Memorandum of Mar Ivanios on Behalf of the Synod of the Malankara Orthodox Church to the Apostolic See of Rome

Tiruvalla, 1 November 1926:

According to the suggestion of the Syro-Malabar bishops, on 1 November 1926, Mar Ivanios sent an unofficial memorandum, without any signature and name, but setting out clearly the nature of the reunion he prospected. As we have seen, the memorandum was sent through Fr John Ribeiro, a Latin priest from the diocese of Quilon, who forwarded it to Apostolic Delegate Edward Aloysius Mooney in order that it might be transmitted to the Apostolic See of Rome (Trivandrum, Archives of the Major Archeparchy, AMEAT-HAN-COR-8, Box no. 1; Italian translation, in Vatican City, Archives of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, Prot. Num. 82/28, Malabaresi: Convers. dei Giacobiti, Fasc. I, 5. b).

WHAT IS WANTED

The entry of the Jacobite church into the unity of the Catholic Church,

i. Preserving their ancient rites and rituals,

ii. Conserving the jurisdiction of the uniting bishops over their own flock.

STATEMENTS

Since the year 1665, some of the Syrians in South India have been members of the Jacobite Church and recognized the spiritual supremacy of the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch, living in Mardin in Turkey. And the Jacobite Church in India enjoyed autonomy as regards the internal affairs of the Church.

Since 1910, the Jacobite Church in South India has been split into two sections. One section owes allegiance to Elias III, the Jacobite patriarch of Antioch living in Mardin. The other section owes allegiance to the catholicos of the East living at Vakathanam, near Kottayam, Travancore. The catholicate was established in India by the Jacobite Patriarch Abdul Messiah II who visited Travancore in 1912. The catholicate is the revival of the early catholicate of the East which had its see at Tigris in Mesopotamia. The catholicate is independent of the patriarch of the Antioch. And within the catholicate, patriarchal powers are exercised by the Holy Synod which is composed of the catholicos and his comprovincial bishops. It is the bishops of the catholicate that seek reunion with the Holy See.

The Holy Synod of the catholicate consecrates bishops and metropolitans and performs all the patriarchal functions and exercises patriarchal powers within the archdiocese of the catholicate. The Holy Synod claims to itself legislative, administrative, and disciplinary powers in all matters spiritual and ecclesiastical within the archdiocese.

The Holy Synod of the catholicate prays that they be admitted into the unity of the Catholic Church, themselves,

Preserving the ancient rites and rituals, Retaining for the Holy Synod and for the individual bishops their jurisdiction over all the Jacobite Syrian that come into reunion, and Accepting the supremacy of the Holy See, the pope being the successor of St Peter, the chief of the apostles of our Lord. The Holy Synod does not want to be placed under the jurisdiction of the Syrian Catholic patriarch of Beyrout. For the Holy Synod itself exercises patriarchal jurisdiction within the archdiocese of the catholicate in South India.

The archdiocese consisted of seven episcopal dioceses and lately an eighth diocese has been added to the seven. And the eight dioceses are placed under the jurisdiction of the three bishops of the catholicate who are the present members of the Holy Synod. Their names with the names of their respective dioceses are given below:-

The Most Rev. Moran Mar Baselios (Givergis) catholicos of the East and bishop of the dioceses of Kottayam, Kandanad, and Angamalee. Headquarters: Vakathanam, Kottayam, Travancore. The Most Rev. Mar Gregorios (Givergis) metropolitan bishop of the diocese of Niranam, Quilon, Thumpamun, and Cochin. Headquarters: Kundara, near Quilon, Travancore. The Right Rev. Mar Ivanios (Givergis) bishop of the diocese of Bethany. Headquarters: Tiruvalla, Tranvancore. The bishop of Bethany has two religious orders under him, one of men (clerical) and the other of women who do educational work. They have also an orphanage under their care.

The Holy Synod will finally decide about the reunion after definitely hearing from the Roman Church. If after Rome has done her part to enable reunion being effected, the Holy Synod were to refuse to enter into the unity of the Catholic Church, one at least of the bishops will make his submission to the pope and beg His Holiness to give him jurisdiction over all the Jacobite Syrians in order to make it possible for the union-loving Jacobites who would seek reunion, but would be kept out on account of differences of rite, to become members of the Catholic Church and continue to use the same rites and rituals that they have been using hitherto. There rites are already in use in the archdiocese of the patriarch of the Syrian Catholics in Syria and Mesopotamia.

The Syrian Christians in South India are about 900,000 strong, about one-half of whom are already within the Roman communion using a modified form of the Chaldean Syrian rite. The other half consists of about 300,000 Jacobites and 125,000 Mar Thomites. The Mar Thomites follow practically the same rites as the Jacobites, although they have accepted a few teachings of the Protestants. The Jacobites follow the traditional Christian belief. They are not the followers of Eutyches in their belief that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is divinity and humanity perfected in one Man.

If the Holy See agrees to this appeal then more than four and a half lakh non-Catholics will accede to the Catholic faith following the rites they were hitherto following and accepting the primacy of their bishops and priests.

(Sent by Mar Ivanios, Bishop of Bethany, but without any signature).