Thousands of years have passed by since the birth of Christ and so have several thousand churches, among them the Syro-Malabar church. Jesus Christ’s revolutionary teachings transformed the lives of thousands across the lands of the east. Soon after his death, his followers spread his teachings and formed the first community of believers as a church based in Jerusalem. These communities expanded like wildfire and so additional groups were established throughout the regions of Asia Minor and Anatolia, eventually consuming the vast area of the Mediterranean world. As time progressed, these communities evolved through various fields such as liturgy. Heresies and schisms tested these believers like incense, eventually contributing to major divisions among the original Christians and the establishment of new, independent churches such as the Syro-Malabar church. As an offshoot of eastern Christianity, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is rooted in a local culture, professes a different dogma, and celebrates a traditional liturgy. 

The Syro-Malabar church is based in southern India and primarily consists of south Indian people of all religions that are proud of their cultural identity. Historically, St. Thomas the Apostle arrived by ship in modern day Kerala which was filled with diverse peoples, including Arab merchants as well as Hindu brahmins. Even before the arrival of Vasco da Gama in 1498, the ethnic composition of Kerala was highly varied. The apostle’s arrival in India brought with it a new philosophy and way of life that most of the natives have never heard of before. As St. Thomas established communities of local Christians, he baptized many Hindus “who conserved their original way of life by integrating traditional customs into a syncretic mix” of Christian religion and Indian culture. Syro-Malabar practices such as the Mar Thoma margam as well as mantrakoti originated from Hindu rituals. These ceremonies persist even today as it coexists with the religious beliefs of the Syro-Malabar Christians. Even though the Syro-Malabar church is largely the product of Eastern Christianity that originated thousands of miles away, it continues to observe and be proud of its centuries old culture. 

Doctrinal differences endure within the Syro-Malabar church when compared to the rest of its eastern sisters. The Syro-Malabar Christians believe in the primacy of the Holy See, unlike the other eastern churches such as the Oriental Orthodox, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Armenian Apostolic Church. Major differences such as the question of the pope’s infallibility are what separates the churches even today. Since the Syro-Malabar Christians are under the authority of the Vatican, they are categorized as Catholics. Also, the concept of the Immaculate Conception is unique to only the eastern Catholic churches while it is rejected by the other churches. The Immaculate Conception is a Catholic doctrine which is accepted by the Syro-Malabar church as true and deemed false by the Orthodox. Even though virtually all of eastern Christianity traces its history back to the apostles, only the eastern Catholics, such as the Syro-Malabar people, believe in such strong Marian teaching. Differences such as these reveal how the Syro-Malabar adherents practice dogmatic teachings independent of the rest of Eastern Christianity.  

Liturgy plays a vital role in the Syro-Malabar community. They worship facing the east during the Holy Qurbana which is symbolic of turning to the site of Christ’s foretold second coming. This style of worship is traditional in nature because almost none of the other Latinized churches have it. It dates back to apostolic times when the liturgy was originally designed by the disciples of St. Thomas, Addai and Mari. Another aspect of their traditional liturgy is when the words of the conducted worship are spoken in the language of Syriac. Since the mother tongue of the original St. Thomas Christians was Syriac, the Syro-Malabar church continued to celebrate the Holy Mass in that same language. The language was required for all priests to study while they were in the seminaries, because it was the only language in which they were allowed to pray. Syro-Malabar liturgy is traditional in many ways because it sought to preserve ancient values and beliefs. 

Eastern Christianity is a treasure chest and one of its many treasures is the Syro-Malabar church which has a distinct heritage. They profess a dogma unlike most eastern churches while still maintaining the practice of a traditional liturgy. Differences in liturgical language and dogma help outline the distinctiveness of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church when compared to the rest of its eastern siblings. The Syro-Malabar church is a precious gift of historical value that contributes to the overall beauty and diversity of Eastern Christianity.