Letter of Fr Jacob Kalapurackal, Secretary of Mar Ivanios to the Secretary of Patriarch Ignatius Ephrem II Rahmani

Tiruvalla, 17 July 1925:

The first letter was not sent directly by Mar Ivanios to Ignatius Ephrem II Rahmani, Catholic Syrian Patriarch of Antioch, but by his secretary Father Jacob Kalapurackal (later bishop Jacob Mar Theophilos) to the secretary of the Patriarch, in an unofficial manner. Despite diligent research, the original letter has not yet been found. However, in the report sent by the Patriarch to the Congregation for the Eastern Churches on 12 May 1927 concerning “the good disposition of the Malabar Jacobite Syrians for the Holy Union,” he practically reproduced the content of the said letter. The report of Patriarch Rahmani containing the content of the letter is inserted here (Vatican City, Archives of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, Prot. Num. 82/28, Malabaresi-Convers. dei Giacobiti, Fasc. I, 14-17; original is in Italian).

Since many years a declared schism has reigned among the Jacobite Syrians of Malabar, which divides those faithful into two parties: one subject to the Jacobite Patriarch, the other disobedient at most.

The liturgical and literary books with Syriac types published by the printing-press founded by me in 1900 in the seminary of Sciarfe were the means which Divine Providence wanted to use to make us known by those Christians that they have the same rite of ours (of course with the Jacobite errors). Some of them had applied to us for some copies of our liturgical and literary books in the pure Syriac language.

Moreover, one of their bishops accompanied by some priests and monks, traveling through Baghdad in 1924, received cordial hospitality from our Archbishop Monsignor George Dallal and he used that occasion to enter into correspondence with us.

From my part, I took advantage of that circumstance to send him a very polite letter, in which I invited him to the Holy Union.

The schism becomes more violent day by day. The Jacobite Syrian Patriarch, who moved from Mardin to Jerusalem for more than a year, has made an effort and he is still striving to win over the rebel party, but he cannot.

I notice that a monk-priest, arrived from Malabar - I have been in Jerusalem for some weeks - went to visit my vicar in the same city, declaring to him that he wants to become a Catholic. He waits for me to call him.

Generally, the discontent among the Jacobites of their Patriarch and his bishops grows because, as they say: “they seek what pertains to them (quaerunt quae sua sunt),” not the interest of the flock.

Even a monk-priest of the monastery of Mar Mathai near Mosul recently sent me an autograph letter containing his profession of the Catholic faith, and he currently resides in our monastery in Mar Behnam. Another Jacobite priest with his family, returning from the Americas, where he resided for four years, came to see me in Beirut (Beyrouth) to beg me to receive him as a Catholic with his family.

Reserving the right to mention, in a special report, about the converts among the emigrants (and they are a few thousand), I limit myself to exposing the current good dispositions of the Malabars to join us and through us the Catholic Church.

Here are some excerpts from the letter I received a few months ago from Fr. Jacob of Kottayam, secretary of Archbishop Dionysus (sic).

“Many of us - he declares - desire the union with you, as you wish and at the same time with the Catholic and Apostolic Church, which dominates the whole world. However, it is necessary to find the way allowing us to reach the desired goal.

Of the two parties, which are found in Malabar today, ours has four archbishops and bishops with almost three hundred churches, the other party has two archbishops with one hundred and thirty churches, and this second party adheres to the Jacobite Patriarch named Elias. But we are in breach with him”.

Let me be allowed - added the same writing priest - to make Your Beatitude known our wishes for the union.

We accept the liturgical books of the Syrian Catholics as they are printed by you: Missal, Ritual, book of the funeral rites, etc. They will be for our use without any change. (It is known that our books are not only exempt from any monophysitic expressions, but they contain the name of the Pope as Head of the universal Church and many explicit Catholic dogmatic expressions). We require - continues the Secretary - that you assure us in writing that the said liturgical books will not be changed over time with those of the Latin rite, nor with those of the Syro-Malabar rite, because the latter do not like our people, neither the bishops nor the priests, who instead are very fond of the ancient rites of the Antiochene Apostolic Church.

The Indies have had as prelates and ministers, bishops chosen from among our own people. And here even the Syro-Chaldean Malabars have already their national archbishops and bishops. We want to be assured that as we join, we will also maintain our ministers appointed from among us for the future.

We need a seminary because from the time of our relationship with the Patriarch, the revenue from teaching destined to pay the professors, as well as the income for the maintenance of the seminarians, have been seized.

As for the schools for the education of boys and girls, we have them. One of our bishops founded a monastery, an orphanage, and a monastery for the nuns who take care of the education of girls. We have also a printing-press. However, it is necessary for us to have a building for the seminary.

While we unite with the Antiochene Church and at the same time with the Catholic Church, we are afraid of losing the pious legacies and their income to provide for worship and for the maintenance of priests and churches themselves according to the custom in force in the Indies“. I insist that the contents of this letter be kept under the most scrupulous secrecy, for fear that its disclosure be an obstacle to the union.

Ignatius Ephrem II Rahmani,
Antiochene Patriarch of the Syrians.