Saturday, December 5, 2009

Udayamperoor Church

Udayamperoor Church

The ancient church at Udyamperoor is an important land-mark both in its history of Christianity and in Kerala. It was here that the famous Synod of Diamper under the presidency of Archbishop Alexis de-Menezes was held in June 1599 during the time of Portuguese influence in Kerala.

The historical convention popularly known as Udayamperoor Sunnahados was a turning point in the history of Christianity in Kerala. It was a convention forced on the Syrian Christians by the Portuguese and its aim was to eradicate the Nestorian faith among them and to bring them under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church. Although the Portuguese succeeded in their effort, it did not have a lasting influence and in 1653 a very large number of Christians assembled before the Leaning Cross in Mattancherry and declared their independence from Pope, accepting again the Nestorian Patriatch of Babylon as their Universal Pastor.

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