Malabar Independent Syrian Church

Malabar Independent Syrian church
Classification	Eastern Church, following West Syriac (Oriental Orthodoxy) faith and worship
Region	Kerala
Founder	Abraham Mor Koorilose Present Head: Hasyo Mar Baselios Cyril 1 Metropolitan
Origin	1772
Separated from	Malankara Syrian Church
Congregations	16
Members	35,000
Hospitals	1
Primary schools	3
Secondary schools	1
Other name(s)	Thozhyur Sabha Anjoor Church

Abraham Mor Koorilose

The Malabar Independent Syrian Church, also known as the Thozhiyur Sabha (Church), is a Christian church centred in Kerala, India. It is one of the churches of the Saint Thomas Christian community, which traces its origins to the evangelical activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century.

Considered part of the Syriac Orthodox Group of churches in India, the church split from the main body of India's Malankara Church in 1772. The church obtained its current name after a court verdict in 1862; although the church is independent under the Malankara umbrella, the church faith and traditions are strictly Oriental Orthodox, adhering to the West Syrian Rite and consistently using western Syriac and Malayalam during the Holy Qurbana (Qurbono Qadisho).

Today the church remains small, with about 35,000 members, and maintains good relations with the other Malankara churches. The members of the Church are known as Nazaranis or Suriyani Nazarani.

The Saint Thomas Christians trace their origins to Thomas the Apostle, who according to tradition proselytized in India in the 1st century. By the 7th century they were part of the Church of the East, centred in Persia. The entire community remained united until the 17th century, when disputes with the Portuguese padroado in India led to the Coonan Cross Oath of 1653 and the division of the Saint Thomas Christians into Latin Catholic and Malankara Church The independent branch, known as the Malankara Church, forged a relationship with the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch.

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