Abraham Mar Koorilos I

Abraham Mar Koorilos I was the first primate and Metropolitan of the Malabar Independent Syrian Church in Kerala, India, although it was known initially as Thozhyur Sabha (Thozhyur Church) or Anjoor Church when established in 1772. The official name Malabar Independent Syrian Church was adopted in 1862.[1][2] Mar Koorilos I remained primate for 30 years from 1772 to 1802 until his death on 10 July 1802. His brother succeeded him as primate of the church as Geevarghese Mar Koorilos II.

Biography

Born Kattumangatt Kurien, Cyril (Koorilos) was very keen with church ceremonies. As a boy he impressed the visiting Bishop Mar Ivanios of Jerusalem of the Syriac Orthodox Church by correcting a deacon's liturgical mistake at Mulanthuruthy Church. Bishop Ivanios later ordained both Kattumangatt Kurien and his brother Kattumangatt Geevarghese as deacons, then priests, before returning to Jerusalem in 1751. He later became a monk and eventually a leader in the local opposition to Malankara Metropolitan Mar Dionysius I.

As relations between the Syriac Orthodox Church hierarchy and the native clergy of the Malankara Church became strained, in 1772 Bishop Mar Gregorios, a representative of the Syriac Orthodox hierarchy from the Near East, became dissatisfied with Metropolitan Mar Dionysius I and against the latter's wishes, Bishop Gregorios consecrated Kattumangatt Kurien as a bishop in a secret but canonically legitimate ceremony. The new bishop took the name Mar Cyril (Koorilos), and he was designated Gregorios' sole heir.[3] This action fomented further the strained relations with Dionysus that ultimately resulted in the formation of an independent church to be headed by Bishop Koorilos.

Koorilos (Cyril) initially claimed authority over the parishes of Cochin, and received the support of the Raja of Cochin. However, Metropolitan Dionysus I saw Bishop Koorilos as a threat to his power, and in 1774 he appealed to the Raja and to the British authorities in India to suppress the rival bishop.[3][4] Koorilos was forced to leave for Thozhiyoor in Kerala outside the jurisdiction of Dionysus, and established what would become an independent church known as Thozhiyur Church.[5] His was the first of several groups to split from the Malankara Church.[4] It was only after an 1862 court case, that the Madras High Court confirmed the Thozhiyur Church was an independent Malankara church, and it has subsequently been known as the Malabar Independent Syrian Church.

Koorilos' church was always small, but maintained stability by attracting devoted priests and emphasizing regularity in the ecclesiastical order. In 1794 Cyril consecrated his brother Geevarghese as bishop; Geevarghese succeeded Cyril as Geevarghese Mar Koorilos II in 1802, and the succession has proceeded unbroken since.[3]

Notes
  1. The forgotten bishops : the Malabar Independent Syrian Church and its place in the story of the St. Thomas Christians of South India. Gorgias Press. ISBN 978-1-60724-619-0.
  2. "Misc – Malabar Independent Syrian Church".
  3. Neill, p. 70.
  4. Vadakkekara, p. 92.
  5. Burgess, p. 175.

References
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