KNANAYA

The Knanaya Community traces its origin back to a Jewish-Christian

immigrant community. They migrated from Southern Mesopotamia to the

Malabar ( present Kerala ) Coast of Cranganore ( Kodungalloor ) in

AD 345 under the leadership of an enterprising merchant Thomas of

Cana ( Knai Thomman ). This migration is considered as a turning

point in the history of St Thomas Christians of Malabar. The

original community consisted of about 400 persons belonging to 72

families of seven clans. A bishop by name Uraha Mar Yousef, four

priests and several deacons were among them. They formed themselves

into an endogamous community by keeping their tradition and culture

but co-existed peacefully among the St. Thomas Christians in

India.These colonists were welcomed by Cheraman Perumal, then

king, and were given permission to settle down in Kodungalloor.

Later, Cheraman Perumal bestowed them with 72 royal privileges, and

it was recorded on copper plates ( Knai Thomman Cheppedu ).

According to the Copper plates, these privileges were given to

Thomas and his colleagues and all of his descendents as long as the

sun and moon exist. These privileges are very important since all

these privileges had influenced the community’s social life as well

as the social status in the past years.

All knananites were Syrian Christians until the historic ‘Koonan

Kurisu Sathyam’ (A pledge by about 25000 Syrian Christians held on

to a rope tied to a leaning cross) when some of them accepted

Jacobite faith and joined Jacobite/Orthodox Church; others remained

with the Roman Catholic faith. However, they continued to keep

their culture, tradition and practicing endogamy through the

centuries.

On August 29, 1911 a new Vicariate Apostolic of Kottayam was

erected exclusively for the Knanaya Community by the apostolic

letter “In Universi Christiani” of His Holiness Pope St Pius X and

Mar Mathew Makil was transferred to Kottayam as Vicar Apostolic.