Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar (1736–1799) is the author of '' Varthamanappusthakam'' (1790), the first ever travelogue in an Indian language. Also known as ''Roma Yatraa Varthamanapusthakam'', it postulates that the foundation of Indian nationalism rests on the basic principle that India should achieve civic self-rule. Long before the debates on nationalism shaking the intellectual circles of Europe, Asia, and Africa, Thoma Kathanar offers a distinctive positionality as a minority Syriac Christian priest and subsequent administrator of the

Archdiocese of Cranganore The Archdiocese of Cranganore or Cranganor and Angamaly was a latinised Syriac Padroado Archdiocese in Kodungallur, Kerala, India.

with transnational ties to Portuguese ecclesiology who nevertheless argues in favor of autonomous civic Indian governance. He was also a polyglot, an efficient administrator and priest of the ''Malankare Kaldaya Suriyani Sabha'' (known officially as the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church The Syro-Malabar Church, also known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. It is a '' sui iuris'' (autonomous) particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Cathol ...

since 1923), who tried to bring about unity in the Church and also to maintain its unique heritage. Paremmakkal Thoma was born as the fourth child of Paremmakkal Itty Chandy and Anna of Kadanad in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

district on 10 September 1736. Initially he studied

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

and Syriac from teachers nearby. Then he joined

Alengad Alangad is a village located in Paravur Taluk of Ernakulam District in the Indian state of Kerala. It lies almost in the middle of North Paravur and Aluva. The Kochi city is 15 km away from Alangad. Etymology The name Alangad has been de ...

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

to learn

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and Portuguese and for priesthood. In 1761, he was ordained as a Kathanar (priest). He served as vicar in different churches up to 1778. Thomma Kathanar made tireless efforts to bring about unity in the Church in Kerala which had split following 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 ...

. He also strived to get bishops from among the members of the Catholic Church in Kerala, and also to retain the rich heritage of the Malabar Church. In order to achieve those goals he undertook a hard and perilous journey to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1778 along with Kariattil Mar Ousep Malpan. The description of this journey is recorded in his book ''Varthamanapusthakam'', considered to be the first travelogue among all Indian languages. The historic journey to Rome to represent the grievances of Kerala's Syrian Catholics started from the boat jetty in Athirampuzha in 1785. From Athirampuzha they first proceeded to

Kayamkulam Kayamkulam () is a municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kayamkulam has ...

by a country-boat. The journey then took them to Chinnapattanam, as

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

was then known. From there they went to

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

(

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

of today). From

they sailed to

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

at the tip of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. They were to sail to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

from there but adverse winds drifted their ship in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

taking it to the coast of

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. A further journey from the Latin American coast took them to their destination. The journey to the destination took more than a year. While they were in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, Kariattil Mar Ousep was ordained in

as the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Kodungalloor Kodungallur (; formerly also called as Cranganore (anglicised name), Portuguese: Cranganor; Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the M ...

Archeparchy. The two representatives of the Kerala Catholic Church succeeded in convincing the church authorities in

and

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

about the problems in

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 ...

Church. On their way back home they stayed in

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

where Mar Ouseph Kariattil died. Upon realizing that his end was near, Mar Kariattil appointed Thoma Kathanar as the ''Governador'' (governor) of Cranganore

Archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

after him, and handed over the cross, chain and ring, the tokens of his power, which had been presented to him by the Portuguese queen. Although the headquarters of Archdiocese of Kodungallur was at Pookkaatt, Aripalam muri of

Mukundapuram taluk Mukundapuram Taluk is a taluk (tehsil) in Irinjalakuda Revenue Division of Thrissur district in the Indian state of Kerala. In 1762 this taluk was formed by Cochin King. When new Chalakudy taluk was formed in 2013 it lost majority of its terri ...

before their journey, the new Governador administered the affairs of the church establishing his headquarters at

Angamaly Angamaly () is a municipality in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. Angamaly is part of the Kochi metropolitan area and is located northeast of the Kochi city centre. As of the 2011 Indian census, the municipality has a population of 33 ...

. Paremmakkal was organised and led an assembly of the Catholic Saint Thomas Christians (''Palazhayakūttukār'') in Angamāly Saint George's Great Church, that enacted the ''Angamāly Padiyōla'' on 1 February 1787. This assembly protested against the colonial subjugation of the native Christians and strongly urged for the consecration of native bishop among them. 1790, the headquarters of the

had to be shifted to Vadayar because of the attacks of

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 ...

. In the last four years of his life, Thoma Kathanar managed church administration from his own parish, Ramapuram. Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar remained the Governador for thirteen years. He died on 20 March 1799. ''Vathamanapusthakam'' was first published in the 18th century but was forgotten for centuries, being re-discovered in 1935 and first printed in Malayalam in 1936 by Luka Mathai Plathottam at Athirampuzha St Marys Press. The manuscript of the book is kept at the St Thomas Christian Museum in

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

See also

References

Further reading