The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
| Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (Indian Orthodox Church) |
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Catholicate Emblem
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| Founder | Saint Thomas the Apostle in 52 |
| Recognition | Oriental Orthodoxy |
| Primate | Catholicos of the East and the Malankara Metropolitan present Baselios Mar Thoma Paulose II |
| Headquarters | Kottayam, Kerala, India |
| Territory | Indian subcontinent, Africa, America, Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania |
| Possessions | India, Canada, Africa, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom, Australia and the United States |
| Language | Malayalam, Syriac, English, Hindi, Konkani, Kannada, Tamil |
| Members | 2.5 million |
| Website | www |
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church also known as Indian Orthodox Church is an Oriental Orthodox church centered in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the churches of India's Saint Thomas Christian community, which has its origin in the evangelical activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. The church is headed by the autocephalousCatholicos of the East and the Malankara Metropolitan, presently Baselios Mar Thoma Paulose II.
It is believed that Saint Thomas Christians of Malabar were in communion with the Church of the East from 496 to 1599. Thereafter, the Christians of Saint Thomas were influenced by many beliefs at different times. These influences later resulted in serious rifts and the breakdown of the monolithic apostolic church into different fragments under different faith streams. They were organised as a Church in the 8th century, served by foreign bishops and led by a hereditary local chief called an Archdeacon. In the 16th century, the overtures of the Portuguese padroado to bring the Saint Thomas Christians into the Latin Rite Catholicism led to the first of several rifts in the community and the establishment of Catholic and Malankara Church factions. Since then further splits have occurred, and the Saint Thomas Christians are now divided into several fragments: Eastern Catholic, Church of the East, Oriental Orthodox, Protestant and Reformed Syrians, each with their own liturgies and traditions.
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