Jacobite faction re-enacts historic Coonan Cross Oath

KOTHAMANGALAM: In a major show of strength of the

Jacobite faction

of the Malankara Church, thousands of members flowed to the

Kothamangalam

Cheriapally, where they re-enacted the historic

Coonan cross oath

on Sunday evening.


Men, women and children, braving the rain, held on to the yellow rope tied to the stone

cross

in the courtyard of the church, to take a pledge of allegiance to the Patriarch of Antioch. The rope was stretched as far as the nearby town of Nellikuzhy, 5km away. This was apart from the thousands who gathered in the courtyard of the church.

The original

Coonan

cross oath was taken on January 3, 1653. While the original oath was a public declaration by members of the Saint Thomas Christians community that they would not submit to Latin Catholic-Portuguese dominance, the new oath taken by the

Jacobite

faction, which they called, ‘Second Coonan Cross Oath’, was taken to reaffirm the bond between the throne of Saint Peter in Antioch and the Church in Malankara.

“We and our children would hold on to the only true belief system which has the blessing of the throne of Saint Peter in Antioch and has been strengthened through the synods of Nicaea, Ephesus... till the time there is sun and moon. We would not deviate from the true faith even if that means to sacrifice life for the bond between Antioch and Malankara…,” the oath read.

Interestingly, as per the 1934 constitution of the church, which was upheld by the Supreme Court while granting control of over 1,000 churches to the Orthodox faction, the present Patriarch of Antioch has no power over the churches in the state. An order from Catholicos Baselios Thomas I, the head of the Jacobite Church in India, was read out at the event as he couldn’t attend the same due to health reasons.

“We cannot just let the other faction take over the churches built by the faithful under the cover of a court order. Take care, that we don’t lose any more churches,” the order handwritten by the Catholicos in Malayalam says.

The devotees from various parishes were brought to Kothamangalam in hired vehicles. By 3.30pm, they started to line up along the road and soon after, a priest tied the rope to the cross.

At precisely 4pm, the metropolitan trustee of the faction, Joseph Mar Gregorios, recited the oath to the faithful.

The move comes a few weeks after two major churches at Piravom and Kandanad were taken over by the rival Orthodox faction, based on the SC order. “Tomb of Yeldo Mar Baselios Bava, one of the most venerated figures in the Malankara Church, is within the church premises. This church hence is very important for us. The cross on which the rope was tied is believed to have lit up on its own when the Bava died. So, we have taken this oath touching the rope tied to this holy cross with the Bava’s tomb as witness,” said Jose Paruthuvayalil, the Jacobite vicar of Kothamangalam Cheriapally.

What is the Coonan Cross Oath?

Coonan Cross Oath, (Koonan Kurishu Satyam), taken on January 3, 1653 was a public declaration by members of the Saint Thomas Christian community that they would not submit to Latin Catholic-Portuguese dominance. The Portuguese, after their arrival in the region, did not accept the legitimacy of the local Malabar traditions and made efforts to ‘Latinise’ the Kerala Church.

After over 50 years of being dominated by the Latin Church, the majority of the Saint Thomas Christians broke off from Catholic supremacy after taking the oath.

It is said that the cross at St Mary’s Church at Mattancherry where the oath was taken slanted a little due to the pull of the faithful who held on to it using a rope, giving the oath its name.



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