Knanaya - Religious Traditions

Religious Traditions

Traditionally the Knanaya have followed the religious traditions and practices of the wider Saint Thomas Christian community. In the 17th century, when the Saint Thomas Christians were split into Catholic and Malankara Church factions following the Coonan Cross Oath, and both Knanaya and Northist groups were internally divided. The Malankara faction became affiliated with the Syriac Orthodox Church, an Oriental Orthodox church based in Syria, while the Catholic faction is now known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Beginning in the late 19th century, both Malankara and Catholic Knanaya lobbied for their own dioceses within their respective denominations.

In 1910, the Syriac Orthodox Church established a distinct Knanaya-based diocese reporting directly to the Patriarch of Antioch. The following year, a Knanaya Catholic eparchy (diocese) was established under Pope Pius X, known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam. Its first bishop was Matthew Makil.

A number of commentators have seen Jewish connections in certain Knanaya religious traditions. For example, the order of the Holy Qurbana has been seen as similar to the Jewish vayikra. A betrothal is traditionally the first step in a Knanaya marriage, similar to the erusin or kiddushin in Jewish tradition. Knanaya weddings include a bridal canopy, similar to the Jewish chuppah, and there is a ceremonial bathing on the eve of the wedding that resembles the mikveh. The dead are buried facing the east (though Jerusalem is west of India).