Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam

Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kottayam Kottayamensis
Christ the King Knanaya Catholic Cathedral, Kottayam
Location
Country	India
Ecclesiastical province	Kottayam
Metropolitan	Kottayam
Information
Sui iuris church	Syro-Malabar Knanaya Catholic Church
Established	1923
Cathedral	Christ the King Cathedral
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Metropolitan Archbishop	Mathew Moolakkattu
Suffragans	None
Auxiliary Bishops	Jose Pandarassery
Website
kottayamad.org

The Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam is an eparchy of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India for Knanaya Catholics. The Knanaya are descendants of Syrian Christians of Jewish origin who reportedly migrated to the Malabar coast during the fourth century under the leadership of Thomas of Cana. During the 17th century, they split into Catholic and Malankara Church factions.

The Knanaya (Hebrew: קנניה, Malayalam: ക്നാനായ, Syriac: ܛܢܢܐ, Arabic: قينان), also known as Q'nanaya, Q'nai, Kanai, or Thekkumbagar, are endogamous Jews who settled in Kerala. Their origins are uncertain, but many scholars believe them to be descended from Yemeni Jews who were a significant component of the Cochin Jewish population until the 16th century. Others believe that they are the descendants of Syrian Christians of Jewish origin who migrated to the Malabar coast during the fourth century under the leadership of Thomas of Cana to rejuvenate the Christian church established by Thomas the Apostle. The Knananaya trace their ancestry back to Abraham. They believe themselves to be descended from the southern Kingdom of Judah (the tribes of Judah and Benjamin), which did not intermarry. Thomas of Cana and his people were the descendants of those two tribes. After the Bar Kokhba revolt (about 132-135), the Jewish populations of Judea were dead, enslaved or in flight. Many Jews fled abroad, Jewish colonies were founded on the Malabar Coast. The only pre-16th-century records of the Knanaya community are Knaithomman Chepped (Knaithomman Copper) plates.

Twenty years after the First Council of Nicaea, wealthy merchant Thomas of Cana brought a colony of 400 Syrian Christians (from 72 families, belonging to seven clans) from southern Mesopotamia to the Malabar Coast in 345 and reestablished the church founded by Thomas the Apostle. According to tradition, the Knanaya migration was a missionary one.

The descendants of Thomas of Cana who lived on the south side of Kodungallur are known as Southists, and the native Christians on the city's north side (descendants of those converted by Thomas the Apostle) are known as Northists. According to another tradition, the Knananaya settled on the south side of the Periyar and the native Christians lived on the north side of the river. The Knananaya may also be known as Southists because they are descended from the southern kingdom of Judah. They did not intermarry with native Christians, maintaining their Jewish traditions, and remain an endogamous community.