Metropolitan of Malankara

Malankara Metropolitan was a legal title given to the head of the Malankara Syrian Church, also called Puthencoor (New Loyalists) Syrian Christians by the Government of Travancore and Cochin in South India. This title was awarded by a proclamation from the King of Travancore & the King of Cochin to the legal head of Malankara Syrian Church .

It was when Col. Munroe the resident of Travancore, Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop Ramban was ordained as a bishop by Geevarghese Mar Philexenos (Kidangan) (1811–29) of Malabar Independent Syrian Church (Thozhyoor Church) on 22 March 1815. He was given the episcopal title Dionysius, the second bishop in the Malankara Church to get this title. After the death of Mar Thoma VIII, he was made the head of the Malankara Church by a Royal proclamation issued by the King of Travancore and later by the King of Cochin. The proclamation insisted every Syrian Christian of Travancore-Cochin to obey the Malankara Metropolitan. From then onwards the head of the Malankara Syrian Church legally came to be known as Malankara Metropolitan. The position of the Malankara Metropolitan in the 19th century is an upgrowth from the position of the previous MarThomas' and Archdeacons'. The power and authority of the Malankara Metropolitan got more recognition than the power and authority of the previous Archdeacons' and Marthomas' because of some political changes in the country through the establishment of British rule.

From 1816, Dionysius II, Dionysius III, Dionysius IV, Mathews Mar Athanasius, Thomas Mar Athanasius and Dionysius V were the Malanakara Metropolitans in the 19th century. Among these Mathews Mar Athanasius of Palakkunnathu exercised enormous spiritual as well as temporal powers inside and outside the community. He was the Malankara Metropolitan at the time of Mulanthuruthy Padiyola in (1876).However inspired by the western missionaries cooperated in the old seminary at Kottayam, he wanted to inculcate reformist ideas in the traditional Syrian church. A parallel group under Dionysious V was working against the ruling Malankara Metropolitan's reformist ideas. During the later half of the 19th century there occurred two factions in the community; the minority faction that favored reformation and supported the Malankara metropolitan (Metran Kakshi- Reformists)and the majority faction who were against the introduction of new changes which was against the Syrian tradition of the church got stood with the Patriarch of Antioch (Bava kakshi-Syrian traditionalists). This invited a closer interference of the Patriarch of Antioch. Mar Dionysius V stood with the Patriarch of Antioch against the ruling metropolitan, Mathews Mar Athanasius of Palakkunnathu. A series of court cases followed there after. The Travancore Royal court on 14 July 1889 declared that Palakkunnathu Thomas Mar Athanasius and the Reformist faction has no rights in the Malankara Syrian Church as they were not willing to accept the supremacy of the Patriarch of Antioch. Later the Reformist faction organised themselves as independent Marthoma Syrian Church .

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