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liturgical service, the Major Archbishop canonically erected the
Metropolitan See of Kottayam and ordained and enthroned Mar Kuriakose
43
Kunnacherry as the first Metropolitan of Kottayam. The Syro-Malabar
44
Synod accepted his resignation on 14 January 2006. Mar Mathew
Moolakkatt OSB became the Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Kottayam
45
on 14 January 2006.
3.4.2 Different Names

In the course of time, different names were used to denote this
community of Christians. Here, only three important names, which are
officially accepted and used, are studied. And hereafter in this work, these
names (mainly the first two) are used to denote the families in the
Archdiocese of Kottayam.

3.4.2.1 Southists

This community of immigrants and their descendants had been known
through the centuries by the name Southists (Tekkumbhāgar in the native
language Malayalam), in distinction from the other community of Christians
46
of St. Thomas, known as Northists (Vatakkumbhāgar). The reason for this
47
name and distinction is their origin from Southern Mesopotamia and also
because, on arriving on the Malabar Coast, they settled down in the southern
portion of Cranganore (Kodungalloor). While the Northists, who were
descendants of the native Indians converted by Apostle St. Thomas, were
48
living in the northern portion of the town. Different histories written in
Malayalam used to name this community Tekkumbhāgar (Southists). The

43 Cf. DIRECTORY: ARCHEPARCHY OF KOTTAYAM, Catholic Metropolitan’s House,
Kottayam, 2011, p. 29.
44 Ibid., p. 38.
45
Cf. Ibid., p. 3.
46 Cf. KOLLAPARAMBIL, J., The Babylonian Origin of the Southists Among the St
Thomas Christians, Pont. Institutum Orientalium, Roma, 1992, p. 83.
47 Thomas Kinayi, the lay leader of the fourth century-immigration of the Mesopotamian
Christians into Cranganore, hailed from Kynai in Bét Aramàyé, about 75 kms to the South
East of Baghdad, on the left bank of Tigris 2 kms from the river and in the neighbourhood
of the present town, Al-‘Aziziyah. Cf. Ibid., p. 21.
48 Cf. TISSERANT, EUGENE, Eastern Christianity In India; A History of the Syro-
Malabar Church from the earliest time to the present day, Orient Longmans, Calcutta,
1957, p. 8. See also J. VELLIAN, Knānite Community History and Culture, Syrian Church
Series Vol. XVII, Jyothi Book House, Kottayam, 2001, p. 2.

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