Chaldean Syrian Church
The Chaldean Syrian Church of India (Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܖ̈ܝܐ; Malayalam: കൽദായ സുറിയാനി സഭ / Kaldaya Suriyani Sabha) is an Eastern Christian denomination, based in Thrissur, in India. It is organized as a metropolitan province of the Assyrian Church of the East, and represents traditional Christian communities of the East Syriac Rite (hence the name) along the Malabar Coast of India.[2] It is headed by Mar Awgin Kuriakose.[3][4]
This article is about the church in India in communion with the Assyrian Church of the East. For the Eastern Catholic church in communion with the Holy See, see Chaldean Catholic Church.Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East
The Church uses the East Syriac Rite, and employs the Divine Liturgy of Saints Addai and Mari.[5] Its members constitute a traditional community among Saint Thomas Christians (also known as Nasrani), who trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. They are based mostly in the state of Kerala, numbering some 15,000 members in the region.[6]
The Chaldean Syrian Church is a modern-day continuation of the historical ecclesiastical province of India, that was active in continuity until the 16th century, as part of the ancient Church of the East.[7] After the long period of internal schisms and struggles, that lasted from the end of the 16th to the beginning of the 20th century, the Church was consolidated during the tenure of Mar Abimalek Timotheus (d. 1945), who is revered as a saint by the Church of the East.[8]