Knanaya

The Knananiten or Knanaya Christians are a strictly endogamous group within the Thomas Christians in South India and the Diaspora.

History

Around the middle of the 4th century attracted 72 families Chaldean Jewish Christians with their leader, the rich merchant Thomas Kinayi ( Kana ), a bishop named Uraha Mar Yousef and several clerics from their Persian homeland to the Pepper Coast to South India. Kynai or Kana was about 70 km south of today's Baghdad. Through them and their clergy who followed the East Syrian ( Chaldean ) rite, the Thomas Christians came in contact with the Assyrian Church of the East. Cheraman Perumal, the ruler of Malabar, took the immigrant kindly and granted them the right to settle in Kodungallur. Later they received royal privileges that were recorded on copper plates. Since they settled on the south bank of the river Periyar, they were also called Südchristen ( "South ITR " ), while the native Christians who lived on the north shore when North Christians ( " North ISTS " ) are referred to. This distinction still exists today. Living in their own exclusive Eparchy of Kottayam Südchristen lead since about 1990, the self-designation Knananiten.

Current situation

There are today in India about 300,000 knananitische Christians; 200,000 belong to the Syro -Malabar Church, Malankara Syriac Orthodox 100,000 to church. In both churches the Knananiten form a strictly endogamous ethnic group with their own bishops and clergy private. This endogamy goes so far that a Syro- Malabar Knananite can marry an Orthodox Knananitin, but never a non- knananitische members of their own Syro- Malabar Church. In order to keep their ethnic grouping pure, proselytize and evangelize the Knanatiten not - although the actually contradicts the Christian mission. It is not possible to become members of their community through conversion or accession.

For the Catholic Knananiten Pope Pius X established on August 29, 1911 exclusively the Apostolic Vicariate of Kottayam. On 21 December 1923, converted Pius XI. under Bishop Alexander Chulaparambil (1877-1951) to regular diocese ( eparchy ), Benedict XVI. raised it 2005 archeparchy.

The Syrian Orthodox diocese in Knananiten Chingavanam was built in 1910 and raised in 2007 by Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas to an archbishopric. She has now (2008) an archbishop, Kyriakose Mar Sevarios, and three bishops, 117 priests and 103 parishes, of which 24 are foreign.