Who On Earth Is Purely Egalitarian and Godly In Spirit

Mr. Mathew Joseph is appealing to certain values exalted by the idealists and aspired by some but hardly practiced or achieved.  In India as well as in Kerala marriages are taking place within the caste or religious lines.  Exogamous marriages are very rare.  Every community esteems their traditions to sky level and strongly adheres to that.  The Syro-Malabarians believed that they are descendants of the Namboodiri Brahmins and they refused to mingle with and marry those low castes that embraced the Christian religion.  Long ago in Kuravilangad the Sunday mass-timing was scheduled to suit the convenience of the so called High Caste Christians. Mass was celebrated for them in the early hours of the day. There was a separate church for the low caste Christians in the place where the Devamatha College presently stands and holy mass for them was said late around noon.  By convention the low Caste Christians were not allowed to approach the statue of St. Sebastian, for fear of the saint being polluted as he was a Patrician and reckoned to be equivalent to Namboodiri Brahmins in Kerala. Only because of the ostracism of the Syro-Malabarians and the Knanites that a separate diocese was formed in Vijayapuram exclusively for the subaltern Christians.

The Syro-Malabarian insolence about the Namboodiri traditions has turned out to be a farce in the light of later research findings by historians like Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai, Herman Gundert and several others.  The Namboodiris came in significant numbers only from the second half of the Sixth century CE.  Above all why should the Namboodiris forsake their high status and financial and social positions in the Hindu society and accept a foreign religion.  The belief that the water spilled by Thomas stood still in the air and that the chips of thin wood he cut for construction of the church turned into coins are all extremely superstitious beliefs.  Even the arrival of St. Thomas to the Malabar is highly disputed.  Pope Pope Benedict XVI in an article stated that St. Thomas preached Gospel in Persia and from there Christianity reached India.  But in the face of stiff opposition by the Syro-Malabar church, poor pope had to correct his article to conform to the sentiments of the local church.  

Writers like Vettikkunnel Mathai Kathanar in his book “Malyayalathile Suriyanikkarkku Bhavicha Bhavithangal” underscores the historical importance of the arrival of Thomas Cana and his men that enhanced the social status of the local Christians and they got freed from the onus of castism.  He continues to elaborate that the church of St. Thomas was in a highly decadent stage when Thomas Cana arrived.  The Christians said to have been converted by St. Thomas reverted to Hinduism and at present the Mylapore church is under the Latin Bishop there.  Out of the 160 Christian families in Kerala, 96 embraced their original Hindu religious faith.  The migration of the Knanities was not a chance occurrence.  It was orchastrated by the Catholicos of the East and worked out by Archbishop Mar Yohannan of Arbela to salvage the deteriorating Malabar Church.  Thomas Cana’s help was very crucial here as he was very familiar with the Malabar Coast and thorough with the navigation along this sea route.  So a full fledged church consisting of Bishop, Uraha Mar Youseph, a couple of  priests and deacons and laymen were sent by him from the Southern Mesopotamia. 

The role that the Knanites played in nurturing and strengthening the Kerala Church is laudable and glowing.  The Aramaic rite was brought by them.  In all other parts of the world where the apostles went the language of worship was in their native languages.  When Bishop Menesis wanted to Latinize the liturgy and made such a proposal, Knanites vehemently resisted it and Menesis had to retract from his attempt. The Christians of Malabar were known as Mar Thoma Christians before the arrival of Thomas Kana and they were known as Syrian Christians after Kana’s immigration.  This is acknowledged by Mar Varkey Vithayathil in his book “Thuranna Manasode”.  The popular Christian art, Margam Kali, was developed by the Knanites and there are no other important art forms that Kerala Christians can boast of.  Whenever Christians faced some problem, the Knanites rose to the occasion to defend the community.  Sir C.P. was following a policy highly detrimental to the interests of Christians and Knanites was there in the forefront under the leadership of late Sri Joseph Chazhikadan to protect the community. 

Every community has the right to protect their cultural traditions and integrity.  Like other communities in Kerala they also practice endogamy. The Brahmins, Nairs and several others practice endogamy. Can Mr. Mathew Joseph put and end to all this.  It is Knanites’ basic right to practice endogamy and other ethnic practices. Mr. Mathew Joseph has no business to interfere in the affairs of Knanites. Better he minds his business.

Joseph Kurien Pulikuthiel