1) Travelogue
2) The history of Mar Thoma Nazrani Christians
3) Details about the governance of European missionaries who ruled the church in Kerala
4) The efforts undertaken by Bishop Mar Kairattil and Paremakkil Thoma Kathanar to resolve the issues faced by Catholic Syrians
5) About the right of Kerala Syrian Catholics on self governance
6) Interpretations and explanations on Bible

The contents from Chapter 17 to 30 ( 14 Chapters), Chapters 39 to 45 ( 6 Chapters) , Chapters 54 to 58 ( 5 Chapters) and the last two 77 and 78 Chapters are travelogue.

That’s is 31,000 words in 150 pages, which consist of travelogue covering the Asia, Africa, South America and Europe It is not known if any other travelogue which covers four continents existed in Asia in 16th century.

It is not just the Malayalee priests who do not know who a Nasrani is, but Nasranis themselves.

I read your ‘open letter’. God works in strange and mysterious ways. Why not start with honouring the 4th Commandment of keeping the Sabbath? May I ask you what is preventing you to do so?

If we study the history of Catholic Syriac group, we can see a gradual disintegration of the zeal to protect our identity and traditions when they moved from their foreign rulers to native rulers.

The history shows that the united Saint Thomas Christians were resistant to the efforts of Portuguese missionaries in Latinising them. We can see Cathanaar Joseph, the Indian, the chief priest of the church at Crangannore confronting with Alvares Panteado in AD 1516. Even at the time of Synod of Diamper, the Jesuites failed to implement the decisions of the synod. Hence, Arch Bishop Ros had to convene the synod of Angamali in AD 1603, as many of the decisions of the synod of Diamper could not be implemented among Saint Thomas Christians. As those were also not acceptable, Ros had to yield further by the introduction of Rosian statutes in AD 1606.

Mar Simon, the then Chaldean Patriarch, who was explicitly in communion with Rome was anathematised in the Synod of Diamper and his name was banned in remembering in the Qurbana and introduced the name of the Pope instead. We can see in the Syro Malabar Qurbana taksa used until 1960, remembering the Chaldean Patriarch’s name after the name of the Pope which shows the resistance of our community and leaders against tampering our age old traditions and identity.

In 1895, we can see our community sending letters to Rome against the use of the term Syro Malabar as the title of the church reqesting Rome to revert it to Syro Chaldean rite. It seems that Rome accepted the petition and in 1953, when the diocese of Thalassery was established, Rome has used the term Syro Chaldeac.

In the time of Paremmakkal Thomman Cathanaar and Malpan Joseph Cariatti, we can see our community was strong and were proud of our traditions and identity. The 72 palliyogams- general assembly-of Pazhayacoor decided to send Malpan Cariatti and Paremmakkal Thomman cathanaar to Rome to complain about their grievances from the Carmelite Missionaries and to get unity of Puthencoor and Pazhayacoor effected by accepting Mar Thoma IV to Catholic Communion and accepting him as the Metropolitan of the united saint Thomas Christians. (For the Catholic Syriac group, this was the only way they can get a native hierarchy and for the Puthencoor faction, this was the option, without loosing their age old tradition and identity, Mar Thoma IV can become the united leader of the saint Thomas Christians, as Antiochian prelates were forcing them to adopt antiochian rite which was new in Malabar.)The palliyogams raised money for the travel. They were so brave to sent the delegation to Rome against the power of the hierarchy in Malabar at that time.

Later, we can see our community sending delegates to Chaldean Patriarchate and Mar Paulose Pandari was consecrated as a Bishop in AD 1796, upon further requests, Mar Thomas Rokos arrived in AD 1861 and Mar Elia Melus in 1874. Arrival of Rokos and Melus prompted Rome to establish a separate hierarchy for Catholic Syriac group in 1887 with European Prelates initially and in 1896, native prelates.

This is the point where the identity of our community started to disintegrate. We could witness the native prelates competing each other for more latinisations and gaining superior positions and titles. Where is the power and zeal of the General Assembly of 72 parishes in AD 1778 when we are in 2010 with our nominal assembly where we simply raise hands for our leaders who do not know what our identity is.

In God’s abundant love,

Edward

They really seems to be proud of jacobites sects that they are the ones are orginal or rest of their groups are intemarried as different sections of orthodox or jacobites or others are brahimns.
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regarding black jews what my opnion was that these community could not even accepted any dravidianism even if they community obviously showing that presence.

It like what i observed as that there are some people are white or syrian looks or their skin types really seems that they may came from syria.

Such few type only qualify to me that they are little different from the so called community called knanaya.Majority ot people featured among the communities same as ordinary malayaless and they culture, behaiviour, life syles does not even qulitfy to them that they are syrians.

but if we observe they r people as a whole nasranis has surprising features of a non indian skin tone or they hair and features can be seen which seems to me are west asians.

I dont think that nasani identity is just the people who are belong to syrain church or just having suryanism. Even pentacoastal pastor can be a nasrani and he knows his identiy through his biblical passions.
I have seen that and they are not belong to none of the knanaya community. and they dont have any clue about knanayas. Or none of them dont even worry about these community at all.

There was an event even notted that a little argument the soutish people like in the other side of the river pumba and the northist lived in the other side
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But once i remember there was an rss problem arised regarding nilikcal problem both knanites and nasranis stood up. so for me things are really clear to me without expecting an answer from someone. but i thought i just want to speak out a littlebit.

Matthew was sent on a specific mission from Bombay, to land south of Goa, proceed to take Bedanore and then take Mangalore and proceed to Mysore, the plan was to unseat Hyder (who was dead by then and the Brits did not know of this), and another contingent from Madras would proceed, as per the plan the Rani of the deposed Rajah of Mysore had secretly made with the British to unseat Tipu.

The very fact that Tipu also fought fellow Muslim rulers, had French artillery contingent, sought Nepolean’s help to unseat British and the British at that time, took over ports in Goa and Anjediva island near Karwar as a precaution against Nepolean, does not make one much of a patriot and at that time, there was no sense of India as a nation, there were too many principalities, who were always quarrelling among themselves anyway and the British subdued and brought vast area under one rule.

Can some one tell me, what is ‘Padayottam’ (is this mean to say ‘to beat a hasty retreat’ on foot?), but I do not know who did the ‘padayottam!?

About the St. Thomas Cross, I feel many are confused with St. Thomas and Mar Thoma Cana who arrived from Syria, who must have brought the cross and introduced Syriac liturgy? Thomas Christians were supposedly converted by St. Thomas, the Apostle, but until the arrival of Mar Thoma with his followers, the earlier Christian converts may have almost forgotton the earlier rituals. Since the Thomas Christians of Malabar were ruled by the Chaldean Church (which is said to have received Nestorianism in the 5th century) from 7th century until 16th century, many people suspect Nestorianism in the Malabar Church. But the Chaldean church was subject to Pope.

Also, the inscription in Arabic on the cross (Mar Thoma Sleeba (saleeb=cross) offers the following reading: “In punishment by the cross was the suffering of this one, Who is the true Christ, God above and Guide ever pure.”

British Museum has a large collection consisting of several folio volumes containing manuscripts, letters, reports, etc., of Jesuit missions in India and elsewhere; among these in additional volume 9853, beginning with the leaf 86 in pencil and 525 in ink, there is a “Report” on the “Serra” (the name by which the Portuguese designated Malabar), written in Portuguese by a Jesuit missionary, bearing the date 1604 but not signed by the writer.

it would also be greatly apreciated if one of you could clarify about the genetic testing done on knanaites and non knanaites because it seems like their was a discrepancy about where the L3 marker is found.

and another thing i was wondering is that if knanites are black Jews that converted to Christianity in the 15th/16th centuries then why did Portuguese missionaries and other foreign observers notice a division amongst the native Christians. if the st. Thomas Christians openly accepted converts and intermarried with them than why was their a rivalry between the black Jews and the northists?