THE HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF THE SYRO-MALABAR CHURCH AS A MAJOR ARCHIEPISCOPAL CHURCH

Abstract

As the Syro-Malabar Archiepiscopal Church is marching forward, following the footsteps of St. Thomas the apostle, she cannot forget the two millennia long history of search for identity and struggle for autonomy as a Church sui iuris of Catholic communion and Oriental tradition. The autonomous indigenous Church established by Apostle Thomas had an organic growth by sharing the cultural heritage of India, the liturgical patrimony of the East, without losing its own identity. This article is an attempt to sketch the evolution of the St. Thomas Christians of India to a Major Archiepiscopal Church.