Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar
|
Mar Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar |
|
|---|---|
| Administrator of the Archeparchy of Kodungalloor . | |
 |
|
| Church | Syro Malabar Church |
| Diocese | Kodungallur |
| Installed | 1786 |
| Term ended | 1799 |
| Predecessor | Kariattil Mar Ousep |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1786 |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Thoma |
| Died | 1799 Ramapuram |
| Buried | Ramapuram |
| Nationality | Indian |
Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar (1736–1799) is the author of Varthamanappusthakam (1790), the first ever travelogue in an Indian language. Varthamanapusthakam postulates that the foundation of Indian nationalism rests on the basic principle that India should be ruled by Indians. Long before the debates on nationalism shaking the intellectual circles of Europe Asia and Africa, Thoma Kathanar vehemently argued that foreigners should be kept away from India and that it should be ruled only by Indians. He was Administrator (Governador) of the Archeparchy of Cranganore from 1786 till his death.
He was also a polyglot, an efficient administrator and a Syro-Malabar Catholic Church priest of Kerala who tried to bring about unity in the Church and also to maintain its unique heritage.
Paremmakkal Thoma was born as the fourth child of Paremmakkal Itty Chandy and Anna of Kadanad in Kottayam district on 10 September 1736. Initially he studied Sanskrit and Syriac from teachers nearby. Then he joined Alengad Seminary to learn Latin and Portuguese and for priesthood. In 1761, he was ordained as a Kathanar (priest). He served as vicar in different churches up to 1778.
Thomma Kathanar made tireless efforts to bring about unity in the Church in Kerala which had split following the Coonan Cross Oath. He also strived to get bishops from among the members of the Catholic Church in Kerala, and also to retain the rich heritage of the Malabar Church. In order to achieve those goals he undertook a hard and perilous journey to Rome in 1778 along with Kariattil Mar Ousep Malpan.
The description of this journey is recorded in his book Varthamanapusthakam, considered to be the first travelogue among all Indian languages. The historic journey to Rome to represent the grievances of Kerala's Syrian Catholics started from the boat jetty in Athirampuzha in 1785. From Athirampuzha they first proceeded to Kayamkulam by a country-boat. The journey then took them to Chinnapattanam, as Chennai was then known. From there they went to Kandy in Ceylon (Sri Lanka of today). From Ceylon they sailed to Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa. They were to sail to Portugal from there but adverse winds drifted their ship in the Atlantic Ocean taking it to the coast of Latin America. A further journey from the Latin American coast took them to their destination.
...
Wikipedia