The Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Church is a church belonging to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church located in Kuravilangad in Kottayam district, India. It is considered the Mother Church of the St.Thomas Christians of India. Claiming to date to 105 AD, the church has an ancient bell with the engraving âÂÂMother of Godâ in the Syriac language; three majestic bells were brought from Germany in 1911 and are among the largest in Asia.
The church is also known for its Kappalottam or "racing ship," a commemoration of the biblical story of Jonah and the Whale.
Christians have lived in Kuravilangad since the 1st century.
According to the tradition of the St. Thomas Christians, St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, came to Kerala in AD 52. He established a church, now known as the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church in Palayur, Chavakkad, which is presently in the Thrissur District of Kerala. He baptised some Hindu families - Kalli, Kalikavu, Pakalomattom and Sankarapuri.
The Pakalomattom and Sankarapuri families left Palayur and eventually settled in Kuravilangad.
Some children were tending to sheep in the early morning in the molehills of Kuravilangad. Hunger and thirst caused by the heat compelled them to search for springs and edible roots and tubers. Their hunt for food and water carried them a long way away from their homes and they became trapped in the paths of the jungle. The children pleaded to God to rain food and drink on them.
In response to their ardent supplications, in the desolate forest, a woman with a child carrying a cross in his hands appeared to the children. The woman picked up stones, which transformed into bread, and gave it to the children. She also used her fingers to quarry the soil, and a spring of water arose. Once the children had ate and drank, they searched for the woman, but could not find her. Since it was already dusk, the children returned home in amazement.
The children narrated the whole incident, the apparition of the woman, and how she satiated their hunger and thirst to their parents the moment they reached home, with wonder and amazement. Unable to believe their ears and considering the whole episode unusual and unnatural, the elders accompanied by the children soon set out to the forest. When they arrived at the spot the children had indicated, they were petrified upon perceiving a spring, brimming with crystal clear water in an otherwise drought stricken area.
The Blessed Virgin Mary, carrying infant Jesus, appeared once again and directed them to build a Church in her name at that very spot. As the people genuflected to pay their homage to her, she disappeared.
Hence, the church is named after Mary, the Mother of God. "Marth Mariam" is an East Syriac translation of "St. Mary".
In the 16th century, the believers at Kuravilangad, fetched a gigantic granite Cross, the sign of salvation, to be erected in front of the Church. Attempts to lift the Cross and fix it met with incessant failures. Finding no way to raise the gigantic cross people became both frustrated and helpless, and then a dignified lady with a child carrying a cross appeared before them and consoled and comforted the disconcerted people. She offered her help. The moment she laid her right hand on the cross, it could be lifted very easily. Generations still believe that it had been MuthiyammaâÂÂs second apparition. People, especially on first Fridays, flock to the foot of the cross to seek her blessings by lighting oil lamps.
Jornada the travelogue of Don Alexis De Menezis, the Archbishop of Goa, written by Rev. Fr. Antonio De Guvya, about his visit to Kuravilangad in connection with the synod at Udayamperoor (Diamper Synod), mentions about another apparition of Bl. Virgin Mary at Kuravilangad. He vouchsafes that he wrote it after having interviewed the non-Christian youth who had the apparition of Bl. Virgin Mary. Fr. Antonia writes: An affluent and respected non-Christian youth who lived near the Church, having a thorough knowledge about Christian faith, used to frequently visit the Church, chant Christian prayers and even teach them to others but was never prepared to receive baptism because of the existing law that had had the power to confiscate the property and wealth of any convert. Once, struck by a severe illness beyond the powers of medicine, he pleaded to Bl. Virgin Mary to cure him. In response to his fervent prayers, a person in the guise of a priest along with an extremely beautiful lady appeared before him and chastised him for his reluctance to receive baptism. They directed him to make the sign of the cross and the moment he completed the sign of the cross, he was perfectly cured. Yet still afraid of losing his wealth on becoming a catholic, he prolonged it sine die. However, he requested the parish priest to baptize him at the moment of his death. Fr. Antony ends the narration with a query: Can a person who endlessly refrain from the sacraments receive the benediction of God?
Chevalier, V.C. George, in his work, Kuravilangad Marth Mariam Church and the St. Thomas Christians, quotes from manuscripts of Fr.Vichensa De Maria about another apparition of Muthiyamma. Pope Alexander VII delegated some priests from Rome to pacify the faction that had formed after the Diamper synod. Residing at the presbytery of Kuravilangad, they operated incessantly and laboriously to reunify the Church. A priest of this group once was trapped in a forest. Finding no way out of the labyrinth, he called upon Bl. Virgin Mary to rescue him. Immediately, a girl appeared and having him guided out of the forest to the presbytery, she disappeared. The priest, recognizing the incident, as an intervention of Muthiyamma, thanked her profusely.
Mar Francis RoseâÂÂs report of 1604, on the Churches in Malabar, still kept in the British Library, narrates yet about another vision of Muthiyamma at Kuravilangad. She appeared to a believer thrice requesting to strive for the prosperity of the Church. She entrusted the believer the task of initiating the titivation of the Church, in her first and second apparitions. Having found no response, it is reported that the Mother appeared a third time carrying a stick in her hand, chastised the person and directed him harshly to carry out her orders without delay. Copyright é 2024. All rights reserved | Design &