Ernakulam: Mamalassry Mar Mikhael Orthodox Church in Ernakulam, Kerala has emerged as a believers’ haven in recent years. The ancient orthodox Church here is situated at Mamalassery, about 4 kilometres to the north of Piravom in Ernakulam district of Kerala.
Documented history suggests that Mamalassery Church dates back to more than a thousand years. It must have been founded even before the advent of Portuguese in Kerala, as per the history records.
The story related to the founding of this Church says that a woman worshiper was insulted at Piravom Church. Then, she built a new place of worship which was covered with bushes and wilderness after returning from Piravom. She is said to have started worshipping here. The incident is illustrated in the biography of Konat Abraham Malpan I, a Christian scholar. The biography dates back to AD 1864.
Konat Abraham Malpan later shifted to Pampakuda Church in Mamalassery and took up the role of imparting education at the seminary. Even today, on the main feast days at the Church (Perunnal) - May 14 and 15 - the first holy mass is dedicated by the priests from the Malpan family, affirming the connection of the family with the Church.
The Church was renovated and restructured during the Portuguese era, the historians say, after examining the structure and design. The engraved designs and models on the Church’s main tower are indicative of work during the Portuguese era. Though many Churches and worship centres were modernised and revamped to meet the present-day standards, Mamalassery Church is particular about retaining its olden charm.
The Church has not installed pictures of saints or the mythologic representations anywhere in the Altar or the Church’s interiors. There are three thrones installed here for Mikhael angel, Saint Geevarghese (Geevarghese Sahada), and the Holy Virgin Mary in the Church. There is no modern structure or tomb in the Church other than the tombs erected for the priests.
Earlier, it was believed that the Church was founded in the name of the Virgin Mary. However, various scriptures and records say that the Church has been consecrated after the Mikhael Angel mentioned in the Bible. As time passed by, there were intense disputes between the two factions at the Church’s Parish, the Jacobite and the Orthodox.
The reunification, in 1959, of both Jacobite and Orthodox factions under the Church after its initial split in 1912, lasted only till the 1970s. When the clashes, on the ownership and governance of Churches, was not settled by the factions, they moved the Court. With the Supreme Court verdict in 2017, the Orthodox Church has been given the right of management of the Church in compliance with the Church constitution.
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