Introduction

As relations between the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, the continuation of the Reformed faction established by Palakkunnath Mathews Mar Athanasius, have improved in recent decades, and Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II of Antioch has went so far as to commune a Marthomite prelate, it has been commonplace for individuals belonging to both bodies to claim that Palakkunnath Athanasius and his successors (along with his faction) were never excommunicated by the Patriarchs of Antioch. Certain polemicists have even attempted to erase the hostilities between Pat. Peter IV and Athanasius, by pinning the blame entirely on Mar Dionysius V, alleged to have somehow stood between both figures and turned the Patriarch against the latter.

Historical sources, however, offer a widely distinct picture from what this new era of anachronistic ecumenism would wish to portray. Even if we are to set aside the dubious kalpanas attributed to Pat. Elias II (who ordained Athanasius) by the Syriac Orthodox prelate Yuyakim Mor Koorilos (d. 1874), it is certain that his successors themselves — Pat. Yakub II and Pat. Peter IV — deposed and excommunicated Athanasius, along with his successor Thomas Athanasius and his Reformed faction, and deemed Pat. Elias II to have performed the same earlier. This article will reproduce the relevant texts.

Kalpana of Pat. Yakub II

In the late 1860s, Edavazhickal Philippose Kathanar — a prominent priest who was quite close to the Syriac Orthodox hierarchy of Antioch — composed a History of the Malankara Church in the form of a dialogue. This work was later edited and published in London by Rev. George Broadley Howard in 1869. Towards the end of it, he touches on Athanasius and the Orthodox vs. Reformed tensions in Malankara:

Q. 74. Who is Athanasious Matthew?

A. He is a native of Malabar, who, when a Deacon, had been (was) expelled from the Syrian Church on account of his great misconduct. He also learned in the Church Mission School at Madras. And as he was prosecuting his studies there, he was dismissed from that place too, owing to his bad behaviour. Consequently he set out like a vagabond, and reached the country Moosul in Turkish Arabia (sic), and imposed on the Syrian Christians there, (asserting) that he was a Priest, and administered (administering) the Kooroobana (i.e. the Korban, or Oblation, the Eucharist), the Holy Ceremony which no Deacon has the power to administer. Thence he went to the Patriarch of Antioch. He also forged and produced a letter to the Patriarch, as though it had been a general recommendatory letter from the Syrian Churches, to the intent that he should be ordained a Bishop. Having thus deceived the Patriarch, and obtained the consecration of a Bishop, and the name of Athanasious, he received a letter from the Patriarch, as to his consecration, to the Travancore Government, and returned to Malabar in 1843.

Q. 75. What did the Patriarch do when he came to know the truth of this?

The Patriarch deposed him from all his offices, and in his room appointed the aforesaid Mar Coorilos Joachim, and Mar Athanasious Stephanos as his assistant Bishop, whom he sent to Malabar, together with letters to the Syrian Churches and the Travancore Sircar, as to the deposition of Athanasious Matthew, and the appointment of this (these) two persons in his stead.

• Edavazhickal Philippose Kathanar and George B. Howard ed., The Syrian Christians of Malabar, otherwise called the Christians of St. Thomas [1869], p. 25

A copy of the Travancore Diwan's acknowledgement of receiving the Patriarch's letter follows, and shortly afterwards, Philippose Kathanar has reproduced an entire kalpana from Pat. Yakub II about the same, the relevant parts of which are quoted below:

In the Essential, Eternal Name, the necessary Essence that contains all: Ignatius, Patriarch of the Apostolic Throne of Antioch, who is Jacob the Second the humble. [..]

And repeatedly we make known to your love concerning the matters of our beloved son, and the light of our eyes, Mar Koorillos Joyakim, Metropolitan of your parts. When formerly there came one whose name was Matthew, an impostor, from the land of India, and brought a letter of Galtho as if from the mouth of all the people of your land, and requesting by it of our Lord the Patriarch, the pious Elias, that he would designate him Metropolitan of Malabar; he thus deceived our Father the Patriarch, and obtained by fraud from him the divine gift, like Simon the Sorcerer; and he returned to your land with abundance of letters from the pious Patriarch to the Rajahs and the Governours, and to all the people. And a little afterwards our people, the priests and the religious and the chiefmen of your land, reported to us that the accursed Matthew had acted impiously, and was a heretic, and had changed his profession, and had abolished the fasts and the customs and the Canons Apostolic, and had taught new customs at his own pleasure, and was a heretic notable in heresies, and wished to mislead all our people, such as would listen to him, and many had wandered after his vain doctrine. And therefore the people sent and asked for a Metropolitan from hence, and exceedingly urged the compliance of our Father the Patriarch Elias the holy. And he arose and consecrated for you his beloved secretary and treasurer Mar Koorillos Metropolitan, who is Joyakim the honoured. And he sent him to India hour before hour, that he might expel the reprobate Matthew, and keep from him all the flock of Mar Thomas, and might stand before the face of the people, and administer the affairs of all the people, and of the Churches that remain there to the Jacobite Syrians, and likewise dispose the causes and administrations that happen before the kings and sultans, that occur by reason of the neglect of the governours. And he also anathematized the accursed Matthew, and took care concerning him, that no man should agree with his fraudulent doctrine, or receive it, but should come to us. [..]

And thus again do we anathematize the audacious Matthew, as our Father the blessed Patriarch anathematized him. And no man shall in any wise have authority to receive him, or to hear his words, and none shall pray with him or consort with him on any ground whatsoever. Moreover I beg of you, O my beloved son, to assist this our son Mar Koorillos, and to be prepared for all whatsoever he says without hindrance, because he has suffered much distress for your sake. It is right that you should know his worth, and you should console him in his sojourning. [..]

Written the 29th day in the month Ojar (May), in the year 1847 of Christ, from the city Mardin.

• Ibid., pp. 30-2

Rev. George B. Howard's Witness

An article by Rev. G. B. Howard in The Colonial Church Chronicle of 1872 confirms the above account, with respect to Athanasius' excommunication as deacon by Mar Dionysius IV of Cheppad, his dismissal as student from the C. M. S. Seminary at Madras by the missionaries, and his excommunication as bishop by the Patriarch of Antioch:

Among those who still adhered to the missionaries at this time was a deacon of the name of Matthew, who appears to have been a very intelligent, clever boy, though in regard to piety he did not satisfy the missionaries. (C. C. C. December, 1871, p. 478.) This young man, who of course had incurred the excommunication of the Metran by his adherence to the missionaries, was eventually sent by them to their school at Madras for instruction. (C. C. C. December, 1871.) Here he conducted himself in so unsatisfactory a manner that he was “dismissed” by the C. M. S. authorities “as unfit for the ministry.” (Ref. in C. C. C. December, 1871.) This must have been about six years after the rupture between the C. M. S. and the Syrians, i.e. about A.D. 1842. The Syrian Church was still ruled by Mar Dionysius of Shapat, — I believe the Dionysius already alluded to in para. 33, — but this Deacon Matthew, “on leaving the C. M. S. school,” started for Mardin, and represented matters in such a light to the Patriarch as to get himself consecrated as Metran of the Syrians in India. (C. C. C. December, 1871.) Mr. Baker, in a recent letter (C. C. C. November, 1870), says that he had obtained credentials from twenty-eight Churches in Travancore. The late Patriarch Ignatius (Jacob II) declared that they were forged. (Letter in The Syrians of Malabar, p. 30.) The statements of the opposite parties among the natives are directly at variance on this point (C. C. C. May, 1871, and December, 1871,) and I do not know how the question can be decided. It is certain, however, that on Matthew's return to his native country, as Mar Athanasius, he was “for a long time not well received by many Churches; and, after much dissension, another man was sent to supersede him.” (Ref. in C. C. C. Dec. 1871) This was Mar Cyril (Koorilos) Joyakim, who still resides in Cochin. [..] The dispute now attracted the notice of the Travancore Government, and at the instance of General Cullen, the British Resident, three (or others say four) arbitrators were appointed to investigate the mater; two of them being heathens, and the other, or other two, Europeans. The Government ultimately recognized Athanasius as the Metran. Athanasius, however, had been excommunicated by the Patriarch.

• G. B. Howard, "The Christians of St. Thomas" in The Colonial Church Chronicle Vol. 26, pp. 62-3

First Kalpana of Pat. Peter IV

Though Pat. Yakub II wished to personally visit Malankara and resolve the issue which was, at least partly, caused by his predecessor who blindly trusted Athanasius, he was unable to do so and passed away in 1871. Pat. Peter IV succeeded him as Patriarch the next year, and being informed of the convocation of a Yogam, wrote a kalpana to Malankara. This encyclical has been preserved by Karottuveettil Simon Mar Dionysius in his contemporaneous Kandanad Granthavāri. The Malayalam text, along with an English translation, has been provided below.

സകലവല്ലഭനായി സാരാംശം തിങ്ങപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്ന ആദ്യന്തമില്ലാത്ത കാതലിന്റെ തിരുനാമത്താലെ അന്ത്യോഖ്യായുടെ ശ്ലീഹായ്ക്കടുത്ത സിംഹാസനത്തിന്റെ ബലഹീനനായ ഇഗ്നാത്തിയോസ് എന്ന മൂന്നാമത്തെ പത്രോസ്‌ പാത്രിയര്‍ക്കീസ്‌.

രഹസ്യങ്ങള്‍ നിറയപ്പെട്ടതും സകല പള്ളികളുടെ മാതാവും ആകുന്ന സെഹിയോന്‍ എന്ന മാളികയിൽ വച്ച്‌ ശുദ്ധമുള്ള ശ്ലീഹന്മാരുടെ മേല്‍ ആവസിച്ചതും അവരുടെ ഹൃദയങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന്‌വിരുദ്ധങ്ങളെയും ദുഃഖങ്ങളെയും നീക്കി മായിക്കുകയും സന്തോഷവും ആനന്ദവും അവരെ നിറക്കയും ചെയ്തതുമായ നമ്മുടെ കര്‍ത്താവും ദൈവവും രക്ഷിതാവുമാകുന്ന ഈശോമശിഹായുടെ സമാധാനം അനുഗ്രഹിക്കപ്പെട്ട മലയാളദേശത്തില്‍ വസിക്കുന്നവരായ നമ്മുടെ വാത്സല്യമുള്ള മക്കളാകുന്ന മലയാളത്തിന്റെ മാര്‍ ദീവന്നാസ്യോസ്‌ മെത്രാപ്പോലീത്തായുടെ മേലും ബഹുമാനപ്പെട്ട പട്ടക്കാര്‍, വികാരിമാര്‍, ശെമ്മാശന്മാര്‍, കൈക്കാരന്മാർ മുതലായി ശേഷം എല്ലാവരുടെ മേലും വന്ന്‌ ആവസിക്കുമാറാകട്ടെ. അത്‌ ദൈവമാതാവായ മറിയാമ്മിന്റെയും മാര്‍ത്തോമ്മാശ്ലീഹായുടെയും ശേഷം പരിശുദ്ധന്മാര്‍ സഹദേന്മാര്‍ മുതലായ എല്ലാവരുടെയും നമസ്കാരത്താല്‍ തന്നെ. ആമ്മീന്‍.

ഇനിയും വാത്സല്യമുള്ളവരേ, നിങ്ങളെ നാം അറിയപ്പെടുത്തുന്നത് ‌എന്തെന്നാല്‍ ദൈവമായ കര്‍ത്താവ്‌ സകല നന്മകൾ കൊണ്ടും നിങ്ങളെ ദര്‍ശിക്കുമാറാകട്ടെ. എന്നാല്‍ പ്രിയമുള്ളവരേ, കഴിഞ്ഞാണ്ട്‌ ഭക്തിയുള്ള സമൂഹം അയോഗ്ൃനായ നമ്മെ ദൈവനിയോഗത്താല്‍ പാത്രിയര്‍ക്കാ സ്ഥാനത്തിന്‌ തെരഞ്ഞെടുക്കയും ശ്ലീഹായ്ക്കടുത്ത സിംഹാസനത്തിന്റെ ദയറായില്‍ വച്ച് ‌നമ്മുടെ പ്രതിഷ്ഠ ഉണ്ടാവുകയും ചെയ്ത ഉടനെ വാഴ്വിന്റെ ലേഖനങ്ങള്‍ നിങ്ങള്‍ക്കും കൂറിലോസ്‌ യൂയാക്കീം മെത്രാപ്പോലീത്തായ്ക്കും നാം എഴുതി അയയ്ക്കുകയും ഉണ്ടായ സകലവും നിങ്ങളോടു നാം അറിയിക്കുകയും ചെയ്തിരുന്നു. ഇതുവരെയും നമ്മുടെ എഴുത്തുകളുടെ മറുപടി നിങ്ങള്‍ അയച്ചിട്ടില്ല. ഒരു സമൂഹം കൂടുന്നു എന്നും മറ്റും കമ്പിതപാല്‍ മാര്‍ഗ്ഗം നമ്മെ നിങ്ങള്‍ അറിയപ്പെടുത്തിയിട്ടുള്ളതേ ഉള്ളൂ.

എന്നാല്‍ പ്രിയമുള്ളവരേ, മാത്യൂസ്‌ എന്നവന്‍ നമുക്ക്‌ മുമ്പെ ഭരിച്ചുവന്നിരുന്ന പാത്രിയര്‍ക്കീസ്‌ ബാവാമാരാല്‍ ശപിക്കപ്പെട്ടവന്‍ ആകുന്നു. ഇപ്പോള്‍ നാം രണ്ടാമതും അവനെ ശ്ലീഹന്മാരുടെയും ബാവാമാരുടെയും നിയമത്തിന്‌ വിരോധമായി മേല്‍പട്ടക്കാരുടെ നാമത്തിൽ അവന്‍ പേര്‍ മാറ്റി വിളിച്ചിരിക്കുന്ന രണ്ടു മനുഷ്യരെയും നാം ശപിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു. ഇനിമേലാല്‍ നിങ്ങളുടെ പള്ളികളില്‍ നിന്ന്‌ പുറത്ത്‌ അവരെ ആട്ടിക്കളയണം. എന്തെന്നാല്‍ മാത്യൂസും ആ രണ്ടു മനുഷ്യരും മേല്പട്ടസ്ഥാനത്തിന്റെ യാതൊരു ക്രമത്തിലും പെരുമാറുവാന്‍ ദൈവത്താല്‍ അധികാരം അവര്‍ക്കില്ല. നാം അവരെ ശപിച്ചതു പോലെ നിങ്ങളും അവരെ ശപിച്ചുകൊളളണം. [..]

ഇനി വാചകം നാം വര്‍ദ്ധിപ്പിക്കുന്നില്ല. കമ്പിത്തപാല്‍ മാര്‍ഗ്ഗം അല്പ വര്‍ത്തമാനം നാം അറിഞ്ഞിട്ടേ ഉള്ളൂ. അതിനാല്‍ നിങ്ങളുടെ പള്ളിസംബന്ധമായ സകല കാര്യങ്ങളും മാര്‍ കൂറിലോസ്‌ യൂയാക്കീം മെത്രൊപ്പോലീത്തായുടെ ദീനം എങ്ങനെ ഇരിക്കുന്നു എന്നും നമ്മെ അറിയപ്പെടുത്തണം. ഈ ദേശങ്ങളിലുള്ള പൊതുകാര്യങ്ങളെക്കുറിച്ച്‌, നാം കുസ്തന്തീനോസ്‌പോലീസിലേക്ക്‌ പോകുവാന്‍ നിശ്ചയിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു. അന്ത്യോഖ്യായുടെ ശ്ലീഹായ്ക്കടുത്ത സിംഹാസനത്തിന്റെ ദയറായിലുള്ള ശുദ്ധമുള്ള എല്ലാ ബാവാമാരും റമ്പാന്മാരും നിങ്ങളുടെ സമാധാനത്തിൽ ചോദിക്കുന്നു. കർത്താവില്‍ നിങ്ങള്‍ സുഖമായിരിപ്പിന്‍.

എന്ന്‌ 1873 മീനമാസം 11-൦ തീയതി ഓമ്മീദ്‌ പട്ടണത്തില്‍ നിന്നും.

In the name of the All-powerful, in whom the essence is contained, the everlasting one of the beginning and end Patriarch Ignatius, the unworthy Peter III, of the Apostolic Throne of Antioch.

May the peace of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Messiah — who dwelt in the Cenacle, the upper room filled with mysteries and the mother of all churches, upon the holy Apostles, and removed and effaced enmity and sorrow from their hearts and filled them with joy and gladness — bless and rest upon our beloved children dwelling in the blessed land of Malayalam, upon the Metropolitan of Malayalam, Mar Dionysius, and upon the honoured priests, vicars, deacons, churchwardens, and all the rest. May it be so through the intercession of Mary the Mother of God, and of St. Thomas the Apostle, and of all the rest of the saints and martyrs. Amen.

Further, beloved ones, this is what we make known to you: may the Lord God look upon you with all blessings. Now, dear ones, last year the faithful community, by divine appointment, elected us, unworthy as we are, to the Patriarchal office, and immediately upon our consecration at the Monastery of the Apostolic Throne, we wrote and sent letters of enthronement to you and to Mor Koorilos Yuyakim Metropolitan, and made known to you all that had taken place. Until now you have not sent any reply to our letters, and only by telegraph have you informed us that a certain assembly [i.e. Parumala 1873] is being convened and other such matters.

Now, beloved ones, the one called Mathews is a man who was excommunicated by the Patriarchs who ruled before us. We have now, for a second time, excommunicated him along with the two men whom he has, contrary to the ordinance of the Apostles and the Patriarchs, renamed and called by episcopal titles [i.e. Mar Koorilos IV of Thozhiyur and Thomas Athanasius]. Henceforth you must drive them out from your churches, for neither Mathews nor those two men have any authority from God to function in any rank of the episcopal order. Just as we have excommunicated them, so also must you excommunicate them.

We shall not lengthen our discourse further. We have learned only a little by telegraph. Therefore you must inform us of all matters pertaining to your church, and also how the health of Mor Koorilos Yuyakim Metropolitan stands. Regarding the general affairs in these lands, we have decided to proceed to Constantinople. All the holy fathers and monks of the Monastery of the Apostolic Throne of Antioch ask after your wellbeing. May you remain well in the Lord.

Written on the 11th of Meenam, 1873, from the town of Amid.

• Kandanad Granthavāri; Fr. Joseph Cheeran, ed. idem., pp. 201-202

In the above kalpana, the Patriarch corroborates the fact that Athanasius had been excommunicated by his predecessors — note predecessors, which implies that Pat. Elias II too had pronounced Athanasius as excommunicated, even if the extant kalpanas attributed to him are dubious — and further excommunicates his “successor”, Thomas Athanasius, and Panackal Joseph Mar Koorilos of Thozhiyur whom Athanasius had ordained as bishop earlier.

Second Kalpana of Pat. Peter IV

In another letter attributed to Pat. Peter IV, reproduced by Pat. Yakub III himself in his History, he once again confirms that Pat. Elias II had excommunicated Athanasius:

In January, 1874, Patriarch Peter received this letter [from Edavazhickal Philippose Kathanar] while he was in Constantinople. On February 25, he replied saying, “Your metropolitans do not keep their promises at their ordination. Before they are ordained, they show humility and anxiousness to serve, falsely of course. But when they get hold of the pastoral staff, they put on the raiment of vanity because the love of money blinds their eyes. In the time of Patriarch Elias, Matthais (Matta) came to the Patriarch carrying letters asking to ordain him a metropolitan. When the Syrian notables of Mosul saw his humility they were deceived by him not knowing that he was a wolf in a lamb’s skin. This is how he behaved before the Patriarch who, impressed, asked him whether all the Syrians of Malabar behave like him. The Patriarch honored him and ordained him a metropolitan. But as soon as he got hold of the pastoral staff, he began to spew out venom against the Syrians of Malabar. He disturbed the peace of the church and exchanged the faith with heresy. His mind was enthralled by the love of money. Like Judas, he was far away from the Apostleship. The Patriarch (Elias II) excommunicated him and ordained the monk Joakim as a metropolitan for India. We thought that Joakim would save the Syrian community from the claws of this rapacious wolf, but he behaved as you have described him. [..]”

• Pat. Ignatius Yakub III and Matti Moosa trans., History of the Syrian Church in India, pp. 230-1

Third Kalpana of Pat. Peter IV

Once he arrived in Malankara, Pat. Peter IV wrote a detailed general kalpana to all churches from Cochin, which was printed as a leaflet the same year. The original edition of the Malayalam text can be accessed here, and the relevant parts of it have been provided below.

സർവ്വശക്തനായി കാതൽത്വം തിങ്ങപ്പെട്ട ആദ്യന്തമില്ലാത്ത നിത്യന്റെ തിരുനാമത്താൽ തനിക്കു സ്തുതി. അന്ത്യോഖ്യയുടെയും കിഴക്കൊക്കയുടെയും ശ്ലീഹായ്ക്കടുത്ത സിംഹാസനത്തിൽ സുറിയാനി ജാതിമേൽ മുഷ്കരപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്ന മൂന്നാമത്തെ പത്രോസ് എന്ന ഇഗ്നാത്തിയോസ് പാത്രിയർക്കീസ്സ്. [x] നാമത്തിൽ സ്ഥാപിക്കപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്ന വാഴ്ത്തപ്പെട്ട [x] പള്ളി എടവകയിൽ ഉൾപ്പെട്ട സ്നേഹിക്കപ്പെട്ടവരും വാത്സല്യമുള്ളവരും വാഴ്ത്തപ്പെട്ടവരും അനുഗ്രഹിക്കപ്പെട്ടവരും [..] ആയ [..] നമുക്കുള്ള ലോകർ ഒക്കയുടെയും നിറുകകൾമേൽ ദൈവത്തിന്നടുത്ത കൃപയും ആകാശത്തിന്നടുത്ത വാഴ്വും വന്നു ആവസിക്കുമാറാകട്ടെ. [..]

വീണ്ടും, ശപിക്കപ്പെട്ടവനും തള്ളപ്പെട്ടവനുമായ മത്തായിയെന്നു പറയുന്ന ബെലയാളിന്റെ പ്രവൃത്തിയെക്കുറിച്ച സത്യസ്നേഹത്തോടു നിങ്ങളെ നാം അറിയിക്കുന്നതു. [..] അവനിൽ തികയപ്പെട്ട ഉപായത്താലെ അന്ത്യോഖ്യ സിംഹാസനത്തിങ്കലേക്ക് അവൻ വന്നസമയം മെത്രാപ്പോലീത്ത സ്ഥാനത്തിനായിട്ടു ജനത്താൽ താൻ തിരഞ്ഞെടുക്കപ്പെട്ട പ്രകാരം പൊതുവിന്നടുത്ത ചില കള്ളയെഴുത്തുകൾ കാലം ചെയ്ത ഏലിയാസ് പാത്രിയർകീസിനെ കാണിച്ചു. അദ്ദേഹം അവന്റെ വചനങ്ങളെ വിശ്വസിച്ചു മലയാളക്കാർ കള്ളം പറയുന്നതല്ലെന്ന് ഉറച്ചു അവനെ മെത്രാനായി പട്ടംകെട്ടി. [..] മരിച്ചുപോയ മുമ്പിലത്തെ മാർ ദിവന്നാസ്യോസും നമ്മുടെ ജനങ്ങളും തിന്മപ്പെട്ട അവന്റെ പ്രവൃത്തികൾ കണ്ടപ്പോൾ ആയുടൻ നിങ്ങൾ അറിഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്നപ്രകാരം നമ്മുടെ പള്ളികളിൽനിന്ന് അവനെ തള്ളി തിന്മപ്പെട്ട അവന്റെ പ്രവൃത്തികളെക്കുറിച്ച, കാലം ചെയ്ത ഏലിയാസ് പാത്രിയർകീസിന്നു എഴുത്തുകൾ അവർ എഴുതിയറിയിച്ചു. [..] അതിന്റെ ശേഷം കല്പന കൊടുത്തയച്ച സുറിയാനിക്കാരായ നമ്മുടെ ജാതികളുടെ പള്ളികളിൽനിന്ന് അവനെ ശപിച്ചു തള്ളി [..]

നമ്മുടെ ജനത്തോട് അവൻ ചെയ്ത ചതിവും അന്യായവും കേട്ട ഉടൻ കാലം ചെയ്ത ഏലിയാസ് പാത്രിയർകീസും യാക്കോബ് പാത്രിയർകീസും അവനെ പിന്നെയും ശപിച്ചു തള്ളി. [..] അവൻ മൂന്ന് പാത്രിയർകീസൻമാരാൽ ശപിക്കപ്പെട്ടവനാകുന്നത് കൊണ്ട് അവൻ സാത്താന് ചങ്ങാതിയും ശപിക്കപ്പെട്ടവനും പട്ടസുഖവും മേൽപട്ടസുഖവും അവനിൽനിന്ന് നീങ്ങപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നവനും ആകുന്നു എന്ന് നിങ്ങൾ അറിഞ്ഞുകൊള്ളണം. [..] ഇനി അവന്റെ അടുക്കൽ പോകയോ അവനോട് സംസാരിക്കയോ അവന്റെ തിന്മയ്ക്കും അകൃത്യത്തിനും അവന് സഹായം നിൽക്കയോ അവന്റെ കൂടെ സംസർഗ്ഗം ചെയ്യുകയോ തിന്മപ്പെട്ട അവന്റെ ആലോചനയിൽ ഉൾപ്പെടുകയോ ചെയ്യുമെന്ന പട്ടക്കാരനാകട്ടെ ശെമ്മാശാകട്ടെ പ്രധാനിയാകട്ടെ എപ്പിത്രോപ്പയാകട്ടെ പുരുഷനാകട്ടെ സ്ത്രീയാകട്ടെ അവനെപ്പോലെ അവരും മഹറോൻ ഏൽക്കപ്പെട്ടവരായിരിക്കും. [..]

അതു ദൈവത്തെ പ്രസവിച്ച മാതാവിന്റെയും ഹിന്തുവിന്റെ അറീപ്പുകാരനും ശ്ലീഹായും ആയ ശുദ്ധമുള്ള മാർ തോമ്മാശ്ലീഹായുടെയും എല്ലാ ശുദ്ധമാക്കപ്പെട്ടവരുടെയും പ്രാർഥനയാൽ, ആമ്മീൻ.

In the name of the All-Powerful, in whom the essence of being is concentrated, the Eternal without beginning or end; Glory be to Him. Ignatius, called Peter the Third, who sits enthroned over the Syriac nation upon the Apostolic Throne of Antioch and all the East. May the grace of God and the life of heaven come and dwell upon the heads of all our beloved, cherished, blessed, and favoured ones belonging to the blessed [region] parish established in the name of [saint]. [..]

Again, we inform you in truthful love concerning the conduct of the one called Mathews, that Belial who is accursed and rejected. [..] When he came to the Throne of Antioch with the full measure of his cunning, he presented to the late Patriarch Elias certain forged public documents claiming that he had been elected by the people for the office of Metropolitan. His Holiness believed his words, being firmly convinced that the Malayalis do not speak falsehood, and ordained him as bishop. [..] When the late Mar Dionysius and our people witnessed his wicked deeds, they immediately, as you are aware, expelled him from our churches and wrote letters to the late Patriarch Elias informing him of his wicked deeds. [..] Thereafter, by command sent forth, he was anathematised and expelled from the churches of our Syriac people. [..]

As soon as the late Patriarch Elias and Patriarch Jacob heard of the treachery and injustice he had committed against our people, they too anathematised and expelled him. [..] Know therefore that, having been anathematised by three Patriarchs, he is a companion of Satan, one who is accursed, and one from whom the grace of the priesthood and the episcopate has been entirely removed. [..] Furthermore, anyone who goes to him, speaks with him, stands in assistance of his wickedness and lawlessness, associates with him, or takes part in his wicked counsel — may he be a priest, deacon, lay-leaders, epithropa [elder], man, or woman — they too shall be placed under the maharon [anathema] just as he has been. [..]

This is through the prayer of the Mother who bore God, and of the holy Apostle Mar Thomas, the herald and holy Apostle of Hindu, and of all the sanctified ones. Amen.

Conclusion

Contrary to the recent Marthomite narrative, then, it is clear that Palakkunnath Mathews Mar Athanasius, along with the bishops he ordained and his Reformed-faction, were excommunicated from the Church by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch. The respective kalpanas have been preserved and transmitted by several independent sources, all contemporaneous except for Pat. Yakub III. It may also be noted that Pat. Peter IV, Mor Koorilos, and Mar Dionysius V re-ordained priests and deacons ordained by Athanasius; not merely because Athanasius was excommunicated, and not because re-ordination is the required mode to receive schismatics, but for Athanasius had schismed from the Church and it was necessary for the gravity of his act to be made known to all.

It is thus noteworthy that Athanasius, who (a) was the first native prelate from Malankara to be ordained by the Patriarch of Antioch, (b) denounced the existing Thomasine priesthood of Malankara as “flawed” and upheld his Antiochene priesthood alone as being perfect, and (c) contended before the State that only he who has been ordained by the Patriarch of Antioch can function as the Malankara Metropolitan, ended up being excommunicated by — not one, but — three Patriarchs of Antioch, one of whom formally named him Belial and refused to call him anything else. Athanasius' act of rebelling against the Thomasine episcopate of Mar Dionysius IV by establishing an 'Antiochene' episcopate in Malankara, which he soon after remodelled to be Protestant in doctrine, eventually led Antioch to deem Malankara as belonging to its jurisdiction and to intervene in the matters of the Malankara Church actively. Though Mulanthuruthy 1876, Kottayam 1892, and other Synods came to define the conditional spiritual primacy of Antioch over Malankara, the damage had already been dealt, and a pro-Patriarch faction was firmly established in the North. And, ultimately, this atmosphere led to the first and second divisions within the Malankara Church.