Diamper, Synod of

▪ Roman Catholic history

      council that formally united the ancient Christian Church of the Malabar Coast (modern Kerala), India, with the Roman Catholic church; it was convoked in 1599 by Aleixo de Meneses, archbishop of Goa. The synod renounced Nestorianism (Nestorian), the heresy that believed in two Persons rather than two natures in Christ, as the Indians were suspected of being heretics by the Portuguese missionaries. The Syrian Chaldean patriarch was then removed from jurisdiction in India and replaced by a Portuguese bishop; the Syrian liturgy of Addai and Mari was “purified from error”; and Latin vestments, rituals, and customs were introduced to replace the ancient Syrian traditions.

      This forced Latinization and disregard for local tradition elicited a violent reaction from the Christians of St. Thomas (Christians of Saint Thomas), as the Indians called themselves. In 1653 most of them broke with Rome; and only when a Syrian bishop, John Sebastiani, was installed in 1661 did three-fourths of the schismatics return. The church, however, has remained Latinized. Those who stayed dissidents formed the Syrian Orthodox (Jacobite) Church.

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