The Church that changed it all

Kerala's Udayamperoor church is celebrating its 1500th year. The Synod, which took place in the church in 1599, forever altered the history of the Christians of the slender coastal state. This vintage shrine is one of the oldest religious structures in thewhole of Kerala.
Critically, it was inside this church that one of the most significant events of the early Christians in Kerala took place : the Synod of Daimper held in 1599. The ancient church at Udyamperoor is an important land-mark both in its history of Christianity and in Kerala. It was here that the famous Synod of Diamper under the presidency of Archbishop Alexis de-Menezes was held in June 1599 during the time of Portuguese influence in Kerala.
On June 20, 1599, the Portugese Archbishop Menezes of Goa called a synod at Udayamperoor (Diamper) for commandeering obedience to the supreme Bishop of Rome. In his zeal to eliminate any trace of the Syrian traditions among the Malankara Christians, he summoned the liturgical books and other church records and burned them. Those who denied were threatened by local kings and Chieftans to attend the Udayamperur Synod, as commanded by the Portuguese. The Raja of Cochin even decreed that all assets of Syrian churches which abstain from the Synod will be confiscated. However, some parishes around Angamaly did not attend the synod.
The delegates headed by the Syrian Archdeacon George, who attended the synod were forced to accept the decrees read out by the Archbishop Menezes. Thus the Syrian Christians of Malabar, were made part of the Roman Catholic Church under the Pope. The result was the destruction of the heritage and history of the St. Thomas Christians.

Those who accepted allegiance to Pope came to be known as Syrian Roman Catholic. There are also Roman Catholics converted by European missionaries known as Latin Roman Catholics.
The historical convention popularly known as Udayamperoor Sunnahados was a turning point in the history of Christianity in Kerala. It was a convention forced on the Syrian Christians by the Portuguese and its aim was to eradicate the Nestorian faith among them and to bring them under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church. Although the Portuguese succeeded in their effort, it did not have a lasting influence and in 1653 a very large number of Christians assembled before the Leaning Cross in Mattancherry and declared their independence from Pope, accepting again the Nestorian Patriatch of Babylon as their Universal Pastor. The then Christians were forced to change the ways of worship and to adopt Western ways of worshipping. Little did the then people realise that the decisions taken there would reverberate though the centuries.