alien to the spirit of ancient Indian religions. The

earlier phase of this theistic movement in South lndia is associated with

Shaivism. Siva and the phallic cults seem to have been as old as the Indus

Valley Civili2,ation. The original role of Shiva, however, was as a god of

destruction and regeneration. This is the dominant aspect of Shaivism in North

India. But in South lndia we find Shiva assuming a different character.

The development of Bhakti doctrine in Hinduism

It was in south lndia that Christianity as a doctrine exercised the greatest

influence on Hinduism generally. One important development in Hinduism in

south lndia from the 71h century onwards was the development of the Bhakti

Movement, especially in Shaivisirn and Vaishnavism. Although the conceptions

of the fatherhood of God and of Hhakti were Indigenous to India, they received

an immense impetus owing to the helief of Christian communities reacting upon

the medieval Bhagavata reformers of the South. The development of Bhakti

doctrine is a product of Christian influence.'

In South india,there was qualitative difference from the Bhakti of earlier Hindu

tradition. The chief emphasis of the new movement is on a relationship with a

God who is personal, full of lovt: and grace for his creation, and on the grace of

God as the means of salvation, Salvation is achieved through Bhakti and leads to

union with the divine. But this unity is not to he conceived as an ontological

unity in wliich all distinct~ons between the soul and the deity are done away

with. The new moverrlent is often spoken of as a religion of Grace. There is no

doubt that there is a close resemblance between Christianity and the new

movement in Hinduism.

The first datable indication is with Sankara, the philosopher saint who

hailed from Kalady, three miles. south of Angamaly, the ancient Syrian Christian

stronghold in central Kerala. Available evidence shows that Sankara lived in the

8" or 9Ih century of the Christian era. He was quite unconventional in his

religions teachings and was excommunicated by the Nambudiri community of

Brahmins to which he belonged. Of his contacts with Christianity we know

nothing, but a bold versat~le religious innovator like him could not have failed to

take note of the doctrines and practices of the powerful community of Syrian

Christians. among whom he lived

It is quite conceivable that Christianity influenced the Great Sankara.

Kalady, the birthplace of' Sankara was hardly 30 kms from Cranganore and 28

kms. From Parur where there were Christian communities from the very

beginning. It is also to be noted that the ancient East Syrian Church of

Angamaly was within close proximity with Kalady. The Syrian Christians were,

by all accounts, integrated into the national life of Kerala by this time as the

charters granted to them by the kings of Kerala, still extant, clearly show.

-381

The concept ofpersona/ God in Sankara's teaching

In Sankarii's Advaita, there is a prominent place for Isvara or God. He

says in his commentary on the Gita

'Having created the world, Bhagavat (Isvara or God) with a view to its maintenance and well being, first created the form of religion known as Prukrirhi to be established among men.. . He creates, upholds and destroys the universe. He pervades all things as their anturyanzin, their Inner Ruler, controller, director and guide. He ordains the course oi'time, dctcrmines the conditions of souls from birth to birth, according to their deeds.

He is omnipresent, all knowing. almightily. Presidingover human destinies, he is the object of men's worship, and he bestows rewards and metes out punishments'

For Sankara, Isvara is a power deity, to be apprehended through Jnana or

'Knowledge'. The conception is in keeping with the high intellectualism of

Sankara,

The Christian influence upon hymns ofthe Hindu saints.

Hindu saints in the South glorified another aspect of Shiva, his mercy

and grace. These saints came to be known in history as Nayanar, and some of

them are ascribed to dates of the Pullava period. The hymns of these saints

breathe an intense devotional spirit comparable to that of Christian saints.

In the later texts, Shivii is 110 more the ascetic or the power god that

destroys and regenerates, but a lov~ng god too. The idea is definitely Christian

in tone and spirit. Another definitely Christian element found in the hymns of

Nayanars 1s their deep sense of sin The hymns of the Shaiva saint Manikka

Vasagar, who lived in the seventh or eight century of the Christian era, show

that he was a reforming zealot, particularly favoured of by the reigning rulers

and is reputed to have converted a large number of Christians to ~induism'. It is

I . Meniichery S71 'I;. Volll. 17')

2. In legend and history . Manihka Vasagur appears as a converted sinner. IN youth he w indifferent lo rel~gions, but a brilliant carccr under royal patronage opened far him all the good things of the \*.orid It was while shallouing in p1c:~surcs that he was seized by a power beyond him. To him this cxpsrlence was unique

notable that the ,Christian tradition in South India ascribes the decline of

Christianity in the Tamil country ro the activities of Manikka Vasagar. Those

who refused to become Hindus from Christianity were compelled to seek refuge

in Kerala where the ruler:s continued their liberal traditions towards

Christianityi. Some of the Manikka Vasagar's hymns on humility, devotion,

belief in divine grace, love and deep sense of sin could very well have been

composed by Ckistian mystics2. It is highly probable that Manikka Vasager

combated the popular beliefs of the Christian communities of his time by

adopting the very beliefs of his opponents. Otherwise the striking similarity

between his teachings and those of Christianity remains inexplicable.

Bhakti Marga

Theistic Shaivism was mainly confined to southern India, and it was

given to the Vaishnavas to spread theism to the North. The philosopher saint

Ramanuja who lived in the 12Ih century started the new movement. But prior to

him there were saints in the Tamil country who developed the cult of the

Personal God '. Ramanuja rejected the absolute monism of Sankara and his high

intellectualism. God is not to be known through Jnana or intellectual perception,

as taught by Sankara, but through devotion, and even the humblest individual

could obta~n salvation by his love of the Lord and his personal attachment to

him 4. This new doctrine of Bhakti or devotion to Vishnu spread like wild fire

among the people and Ra~nanuja gave it a philosophical background, dear to all

lndian religious schools of thought Kamanuja's philosophy came to be known

.I. These Tarnil Christians for a long time remained in Karalla as a separated community known as Man~gramakkar till they were absorbed by the Syrian Christians

2 It was a falth very different from Sankara's and che Upanishad conception of That Twam Asr and its coroloray Ahan, Bmhrnorrni

3. They porsibly felt that Shiva cr~uld not be effectively dissociated from his ancient phallic and ascetic entanglements, and the God of their choice was Vishnu, the preserver and protector of the universe. The adhnmts of Ute devotional cult of Vishnu were known in the Tamil country as Alavars, as different from the Nayanars of the Shaiva cult, already noticed.

4. The slrnpie and the ignorant stood as inuch chance of realizing Moksha, salvation, as the greatest schalsr and Pundit, for Virhnu is the God of mercy, love and grace.

as Vishishta Advaita or Monisrn with a qualification as distinct from Sankara's

Advaita. The Bhakti cult spread rapidly all over India '.

The relation between Creator and Creation : East Syrian Contribution.

. Madhva too like the great theists of India hailed from south India. He

was born in the Canara country, soon after Ramanuja. Unlike Sankara who

taught absolute monism or Ramanuja who taught monism with a qualification,

Madhva taught the philosophy of pure dualism. In Madhva's system God and

man are reals, the former being the mainstay of the latter. Without going into

details we may state that his philosophy resembles more that of the doctors of

the Church than to any Indian School. Christian's ideals and teachings became

familiar to the Hindus and many reform movements started in the country

inspired by Christ~an contacts 2. A.L. Basham observes, 'The resemblance of

Madhava's system (thirteenth century) to Christianity is so striking that

influence, perhaps through the Syr~an churches of Malabar, is almost ~e r t a in ' .~

Though Sankara upheld Advaita, pure monism and salvation through

Janana Marga, (Knowledge) he is said to have composed some of the finest

devotional songs in Sanskrit. That means in actual life he had the idea of a

personal god to whom one could have recourse through Bhakti sentiments of

devotion4 It may be the result of Sankara's association with the East Syrian

Christians and the knowledg: of their faith. 'It has borrowed from Christianity,

with which, probably for the first time, Hinduism came into contact in Malabar,

some ofthe loftiest ideas of pure theism5

I . Kamanuja's disciple Rarnaoanda introduced it to North India and its appeal wa immediate and widespread.

2. Later !he Brohnw Soma,. was an attempt at synthesis. while the Arya Samaj was generally hostile to Christian missiondry enterprise which wss a continuation of the East Syian Missionary enterprises, but both wem directly influenced by Christldn contact

Thoughtful Hindus everywhere warmly appreciate the compassionate

approach of'the Christian church in India. It is widely recognized that Christian

missions mark a new daq in human relations. The Christians must identify

themselves with the people of the country except where such identification is

contrary to the Christian tedchings.

Cultural Interactions

Culture i11 its widest sense embraces the highest achievements of the

human spirit in every sphere of life. Thus in its totality it represents the

quintessence of the collective achievements of a people in the fields of religion

and philosophy, language and literature, art and architecture, education and

learning and economic and social organizations, the total development of the

individual and the society

India has a composite and cosnlopolitan culture to which the peoples of

all the regions of this ancient land have made their distinct contributions. Racial

groups have contributed to the rich cultural mosaic of India, the existing socio-

cultural reality, and the group rivalries based on linguistic and cultural identities.

The Negritios, Astrics, Dravidians. Aryans, Semitics and Mongoloids have all

made their contribution to Indian cultural heritage. There is no single

unadulterated culture today In India for there has been interaction of cultures,

and each culture has borrowed liom others. I

Hindu culture reached its high watermark under the Guptas. The Gupta

administration, which perfected the imperial traditions, served the ideals of

contemporary and later states. Peace and prosperity, secured by the Gupta

government led to a rich and remarkable development of art, literature,

philosophy and science. Hindu culture continued to evolve independently2.

1 . For marc Details Chatcr~ec. Ancietii

2 . Thc establishment of Hindu colony ahroad spread l l indu culture and civilization and considerably influence the life arid thought of the other people.

385

India did not lead an isolated life evolving its own culture in a stagnant pool but

kept close contact with the civilizations of the East and the West through trade

and commerce1. The western life and thought failed to impress Indian culture

and civilization deeply 2.

The Indian society practised polygamy from time immemorial. But the

advent of the Christian message that opposed polygamy was a blow to

polygamy. According to the Biblical teaching marriage and married life are i considered to be sacred and hence the concept of monogamy permeated

thereafter. The Indian society as well as its indigenous religious communities

readily accepted this through the influence of the East Syrian missionary

enterprises and recognized monogamy as a norm4. Moreover, the Malabar

Church adhered to the principle of monogamy from the very beginning of its

inception. Thus Christian fanlilies became a role model and the Indian society

was induced to accept it as a societal norm. On the other hand, the influence of

the Indian culture continued on the western philosophy for centuries together,

and Christian~ty even toda) euh~bits some traces of this influence.

Among the people who have enriched Indian cultural heritage and helped

the cause of national integration, the people of the Kerala region of south India

have a place of honour. Kerala culture is in fact, an integral part of the Indian

culture. Kerala culture is also a composite and cosmopolitan culture to which

several peoples and races ha\ e their significant contributions. The secret of the

vitality and strength of Kerala c ~ ~ l t u r e lies in its composite character. The

gradual evolution of a composite and cosmopolitan culture led to the emergence

of the spirit of tolerance and catholicity of outlook, which still persist among the

people of Kerala. In response to every challenge Kerala has demonstrated

--

I . Suclr rcl:~llons ivith lhe Wcsl h q i r i mucll i.:~l-Ilcr and continued to be rairly constant and active.

2 . Though home aspccls o f l n c l l a ~ ~ culturc i l c r bvli-ay a h r treccs of Gresco-Roman cullurc's influence, yet 1nd1:in cullurc continued t g r all su ~ ~ ~ d c p c n d c n l l y and etiectively that whatever influence !lie Greeco-i<oman cult~lre exercisrci. had completely dwindled and disappeared by the 4Ih century AD

3 Book of tlible, Geneiis, Ch 1-3 : St. hlntlicw. Ch. 19. : Ephesians , Ch.5

. . through the ages its genius fbr adaption and fusion of old traditions and new

values in mcry sphere of human thought and endeavour

'l'herc are nuny basic :similarities between the two. The Kerala region,

like lndian subcontinent. can claim to have a culture the history of which runs

into the dim recesses of antiquity. It may really be said of Kerala culture, as of

Indian c~iltiil.e in general. thar its salient l'caturc is 'unity in diversity'. It was

Kerala's foreign contacts frotn the earliest times which helped the evolution of

a way of lilk and culture noted for its catholicity and universality.

The commercial relations of Kerala with foreign countries led in course

of timc to the e:;tablishn~ct~t of extensive cultural contacts with those countries

and their niutual interactiol:~. 4 s a result of Kerala's commercial contacts with

foreign countrie:;. \vorld religlcrns like Cht-istiatiity, Judaism and Islam were also

~ntroduced in to the land ilnil they hclped considerably in shaping the composite

culture of the land' All i1it:se religious faith existed side by side without

conflict or rancour and made their lasting contributions to the process of cultural

synthesis and r~:conciliation. The culture of Kerala too is distinguished by

unbroken aspect in spite of the diverse influences that have gone into its making

at various stages of its long and chequered history.

The story of'the rise and spread of Christianity in Kerala (Malabar) is a

part of the ,tory of the blending of diverse cultural influences and ways of life.

In view of the extensive trade relations that existed between Kerala and the

Meditermne,~n c~iintries. thi. (Chrtstian faith in India made a steady progress

through the influx oi' the Eas~: Syrian immigrants, who were traders, monks,

missionaries. tourists etc. Christia~~iry made steady progress in Kerala and the

East Syrian Church became one of the well established institutions in the course

of centuries.

i Kcr;~l;l lh;is bccn illrough lilt age\ the cr:l~liu or >.'lricd cuilurcs and ways of lik, both indigcnoos and Surc~g~i Or~fioali) its pcciplc il~lluwcii i l ~ c Dravtdian way 01' lili: and religious practices. In due cuurse many indigrnous rclig~ons and pliilosophicnl systcms from h'orth India made their appearance on Kcr,il:i and conipeted wilh oni, another fix the loyi~lties of the people.

The l~turgy ;ind organization of the East Syrian Church were also

subjected to diverse cultural irifluenccs during the different stages of its history.

As we know Syriac is a diilect of Aramaic. the language of Jesus Christ and his

disciples. It became the language of the Mother Church of Persia ( East Syrian

Church) with which St. !'hornas Christians of India in to had ecclesiastical

communion iiom the 61h to the 16"' centuries. Consequently Syriac became the

sacred language of the St. Thomas ('hristians in ~nd ia ' . The intimate, friendly

and religious intercourse llctween India and the Christian missionaries of the

East Syrian C'hurch and the l~~tfian C:i;risti;tn Community naturally affected the

culturc of Malabar Church ,inJ Indid

In India from the beginning, the Christians are an indigenous community

sharing the social alld cultural roots of the Indian tradition. especially with

~ i n d u s ~ . But thel-e is somc hesitation or failure on the part of the East Syrian

missions for a deepcr inculturation. To some extent they were not able to

penetrate into the n i ~ i n strcarn of Indian thought and translate the Christian

mysteries in 3 thought form and language intelligible to the average thinking

inan of India

Thc ancient Malabur ('hristianity that was kept aloof from the main

stream of' lndiari philoso!?h~cal background, cultural heritage and spiritual

patrimor] could not take deep root in the Indian soil and grow into a fully

Indian Church. Tlie deeper philosophical insight of the country and the sublime

re!igious cxperier~ce of the Indian seers remain still alien to the Church as a

whole. Of course. there uerc individual efforts, which have been made in the

past and are being continued at present. But by and large they have not been

able to influence the community as a whole in any significant manner.

7 . All tile sicat rr.Itg~o!is of bo11i ).a>! and Ucst havu cotni. tu realizc that all human beings are children of Ciod. the Either, ihe Creator. ;protectw i h c human should and immortal. All will attain the supl-cme Ih3ppines5 The a d ~ ~ i ~ s s i o n of thcsc !wonks and the God-experience underlying all religious in the bond k ~ t ~ l o , i e tl~<iss coo:.:ar ali the \\uiius' ii.ltg\ons. 'This may lead all the people of the world closer to ciich i l t h ~ r

The imported theological, juridical and liturgical traditions of the East Syrian

Church imposed on this comniunity, to some extent, did not make use of the

local culture of hlalabar in the development of learning and in the shaping of the

Christian worship. The Syrian colonization and the missionaries who came from

the East Syrian Church spoke Aramaic or Syriac, so the church in India

continued to worship in Syriac language, which is foreign to the people of India.

The language of both the scripiure and the liturgy was foreign to the people of

India in the early centuries.

So it is natural it was a barrier for further communication with other

religions in India. It is also notable that the dependence of the Indian Church on

the East Syrian Church further prevented the Church of India developing an

lndian Christian culture, especially an Indian theology and an Indian liturgy.

Though they failed to translate the liturgy, which they brought to India, into any

Indian language, there was catechism and systematic religious instructions and

regular worship of the Christians among themselves. Due to the lack of

indigenous leadership in the Malabar Church, the Christian community showed

some tendency to alienate the Church from indigenous peoples and cultures as

well. It was the p r i m reason, which precluded the complete success of the

East Syrian Church missionar). e:rpansion.

In spite of these drawbacks, the Malabar Christian Church was able to

maintain a strong Christian tradition on account of the dependence on the East

Syrian Church missionary enterprises. The church established in Malabar,

probably on the basic nature of the south -west Asian church identity, including

in it a nucleus Jewish and a majority of Hindu population, would have made

attempts to develop as an indigenous Christian community adapting the local

culture elements with the Christian faith. The Church needs to penetrate into the

lndian reality: it still has to recognize the truth of valid lndian religious

experience, assimilate and enrich on the one hand it shall become enriched by

other faiths on the othe~..

Conclusion

From an analysis of the historical events as well as its impacts we find that one

of the major contributing factors of the fascinating story of the spread of the Christian

faith was the missionary dynzmism of the East Syrian Church in the Asian continent,

the birthplace of great prophets and saints of world's living religions. By the

beginning of the 51h centuq AD, the East Syrian Church had developed into a national

organization with the Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon as Catholicos and head of the

church and with several Episcopal sees. When the Western church was busily

engaged in theological controversies like Nestorianism, the East Syrian Church was

busy with thc preaching the gospel overconling all the obstacles by the Persians,

Arabs, Indians, <Turks, Chinese, Burmese, Indonesians, Koreans, Ceylonese, etc.

traversing through the trade routes, like the Old Silk Road, connecting Syria with

Arabia, China, India and Tibet. The coincidence of the opening of trade routes into

further Asia with the ascendancy of the East Syrian Church offered a ready outlet for

missionary efforts.

It is a notable fact that, in most of these countries which extend from the

Mediterranean eastwards to the Pacific, Christianity was present before the arrival of

the Western Church both Roman Catholic and the Protestant. Before the 6"' century

there were Christian communities due to the evangelical works of the East Syrian

Church in several parts of the Indian subcontinent.

Christianity came to Edessa, I'ersia and India during the first century itself

through the mission of Addai, the disciple of St Thomas, known as one of the

'Seventy', and through Aggai and Mari to Persia and St. Thomas to India . Due to

India's commercial and cultural contacts with the Semitic people, especially

Mesopotamian, the socio-cultural life of India had developed under East Syrian

Church influence. Since the Indian Church entered into some sort of ecclesiastical

relationship with the East. Syrian Church, there was a flourishing missionary

movement of the East Syrian (3hurch in India without any hindrance up to the 16"'

century AD.

From Edessa, Christianity spread to different parts of Syria. Even before the

emergence of' Islam, the Arabs were found beyond the Arabian Peninsula, Syria,

Palestine, Mcsopotomia, Babylonia and Persia. They intermingled with Aramaic

speaking people of'thc region and spoke Aramaic. When Christianity spread to Syria

and Persia, some of the Arabs also became Christians. A number of nomadic Arab

tribes in the valley of the Euphrates accepted Christianity due to the influence of

desert monks and hermits. But by the seventh century Islam erupted in Arabia and

established the Muslim Caliphates, which was a blow to the development of the East

Syrian Comn~unity in Arabia. The advent of Islam slowly eliminated most of the

Churches in the Middle East.

In the 4th to 7'" centuries Merv was an important missionary base from where

East Syrian mission was undertaken to Central Asia. From Merv, the East Syrian

missionaries Christianized the urban centres of Bukhara and Samarquand in

Transoxiana. Meshed, northeast Persia and Heart, had bishops by the fifth century

until the I I"' century. There were East Syrian comn~unities at Uzgen, Kashgar,

Tashkurgan and Yarkand between Sarnarqand and Turfan and a Metropolitan See at

Kashgar during later part of the thirteenth century. From 7'" century onwards

missionaries penetrated east of the Pamirs in East Turkestan. There were paintings,

manuscripts and relics, which related to many Christian artefacts from the 5Ih to 141h

centuries at Turkestan, Turfan and Dunhuang. In Tibet there were evidences of

appointing bishops and metropolitans by Patriarch Timothy -I for the Tibetans. It is

not known how long beyond the loLh century Christian communities continued in

Tibet. In Northern and Central China. by the time Patriarch Timothy-I, China had its

own metropolitan and a number of bishops. By this time, the Christian communities

existed amcmg Turks and i:igurs to he south about Canton, and to the central north

beyond Chang-an. In south China. there were Christian communities in the 7"'

century in eleven cities. There was Christian activity in Canton and Chuan-chou in

the 10"' and 1 l th centuries The East Syrian missionary endeavour thrived because

ofthe patronage enjoyed from the rulers during the time. The decline of the East

391

Syrian Christianity in China in the first half of the loth century was due to the fall of

the imperial empire.

During the Mongol period, the 13Ih and the 14Ih century the East Syrian

missionaries re-entered China and became active yet again. Though the empress

Sorkaktni showed much favour to the Eiast Syrian Christianity and missionaries, the

emperor Tamerlane who dreamt reviving an Islamic Caliphate triggered the decline

of the East Syrian Christianity in thc Mongol Empire. During the 10 '~ and the 11"'

centuries several Tartar trihcs were almost entirely Christian, notably the Keraits,

Uighurs. Naimans and the Me1ki1.e~. 'lhe East Syrian missionary activity was also to

be found further to the northeast towards Lake Baikal.

There were evidences of Christian communities during the 7"' to the 13"'

centuries all along the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, much of Java and west Borneo,

with principal centre pots at l,igor. VQaya, Jambi and Palembang. There are

Episcopal and Metropolitan Sees recorded for the East Syrian Church from the 4Ih to

the 16Ih centuries; those for Ind~a and China include in their jurisdiction a number of

south-east Asian episcopates. 'Lvledieval Christian communities in Ceylon appear to

have grown because of thc activity of the East Syrian and Indian merchants on the

marine routes between the Meditenanean and China. The presence of the East Syrian

Christians in north Burma in the 9"' century is recorded along with other south Asia

centres. Pegu in southern Burma has tantalizing glimpses of Christian communities

until the 15"' century. By the end of the 15Ih century there are many references to East

Syrian Christian merchants at Malaya. In Java-Sumatra, there was mention of the

Metropolitan see referred by Abdisho ( 1 31 8). In Lambri (Banda Atjeh) on the northern

tip of Sumatra, the East Syrian Christians were active. In the northeast Asia,

according to Korean Chronicles, Christianity was present in Japan from the 7Ih

century to the 12"' century. Remains of a Christian community in the late 10Ih or 11"'

century were discovered in 1927 at An-shan. In the 121h century, a number of East

Syrian Christian families iinn~igrated to Liaoyang from Totao and Lintao in Japan.

3 92

The whole life of the East Syrian Church Community which was permeated

with missionary spirit of monlts, priests; traders and refugees capitalized the

opportunities in different parts of Asia where philosophical traditions of the world

Hindu, Buddhist, Conf'ucius. Jewish and Islan~ic had their origin. The East Syrian

ascetics, who were wandering missionaries, healed the sick, fed the poor and

preached the Gospel.

From the 8" century onwards many writers of the Syriac Churches preferred to

write in Arabic rather than Syriac. By the adoption of Arabic as literary language by

the 9''' century AD, all Syriac literature has been translated into Arabic by writers of

the East Syrian Church. I'he Scholars from the East Syrian Church played an

important role in the transmission of Greek philosophy and science to the Arab world

through their translations and commentaries. The Early East Syrian Christian

missionaries in Arabia first invented thc Arabic scripts and the East Syrian Christians

made contributions to the writings of'thc Quran.

The Fast Syrian Church in Asia transmitted to the Arab Empire the heritage of

Greek classics. The Arab \vorld appropriated through the Syriac scholars and through

translations a good deal of science and learning found in Persia and in the conquered

Byzantine territories. The missionary movement took route in Central Asia by

blending Christian faith with Shamanism. The decline of the East Syrian Christianity

in Central Asia was due to persecution. tolerance of the natives towards other

religions such as Manichiieism, Buddhism and the impact of the spread of the

intolerant Islam.

The East Syrian churches in this region enriched the cultural life of the

Muslim world. The propagation of Greek heritage, philosophy, medicine and

education among the Arabs are to be recognized as the remarkable contributions by

the East Syrian Church.

The translation of the Greek scientific, medical and philosophical works by

the East Syrian writers took place in three major phases, the 6th century translations,

the 7th century revisions and thf: 9''' century translations. The 9'h century translations

393

witnessed a great flurry of activity from Greek into Syriac. The East Syrian Church

contributed a blend of cultural and religious openness with a clear Christian identity,

the integration of worship and secular life and spirituality with education, medicine,

agriculture, administration and their mutually beneficial co-existence with the

neighbours of other faiths and their survival despite oppressions and persecutions.

The missionary exercises, the role o t the East Syrian Turkish tribes, the Christian

physicians, the cultural and intellectual life of monks and missionaries for achieving

this are noteworthy.

The I'ersian art is a synthetic art that has Graeco-Roman forms in one area,

Iranian forms in another, Indian high Byzantine forms in yet other areas, since they

had to use and modify the forms of the conquered territories. The East Syrian Church

borrowed or adapted many things from the Mesopotamian and Greaco - Roman

culture. Her dominant partner of cultural encounter was Hellenistic culture which

helped her to grasp the meaning of universality. The Christian thought-forms and

patterns of life enabled the East Syrian missionaries to enter even into the official life

of the ruling class due to their surprising saintliness and dedication.

Thc instructions of the East Syrian Church missionaries had a bearing on the

local people, which created Christian pockets in different regions of Asian Continent.

The East Syrian Church had been often successful in transmitting to various fields,

cultural heritage, philosophical insight, knowledge of Science, medicine, art and

architecture and above all the Christian message. The Syriac literature and the literary

documents were translated at the instance of the East Syrian missionaries into the

respective vernacular languages of the Christians in Asian continent.

Generally, it can be concluded that the patronage that was enjoyed by the East

Syrian Church caravans at the instance of the then rulers of the regions resulted in the

creation of indelible landmark:j in the history of the East Syrian Christianity in the

Asian continent. The most important achievement of the East Syrian missions is the

Christinisaton of Malabar in Kerala in the early centuries. It is unique for the reason

that the Malabar Church is a foimidable religious force in the region. During the

394

period between the and the 16" century the East Syrian Church missionaries found

room in almost all the regions of India especially Kerala. The assistance of the East

Syrian Church missionaries helped the survival and growth of the Malabar Church.

Around the 5"' century under the Seleucian Catholicate, there was a flourishing

church with monasteries, which undertook missionary activities in China and India.

From time to time, the Catholicos would consecrate and send metropolitans and

bishops to India, for carrying our the ministry of the Indian Church. The common

apostolic identity of St. Thomas of the East Syrian Church and the Indian Church

paved the way for more intimate fellowship, which resulted in their awareness of the

concept of the communion of Churches.

The hierarchical dignitaries were instrumental in the spiritual growth of the

community. T'he bishops wel-c spiritual Inen who were mostly monks content with

their spiritual leadership ie. liturgical celebrations, conferring of sacramental orders,

hierarchical communion, teaching of' sx rcd scripture and the interpretation of the

teachings of the Fathers etc. l'he authority of the East Syrian bishop extended to all

spiritual matters. The hierarchical relationship and ecclesiastical affinity with the

East Syrian Church never hindered the functioning of the autonomous nature of the

Indian Church. The local administration of the Church was carried out by a powerful

figure called Archdeacon.

Though now the Malabar Church has developed hybrid forms of liturgy and

sacraments, during the early centuries it used the East Syrian liturgy. The formularies

of the Holy Qurbana., the other sacraments, the office of the dead, the prayers for. the

consecration of the Churches and altars and the divine office are examples of liturgy

adopted from the East Syrian Church. 'The East Syrian missionaries had a reputation

for integrity, as well as a recognized position in the church. At their instance the

Thomas Christians enjoyed certain privileges, which were engraved on copper plates

granted to them by their rulers. Culturally the East Syrian n~issionaries developed an

ecclesiastical life quite in harmony with the culture of India. Thus the natives carried

on certain customs and practices of the country in which they lived so that they could

not be easily differentiated from the non-Christian communities. They developed an

individuality of their own in the socio-political environment of the country (socio-

political Malabarian identit)). The Malabar Church was able to keep a good

relationship with other religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Islam in

Kerala.

Missiologically. Malabar under the jurisdiction of the Catholicos of the East

Syrian Church shared the missionary spirit of the same church and spread the gospel

not only in this country but also sent out missionaries to the neighbouring places such

as China, Socotra, Java. Maldives etc. l'he St. Thomas Christians of India possessed

a genuine missionary spirit in the remote days, the more so because it was

spontaneous.

The early Christians in lndia used the Syriac language in their liturgy and

worship. Syriac music in the [Cast Syrian Church liturgy influenced Christian folk

songs of the natives. Traditional ancient songs of the Church in Malabar are

influenced by Syrian tunes. I'he Thomas Christians use Malayalam and Syriac, the

former being their mother tongue and the latter, their hieratic language. The Syriac

Language has influenced Malayalam literature. Syriac words are taken directly into

use in Malayalam. Some are common. Contacts with Jews, Syriac Christians and

Arabs have enriched Malayalam. The domain of Syriac literature extended in

Malabar covers Biblical, ascetical, canonical, hagiographical, historical, liturgical,

philosophical, patristic, polemical etc.

Art forms in churches and temples bear close similarity with one another and it

is in systems of carving, architecture and sculpture that the fusion of the two cultures

is more visible. Consequently the art and architecture of the Malabar church was a

hybrid of the East Syrian and the native influence. There was a rich collection of

antiques. frescoes and mural paintings at certain churches in Kerala such as Mar

Sabore Afroth Church. Akaparambu. St. Mary's Syrian Church Angamaly, St.

Mary's Church Niranam , Mulanthuruthy Marthoman Church, St. George Church,

Chepad etc. l 'he form and the syinbolism ofthe art and inscription show clearly that

the East Syrian Church was able to express the Christian truth in the art forms and

imagery central and Asian cultures. A few Churches built centuries ago resemble the

ancient Selucian Churches.

Religiously, i t was common among the Christian institutions to attend

religious functions and therebq give encouragement to certain aspects of Hindu life,

which helped in keeping the secular nature of the Indian state. The early Christians in

Kerala appreciated the Hindu practices that were best in their environment, art and

music. Indian Christians had rediscovered the validity of lndian sanctity of the family,

family socialism, and decentralized economic and political life.

Hinduism has been very much influenced by Christianity. The extent of the

influence has been sufficiently probed. Obviously Christian doctrines are found in

Hindu scriptures. But no evidence of direct adoption is available in the numerous

texts of the pre-Portuguese period. The devotion to a personal God in Hinduism is a

movement, which is definitely posterior to the establishment of Christianity in south

India. The concept of the fatherhood of God, which they received from the Christian

faith, influenced them very much. The development of Bhakti doctrine is a product of

Christian influence. Thoughtful Hindus everywhere warmly appreciated

the compassionate approach of the Christian church in India. It is widely recognized

that Christian missions mark a new day in human relations.

It was Kerala's East Syrian Church contact from the earliest period which

helped the evolution of its way of life and culture noted for its catholicity and

universality. The liturgy and organization of the East Syrian Church was also

subjected to diverse cultural influences during the different stages of its history. This

relationship led in course of' time to the establishment of extensive cultural contacts

with these countries and their mutual interactions. The story of the rise and spread of

Christianity in Kerala (Maiabar) is a part of the story of the blending of diverse

cultural influences arid ways of life. The Christian faith in India made a steady

progress through the influx of the East Syrian immigrants, who were traders, monks,

missionaries, tourists etc.

The ancient Malabar Christianity that was kept aloof from the main stream of

Indian philosophical background, cultural heritage and spiritual patrimony could not

take deep root in the Indian soil and grow into a fully Indian Church. It was a barrier

for further commur~ication with other religions in India. It is also notable that the

dependence of the Indian Church on the East Syrian Church further prevented the

Church of India from developing an lndian Christian culture, especially an Indian

theology and an Indian liturgy. since the Indian Church continued to worship in

Syriac language. which is foreign to the people of India. The Christian church in India

was able to grow in the Indian cultural religious milieu and to transform the Indian

society. The Indian Christians were socially and culturally very much integrated into

the wider Hindu community, and they kept on many of the Hindu social customs and

practices.

Thus between the 61h arid the 16"' century, we come across several independent

East Syrian missions engaged in the spread of the Christian message throughout the

Asian Continent. Their success. however. has been on varying degrees. Generally a

very small or miniscule group managed an East Syrian Mission to a particular region

at a given time. Their strength based on the fundamental Christian faith, consistent

outlook and doctrines of spirituality and temporality, helped them to knit Christianity

into the social fabric at many places in the Asian Continent. Thus Christianisation

of several regions of the Asian continent is the result of a concerted attempt by

several monks, missionaries and prelates during different periods. Independent

missionary activities at a place were not within the knowledge of the natives of other

places or even the missionaries who Christianized those places.

Nevertheless, the pre-sixteenth Christianity in Asia can be characterized as

homogeneous in spite of the fiict that thc Christians and the Christianized groups were

Independent islands and seldom had communications among themselves. Another

unique feature is that each of' these independent islands in the vast Asian continent

had communication with thc East Syrian primate. Moreover, the homogeneity of the

Christian thought among the missionaries and the prelates has contributed to the

protection of' the East Syrian identity in the churches they established or nurtured

Needless to say that the pcrfbrmance of these prelates and missionaries has been

consistent and uniform with the East Syrian Church doctrines.

At all times . there was an attempt by many historians to attribute the spread of

Christianity through the East Syrian missions as a contribution by the merchants and

traders of the Middle East. With all respects, I must differ from those renowned

historians for the simple reason that they have failed lo take note of the religious

missionary mind of the nrerchants and the traders, who in disguise of trade and

business were reasonably s~rccessful in Christianizing several places in the Asian

continent.

Christian dogmas and doctrines are li~ndamentally based on peace, love and

penitence. It is opposed to war and bloodshed. We find that the East Syrian Church

missionaries carried with them the fundamental Christian principles in true letter and

spirit. All along the history of the East Syrian missions one can never come across an

event which culniinated in blood shed. In spite of hostilities and persecutions the East

Syrian Church missionaries chose the path of peace, patience and self-control. This is

another dominant feature ol' the East Syrian Church Missionary Enterprise which

outweighs many of thc missionar-y oriented religions. Islam, the Portuguese

missionaries as 1.vell as the 1:uropean rnissionaries who came to India had political

interests. For that reason alone they intertwined political power with religious power

which resulted in blood shed as well as social unrest. This makes the East Syrian

Church endeavour between the 6"' and the 16Ih centuries unique.