Jacobite Syrian Christian Church

The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church is an Oriental Orthodox church in India, part of the Syriac Orthodox Church and rooted in Kerala’s Saint Thomas Christian community and West Syriac tradition.

Oriental Orthodoxy: A family of churches that accepts the first three ecumenical councils and rejects the Council of Chalcedon’s definition of Christ. The church belongs to this communion, which distinguishes it from Eastern Orthodox churches.
Thomas of Cana: A figure associated with the migration of Persian Christians to the Malabar Coast in the early centuries of Christianity. Traditions about early West Asian migration help explain the community’s links beyond India.
Patriarch of Antioch: The chief bishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church, traditionally bearing the title Patriarch of Antioch and All the East. The Jacobite church recognizes the patriarch as its supreme ecclesiastical authority.
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church: An autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church in India that follows the West Syriac tradition. It shares heritage and liturgy with the Jacobite church but rejects the Patriarch of Antioch’s jurisdiction.
Malankara Church dispute: A long-running conflict over authority and church property between the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. The dispute affects parish governance, diocesan boundaries, and control of church buildings.
Syriac Orthodox Church: An Oriental Orthodox church whose patriarchal seat is in Damascus and whose liturgical tradition is West Syriac. The Indian church is an integral part of this wider church.
Synod of Diamper: A 1599 assembly that subjected the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala to Roman Catholic authority and Latinizing reforms. Its reforms intensified disputes over the community’s church allegiance and traditions.
Catholicos of India: The senior local prelate who leads the Syriac Orthodox Church in India under the Patriarch of Antioch. This office provides leadership for the church’s Indian dioceses.
Syro-Malabar Church: An Eastern Catholic church in India that follows the East Syriac liturgical tradition. Its Catholic communion and East Syriac rite distinguish it from the Jacobite church.
Saint Thomas Christian denominations: The distinct churches that emerged from Kerala’s Saint Thomas Christian community through historical divisions and changes in allegiance. The Jacobite church’s history is one strand in this wider denominational landscape.

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