Mar Thoma VI, also known as Mar Dionysius I, was the 6th

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

of the

Malankara Syrian Church The Malankara Church, also known as Malankara Syrian Church, was the unified body of ''Puthankoottukar, Puthankur'' Saint Thomas Christians who claim origins from the missions of Thomas the Apostle. This community, under the leadership of ...

, serving from 1765 until his demise on 7 April 1808. His original name was Iype, and he was born as the only son of Mathew (Mathan) Tharakan, the elder brother of Mar Thoma V, in the Pallippuram branch of the Pakalomattom Family(Andoor, Marangattupilly). Thoma VI succeeded Mar Thoma V as Malankara Metropolitan in 1765, and unlike his predecessors, who were said by their opponents not to have been properly

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

as bishop, he received orders from

Syriac Orthodox The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The church upholds the Mia ...

bishops in 1772, thus ending any controversy. Other events of his reign include the separation of the

Thozhiyoor Thozhiyoor is a village in the Guruvayoor Municipality of Chavakkad Taluk (Thrissur District) in Kerala state, India. Location This landscape is located around 8 km east from the Arabian Sea and 8 km west from Kunnamkulam Kun ...

church (now the

Malabar Independent Syrian Church The Malabar Independent Syrian Church (MISC), also known as the Thozhiyur Church, is a Christian church centred in Kerala, India. It is one of the churches of the Saint Thomas Christian community, which traces its origins to the evangelical ac ...

), the arrival of English

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

missionaries, and the first translation of the Bible from Syriac to

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

Life

The man who would be Dionysius was the nephew of his predecessor as Malankara Metropolitan, Mar Thoma V, and a member of the Pakalomattom family. In 1757, as part of a play to assert his authority and autonomy in the Malankara Syrian Church, Thoma V consecrated his nephew as

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

and named him his successor, in contradiction to the wishes of the Syriac Orthodox hierarchy. Upon Thoma V's death in 1765, the younger Pakalomattom was ordained as Metropolitan on 8 May, taking the name Thoma VI.Neill, p. 67. As with his predecessors as Metropolitan going back to the first,

Mar Thoma I Mar Thoma I, also known as Valiya Mar Thoma (Mar Thoma the Great) and Arkkadiyakkon Thoma (Archdeacon Thomas) in Malayalam, and referred to as Thomas de Campo in Portuguese, was the first native-born Metropolitan bishop of the Malankara Chur ...

, Thoma VI's critics charged that his succession, and therefore his position, was invalid. To overcome this criticism, in 1772 Thoma VI underwent a second ordination at the hands of the Syriac Orthodox bishop Gregorios in the church in

Niranam Niranam is a village in Thiruvalla, Kerala, India. It was a port in ancient Kerala, on the confluence of the Manimala River, Manimala and Pamba River. It is almost 7 km from Tiruvalla in Pathanamthitta District of Kerala, lies to the wester ...

. He received all the

Holy Orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

, from the

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

to the episcopal consecration, and thereafter took the name Mar Dionysius. Syriac Orthodox and other critics of Thoma VI saw this as his only ordination, while his supporters saw it as a "re-ordination", but either way, it ended the controversy over the validity of his position. This done, Dionysius focused on his second primary aim of securing his place as the sole head of the Malankara Church, a measure opposed by some in the Syriac Orthodox hierarchy. To this end, Dionysius appealed to both the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

colonial government in India. Several times he contacted the Catholic hierarchy, both locally and in Rome, seeking to have his church, with him as its designated head, brought into full communion. This would have the double aim of solidifying his authority and re-uniting all the

Saint Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...

, who had been split into '' Pazhayakoor'' (Catholic) and Puthenkoor (independent) factions since the

Coonan Cross Oath The Coonan Cross Oath (alternatively spelled Koonan Cross Oath), also known as the Great Oath of Bent Cross or Leaning Cross Oath, was taken on 3 January 1653, in Mattancherry, by a significant portion of the Saint Thomas Christian community ...

of 1653. His appeals were considered in Rome, where the Church was willing to grant him temporal but not spiritual authority over the Saint Thomas Christians. In the end, however, no satisfactory deal was ever made and the factions remained separate. In 1771, Gregorios consecrated a second bishop, Kattumangatt, who took the name Cyril (Koorilose). Dionysius saw Cyril as a threat to his authority and appealed to the colonial authorities to suppress the rival bishop. Cyril left for

Thozhiyur The Malabar Independent Syrian Church (MISC), also known as the Thozhiyur Church, is a Christian church centred in Kerala, India. It is one of the churches of the Saint Thomas Christian community, which traces its origins to the evangelical ac ...

, outside of the colonial jurisdiction, and established what would become an independent church. This body is now known as the

. Subsequently, however, Gregorios and the other Syrian bishops died and were not replaced, leaving no further internal challengers to Dionysius.

Invasion by Mysore

Mysore was a landlocked kingdom.

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali (''Haidar'alī''; ; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's ...

, ruler of this kingdom decided to invade Malabar to get access to the Arabian Sea. He entered Malabar in 1781 and crushed the Nair soldiers. After his death

Tippu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...

came to the throne. During that period Christians were persecuted. Bala Rama Varma was the ruler of

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

at this time. He was one of the least popular sovereigns whose reign was marked by unrest and various internal and external problems for the state. He became King at the young age of sixteen and came under the influence of a corrupt nobleman known as Jayanthan Sankaran Nampoothiri from

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

. One of the first acts of atrocities during his reign was the murder of

Raja Kesavadas Raja Kesavadas born Kesavan Raman Pillai of Kunnathur, also known as (17 March 1745 – 21 April 1799; Sanskrit ') was the Dewan of Travancore during the reign of Dharma Raja, Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma. He is well known for his ...

, the existing

Dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...

of Travancore. Sankaran Nampoothiri was then appointed as Dewan (Prime minister) with two other ministers. Using his influence, Mar Thoma VI was put in jail at Alleppy and was forced to conduct a service according to Catholic rites, but escaped during a rebellion in

under

Velu Thampi Velayudhan Chempakaraman Thampi of Thalakulam (1765–1809) was the Dalawa or Prime Minister of the Indian kingdom of Travancore between 1802 and 1809 during the reign of Bala Rama Varma Kulasekhara Perumal. He is best known for being one ...

in 1799.

Relations with the Church of England

Toward the end of Dionysius' reign, Claudius Buchanan (1766–1815) visited

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

in 1806, and arranged for the translation of the Bible into

. Dionysius gave him the manuscript of the Bible written in the

Syriac language The Syriac language ( ; ), also known natively in its spoken form in early Syriac literature as Edessan (), the Mesopotamian language () and Aramaic (), is an Aramaic#Eastern Middle Aramaic, Eastern Middle Aramaic dialect. Classical Syriac is ...

. This manuscript was later deposited in the public library of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. During the visit, Buchanan suggested the Malankara Church seek a close relationship with the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. Soon after his visit, Dionysius convened a meeting of church elders at Aarthattu, where he declared the Malankara Church would not accept the Anglican doctrine, nor those of any other foreign church.Mathew, P.C. Aarthattu Padiola, Nazrani Christians of Kerala, p. 114.

Death and succession

Dionysius consecrated Pakalomattom Mathen Kathanar as his successor in 1796 at

Chengannur Chengannur () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipalityhttps://lsgkerala.gov.in/system/files/2017-10/localbodies.pdf in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located south east of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about ...

church. Dionysius died on 8 April 1808 at

, and he was interred St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Puthencavu, with Mathen conducting the funeral service. Mathen subsequently received his orders, taking the name

Mar Thoma VII Mar Thoma VII was a Bishop of the Malankara Church from 1796 and the 7th Malankara Metropolitan from April 1808 to July 1809. Born in Pakalomattom family in Kurichithanam, Pala, Kerala, Pala, he was well known as an efficient administrator, deepl ...

Notes

References