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The Church in Kerala was formed by the preaching of St. Thomas, the Apostolic of Jesus Christ. The St. Thomas Christian of Kerala were in communion with the Syrian Church of Persia. They followed the Syrian Liturgy and had been in communion with the Catholic Church ever since its starting in 52 A.D. As an autonomous Church with its own Liturgy, Customs, Traditions and Administrative system, it flourished in the soil of Kerala keeping its integrity and identity. The arrival of Portuguese missionaries who thought everything alien to western customs and traditions is either schismatic or heretic, tried to make the Kerala Church Catholic through latinising the syrian liturgy and its indigenous customs. The synod of Diamper in 1599 marked the beginning of the latinising policy which destroyed the identity and autonomous nature of the Church. Being unable either to tolerate or compromise with their policies the Mar Thoma Syrian Christian Community showed its protest by the Koonan Cross Oath in 1653. This was against the Portuguese ecclesiastical authorities and not against the Catholic and Apostolic Church. But this eventually paved the way for a section of the Mar Thoma Christians to become Jacobites under the Patgriarch of Antioch. Ever since that unfortunate event, the separated brethren dreamed of and worked for the reunion with the Mother Church. But their attempts reaped fruit only by the beginning of this century. In 1926 a Jacobite Episcopal synod (Orthodox) held at Parumala decided to take effective steps for reunion with the Catholic Church. The synod puts forward but one condition: that the ancient liturgy and venerable traditions of the Malankara Church should be kept intact. According to the decision of the Synod, Archbishop Mar Ivanios held negotiations with Rome. The Holy Father Pope Pius XI, filled with true Christian and ecumenical spirit, accepted the condition and welcomed the reunion. Accordingly on September 20, 1930 Arcbishop Mar Ivanios, Bishop Mar Theophilos, Fr.John O.I.C., Bro. Alexander (Fr.Seraphion O.I.C.) and Mr.Kilileth Chacko made their profession of Faith before His Excellency Rt.Rev.Dr.Benziger, Bishop of Quilon who was specially deputed by the Holy See for the purpose and were received into the fold of the Catholic Church. Dreams of the past three centuries were thus realised and the Reunion Movement gained unprecedented mometum day by day. The growth of this movement was accelerated by the Apostolic Constitution : "Christo Pastorum Principi" of Pope Pius XI (June 11, 1932) which established the Syro-Malankara Hierarchy, comprising of the Archdiocese of Trivandrum and the Diocese of Tiruvalla. In the year 1978, His
Holiness Pope John Paul II by an apostolic constituion created the Diocese
of Sulthan Bathery by bifurceting the Diocese of Thiruvalla. At the request
of His Grace Most Rev.Cyril Mar Baselios, OIC His Holiness Pope John Paul
II in the year 1996 by another apostolic degree created in the Eparchy
of Marthandom by bifurceting the Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram. In
the year 2002, a new Diocese was created, by the patrition of the Diocese
of Tiruvalla, as it, headquarters in Moovattupuzha.
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