At St. Thomas Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church, we see the value in everyone. We want to be a catalyst for positive change, and since our beginnings in 2018, we’ve been driven by the same ideas we initially founded our Congregation upon: orthodox worship, support for people, and serve the community. Join us to learn more about our mission, our vision, and how we go about making the changes we want to see.
History
The Syriac Orthodox Church has been a member of the World Council of Churches since 1960, and is one of the founding members of the Middle East Council of Churches. In Syriac, the proper name of the Church is `idto suryoyto treeysath shubho. In the past, the name of the Church had been translated to English as “Syrian Orthodox Church”. The Holy Synod of the Church approved the translation “Syriac Orthodox Church” in its session of March 28-April 3, 2000.
Syriac Christianity has had a long history in India. According to tradition, Christianity in India was established by St. Thomas who arrived in Malankara (Kerala) from Edessa in A.D. 52. The close ties between the Church in Malankara and the Near East go back to at least the fourth century when a certain Joseph of Edessa traveled to India and met Christians there. The Church in Malankara today is an integral part of the Syriac Orthodox Church with the Patriarch of Antioch as its Supreme Spiritual Head.
Syriac Christianity spread rapidly in the East and West. Since the 2000s, a considerable number of people from India migrated and settled down in various regions of Canada. A considerable amount of them follows their deep-rooted faith in Jacobite Syrian Orthodox doctrines and their faith encouraged to start numerous parishes including the Hamilton region under the apostolic leadership of the North American Archdiocese of Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church. St. Thomas Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church aims to nourish the faith of Orthodox Christians around the Hamilton-Brantford-Burlington-Niagara region and to worship Our Lord Jesus Christ in one spirit.
Leadership
The parish currently follows the leadership of the Archbishop of the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in North America, His Eminence Mor Yeldho Titus, under the Supremacy of the Patriarch of Antioch of Antioch and All the East, His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, the Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church.
Faith and Doctrine
The faith of the Syriac Orthodox Church is in accordance with the Nicene Creed. It believes in the Trinity, that is one God, subsisting in three separate persons called the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The three being of one Essence, of one Godhead, have one Will, one Work and one Lordship. The special aspect of the First Person is His Fatherhood, that of the Second Person His Sonship, and that of the Third Person His Procession.
The Church conducts worship services according to the rich and ancient liturgical traditions of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Much of the liturgical works of the Church were originally written in Syriac, the Edessene dialect of Aramaic, which our Lord Jesus Christ and his disciples spoke. During the last century these works have been translated into other languages. The liturgical services in the church are held in Malayalam (the vernacular of the congregation members) and in English.