Niranam Church

Niranam Church has a rich history of being the symbol of Christian faith in Kerala and a citadel of Orthodox Christianity since its inception in AD 54 by St Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. St Thomas reached Kerala in AD 52 and started preaching the gospel. He founded 8 churches, which are called 'Ezhara Pallikal', meaning seven and half churches. These were at Kodungallur, Kollam, Niranam, Nilackal (Chayal), Kokkamangalam, Kottakkayal (Paravoor), Palayoor (Chattukulangara) and Thiruvithamkode (the half church). St. Thomas who had great respect for the Holy Virgin, named all these churches after St. Mary. At Niranam, St. Thomas baptised many people and ordained people with social eminence as priests, to administer the church. The church founded by St Thomas at Niranam was adjacent to Sri Thrikpaleswara Hindu Temple of Lord Shiva. Some adversaries of the new faith later took out the cross, founded by the Apostle and threw it into the neighboring river. When St Thomas returned to Niranam after two years (AD 54) he heard about this and went in search of the cross. He found it at a place in the down stream and again founded the church at that place, which is believed to be the present location of the church. According to the available records, the present building is the fourth, which was built in 1912. The third building was built in 1259.

Analysis of soil says that during the first century, Niranam and the surrounding places were costal region. Probably, it was a place where the river joined the sea. Some historians are of the opinion that the name Niranam derived from an old name 'NeerMannu', which meant land with water. Presence of water bodies enabled travel through water and it is believed that the Apostle reached Niranam in a ship (it might be a big boat). During the 14 th century, there was a great flood and the geography of the area changed a lot because the sea retreated exposing a lot of land. Even today, there is a place at Niranam, near Kolarayar - a tributary of River Pampa - named 'Thomathukadavu', which is supposed to be the spot where St. Thomas got down from the ship. The word 'Thomathukadavu' might have emerged from 'Thoma Vanna Kadavu', which means the jetty where Thomas came.

Niranam Church was the southern headquarters of the Orthodox Church in Kerala for centuries. Many of the Malankara Metropolitans (the chief bishops) ruled the church by staying here. The church is famous for its historical importance, loyalty to the Indian Orthodox Church, architectural beauty and some of its antiques. Almost all of the old churches in southern Kerala - whether belonging to Orthodox, Marthoma or Roman Catholic churches - were separated from this mother parish, during course of time. Niranam Church witnessed a number of historical events in the church history including the establishment of a Catholicate in the Indian Orthodox Church in 1912. The first Catholicose and second Catholicose of the church were ordained at Niranam Church (in 1912 and 1925). Four of the Malankara Metropolitans of the church passed away while staying here and two were buried here. For a full list of important events at Niranam Church Ordinations at Niranam Church 10th July 1761 Mar Thoma V ordained Mar Thoma VI as his successor 10th July 1770 Enthronement of Mar Thoma VI as Mar Dionysius I by Mar Gregorios and Mar Ivanios (Antiochian bishops) 15th September 1912 Ordination of H.H. Baselius Paulose I as the first Catholicose of the Indian Orthodox Church by H.H. Abdul Messiah, the Patriarch of Antioch and the establishment of Catholicate in India 30th April 1925 Ordination of H.H.Baselius Geevarghese I as the second Catholicose. 16th February 1975 Ordination of 5 bishops-Geevarghese Mar Osthathios, Paulose Mar Gregorious, Thomas Mar Makarios, Stephanos Mar Theodosius and Joseph Mar Pakomios-by H.H.Baselius Augen I, the Catholicose and Malankara Metropolitan. Episcopal Demises at Niranam Church 17th April 1686 Mar Thoma II 10th May 1765 Mar Thoma V 8th April 1808 Mar Thoma VI 22th January 1816 Mar Thoma VIII Malankara Associations at Niranam Church 17th May 1962 H.G.Augen Mar Thimothios elected as the successor to Catholicose of the East and Malankara Metropolitan 2nd October 1974 5 priests elected as Metropolitan designates Other important events and visits 1876 Visit of H.H. Peter III, Patriarch of Antioch 14th February 1912 Consecration of the present church building by H.G. Geevarghese Mar Dianysius, the Malankara Metropolitan 15th September 1912 Visit of H.H. Abdul Messiah, Patriarch of Antioch and the establishment of Catholicate in the Indian Orthodox Church 1916 (Edavam 16, 1091) Golden Cross of the Niranam Church was stolen by Kolappan. 26th December 1952 Celebration of 1950 th anniversary of St Thomas' arrival Consecration of the newly built Golden Cross 15th November 1963 Visit of H.H. Vasgan I, Catholicose of Armenia June 1964 Visit of H.H. Yakoob III, Patriarch of Antioch 10th October 1972 Celebrated the 1900th anniversary of martyrdom of St. Thomas the Apostle 8th September 1982 70 th Anniversary of the establishment of Catholicate in India. Visit of H.H. Elia II, Patriarch of Georgia 19th November 2000 Visit of H.H. Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople St. Thomas St Thomas was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. He was also called Didimos, which mean 'twin' because of the paired fingers of his hand. The Bible portrays him as a man of bravery and strong attachment to his Teacher. Jesus made the revelation that 'I'm the way, the truth and the life' (St. John 14:6) as an answer to the question of St Thomas. After his resurrection, when Jesus appeared before his apostles, St Thomas was not present there. When his colleagues told him later that they saw Jesus, he was reluctant to believe that. He proclaimed that "unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it" (St John 20:26). It was his earnest desire to see his resurrected Master. He also wanted to have the same fortune experienced by his colleagues. Jesus respected his disciple's wish and made an appearance again before the group in which St Thomas was also present. Jesus invited him to put his fingers on his wounds and get convinced. In the ecstasy of that moment, St Thomas addressed Jesus "My Lord and My God"-which is a basic creed of Christian faith. The tradition says that when St Thomas put his paired fingers in Jesus' wounds they got separated and became normal and other apostles kissed his hands, which touched the resurrected Jesus Christ. The Christian practice of kissing the hands of bishops and priests originated from this. Mar Thoma Metropolitans A Christian community has been existing in Kerala since the arrival of St Thomas here in AD 52. According to the local traditions and available historical documents, St Thomas ordained priests to administer the church. There was no Indian bishop at the time. The church was lead by a senior priest holding the title 'Arch Deacon'. He was the supreme authority of the Christians of the country in both spiritual and mundane affairs. Church had visiting bishops from the Persian church who fulfilled the need for an Episcopal office. In 1599, the Portuguese almost succeeded in forcibly converting the Syrian Christians to Roman Catholicism at the Synod of Diamper. But in 1653, through the Coonan Cross Oath, the Syrian Christians broke the shackles of Rome and proclaimed their autonomy. People wished to have a local bishop as their leader and thus they elected the then Arch Deacon as their bishop. He was ordained as a bishop under the title 'Mar Thoma' by 12 senior priests (Since then, this office of the high priest is known as 'Malankara Metropolitan'. No Persian bishop was present at this ordination. It was impossible for them reach here because the Portuguese were controlling the sea-routes to India and they made it sure that no foreign bishop would reach here to help the Indian church). This bishop is popularly known as 'Mar Thoma I' in the church history and is the first Indian bishop for a Christian church. He gave brilliant leadership to the church in the midst of troubles and fought to preserve the independence of the Indian Christians. Niranam church was the head quarter of the Malankara Metropolitans. Mar Thoma II Before his demise in 1670, Mar Thoma I ordained his nephew as Mar Thoma II. He was a very pious man. According to a local tradition once the people of Niranam were suffering from severe drought and they appealed to Mar Thoma II for his special prayers. As a result of his prayers the village received plenty of showers. Mar Thoma II led the church for 16 years and left for his heavenly abode in 1686. His mortal remains were buried inside the Niranam Church and every year his memorial day is celebrated on 16 th April. Mar Thoma V In 1728, Mar Thoma V assumed the office of Malankara Metropolitan. Despite the interventions of Roman Catholics and Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch in the affairs of the Church, he succeeded in preserving the autonomy and autocephalousy of the Church. In 1751, a group of bishops and priests sent to Kerala from Syria by the Patriarch of Antioch. Their mission was to re-ordain Mar Thoma V as 'Mar Dionysius' and thereby establish the supremacy of Antiochian Church over the Indian Church. The Dutch East India Company by whose ship they traveled, put the burden of the travel expenses of the group-around twelve thousand rupees- on Mar Thoma V. But he refused to pay the amount because the foreign bishops started ordaining priests and intervene in the administration of the Church as soon as they reached here. The Dutch arrested Mar Thoma V and threatened to send him on exile. This dispute was later settled by the intervention of the Government of Travancore. The Antiochian bishops tried hard to re-ordain Mar Thoma V and bring him under the Patriarch of Antioch. But he refused to kneel down as he was strongly convinced that the Indian Church is autonomous and autocephalous in all respects and it doesn't need any external intervention in its affairs. To reinforce this, he himself ordained Mar Thoma VI as his successor in 1761 at Niranam Church without the participation of foreign bishops. During his long tenure spanned for 37 years, Mar Thoma V successfully defended the disruptive activities of Antiochian Church and Roman Catholics. He passed away on 10 th May 1765 and cremated inside the Niranam Church. Every year his memorial feast is celebrated on 10 th May on a large scale.