CHAPTER FIVE
COMING OF THE ROMAN
CATHOLICS
AND
THEIR DISPERSION UNDER PERSECUTIONS
Early missionaries
1291 John of Monte Corvino
John of Monte Corvino, was a
Franciscan sent to
1321 Friar Odoric of
Friar Odoric of
1302-1330 Jordanus, Catalani, Bishop of
Columbum
http://ricci.rt.usfca.edu/biography/view.aspx?biographyID=1415
Jordanus, Catalani, Bishop of Columbum, is also known as Jordanus Catalani de Séverac,
Friar Jordanus, Severaco). Friar Jordanus recorded his journeys to
In his second letter, dated in
January, 1324, Jordanus relates how he had started from
"Nohili viro domino
Nascarinorum et universis sub eo Christianis Nascarinis do Columbo, Venerabilem
fratrem nostrum Jordanum Catalani, episcopum Columbensem, Prædicatorum Ordinis
professorem, quem nuper ad episcopalis dignitatis apicem auctoritate apostolicâ
duximus promovendum --" etc.
The Pope goes on to recommend
the missionaries to their goodwill, and ends by inviting the Nascarini (Nazrání, Christians, in
The Pope had shortly before
nominated John de Coro to be Archbishop of Sultania in
We may suppose that Jordanus,
after fulfilling his commission at Sultania, proceeded to his see in Malabar by
the Persian Gulf, the route which he had followed on his first visit to India ;
but whether he ever reached it, or ever returned from it, seems to be
undetermined. M. Coquebert-Montbret assumes that he did both but as far as I
can gather, this is based on the other assumption, that his Miribilia was written after returning a second time. My impres-sion is that it
was written before he went out as bishop, for it contains no allusion
to his having held that dignity. Nor does it appear to be known whether he had
any successor in his episcopate.
Father Jordanus Catalani, a French Dominican
missionary, followed in 1321-22. He reported to
1347, Giovanni de Marignolli
In 1347, Giovanni de Marignolli visited the shrine of
Another prominent Indian traveler was Joseph,
priest over Cranganore. He journeyed to
Reformation
in the Western Churches.
The historical
development of major church branches from their roots. Protestantism in
general, and particularly Restorationism, claims a direct connection with Early
Christianity.
Re-formation of the Christian
Church with respect to doctrines intertwined with local politics are not
new. As soon as the Church was
institutionalized and the need for systematic theology and hierarchial system
of administrations were felt, these eventually led to seperation and formation
of independent churches. Many people
look upon this as a decay process.
However every form of growth in a living organism grow by seperation
just as babies grow in the womb. Each
part of the body and its organ has its own function within the wider
person. This is the function of the
multitudes of churches. These are
indications of growth and specialization of the organs within the body of
Christ. It is only the cancer cells that
insist that it will have only its own type of cell growth and tries to stop and
thereby bring in death for the body as a whole.
The Protestant
Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated
by Martin Luther, John Calvin and several early Protestants. The Reformation began as an attempt to reform
the Roman Catholic Church, from within the Church itself when scholars and
monks and priests opposed what they perceived as false doctrines and
ecclesiastic malpractice.
Martin
Luther's spiritual predecessors included John Wycliffe (1328-1384) and Jan Hus (1369-1415), who likewise had attempted
to reform the Roman Catholic Church.
John Wycliff and Jan Hus
Wycliff in opposition to the
Roman Catholic policy wanted to translate the Bible into the languages of the
people. He himself personally translated
the Gospels. The Council of Constance
declared Wycliffe (on 4 May 1415) a heretic and under the ban of the Church. It
was decreed that his books be burned and his remains be exhumed. The exhumation
was carried out in 1428 when, at the command of Pope Martin V, his remains were
dug up, burned, and the ashes cast into the River Swift, which flows through
Lutterworth.
Martin Luther 95 Thesis of Martin Luther
The Protestant Reformation began on 31 October 1517, in Wittenberg,
Saxony, where Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of
Indulgences to the door of the Castle ChurchIn Germany,
reformation can be dated at 1517 CE the
day when Martin Luther an Augustinian monk at the university of Wittenberg,
called in for a debate and discussion on doctrines and practice. This is known as 95 thesis. The consequent Martin Luther's excommunication on January
3rd, 1521, from the Catholic Church, precipitated the Protestant Reformation
John Calvin ( Jean Calvin or Jehan
Cauvin; 10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was a French theologian and
pastor . His theology today is known as Calvinism. He broke from the Roman Catholic Church
around 1530.and consequent to a violent uprising against Protestants in
Padroado Ultramarino Português
AD 1498 Arrival of Vasco Da Gama and Roman Catholic Mission
The Padroado (Portuguese:
"patronage"), was an arrangement between the Holy See of the Roman
Catholic Church and the Kingdom of
Portugal, affirmed by a series of treaties, by which the Vatican delegated to
the kings of Spain and Portugal the administration of the local Churches as Padroado
Real (Royal patronage), Padroado Ultramarino Português
(Portuguese Overseas Patronage) and, Padroado
Português do Oriente, (Portuguese Patronage of the East). In the 16th century, the proselytization of
An English translation of Romanus Pontifex is reproduced below, as
published in European Treaties bearing on
the History of the
English Translation
Nicholas, bishop, servant of the servants of God.
for a perpetual remembrance.
The Roman pontiff, successor of
the key-bearer of the heavenly kingdom and vicar of Jesus Christ, contemplating with a father's
mind all the several climes of the world and the characteristics of all the
nations dwelling in them and seeking and desiring the salvation of all,
wholesomely ordains and disposes upon careful deliberation those things which
he sees will be agreeable to the Divine Majesty and by which he may bring the
sheep entrusted to him by God into the single divine fold, and may acquire for
them the reward of eternal felicity, and obtain pardon for their souls. This we
believe will more certainly come to pass, through the aid of the Lord, if we
bestow suitable favors and special graces on those Catholic kings and princes,
who, like athletes and intrepid champions of the Christian faith, as we know by
the evidence of facts, not only restrain the savage excesses of the Saracens
and of other infidels, enemies of the Christian name, but also for the defense and increase of the faith vanquish them and their kingdoms and
habitations, though situated in the remotest parts unknown to us, and subject
them to their own temporal dominion, sparing no labor and expense, in order that those kings and
princes, relieved of all obstacles, may be the more animated to the prosecution
of so salutary and laudable a work.
We have lately heard, not
without great joy and gratification, how our beloved son, the noble personage
Henry, infante of Portugal, uncle of our most dear son in Christ, the
illustrious Alfonso, king of the kingdoms of Portugal and Algarve, treading in
the footsteps of John, of famous memory, king of the said kingdoms, his father,
and greatly inflamed with zeal for the salvation of souls and with fervor of
faith, as a Catholic and true soldier of Christ, the Creator of all things, and
a most active and courageous defender and intrepid champion of the faith in
Him, has aspired from his early youth with his utmost might to cause the most
glorious name of the said Creator to be published, extolled, and revered
throughout the whole world, even in the most remote and undiscovered places,
and also to bring into the bosom of his faith the perfidious enemies of him and
of the life-giving Cross by which we have been redeemed, namely the Saracens
and all other infidels whatsoever, [and how] after the city of Ceuta, situated
in Africa, had been subdued by the said King John to his dominion, and after
many wars had been waged, sometimes in person, by the said infante, although in
the name of the said King John, against the enemies and infidels aforesaid, not
without the greatest labors and expense, and with dangers and loss of life and
property, and the slaughter of very many of their natural subjects, the said
infante being neither enfeebled nor terrified by so many and great labors,
dangers, and losses, but growing daily more and more zealous in prosecuting
this his so laudable and pious purpose, has peopled with orthodox Christians
certain solitary islands in the ocean sea, and has caused churches and other
pious places to be there founded and built, in which divine service is
celebrated. Also by the laudable endeavor and industry of the said infante,
very many inhabitants or dwellers in divers islands situated in the said sea,
coming to the knowledge of the true God, have received holy baptism, to the
praise and glory of God, the salvation of the souls of many, the propagation
also of the orthodox faith, and the increase of divine worship.
Moreover, since, some time ago,
it had come to the knowledge of the said infante that never, or at least not
within the memory of men, had it been customary to sail on this ocean sea
toward the southern and eastern shores, and that it was so unknown to us
westerners that we had no certain knowledge of the peoples of those parts,
believing that he would best perform his duty to God in this matter, if by his
effort and industry that sea might become navigable as far as to the Indians who are said to worship the name of Christ, and that thus he might be able to enter into relation with them, and to incite them to aid the
Christians against the Saracens and other such enemies of the faith, and might
also be able forthwith to subdue certain gentile or pagan peoples, living
between, who are entirely free from infection by the sect of the most impious
Mahomet, and to preach and cause to be preached to them the unknown but most
sacred name of Christ, strengthened, however, always by the royal authority, he
has not ceased for twenty-five years past to send almost yearly an army of the
peoples of the said kingdoms with the greatest labor, danger, and expense, in
very swift ships called caravels, to explore the sea and coast lands toward the
south and the Antarctic pole. And so it came to pass that when a number of ships
of this kind had explored and taken possession of very many harbors, islands,
and seas, they at length came to the province of Guinea, and having taken
possession of some islands and harbors and the sea adjacent to that province,
sailing farther they came to the mouth of a certain great river commonly
supposed to be the Nile, and war was waged for some years against the peoples
of those parts in the name of the said King Alfonso and of the infante, and in
it very many islands in that neighborhood were subdued and peacefully
possessed, as they are still possessed together with the adjacent sea. Thence
also many Guineamen and other negroes, taken by force, and some by barter of
unprohibited articles, or by other lawful contract of purchase, have been sent
to the said kingdoms. A large number of these have been converted to the
Catholic faith, and it is hoped, by the help of divine mercy, that if such
progress be continued with them, either those peoples will be converted to the
faith or at least the souls of many of them will be gained for Christ.
But since, as we are informed,
although the king and infante aforesaid (who with so many and so great dangers,
labors, and expenses, and also with loss of so many natives of their said
kingdoms, very many of whom have perished in those expeditions, depending only
upon the aid of those natives, have caused those provinces to be explored and
have acquired and possessed such harbors, islands, and seas, as aforesaid, as
the true lords of them), fearing lest strangers induced by covetousness should
sail to those parts, and desiring to usurp to themselves the perfection, fruit,
and praise of this work, or at least to hinder it, should therefore, either for
the sake of gain or through malice, carry or transmit iron, arms, wood used for
construction, and other things and goods prohibited to be carried to infidels
or should teach those infidels the art of navigation, whereby they would become
more powerful and obstinate enemies to the king and infante, and the
prosecution of this enterprise would either be hindered, or would perhaps
entirely fail, not without great offense to God and great reproach to all
Christianity, to prevent this and to conserve their right and possession, [the
said king and infante] under certain most severe penalties then expressed, have
prohibited and in general have ordained that none, unless with their sailors and ships and on
payment of a certain tribute and with an express license previously obtained
from the said king or infante, should presume to sail to the said provinces or
to trade in their ports or to fish in the sea, [although the king and infante
have taken this action, yet in time it might happen that persons of other
kingdoms or nations, led by envy, malice, or covetousness, might presume, contrary
to the prohibition aforesaid, without license and payment of such tribute, to
go to the said provinces, and in the provinces, harbors, islands, and sea, so
acquired, to sail, trade, and fish; and thereupon between King Alfonso and the
infante, who would by no means suffer themselves to be so trifled with in these
things, and the presumptuous persons aforesaid, very many hatreds, rancors,
dissensions, wars, and scandals, to the highest offense of God and danger of
souls, probably might and would ensue --
We [therefore] weighing all and
singular the premises with due meditation, and noting that since we had
formerly by other letters of ours granted among other things free and ample
faculty to the aforesaid King Alfonso -- to invade, search out, capture, vanquish, and subdue all
Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and other enemies of Christ wheresoever placed,
and the kingdoms, dukedoms, principalities, dominions, possessions, and all
movable and immovable goods whatsoever held and possessed by them and to reduce their persons to perpetual
slavery, and to apply and appropriate to himself and his successors the
kingdoms, dukedoms, counties, principalities, dominions, possessions, and
goods, and to convert them to his and their use and profit --
by having secured the said
faculty, the said King Alfonso, or, by his authority, the aforesaid infante,
justly and lawfully has acquired and possessed, and doth possess, these
islands, lands, harbors, and seas, and they do of right belong and pertain to
the said King Alfonso and his successors, nor without special license from King
Alfonso and his successors themselves has any other even of the faithful of
Christ been entitled hitherto, nor is he by any means now entitled lawfully to
meddle therewith -- in order that King Alfonso himself and his successors and
the infante.may be able the more zealously to pursue and may pursue this most
pious and noble work, and most worthy of perpetual remembrance (which, since
the salvation of souls, increase of the faith, and overthrow of its enemies may
be procured thereby, we regard as a work wherein the glory of God, and faith in
Him, and His commonwealth, the Universal Church, are concerned) in proportion
as they, having been relieved of all the greater obstacles, shall find themselves
supported by us and by the Apostolic See with favors and graces -- we, being
very fully informed of all and singular the premises, do, motu proprio, not at the instance of King
Alfonso or the infante, or on the petition of any other offered to us on their
behalf in respect to this matter, and after mature deliberation, by apostolic
authority, and from certain knowledge, in the fullness of apostolic power, by
the tenor of these presents decree and declare that the aforesaid letters of
faculty (the tenor whereof we wish to be considered as inserted word for word
in these presents, with all and singular the clauses therein contained) are
extended to Ceuta and to the aforesaid and all other acquisitions whatsoever,
even those acquired before the date of the said letters of faculty, and to all
those provinces, islands, harbors, and seas whatsoever, which hereafter, in the
name of the said King Alfonso and of his successors and of the infante, in
those parts and the adjoining, and in the more distant and remote parts, can be
acquired from the hands of infidels or pagans, and that they are comprehended
under the said letters of faculty. And by force of those and of the present
letters of faculty the acquisitions already made, and what hereafter shall
happen to be acquired, after they shall have been acquired, we do by the tenor
of these presents decree and declare have pertained, and forever of right do
belong and pertain, to the aforesaid king and to his successors and to the
infante, and that the right of conquest which in the course of these letters we
declare to be extended from the capes of Bojador and of Não, as far as through
all Guinea, and beyond toward that southern shore, has belonged and pertained,
and forever of right belongs and pertains, to the said King Alfonso, his
successors, and the infante, and not to any others. We also by the tenor of
these presents decree and declare that King Alfonso and his successors and the
infante aforesaid might and may, now and henceforth, freely and lawfully, in
these [acquisitions] and concerning them make any prohibitions, statutes, and
decrees whatsoever, even penal ones, and with imposition of any tribute, and
dispose and ordain concerning them as concerning their own property and their
other dominions. And in order to confer a more effectual right and assurance we
do by these presents forever give, grant, and appropriate to the aforesaid King
Alfonso and his successors, kings of the said kingdoms, and to the infante, the
provinces, islands, harbors, places, and seas whatsoever, how many soever, and
of what sort soever they shall be, that have already been acquired and that
shall hereafter come to be acquired, and the right of conquest also from the
capes of Bojador and of Não aforesaid.
Moreover, since this is fitting
in many ways for the perfecting of a work of this kind, we allow that the
aforesaid King Alfonso and [his] successors and the infante, as also the
persons to whom they, or any one of them, shall think that this work ought to
be committed, may (according to the grant made to the said King John by Martin
V., of happy memory, and another grant made also to King Edward of illustrious
memory, king of the same kingdoms, father of the said King Alfonso, by Eugenius
IV., of pious memory, Roman pontiffs, our predecessors) make purchases and
sales of any things and goods and victuals whatsoever, as it shall seem fit,
with any Saracens and infidels, in the said regions; and also may enter into
any contracts, transact business, bargain, buy and negotiate, and carry any
commodities whatsoever to the places of those Saracens and infidels, provided
they be not iron instruments, wood to be used for construction, cordage, ships,
or any kinds of armor, and may sell them to the said Saracens and infidels; and
also may do, perform, or prosecute all other and singular things [mentioned] in
the premises, and things suitable or necessary in relation to these; and that
the same King Alfonso, his successors, and the infante, in the provinces,
islands, and places already acquired, and to be acquired by him, may found and
[cause to be] founded and built any churches,
monasteries, or other pious places whatsoever; and also may send over to
them any ecclesiastical persons whatsoever, as volunteers, both seculars, and
regulars of any of the mendicant orders (with license, however, from their
superiors), and that those persons may abide there as long as they shall live,
and hear confessions of all who live in the said parts or who come thither, and
after the confessions have been heard they may give due absolution in all
cases, except those reserved to the aforesaid see, and enjoin salutary penance,
and also administer the ecclesiastical sacraments freely and lawfully, and this
we allow and grant to Alfonso himself, and his successors, the kings of
Portugal, who shall come afterwards, and to the aforesaid infante. Moreover, we
entreat in the Lord, and by the sprinkling of the blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ, whom, as has been said, it concerneth, we exhort, and as they hope for
the remission of their sins enjoin, and also by this perpetual edict of
prohibition we more strictly inhibit, all and singular the faithful of Christ,
ecclesiastics, seculars, and regulars of whatsoever orders, in whatsoever part
of the world they live, and of whatsoever state, degree, order, condition, or
pre-eminence they shall be, although endued with archiepiscopal, episcopal,
imperial, royal, queenly, ducal, or any other greater ecclesiastical or worldly
dignity, that they do not by any means presume to carry arms, iron, wood for
construction, and other things prohibited by law from being in any way carried
to the Saracens, to any of the provinces, islands, harbors, seas, and places
whatsoever, acquired or possessed in the name of King Alfonso, or situated in
this conquest or elsewhere, to the Saracens, infidels, or pagans; or even
without special license from the said King Alfonso and his successors and the
infante, to carry or cause to be carried merchandise and other things permitted
by law, or to navigate or cause to be navigated those seas, or to fish in them,
or to meddle with the provinces, islands, harbors, seas, and places, or any of
them, or with this conquest, or to do anything by themselves or another or
others, directly or indirectly, by deed or counsel, or to offer any obstruction
whereby the aforesaid King Alfonso and his successors and the infante may be
hindered from quietly enjoying their acquisitions and possessions, and
prosecuting and carrying out this conquest.
And we decree that whosoever
shall infringe these orders [shall incur the following penalties], besides the
punishments pronounced by law against those who carry arms and other prohibited
things to any of the Saracens, which we wish them to incur by so doing; if they
be single persons, they shall incur the sentence of excommunication; if a
community or corporation of a city, castle, village, or place, that city,
castle, village, or place shall be thereby subject to the interdict; and we
decree further that transgressors, collectively or individually, shall not be
absolved from the sentence of excommunication, nor be able to obtain the
relaxation of this interdict, by apostolic or any other authority, unless they
shall first have made due satisfaction for their transgressions to Alfonso
himself and his successors and to the infante, or shall have amicably agreed
with them thereupon. By [these] apostolic writings we enjoin our venerable
brothers, the archbishop of Lisbon, and the bishops of Silves and Ceuta, that
they, or two or one of them, by himself, or another or others, as often as they
or any of them shall be required on the part of the aforesaid King Alfonso and
his successors and the infante or any one of them, on Sundays, and other
festival days, in the churches, while a large multitude of people shall
assemble there for divine worship, do declare and denounce by apostolic
authority that those persons who have been proved to have incurred such
sentences of excommunication and interdict, are excommunicated and interdicted,
and have been and are involved in the other punishments aforesaid. And we
decree that they shall also cause them to be denounced by others, and to be
strictly avoided by all, till they shall have made satisfaction for or
compromised their transgressions as aforesaid. Offenders are to be held in
check by ecclesiastical censure, without regard to appeal, the apostolic
constitutions and ordinances and all other things whatsoever to the contrary
notwithstanding. But in order that the present letters, which have been issued
by us of our certain knowledge and after mature deliberation thereupon, as is
aforesaid, may not hereafter be impugned by anyone as fraudulent, secret, or
void, we will, and by the authority, knowledge, and power aforementioned, we do
likewise by these letters, decree and declare that the said letters and what is
contained therein cannot in any wise be impugned, or the effect thereof
hindered or obstructed, on account of any defect of fraudulency, secrecy, or
nullity, not even from a defect of the ordinary or of any other authority, or
from any other defect, but that they shall be valid forever and shall obtain
full authority. And if anyone, by whatever authority, shall, wittingly or
unwittingly, attempt anything inconsistent with these orders we decree that his
act shall be null and void. Moreover, because it would be difficult to carry
our present letters to all places whatsoever, we will, and by the said
authority we decree by these letters, that faith shall be given as fully and
permanently to copies of them, certified under the hand of a notary public and
the seal of the episcopal or any superior ecclesiastical court, as if the said
original letters were exhibited or shown; and we decree that within two months
from the day when these present letters, or the paper or parchment containing
the tenor of the same, shall be affixed to the doors of the church at Lisbon,
the sentences of excommunication and the other sentences contained therein
shall bind all and singular offenders as fully as if these present letters had
been made known and presented to them in person and lawfully. Therefore let no
one infringe or with rash boldness contravene this our declaration,
constitution, gift, grant, appropriation, decree, supplication, exhortation,
injunction, inhibition, mandate, and will. But if anyone should presume to do
so, be it known to him that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the
blessed apostles Peter and Paul. Given at
P. de Noxeto.)
The kings ordered the construction of churches; and also nominated pastors
and bishops. Thus the Portuguese colonisation was effectively both political
and religious by default. It was under
this condition we should be looking at the Portuguese Colonisation and the
behavior of Bishops in their treatment of the Malankara Suryani Christians.
AD 1498 Arrival of Vasco Da Gama and Roman Catholic
The squadron of Vasco da Gama set sail from left , He
commanded the flagship St. Gabriel,
accompanied by the St. Raphael and Berrio
(commanded, respectively, by his brother Paulo and Nicolas Coelho) and a large
supply ship. Rreaching Kappad near
Vasco Da
Gama and the Portuguese colonization
routes and the Portuguese Indian coin minted 1799
|
Born |
1460 or 1469 |
|
Died |
23 December 1524 (aged 54-64) |
|
Occupation |
Explorer, Governor of Portuguese India |
|
Signature |
|
Vasco da Gama lands at Calicut
Vasco da Gama was the first European to open a sea-based trade route to
Vasco Da Gama (1460 – 1524 AD)
was commissioned by the King of
Mother Mary and Mariamman
right: Sri Kanyaka Paramesvari temple in the heart of old
The Tamil word "
Without the understanding of
the emergence of Hinduism from the early Thomas Christianity all these could
not make sense. From the 8th C defining
period of Hinduism, it grew up into a distinct religion. It also shows how the Greco-Roman Churches
almost fall in line with the Hindu Churches except for the fact there was the
redeeming presence of the Reformation which halted such extreme idol worship
and ritual acts be taken to their extreme.
Vasco da Gama's first voyage to
Daman and
St Jerome Fort built by the Portugese in
There were 2 other small enclaves which were under Portugese control. These
were called Dadra and Nagar Haveli. These 2 small enclaves came under Portugese
control in 1783 and 1785 and were administered from
Along with this came the religious domination of
Roman Catholic Church over the independent churches of Malabar. Portuguese
being of Roman Catholic persuasion wanted to bring the Malabar Christians under
the pontificate of
According to the Roman concept
the Pope of Rome is the heir to the throne of Peter and is the Vicar of the
Church Universal all over the world wherever it may be. The Roman Catholicism
claimed that Pope of Rome was the supreme head of all the churches of the world
and Indian Churches should also submit to this supremacy if they are to remain
true as Catholic Church. The first such claim came with Friar John, whom Pope
John XXII ordained as Bishop of Quilon in AD 1330 when he was sent him with a
letter. Friar John is reported to have come to Quilon and founded a church in
Latin rite. However historically there is no evidence that he ever came to
Quilon. He is said to have been martyred at Kalyan in
Vasco-da-Gama's flagship
Fleet departing Fleet arriving at Calicut Embarking at
Rastello
from the stamp collection of Kasinath
R. http://rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/2010/05/world-circus-geneva-2010.html
During the second expedition,
the Portuguese fleet comprising 13 ships and 18 priests, under Captain Pedro
Álvares Cabral, anchored at
Cabral soon won the goodwill of the Raja of Cochin.
He allowed four priests to do apostolic work among the early Christian
communities scattered in and around
Dom Francisco de Almeida also known
as "the Great Dom Francisco"
distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of
Dom Francisco
de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy got permission from
the Kochi Raja to build two church edifices - namely Santa
Cruz Basilica (Founded : 1505) and St. Francis
Church (Founded : 1506) using stones and mortar which was
unheard of at that time as the local prejudices were against such a structure
for any purpose other than a royal palace or a temple.
Duarte
Pacheco Pereira, first commander of
Profiting from the
rivalry between the ruler of
Profiting
from the rivalry between the ruler of Kochi and the Zamorin of Calicut, the
Portuguese were well received and seen as allies, getting a permit to build a
fort (Fort Manuel) and a trading post that were the first European settlement
in India. In 1505 King Manuel I of
On June 12, 1514,
A second
Battle of Diu in 1538 finally ended Ottoman ambitions in India and confirmed
Portuguese hegemony in the Indian Ocean.
In 1542 Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived in
Goa at the service of King John III of Portugal, in charge of an Apostolic
Nunciature. The Portuguese
built the Pulicat fort in 1502, with the help of the Vijayanagar ruler. There
were Portuguese settlements in and around Mylapore. The Luz Church in Mylapore,
This started the Colonization process of
A second Battle of Diu
in 1538 finally ended Ottoman ambitions in
In 1542 Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived in
Goa at the service of King John III of
Inquisition and Migration of Goan Catholics
The Catholic saint Francis
Xavier requested John III
of
http://www.enotes.com/topic/Mangalorean_Catholics
Many of the Goan ancestors of the present
Mangalorean Catholics fled
Distribution of Goan Catholics in India 2001
However, many Goan
Catholics were tenaciously attached to
some of their Indian cultural practices and customs. Those who
refused to give up their ancient
practices were declared apostates and heretics and condemned to death.
Such circumstances forced many to leave Goa and settle in the neighboring
kingdoms, of which a minority went to the
It is interesting and
instructive, in this light, to view the rituals and practices of Mangalorean
Catholics. These Catholics of South fled from
Portuguese viceroy forbade the use of Konkani the local language of
The Christians who left Goa were skilled
cultivators who abandoned their irrigated fields in
Under the provisional treaties between the
Portuguese and the Bednore rulers, and the Paradox (Protectorate privileges)
the Christians were allowed to build churches and help the growth of Christianity
in
Portugese Printing Press in
In 1556, a Portuguese ship going to Goa for came with 14 Jesuits bound for Abyssinia (today's
·
Conclusões e outras coisas (Theses and other things) in 1556.
·
Confecionarios in 1557.
·
Doutrina Christa by
·
Tratado contra os erros
scismaticos dos Abexins (A Tract against the Schismatic Errors of the
Abyssinians) by Gonçalo Rodrigues in 1560.
In 1568, the first illustrated cover page (the
illustration being done with the relief technique of woodblock) was printed in
Joao Gonsalves, is credited with preparing the
first printing types of an Indian script- Tamil. However, since they were not satisfactory, new
casts were made in Quilon(Kollam) by Father Joao da Faria. On 20 October
1578, these types were used to print the first book in an Indian language in
Father Thomas Stephens in 1622, published Doutrina Christam em lingoa Bramana Canarim, ordenada a maneira de
dialogo, pera ensinar os mininos, por Thomas Estevao, Collegio de Rachol (Christian Doctrines in the Canarese Brahmin
Language, arranged in dialogue to teach children). This was the first book in Konkani in 1640. Father
Thomas Stephen produced the first Konkani
Grammar also in 1640.
From then on printing in Latin, Portuguese, Tamil (which the Portugese called Malabar) and,
Konkani, were distributed for the
next hundred years. Then, as suddenly as it had started the printing stopped. Tamil printing stopped around 1612. but the books in Latin and Portuguese
were continued to be printed in
Title
page of Garcia
da Orta's Colóquios.
The "Second Wave of
Migration" to the South
Ali Adil Shah I's attack on Goa in 1571
precipitated the second wave of Goan Catholic migrations towards
In 1570, the Sultan of Bijapur, Ali Adil Shah I along with the Sultan of Ahmadnagar, Murtaza Nizam Shah and the Zamorin of Kozhikode for an attack on
the Portuguese territories of Goa, Chaul and Mangalore. He attacked
"Third Wave of Migration".
The attacks of the Maratha Empire
on
The Maratha ruler Sambhaji's onslaught was responsible for the third great wave
of migrations to
The
The Mysore Catholic mission was established in Srirangapatna in 1649 by Leonardo Cinnami, an Italian Jesuit from
The reign of Kanthirava
Narasaraja
I, the Wodeyar ruler of
Dalwai of
Hyder Naik was the dalwai or commander-in-chief to Krishnaraja
Wodeyar II. Eventually he took over control as the Sultan
and practically instituted Islamic rule.
In February 1768, the British
captured Mangalore and Canara from Hyder. At the end
of the same year, Hyder, along with his son Tipu Sultan, defeated the British
and recaptured Mangalore. After the conquest, Hyder was informed that the
Mangalorean Catholics had helped the British in their conquest of Mangalore.
Hyder believed that this behaviour amounted to treachery against the sovereign. Summoning a
Portuguese officer and several Christian priests from Mangalore, he asked for
suggestions as to how the Mangalorean Catholics should be punished. The
Portuguese officer suggested the death penalty for those Catholics who had
helped the British, as it was the standard punishment for betraying a
sovereign. However these suspicions against the clergy and the Christians
were removed and during Hyder's regime, Roman Catholicism in
Mangalore and the Mangalorean Catholic community continued to flourish. The
Second Anglo-Mysore War began in 1780 and led to Hyder's
death on 7 December 1782, at Arcot.
Afterwards the British recaptured the fort at Mangalore.
Mangalore Fort soon after it was taken over by the
British
His son Tipu
Sultan succeeded his father at the age of 31 and was antichristian and fought against the British infiltration into
The Jamalabad
fort route. Mangalorean Catholics
had traveled through this route on their way to Srirangapatanam
The Bakur Manuscript reports him as having said:
"All Musalmans should unite together, and considering the annihilation of
infidels as a sacred duty, labor to the utmost of their power, to accomplish
that subject." Soon after
the Treaty of
Mangalore in 1784, Tipu gained control
of Canara. He issued
orders to seize the Christians in Canara, confiscate their estates, and deport
them to Seringapatam, the capital of his empire, through the Jamalabad
fort route. However,
there were no priests among the captives. Together with Father Miranda, all the
21 arrested priests were issued orders of expulsion to
Tipu ordered the destruction of 27 Catholic
churches, all beautifully carved with statues depicting various saints. Among
them included the Church of Nossa Senhora de Rosario Milagres at Mangalore, Fr Miranda's Seminary at Monte Mariano, Church of Jesu Marie Jose at Omzoor, Chapel at Bolar, Church of Merces at Ullal, Imaculata Conceiciao at Mulki, San Jose at Perar, Nossa Senhora dos Remedios at Kirem, Sao Lawrence at Karkal, Rosario at Barkur, Immaculata Conceciao at Baidnur. All were
razed to the ground, with the exception of The
Church of Holy Cross at Hospet, owing to the friendly offices of the Chauta Raja
of Moodbidri.
According to Thomas
Munro, a Scottish soldier and the
first collector of Canara, around 60,000 people, nearly 92
percent of the entire Mangalorean Catholic community, were captured; only 7,000
escaped. Francis
Buchanan gives the numbers as 70,000
captured, from a population of 80,000, with 10,000 escaping. They were forced
to climb nearly 4,000 feet (1,200 m) through the jungles of the Western
Ghat mountain ranges. It was 210
miles (340 km) from Mangalore to Seringapatam, and the journey took six weeks.
According to British Government records, 20,000 of them died on the march to
Seringapatam. According to James
Scurry, a British officer, who was
held captive along with Mangalorean Catholics, 30,000 of them were forcibly
converted to Islam. The young women and girls were forcibly made wives of the
Muslims living there. The young
men who offered resistance were disfigured by cutting their noses, upper lips,
and ears. According to
Mr. Silva of Gangolim, a survivor of the captivity, if a person who had
escaped from Seringapatam was found, the punishment under the orders of Tipu
was the cutting off of the ears, nose, the feet and one hand. The British officer James
Scurry, was detained a prisoner for
10 years by Tipu Sultan along with the Mangalorean Catholics
A dungeon at Seringapatam.
Those Christians who refused to embrace Islam were imprisoned in such dungeons.
Tipu Sultan's rule of the
Tipu's persecution of Christians even extended to
captured British soldiers. For instance, there were a significant number of
forced conversions of British captives between 1780 and 1784. Following their
disastrous defeat at the 1780 Battle of
Pollilur, 7,000 British men along with
an unknown number of women were held captive by Tipu in the fortress of
Seringapatnam. Of these, over 300 were circumcised and given Muslim names and
clothes and several British regimental drummer boys were made to wear ghagra cholis and entertain the court as nautch girls or dancing girls.
Tipu also seized nearly 70,000 Hindus of Coorg along with the King of Coorg, Dodda Vira-Rajendra,
and held them captive at Seringapatam. They were also forcibly converted to
Islam and received the same treatment as the Mangalorean Catholics. From 1786
until 1789, even the Nairs of Malabar were captured and deported to Seringapatam.
By 1787, half of the Christians had perished
through disease and starvation. As the Christians settled down in Seringapatam,
they slowly reorganised themselves as underground Christian groups
with the elders forming small secret groups
named the "Council of Ten", to help keep their faith alive. According to
Balthazar of Belthangadi, in the "Council of Ten", all the groups met together from time to time to deliberate on issues
concerning the community. In 1789, Tipu came to know of the group through one
of his officers and thereafter banned any large gathering of the Christians. English Jesuit Thomas Stephens (1549––1619) wrote the Krista Purana, - written in Konkani and
Marathi languages - an epic poem on the life of Jesus
Christ which became the center of the
study of the underground group. Though
these books when found were burned by the Mulsims, the persecution only
intensified the Christian activities
underground. Following the catacoumb traditions the
underground Christians constructed subterranean refuges in which to perform
their religious devotions, and study the life of Christ and other books, and strengthen their
faith.
Many of the captive christians escaped to neighboring
countries. In 1792, the King of Coorg, Dodda Vira-Rajendra,
managed to escape from captivity at Seringapatnam, and, with the aid of the
British armies under Lord Cornwallis, was able to regain Coorg for himself through the
treaty of 1792 between the English, their allies and Tipu. Anxious to repopulate a kingdom depopulated by
Tipu, Dodda welcomed the fugitive Konkani Christians. As an inducement to
remain permanently in his territory, he granted them several privileges,
obtained a priest from
In the Battle of Seringapatam on 4 May 1799, the
British army under officers George
Harris, David Baird, and Arthur
Wellesley stormed the fortress, breached
the town of
Sir Arthur Wellesley
The Portuguese shifted their base to Cochin and
Quilon, where they ruled (or influenced the rule) and had their major presence
for nearly 160 years, changing the course of history in regard to politics,
religion and trade in Malabar.
The
Dutch finally defeated the Portuguese in Malabar in 1660 and pushed the
Portuguese towards Goa and the Daman,
Map of the main
Portuguese settlements (1600s.) by Marco
Ramerini
http://www.colonialvoyage.com/eng/maps/portuguese/asia.html
Wiki map of Portuguese Empire
The 1494 Tordesilhas Treaty meridian
dividing the world between Portugal and Castille (modern-day Spain) and the
Moluccas antimeridian (green), set at the Treaty of Zaragoza, 1529
In
order to understand the events connected with various Christian groups in
various regions of
Here is the time line for the Colonial
Portuguese
Casa
da Índia 1434–1833
Portuguese
East
Dutch
Danish
French
British India 1613–1947
East India Company 1612–1757
Company rule in
British Raj 1858–1947
Along with this came the
religious domination of Roman Catholic Church over the independent churches of
Malabar. Portuguese being of Roman Catholic persuasion wanted to bring the
Malabar Christians under the pontificate of Rome.
According to the Roman concept the Pope of Rome is
the heir to the throne of Peter and is the Vicar of the Church Universal all
over the world wherever it may be. The Roman Catholicism claimed that Pope of
Rome was the supreme head of all the churches of the world and Indian Churches
should also submit to this supremacy if they are to remain true as Catholic
Church. The first such claim came with Friar John, whom Pope John XXII ordained
as Bishop of Quilon in AD 1330 when he was sent him with a letter. Friar John
is reported to have come to Quilon and founded a church in Latin rite. However
historically there is no evidence that he ever came to Quilon. He is said to
have been martyred at Kalyan in Bombay. There were similar visits from other
legations from Rome. Though these were received with Christian courtesy it did
not lead to acknowledgement of Papal supremacy as expected.
AD 1599 Synod of Diampore
The Portuguese became powerful in certain areas of
The Inquisition
Emblem of the Inquisition.
Historians distinguish four different manifestations of
the Inquisition:
- the Medieval Inquisition (1231–16th
century)
- the Spanish Inquisition (1478–1834)
- the Portuguese Inquisition (1536–1821)
- the Roman Inquisition (1542 – c. 1860)
.jpg)
Representation
of an auto-da-fé, (around 1495).
Many artistic representations depict torture
and burning at the stake
as occurring during the auto-da-fé.
An auto-da-fé (also auto da fé
and auto de fe) was the ritual of public penance
of condemned heretics
and apostates
that took place when the Spanish Inquisition or the Portuguese Inquisition had decided their
punishment, followed by the execution by the civil authorities of the sentences
imposed. Both auto de fe in medieval Spanish and auto da fé in
Portuguese actually mean "act of
faith".
St. Francis Xavier who requested the Inquisition in
1545 and Copper engraving entitled
"Die Inquisition in Portugall", by Jean David Zunner
The Portuguese Inquisition was
formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of the King of Portugal,
João III. When the Portuguese came into
Goan Inquisition record shows the following
statistics
|
Number of autos da fe with
known sentences |
Executions in persona |
Executions in effigie |
Penanced |
Total |
|
71 |
57 |
64 |
4046 |
4167 |
Both the Spanish and the Portuguese
inquisitions followed the procedures used by medieval inquisitors. Both
national inquisitions also became involved in the censorship of books during
their struggle to suppress Protestantism.
It essentially confused Culture with Religion as is evident from the
following prohibitions instituted by Goa Inquisition.
Prohibitions Regarding Marriages
-The instruments for Hindu songs shall not be played.
-While giving dowry the relatives of the bride and groom must not be invited.
-At the time of marriage, betel leaf packages (pan) must not be distributed
either publicly or in private to the persons present.
-Flowers, or fried puris, betel nuts and leaves must not be sent to the heads
of the houses of the bride or groom.
-Gotraj ceremony of family God must not be performed.
-On the day prior to a wedding, rice must not be husked, spices must not be
pounded, grains must not be ground and other recipes for marriage feast must
not be cooked.
-Pandals and festoons must not be used.
-Pithi should not be applied.
-The bride must not be accorded ceremonial welcome. The bride and groom must
not -be made to sit under pandal to convey blessings and best wishes to them.
-The poor must not be fed or ceremonial meals must not be served for the peace
of the souls of the dead.
-There should be no fasting on ekadashi day.
-Fasting can be done according to the Christian principles.
-No rituals should be performed on the twelfth day after death, on moonless and
full moon dates.
-No fasting should be done during lunar eclipse.
Conventions
-Hindu men should not wear dhoti either in public or in their houses. Women
should not wear cholis .
-They should not plant Tulsi in their houses, compounds, gardens or any other
place.
It is in this political social and
political context we should be understanding the Synod of Diampoore
Alexiyodi Menessis, the Archbishop of Goa and
Synod of Diamper, held at Udayaperur
((Diamper)), is a diocesan synod (council) that formally united the ancient Christian Church of the Malabar Coast
(modern Kerala state),
India,
with the Roman Catholic church. It was convened on
June 20, 1599, under the leadership of Aleixo de
Menezes, Archbishop of Goa. Archdeacon George (of the Cross) was forced to comply
with the wishes of Archbishop of Goa. This separated the Thomas
Christians from the Chaldean Patriarch and subjected them directly
to the Latin Archbishopric of Goa. The Archbishopric of Angamale was downgraded
to a Bishopric under Goa
in 1600 AD. Portuguese Padroado rule was thus imposed and
the Bishops for Saint Thomas Christians were appointed by Portuguese Padroado.
From each church four representatives of the laity and
the parish priest were directed to attend the synod. From 168 churches 671
persons attended. Eighty parish priests, 47 newly ordained priests, 20 deacons
and the missionaries from seminaries together were 153 in number. Sub-deacons
worked as volunteers
The aim of the Synod was declared as follows:
1. To the Glory and Praise of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Ghost and All extant in one – Trinity;
2. To
perpetuate christian belief and living in the diocese;
3. To ensure
the growth and spread of catholic belief and reckoning;
4. To declare
allegiance and obedience to the Roman Pontiff;
5. To eradicate
heresies and pagan practices;
6. To abrogate
heretic verses from religious books and liturgy.
7. To destroy
books containing perverse and pernicious errors.
8. To abjure
the faith and allegiance to the patriarch of
9. To
perpetuate correct observance of the Holy Sacraments and
10. To set up
an orderly functioning of pastoral guidance and control (Zacharia p.110)
In 1597, Mar Abraham, the last metropolitan
archbishop appointed by the Chaldean Patriarch, died. His Archdeacon, George (of the Cross) according
to the custom and by virtue of appointment of Mar Abraham, took up the
administration of the Archdiocese of Angamale. In opposition Bishop Menezes
nominate Fr. Francis Ros SJ as Administrator to the
Bishop Menzes came down to Malabar in February 1599, and by coercion and threat obtained the
support of the church leaders. Menezes
threatened to depose Archdeacon, George (of the Cross) and appoint in his place
Thomas Kurian, another nephew of former Archdeacon whose claims had been ignored
in 1593. In order to prevent a division, Archdeacon, George (of the Cross)
yielded to the demands of Menezes.
Soon
after Dom Alexis Menezes, Archbishop of
Goa, summoned all the priests, other
clerics and four lay men elected from each church, even from the churches he
had not visited under the pain of excommunication. About 130 ecclesiastics and
660 laymen ( elected and specially invited) met at Diamper in the
In http://www.smmdelhi.com/history_14.htm Rev. Dr. Sebastian Vadakumpadan of the
"The Synod of Udayamperoor (June 20 - 26
-1599)
The St.
Thomas Christians were very keen to keep communion with the Chaldeans. They
were against any move to break this communion. But this does not mean they were
not in communion with
Mar Abraham had solicited the Jesuits to appoint the Archdeacon as
his successor. They did not oblige..21 22 They wanted to appoint a Latin bishop
over the St. Thomas Christians and bring them under the Padroado jurisdiction.
Archbishop Menezes of
In
Two Jesuit Fathers, Ros S.J who became bishop, and Campori S.J.,
who were present in the Synod, wrote to the Jesuit General that the Synod was
not “in forma ”.According to their letters the St. Thomas Christians were not
consulted in the Synod; they understood nothing of what was decided upon there.
Precomposed regulations were read out which according to Archbishop Menezes,
was done to avoid any hindrance to show the way of salvation to the assembled.
Menezes made additions to the acts of the Synod after the Synod was over.
Menezes obtained from Ros S.J. the signatures of the assembled detached from
the original and attached them to the copy he prepared to be sent to
Though Archbishop Menezes succeeded in establishing Latin hegemony
and the Portuguese Padroado over the St. Thomas Christians, the Latin prelates
and Latinization were never accepted by the Thomas Christians."
The Syond began on
the third Sunday after Pentecost, 20 June, 1599. It was held in the
·
It is decreed that the Latin Vulgate is the Bible to be followed
in contrast to the Syrian Bible.
·
In addition to eliminating the Syrian Bible, it demanded
that all Syrian books were to be delivered up, altered, or destroyed. All documents of the Church were burned and
any attempt to avoid were subjected to the Inquisition at
Some of the other books which are said to be burnt
at the synod of Diamper are, 1.The book of the infancy of the savior (history
of our Lord)
2. Book of John Braldon
3. The
4. The Book of the Fathers
5. The Life of the Abbot Isaias
6. The Book of Sunday
7. Maclamatas
8. Uguarda or the Rose
9. Comiz
10. The Epistle of Mernaceal
11. Menra
12. Of orders
13. Homilies (in which the Eucharist is said to be the image of Christ)
14. Exposition of Gospels.
15. The Book of Rubban Hormisda
16. The Flowers of the Saints
17. The Book of Lots
18. The Parsimon or Persian Medicines
·
It decreed the
acknowledgment of the seven Roman sacraments, whereas the Syrians had
recognized only three;
·
The liturgy used by the Thomas
Christians were that of Addai and Mari.
The Synod declared certain
passages of the Holy Qurbana of Addai and Mari as impious, sacrilegious and
outcome of Nestorian heresy.
·
It decreed that there indeed is a transubstantiation in the Eucharistic
elements whereas the syrians believed it as an image of Jesus and his
sacrifice.
·
Then followed the
decrees to bring the
·
There was the decree demanding the celibacy of the
clergy. Until then all thomas clergy
were married. All the Syrian priests were immediately to put away their wives
and all support to the clergy family (wife and children) from the church were
stopped
·
Forty-one decrees were passed with reference to fasts and
festivals, organization, and order in church affairs. In the social context all inter-religious
communal festivals were forbidden including the celebration of Onam. These decrees essentially confused culture
and religion based on European culture.
In all there were nine sessions lasting a week
and promulgating two hundred sixty-seven decrees.
The
Syrian Church believed "that the Holy Ghost proceedeth only from the
Father; that they celebrate Divine Service as solemnly on the Sabbath, as on
the Lord's Day; that they keep that day festival, eating therein flesh, and
fast no Saturday in the year but Easter Eve,...that they acknowledge not
purgatory."
The
whole synodic decrees make more sense when we consider that this occured not
much later than the Protestant Reformation Movements and the subsequenct
Council of Trent.
Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) says:
"The only case in which an ancient Eastern
rite has been wilfully romanized is that of the Uniat Malabar Christians, where
it was not Roman authority but the misguided zeal of Alexius de Menezes,
Archbishop of Goa, and his Portuguese advisers at the Synod of Diamper (1599)
which spoiled the old Malabar Rite.
Piramadam,
In the picture above: Colophon of Piramadam
MS Syr 27, containing the text of the Syrian Orthodox Liturgy (Qurbono)
copied in 1689 by the hand of Mor Yovannis Hidaytullah, Antiochian Patriarchal Delegate
in India.
The text reads: "The writing of
the order of the liturgy (Qurbo) and of the Anaphora of Mor Jacob the
Messenger, brother of our Lord, was finished by the hand of the wretched and
feeble bishop Yovannis in the year 2000 of the Greeks (=AD 1689), in the church
of Karamattam (today: Kadamattam). Therefore I am asking every priest who will
recite from this [book] to remember his fathers and the brethren and the
departed, so that they may find mercy through their [that is, the priests’]
prayers; I was copying it for priest Jacob of Muldurthy (today: Mulanthuruthy).
Lord, remember him and his fathers in thy mercy. Amen."
The following
lists will summarize the Roman Catholic history as given in the Catholic
Encyclopaedia:
(1) The old foundations of the Portuguese
Padroado: —
(2) Vicariates
founded before 1800: — Great Mogul, 1637; Malabar, 1659;
(3) Vicariates founded from 1800 to 1886: —
Tibet, 1826; Bengal, Madras, and Ceylon, 1834; Madura and Coromandel, 1836;
Agra and Patna, 1845; Jaffna, 1847; East and West Bengal, Vizagapatam,
Pondicherry, Coimbatore and Mysore, 1850; Hyderabad (Deccan), 1851; Mangalore,
Quilon, and Verapoly, 1853; Poona, 1854; Central Bengal, North and South Burma,
1870; Punjab and Kashmir, 1880; Kandy, 1883; East Burma, 1886.
(4) The hierarchy
as established in 1886 consisted of eight archbishops bearing the titles of
Agra, Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Goa, Pondicherry, Verapoly, and Ceylon, each
having his subject dioceses, vicariates and prefectures Apostolic.
(5) The following
new subdivisions were made after 1886: — Kashmir,
References
(35)
http://alackal.conscient.com/SyrianChristians.html]
(36)
http://mb-soft.com/believe/txn/manichae.htm
(37) Duncan Greenlees, The Gospel of the Prophet
Mani, Adyar, Madras, India the Theosophical Publishing House, 1956
(38) For Manichean Scrolls see:
http://essenes.net/primarytexts.html
(39)
http://santhomechurch.com/apostleofindia/apostleofindia.html
(40) Travancore State Manual Vol. II, 139-142. (41) From the Palm-leaf manuscript entitled Keralathil Margam Vazhiyute Avastha(42) Moraes, G. M. A History of Christianity in
India. Vol. 1. Bombay: Manaktalas, 1964
(43) White House, The lingering Light
(44) Ittup, History of the Malabar Syrian
Christian Church
(45) Indian Express, Friday April 24, 1998
(46) Christianity Older than Hinduism in Kerala
World Syriac Conference 2002 -SEERI – KOTTAYAM
Paper presented by Prof. George MENACHERY
(47) Keralolpathi
printed by Gundert in AD 1890
(48) How was the Caste System introduced in
Kerala? http://www.thrikodithanam.org/tidbits.htm
(49)
Malankara Nasranikal : http://www.indianchristianity.org/malankara.htm
(50) Dr. Berchmans Kodackal, The Early Christians
of India, January 1998 http://members.tripod.com/~Berchmans/early.html
(51)
http://www.commonplacebook.com/fiction/myths/ch02/
(52) Otto of Freising: Medieval Sourcebook: The
Legend of Prester John http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/otto-prester.html
(53)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prester_John
(54)
http://www.laohats.com/Prester%20John.htm
(55)
M. Bar-Ilan, 'Prester John: Fiction and History', History of European
Ideas, 20/1-3 (1995), pp. 291-298.
http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~barilm/presjohn.html
(56) B.S. Rao New Facts on the Arrival
of Islam PTI, India,
http://muslimsonline.com/babri/keralamuslim.htm
(57) Moraes, G. M. A History of Christianity in
India. Vol. 1. Bombay: Manaktalas, 1964
(58) M.M.Ninan, Hinduism –What Really Happened in
India, Global Publishers, 2003 (59)
Dr. M.
Deivanayagam, Dr. D. Devakala, The Revival Movement of Dravidian Religion, http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/1412/
(59) Syrian
Christian Traditions, P.E.Esow
http://alackal.conscient.com/SyrianChristians.html
(60) Mr. P.V. Mathew: Sugantha Bandu Nasrani History
Arrival of the Roman Catholics
1291
Italian Franciscan missionary John of Montecorvino,
arrives in the
![[St.+John+of+Montecorvino.gif]](CHAPTER%20FIVE_files/image135.gif)
John of Montecorvino or Giovanni
da Montecorvino in Italian (1246–1328) was an Italian Franciscan
missionary, traveler and statesman, founder of the earliest Roman Catholic
missions in
1292
Venetian traveller Marco Polo arrives in
A page of The Travels of Marco Polo. and the
Handwritten notes by Christopher Columbus on the Latin
edition of Marco Polo's Le livre des merveilles
1323
French Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani de Severac
arrives in Kollam (Quilon).
Two letters
from Jordanus are found in a MS. in the national library at
1329
The erection of the first Roman
Catholic Diocese in
1490-1503
East Syrian mission to
1494 June 7, Treaty of Tordesillas: division of the world
and mission lands between