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Last modified: 2013-11-16 by rob raeside
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When the Portuguese arrived on the Kerala, or Malabar, coast of southern
India they found a flourishing Christian community existing there. The origins
of this group of Christians are somewhat obscure, but they are quite ancient,
and by tradition are said to date back to missionary work by the apostle Thomas.
Whether they really extend back that far, or not start until a few centuries
later, cannot be demonstrated, but they had definitely existed there for at
least close to a millennium by the time the Portuguese arrived. During the
middle ages they had been a part of the church of the East, whose Patriarch
resided in Mesopotamia. Under Portuguese domination all ties with the church of
the East were severed, and the Malabar church entered into communion with Rome.
This change caused resentment among some sections of the community and finally
in 1653 a large group seceded from the Malabar church. For reasons which are not
clear to me, instead of re-entering communion with the church of the East they
established communion with the Syrian Orthodox [now Syriac Orthodox] Church.
Thus was born the Malankara Church. In the 20th century there were two
significant splits in the Malankara Church. First in the 1930s a group again
entered into union with Rome (so now there were 2 eastern churches in India
united with Rome- the Malabar Catholics and the Malankara Catholics). The
majority however did not join with Rome, but subsequently split into 2 more
factions. Because of disputes over the division of authority between the head of
the Syriac Orthodox Church - The Patriarch of Antioch - and the local head of the
Malanakara Church - the Catholicos of the East - the church split into 2 parties.
I have found references to flag usage by both these groups and by Malankara
Catholic organizations.
At
http://www.indianorthodoxtv.com/association/news.html there is evidence that
the faction adhering to the Catholicos (the Malankara Indian Orthodox) has a
church flag: "June 8, 2004...Tomorrow, at 3 PM, His Holiness Catholicos will
hoist the Church flag at Parumala seminary to mark the beginning of the
Malankara Association." Haven't been able to find a picture or description yet.
At
http://malankara.net/MCA/constitution.htm the website of the Malankara
Catholic Association the flag of the association is described: "XII A. Flag The
papal flag bearing the emblem of the association is the flag of the organisation.
The length and width of the flag will be 3:2 proportion." An illustration of the
emblem is given. It shows the words MALANKARA CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION arranged in
an arc. Underneath, in a small font size is the association's slogan TRUTH UNITY
PEACE, also in an arc. Underneath that is a cross (Latin type but with extra
cross piece at very top) above a dove with olive branch which is in turn above
two hands shaking.
At
http://www.mcym.faithweb.com/about.html there is mention of past flags of
the Malankara Catholic Youth Movement- different flags for each diocese. No
description of the flags, or whether any of them still exist.
Ned Smith, 7 March 2005
![[Malankara Orthodox Diocese of America]](../images/r/rel_syrmoda.gif)
image by Dr. Hadrian Mar Elijah Bar Israël, 7 February 2006
The flags of the Malankara Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox Churches are elusive
only because they are not truly "flags" in the sense that they are used in the
west. In the west flags are granted by either rulers or governments and are used
as symbols representing either nation or organisation. In the west many people
have access to flags, meaning that they are abundant and easy to obtain. However
in the east flags are generally the SEAL of the ruler or the government, imposed
on cloth. They remain the property of the owner of the seal. In the case of the
Syriac and Malankara Orthodox Churches, they are (almost universally) the seal
of the Diocese / bishop or association, on a solid yellow background,
representing the spiritual wealth of the people. The seal itself is usually
represented in red. These flags are often rudimentary, and usually only one or
two exist in each Diocese. This is an example of the flag which the Malankara
Orthodox Diocese of America recently sent out to be made for their bishop.
Dr. Hadrian Mar Elijah Bar Israël, 7 February 2006
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