The Synod of Diamper (Malayalam: ഉദയംപേരൂർ സൂനഹദോസ്, romanized: Udayampērūṟ Sūnahadōs) was a Catholic diocesan synod held at Udayamperoor (Diamper in non-vernacular sources) in June 1599 that created rules and regulations for the ancient Saint Thomas Christians (also known as Mar Thoma Nasranis) of the Malabar Coast, a part of modern-day Kerala, India. The synod formally subjugated them to Latin Catholic authorities, downgrading the Archdiocese of Angamaly and All India to the Diocese of Angamalé, a suffragan see to the Archdiocese of Goa, which was administered by Portuguese Padroado missionaries. The synod also forced liturgical latinisation and the eschewal of local practices and beliefs, leading to a significant protest known as the Coonan Cross Oath and a subsequent schism in the mid-17th century.
Background
Early history of Saint Thomas Christians
The Saint Thomas Christians, who trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century, were in communion with the Church of the East of Persia and the Patriarch of the Seleucia-Ctesiphon, and relied on their bishops.
Thus, while the bishops from the Middle East were the spiritual heads of the Church, the general administration of the Church of Kerala was governed by an indigenous priest known as Arkkadiyakkon or Archdeacon. He was the community leader of Saint Thomas Christians. Even in times when there were multiple foreign bishops, there was only one archdeacon for entire Saint Thomas Community.
Portuguese missionaries and Saint Thomas Christians
The Portuguese fleet led by Pedro Alvarez Cabral, arrived in Malabar in 1500 with a missionary team of 19 members. More than half of them were Franciscans. Later, most of the groups that came from Portugal included missionaries. Initially, the Portuguese missionaries were on good terms with the Saint Thomas Christians, but between 1520 and 1530, relations between them began to fall apart. This is because the Portuguese began to impose their church traditions on the Malabar Christians.
The Church of the East collapsed by 1552, through the schism of 1552, and a faction (the modern day Chaldean Catholic Church) under the leadership of Yohannan Sulaqa joined in communion with the Church of Rome. It is difficult to say exactly how this split affected the Church of Saint Thomas Christians in Malabar. Following the split, both factions – the Nestorian and Chaldean Catholic – began sending their bishops to Kerala. Abraham, later known as Abraham of Angamaly was one of the last bishops from the Church of the East. Mar Abraham first arrived in India before 1556 as a Nestorian bishop from the traditional Nestorian Patriarchate. The Portuguese managed to arrest him and sent him off to Lisbon, but on the way he escaped at Mozambique and left to Mesopotamia and presented himself to Abdiso, the Chaldean patriarch who had declared allegiance to the Pope of Rome. The patriarch re-consecrated the Abraham, sent him with letters to Pope Pius IV. Abraham received his episcopal ordination again, third time, in Rome in 1565 and returned in India in 1568. In spite of the express approbation by Pope, he was not welcomed by the Portuguese authorities in Goa and was arrested second time. However, Abraham escaped in 1570 and reached Malabar, there he directed his faithful in defiance of the Portuguese until his death in 1597.
Preparations for the Synod
After the death of Abraham, Aleixo de Menezes the Archbishop of Goa began efforts to bring Archdiocese of Angamaly under Goa. Menezes nominated Francis Ros as Administrator of Angamaly. But by this time the Archdeacon, George (of the Cross), according to the custom and by appointment of Abraham, took up the administration of the Archdiocese of Angamaly. Therefore, Menezes had to withdraw the administrator. But Menesis decided that Saint Thomas Christians should be unconditionally placed under the spiritual authority of the Pope. For this, he sought the help of viceroy of Goa, the Portuguese Captain of Kochi and the King of Kochi. Also, the Portuguese were very careful at the ports to prevent any Eastern Bishops from entering Kerala.
Archbishop Menezes visited Malabar in February 1599. Menezes threatened to depose Archdeacon George and appoint in his place Thomas Kurian, another nephew of George whose claims had been ignored in 1593. In order to prevent a division, George gave in to the demands of Menezes. After carrying out a visitation in various parishes of Saint Thomas Christians, gaining the support of the local rulers and some of the local clergy, also by ordaining a large number of new priests, and forcing Archdeacon, to submit to him, Menezes called for a synod to be convened in June 1599. Instead of Angamaly, the headquarters of the diocese, a small place called Diamper (Udayamperur) near Kochi, the Portuguese stronghold, was chosen as the venue for the Synod.
The Synod
The synod solemnly began on the third Sunday after Pentecost, 20 June 1599, in the church of Diamper (Udayamperoor) and continued until 26 June 1599. The synod, attended by 153 local priests and 660 lay representatives. Menezes presided over the synod. The Patriarch of Babylon, was condemned as a heretic and schismatic, and they were made to swear that they would not accept any bishop except the one nominated by Rome. The controversial Synod of Diamper canonized the Latinization of the Church of Saint Thomas Christians. Academicians have raised doubts on the validity of the synod and whether it violated canon law on the facts that the synod was convened on threat of excommunication by an archbishop of nearby archdiocese who was permitted by pope to appoint an apostolic administrator with limited powers, not the ordinary diocesan archbishop.
Decrees of the Synod
The synod issued 200 decrees distributed in nine actions (sessions). It has been suggest that the differences between the decrees of the synod, are due to translation. It has been suggested that these decrees were first formulated in the Portuguese language by Don Menezes and then translated to Malayalam. It has been suggested that the participants signed the Malayalam document, which lacks 35 of the Canons given in the Portuguese text.
Changes in liturgy
The text on which the synod worked was a composite East Syriac text of Anaphora of Addai and Mari. The Anaphorae of Nestorius, Theodore, and Diodore (the latter now lost) were abolished and their manuscripts were asked to brought to Menesis to be destroyed. The synod declared certain passages of the Holy Qurbana of Addai and Mari as 'impious, sacrilegious and resulting from Nestorian heresy'. The changes made by the synod consist of six in litanies, seven in hymns or anthems, four in formulae of the deacon, one in the response of the people, one in the text of the gospel lesson, and one affecting the whole creed. In the prayer of the priest, there are five changes in the pre-anaphora part of the Qurbana of Addai and Mari. There are four changes within the anaphora and eleven in the four variable hutame (Sealing prayers).
The Synod of Diamper condemned a multitude of Hindus beliefs, especially those related to transmigration, fate, and astrology. Hindu ceremonies and customs related to matrimony, death, birth, and purification on touching lower castes, which were prevalent among the Christians of Saint Thomas, were abandoned altogether. They were even banned from frequenting to Hindu festivities including Onam. The synod also condemned the belief that every man might be saved by his laws, all of which are good and lead to heaven, irrespective of his religion. The synod banned Christian teachers from installing or using any Hindu idols in their schools. Polygamy and concubinage were forbidden, and clergymen were banned from marital relations, military services to Hindu princes, and other secular indulgences. Previously, Hindu musicians had been used to conduct programs in Christian churches, but the synod banned the practice outright.
Prohibition of books
The synod prohibited the use of many books deemed heretical. These books are listed below.
- The Infancy of our Saviour (The History of our Lady) (language: Syriac)
- Book of John Barialdan (language: Syriac)
- The Procession of the Holy Spirit (language: Persian)
- Margarita Fidei (The Jewel)
- Fathers (language: Unknown)
- Life of Abed Isho (language: Arabic)
- Book of Synods (language: Syriac)
- Book of 'Timothy the Patriarch' (language: Persian)
- Domingo or Letter of the Lord's-day (language: Malayalam)
- Maclamatas (language: Syriac)
- Uguarda or Rose (language: Greek)
- Camiz (language: Syriac)
- Menra (language: Hebrew)
- Book of Orders (language: Tamil)
- Book of Homilies (language: Arabic)
- An Exposition of the Gospels (language: Syriac)
- Book of Hormisda Raban (language: Greek)
- Book of Lots (language: Aramaic).
- A book of unknown title which is a Nestorian version of Flos Sanctorum (language: Syriac)
- Parisman or Persian Medicine (language: Persian)
Destruction of books
The decree XVI ordered that all the Syriac manuscripts should be handed over to the Archbishop or his deputy on a visit to the Churches. Due to the lack of printed books, the Qurbana manuscripts were excluded from this.
Numerous Syriac manuscripts condemned for destruction by the Portuguese authorities survived through concealment, preservation, and continued copying by local Christian communities. Surviving copies of important East Syriac works, including the Nomocanon of Abdisho of Nisibis, the Gospel Commentary of Ishodad of Merv, and Abdisho’s Paradise of Eden, are identified as evidence of this continuity Dr. Istvan Perczel, a Hungarian scholar researching Syrian Christians in India, found that certain texts survived the destruction of Syriac religious writings by the Portuguese missionaries.
Reception of the synod
The Church authorities noted the result of the synod was not as helpful as they expected. As the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) says, "The only case in which an ancient Eastern rite has been wilfully romanized is that of the Uniat Malabar Christians, where it was not Roman authority but the misguided zeal of Alexius de Menezes, Archbishop of Goa, and his Portuguese advisers at the Synod of Diamper (1599) which spoiled the old Malabar Rite."
After the Synod of Diamper, on 25 November 1599, a letter was sent to Pope by the Archdeacon, giving information about the synod and its work. The letter praises the work of Menezes and requests the appointment of Menezes or Francis Ros as their bishop. The letter does not fully represent the genuine sentiments of Archdeacon, as by that time he was completely at the mercy of the Portuguese and the only thing left for him to do was to follow their directives.
In this way, the Synod of Diamper achieved one of the aims of the Portuguese policy in Kerala, to separate the Syrian Christians of Malabar from the Chaldean Patriarch and to extend the influence of Portuguese Padroado in India. As a result, the King of Portugal got the right of nomination to the ancient See of Saint Thomas in Malabar. The Archbishopric of Angamale was degraded to a Portuguese Padroado diocese under Goa on 4 August 1600, AD.
Aftermath
After the Synod of Diamper, Menezes stayed in Kerala until November 1599, visited the churches, examined the traditional books preserved there and those deemed heretical were burned.
Change in Administration
The Archbishopric of Angamaly was downgraded to a bishopric under Goa in 1600. Portuguese Padroado rule was thus imposed and the bishops for Saint Thomas Christians were appointed by Portuguese Padroado.
Under Portuguese Padroado, Latin Bishops were appointed to govern the Saint Thomas Christians. Francis Ros was nominated as successor to Abraham on 5 November 1599. Bishop Ros, centralized in himself all the authority reducing almost to nothing the powers of Archdeacon. Roz died on 16 February 1624 and was succeeded by Bishop Stephen Britto. George of the Cross died c. 1634 and was succeeded by Archdeacon Thomas. Britto died in 1641 and Bishop Garcia Francis succeeded him. A regular fight ensued between the Francis and Thomas.