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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CATHOLICATE OF THE EAST - FROM APOSTLE THOMAS TO THE YEARS AFTER THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON. APOSTLE THOMAS, THE FOUNDERIt was Apostle Thomas who sent his co-Apostle St. Thaddaeus (Mar Addai Sleeha) to Persia where the nation along with King Agbar believed. In canonical writings, the chronology of the heads of the Eastern Church (Syrian Church of the East) begins with Apostle Thomas. "Persian Church consider St. Thomas, the Apostle, as its first head. According to the tradition of the Persian Church, the Apostle on his way to India for propogation of the Gospel halted at Edessa for some time and spread the faith in and around it through his disciples Addai and Aggai. Addai sent his own disciple mari to Seleucia, the capital of Persian empire. Due to his labours, a Church was established there." (Fr. Dr. V.C. Samuel, Malankara Sabhayude Antiochian Bandham) INDEPENDENT STATUSIn the initial stages of the growth of the Syrian Church of the East, it was self sustained. The chair of succession is mentioned in the Doctrine of Mar Addai, an ancient Syriac manuscript. "No other Church either in Jerusalem or at Antioch or elsewhere sustained it by any ecclesiastical authority other than of its own. The history of the Church in its first two centuries show that neither it did owe allegiance to any extraterritorial Church nor any Church outside Persia, especially its neighbour the Church of Syria had laid claim either juridical or jurisdictional, although a tendency is discernible from several later instances that antioch would have liked the Persian Church to be within its sphere of authority". (Dr. David Daniel, The Orthodox Church of India) W.A. Wingram writes. "The Church of Easterners was the daughter not of Antioch but of Edessa and was never included in the Patriarchate of the former cirty." (W.A. Wingram, the History of the Assyrian Church, pp 25-26 quoted in Dr. David Daniel). INITIAL CONNECTION WITH THE WESTIn the Eastern Church Mar Aggai succeeded Mar Addai and Mar Mari succeeded Mar Aggai. The rebellious sons of King Agbar were against the Apostles and they persecuted Mar Addai. They broke the leg of Mar Addai. Mar Addai had ordained Mar Aggai as his successor in the chair (throne). "And all the people of the church went from time to time, and prayed there diligently, and the commemoration of his (King Agbar's) death they made from year to year, according to the command and instruction which was received by them from Addai the Apostle, and according to the word of Aggai, who was himself the guide and ruler and the successor of his chair after him, by the hand of the priesthood, which he had received from him before every man." (The Doctrine of Addai the Apostle, translation from Syriac manuscript. English translation in 1876 by George Phillips,D.D., PRESIDENT OF QUEENS' COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE) After the departure of Mar Mari, the See was vacant. Mar Abrosius, the disciple of Mar Mari made a goodwill visit to Antioch and requested help. According to Dr. David Daniel, this was the first occasion, as recorded by Bar Hebraeus, when the Persian Church had received an ordination from the Church of Antioch. On this incident, Dr. V.C. Samuel has made the following comments. "Two things are clear from this incident. Firstly, it was the Eastern fathers which requested for a Metropolitan for Seleucia. In other words, Bar Hebraeus only mentions that the Eastern Church requested for help in an exigent situation when they had no Metropolitans. Secondly, although Bar Hebraeus tries to highlight the Antiochian role, he does not mention the Patriarch to have played any part. It was not he who consecrated Abrosius, but the brethren there. It was only accidental that Seleucia transacted a relationship with Antioch" (Dr. V.C. Samuel, Church Weekly 17.9.1978 quoted by Dr. David Daniel) The successors Mar Abraham (201-213) was consecrated in Antioch. His successors Mar Jacob (213-231) and Mar Ahod Abuei (231-246) were consecrated in Jerusalem. When Mar Ahod Abuie was consecrated in Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Church was concerned about the independent status of the Church in the East. Bar Hebraeus reports about this: "Consequent to the consecration, the Western fathers allowed the Eastern fathers to consecrate candidates of their choice when their leader passed away and also directed that they, therefore, need not go to Antioch for that purpose. They also issued a letter of Authority (Staticon) which specified that the Great Metropolitan of the East shall be proclaimed as Catholicos Patriarch. This act did not please the Patriarch of Antioch." (Rao Sahib O.M. Cherian, Concise history of the Catholicate, translated by Dr. David Daniel) After Mar Ahod Abuei at Seleucia and Mar Shaluppa (AD 246-66), the Church elevated Mar Pappa (Babai) as the Catholicos in AD 266. Through elevating Catholicos Mar Pappa, the Eastern Church maintained its independent status. Catholicos Mar Pappa strengthened the Church consulting with Western Bishops. "They wrote a letter to the Emperor Constantine on this subject in their name addressed to the Kings and nobles of the West- thatis, the Roman Empire - there were several Pariarchs - those of Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople - so there should be in the East, that is in the Persian Empire, at least one Patriarch. This request was agreed to and accepted by all the Eastern Bishops, who were afraid other-wise of trouble both from Constantine and from Shapur 11." (Mashiha-Zakha: Chronicles of Arbil quoted in Orthodox Church of India by Dr. David Daniel) The Eastern Syrian Church suffered the persecution of non-Christian Kings of Persia. In the 4th century King Shapur 11 (AD 345) persecuted the Christians. A group of Christians under the leadership of Thoma of Kana came to India to escape the persecution. This happened when the Church was headed by Catholicos Mar Simun Bar Sheba (AD 337-350). We know this also from the ancient song of the Knanaya community of Kerala - their ancient song "munnam malankara ....katholikka arulale kappal pukinthu ....". It is clear that they came from the jurisdiction of the Catholicos of the East. They were integral part of the Synod of the Catholicos until 1970's and even today a group of Knanaya remains as part of Catholicate of the East. Catholicos Mar Simun Bar Sheba suffered martyrdom for refusing to collect tax for the King. POST-CHALCEDON PERIOD:A division occured in the Eastern Syrian Church after the council of Chalcedon (AD 451). In AD 486, a faction of the Eastern Church officially adopted the Nestorian faith in the Synod of Acacius, which resulted in a division in the Syrian Church of the East - one group accepting Nestorian faith and the Orthodox faction rejecting it. The Orthodox and the Nestorians were not in good terms for many years after this and the Catholicate of the East was occupied by the Nestorians. A change happened in the sixth century with St. Jacob (Mar Yakub Burdana). St. Jacob himself was ordained a general bishop, by Patriarch St. Theodosius of Alexandria, to take care of the needs of the Orthodox (Oriental) in Armenia, Mesopotomia, Persia and even Egypt. In AD 559 St. Jacob elevated Mar Ahoudemme (AD 559-577) as the Catholicos for the Orthodox of the East. This event is reported in the history of St. John of Ephesus. "The king Khosrun, however, approved and praised what had been spoken by the orthodox, and said to the Catholicus, 'These men know what they say, and can establish and prove their words, and their arguments seem to me to be very true: but yours are confused and indistinct, and have no solid foundation; nor do ye yourselves seem able to prove your words; nor, in fact, do they seem to me to have any certainty and truth, like those spoken on the other side. And from this I perceive that you have accused them before me without just and fitting cause; and now that I have myself seen and heard them, I command that ye never again offend against them, nor do them wrong.' And when he had uttered this command, all the orthodox fell down, and made obeisance to him, and thanked him, saying, Lord, they persecute us, and fall upon us, and spoil us, and uproot our churches and monasteries, and do not permit us to offer up in them our prayers and supplications unto God, that He would establish and watch over your life, and the welfare of your kingdom.' Upon which he comforted them, and bade them go and build their churches and monasteries: 'for no one,' said he, 'henceforth shall be permitted to injure you.' And thus having worshipped him, and prayed for him, they returned to their homes with great joy: and henceforward all the orthodox in the Persian dominions dwelt there in great confidence and fearlessness, so as even to venture, after having received this commandment, upon doing a great act, which was no less than the setting up of a Catholicus of their own , by the hands of the blessed lord Jacob, the bishop of the Orthodox, a thing which had never been done before in the Persian dominions: but from that time even until this day there has continued to be a Catholicus of the believers in Persia." [John of Ephesus, Ecclesiastical History, Part 3 -- Book 6] We can clearly learn two aspects from the account of St. John of Ephesus (himself an Oriental Orthodox father):
This account once again affirms the historic independent status of Catholicate of the East, which is in the succession of Apostle Thomas. We have the following succession of Patriarchs of the Orthodox Syrian Church of the East.
Mar Thoma Sleeha (Apostle Thomas)
(AD 35-72)
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