Syrian Churches of Kerala - St. Mary's Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church, Kudamaloor

St. Mary's Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church, Kudamaloor

St. Mary's Church Kudamaloor is one of the ancient churches of the Syro-Malabar Rite. It is a Marian pilgrim center. It is situated 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of Kottayam town. "Alphonsa Bhavan" - the birthplace of Blessed Alphonsa is under this parish. Mannanam, a pilgrim center, where the tomb of Blessed Kuriakose Elias Chavara situates, is also under this parish.

The old church was built by King Chempakasserry on AD 1125. There is a legend associated with the establishment of this church. Once, the Chempakassery Rajah was about to start an important journey. When he entered into the cart, the horses stood stationary and many attempts failed to move them. The King had to postpone his journey. The King ordered the chief astrologer to find the reason behind his journey disruption. The astrologer found that the place where the horses stood was a battlefield. The King excavated the area and found many skeletons of many warriors. The King listened to the advice of the astrologer and he decided to establish a church and immigrated five Nasrani families namely, Mukkunkal, Chakkunkal, Palathunkal, Thekkedam and Vadakkedam and gave land and wealth these families. In addition, families like Alumkal, Thuruthumali, Perumali, Thayyil etc. also settled as a result of Christian immigration during the establishment of Kudamaloor church. Out of these families only traces of Mukkunkal and Thekkedam are around the Church of Kudamaloor and the rest all have disintegrated to various parts or have changed their family names after successive partitions, to worship. The present day Syrian Christians in this area are these immigrants.

The church is dedicated to "Mukthiamma" (Blessed Virgin Mary). The church used to have a pulpit built on a wooden elephant and the main beam is still decorated with elephant’s head; these features are very characteristic of the Hindu influence. The church is very famous for the rituals during the Holy week.

St. Mary,s Forane Church, Muttom, cherthala-688524; Alappuzha District

St. Mary’s Forane Church, Muttom, is situated in the heart of the Cherthala town in Alappuzha District. It is one of the most popular Marian pilgrim centres, in Kerala. Built in the year A D 1023 this Church is portrayed as the symbol of strong Christian faith and spiritual renaissance of Muttom, Cherthala. St. Mary’s Forane Church, Muttom, Cherthala, is one of the most beautiful and largest Church made under Portuguese artistry around A D 1600. The carvings in the altars with beautiful paintings which adorn the sanctum of the church, are made from a combination of fruit pulp, rare plant leaves and gold dust, are marvellous. A very large relief work of asension of Virgin Mary is rarest and cannot be seen anywhere. The statue of Mother Mary Immaculate was established in a shrine facing the road adjacent to the church. The statue is there since A D 1904 and a miracle happened in A D 1945. The presence of Mother Mary Immaculate, with her divine powers, makes Muttom a famous and important pilgrim centre. There are lots of incidents which illustrate the powerful and divine nature of the Vigin.People of all faiths and religion come to this Church to pray to Amma (the Virgin Mary). Everything seen here, wordlessly says the history and heritage. It belongs to the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly and is about 35 kilometeres from Kochi, Ernakulam and 22 kilometers from Alappuzha.