Jacobite Syrian Christian Church


Jacobite Syrian Church
AbbreviationJSC
ClassificationOriental Orthodox
OrientationSyriac
Malankara
ScripturePeshitta
Vishudhagrandham (Malayalam Translation)
TheologyOriental Orthodox Theology
PolityEpiscopal polity
PatriarchIgnatius Aphrem II
Catholicos Baselios Joseph
ChurchSyriac Orthodox Church of Antioch
RegionIndia and Nasarani Malayali Diaspora
LanguageMalayalam, English, Hindi, Syriac, Tamil, Kannada
LiturgyWest Syriac Rite
Divine Liturgy of Saint James
HeadquartersPatriarch Ignatius Zaka I Iwas Centre (Patriarchal Centre)
Puthencruz Kochi India
FounderSaint Thomas the Apostle
Origin
  • 52 AD by tradition
  • 1665 (West Syriac Rite)
Branched fromMalankara Church
SeparationsMalabar Independent Syrian Church (1772), Church of South India (1836), Mar Thoma Syrian Church (1889), Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (1912, 1975)
Members1 million worldwide (2003)
Official News PortalJSC news

The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, also known as the Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church, Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church in India is an autonomous maphrianate of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch based in Kerala, India and a part of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. It is headed by the Catholicos of India, Mor Baselios Joseph, within the hierarchy of Syriac Orthodox Church.

According to tradition, it was founded by Saint Thomas the Apostle. It is currently the only church in Malankara that maintains the hierarchy of the Syriac Orthodox Church under the Holy See of Antioch. The church employs the West Syriac Rite's Liturgy of Saint James.