Mar Thoma I

Mar Thoma I (Mar Thoma the Great)
Malankara Church
Parambil Thoma Cattanar aka Arkadyokon Thomas aka Marthoma I;The first democratically elected/selected Christian Bishop of India & the last Archdeacon of the native St. Thomas Christians of India
Diocese	Malankara See
Installed	22 May 1653, regularized in 1665; First Bishop of Malankara See; First native metropolitan bishop of the St Thomas Christians
Term ended	1670
Predecessor	No predecessor
Successor	Mar Thoma II
Orders
Consecration	22 May 1653, regularized in 1665
Personal details
Birth name	Thomas
Born	Kuravilangad
Died	25 April 1670 Ankamali
Buried	St Mary's Church Angamaly

Mar Thoma I, also known as "Valiya Mar Thoma" (Mar Thoma the Great), is the first native democratically elected/selected Metropolitan bishop of the Malankara Church. He was the last Archdeacon of the undivided St.Thomas Christians of Malabar. After the death of Archdeacon George of the Cross(കുരിശിങ്ങൽ ജോർജ്)( Kurisingal being his house name), on 25 July 1640, Parambil Thoma kathanar was elected and enthroned as new Archdeacon, when he was less than 30 years old. He led the Church to the Coonan Cross Oath on 3 January 1653 and to the subsequent schism in Saint Thomas Christians Church. After the Coonen Cross Oath, he was elected as a Bishop by Malankara (Yogam) Association and consecrated as a Bishop at St. Mary's Church Alangad, by laying hands of 12 priests on 22 May 1653. Only two Southist churches of Kaduthuruthy and Udayamperoor and a very few people elsewhere refused to recognise him as Bishop. Any how, the archdeacon began to exercise powers of episcopal order, though he openly tried to regularize his episcopal consecration as a Bishop from the Church of Antioch. His episcopal consecration as a Bishop was regularized in the year 1665 by Mar Gregorios Abdal Jaleel the Patriarchal delegate of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.(The exact date and place of this event is anonymous).

Palliveettil Mar Chandy , Kadavil Chandy Kathanar, Vengoor Geevargese Kathanar and Anjilimoottil Ittithomman Kathanar were the advisors of the bishop Mar Thoma.

Thomas the Apostle arrived to Kerala to preach the gospel to the Jewish community. Some of the Jews and locals became followers of Jesus of Nazareth. They were known as Malabar Nasrani people and their church as Malankara Church. They followed a unique Hebrew-Syriac Christian tradition which included several Jewish elements and Indian customs.