Mar Sabor and Mar Proth

Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, often also Sapor and Aprot (c. 790 at Seleucia- Ctesiphon; † around 860 in Kerala, India) were two monks and bishops of the Assyrian Church of the East, from the Catholicos of Seleucia- Ctesiphon and early missionaries on the Malabar Coast in India. They apply to the Thomas Christians traditionally as a saint.

Background

The Church in India is of apostolic origin. After the constant local tradition of St. Thomas the Apostle landed in 52 on the Malabar Coast in Kerala today, where he founded seven Christian communities and died a martyr in Mailapur at Madras. From this foundation, the Church in India has developed long before European colonial powers worked there. She followed the East Syrian liturgical rite. Your bishops involved the Indian Church from the Catholicate of Seleucia- Ctesiphon in present Iraq, from which later developed into the Assyrian Church of the East.

Life and work of two missionaries

Mar Sabor and Mar Proth that appear in historical sources of India under various spellings (eg Mar Sapor and Aprot, Mar Sabrisho and Mar Piruz etc. ) were two full brothers, monks and bishops from the Catholicos of Seleucia- Ctesiphon in what was then Persia (now Iraq) immigrated to South India and did missionary work there. They are among the earliest known by name Christian missionaries in India. Both are frequently mentioned in the constant tradition of the local Christians, the Christians privileges copper plates of Quilon, from the year 880 to take, on Mar Sabor reference and numerous churches in today's Kerala were dedicated to the brothers.

The establishment of the South Indian commercial capital Quilon ( Kollam today ), which is one of the seven donated by the Apostle Thomas Christian communities of India, is handed down for the year 825 by the Chera King Rajasekhara Varman ( 820-844 ). With this event, or year, the Malayalam era begins ( Kolla Varsham ) in Kerala.

The country's tradition reported that in the year 823, a group of Persians landed in the well-known since ancient harbor of Quilon and settled there. Here, the two clerics Mar Sabor and Mar Proth were. The local king gave them land and Mar Sabor built in the area of the present town of Quilon a church, which developed the harbor and settlement on the coast, so today Quilon / Kollam, which was officially founded in 825. The old harbor of the fishing village of Quilon was namely much further inland in a sheltered bay of the sea connected to the Ashtamudi lake. The Christians of Quilon received by the king numerous privileges which he was held on engraved copper plates because of its durability. The oldest is dated to the year 880 and is called Mar Sabor as the founder of the city located in the church called " Tharisapalli ", but you can not pinpoint today.

Mar Proth had moved to the north of Kerala and have worked both in the port city of Kodungallur, as well as in Udayamperoor (formerly Diamper ), while Mar Sabor remained in the South, at Quilon and missionary work there. There are many wonderful legends handed down over the two popular saints. Mar Proth should, inter alia, have converted into Diamper the royal family of the " Villarvattom " to Christianity.

By Mar Sabor there are two competing traditions of his death. While one says that he was died in Quilon and buried in the church which he had built there, reports the other, he had retired at the age after Thevallakara (the former home port of Quilon ) where he led a pious life of a monk, died and was buried in the local church. In fact, the local St. Mary's Church, the relics of Mar Sabor brings in a modern wooden shrine and are revered here for a long time. The parish website of the church claimed the place as last apartment and original tomb of Mar Sabor.

However, stated the Portuguese navigator Afonso de Albuquerque, who visited Quilon in 1503, in his " Commentarios " that the Church of the native Christians existed in the city, will which named " Our Lady of Mercy " and in accordance with the tradition of these Christians, a wonderful way was built by two saints who were buried in two chapels of this church. This church was burned down by Muslims in 1505, where in addition to the Portuguese, who you really wanted to fight, also 40 local Thomas Christians were killed. After the destruction of their church, the Thomas Christians had withdrawn from the city and located in " Upper Quilon ," the former harbor area in the interior - ie in the area of today's Thevallakara - located where they built a new church. It is quite conceivable that they then took away the relics of Mar Sabor from Quilon and then in Thevallakara a new worship tradition began, which is now viewed as original. Similarly, it seems to have been with the copper plates of privileges Quilon. These eventually were no longer in Quilon, but also in the St. Mary Church of Thevallakara and Archbishop Alexis de Menezes of Goa took them there in 1599 with a visitation before.

Worship

Both brothers, Mar Sabor and Mar Proth were traditionally worshiped at the Thomas Christians as saints without ever would have been a canonization. The two were referred to as the " Quadisagal ", which means " the two saints." Also, the numerous churches dedicated to them called " Quadisagal - churches ". The most famous of which is the Church of All Saints in Diamper, in 1599 held the infamous church synod. It was - like all other the two popular saints consecrated churches - rededicated on the orders of Archbishop Alexis de Menezes. The worship ban and the rededication of the churches built in 1599 decided on the previously mentioned Synod of Diamper. The prohibition of the cult was justified by the fact that Mar Sabor and Mar Proth were as Bishops of the Assyrian Church of the East, schismatics and have also appended the heresy of Nestorianism, regardless of the types of Cardinal Bernardino Maffei in the consistory of 20 February 1553 in which he explicitly attested to the so-called " Nestorians " Seleucia- Ctesiphon in and India; they wore only these traditional name, but in reality they are completely orthodox.

Feast of Mar Sabor and Mar Proth was June 19, referred to in the Latin Church, the feast of the similar-sounding Saints Gervase and Protasius fell by which the exchange for people of the Church took place more or less unnoticed.

In the Catholic Church and in the Catholic Thomas Christians Mar Sabor and Mar Proth today mostly only of historical significance. However, it has recently resumed a day of remembrance for them in the liturgical calendar. In the autocephalous Thomas Christians in Kerala the worship tradition is unbroken.