Mar Sabor and Mar Proth

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Mar Sabor, representation in his Church of the Holy Sepulcher at Thevallakara, Kerala, India

Mar Sabor and Mar Proth , often also Sapor and Aprot (* around 790 in Nineveh ; † around 860 in Kerala , India) were two monks or bishops of the Assyrian Church of the East , from the Catholic of Seleukia-Ctesiphon and early missionaries at the Malabar coast in India. They are traditionally considered saints by the Thomas Christians .

background

The Church in India is of apostolic origin. According to the constant local tradition, the apostle Thomas landed on the Malabar coast in what is now Kerala in 52 , founded seven Christian communities there and died as a martyr in Mailapur near Madras . From this foundation the church developed in India long before European colonial powers were active there. She followed the East Syrian liturgy. The Indian Church drew its bishops from the Catholic of Seleukia-Ctesiphon in what is now Iraq , from which the Assyrian Church of the East later developed.

Life and work of the two missionaries

St. Mary's Church in Thevallakara near Quilon, Mar Sabor Church of the Holy Sepulcher
Grave of Mar Sabor, St. Mary's Church in Thevallakara
Stone cross from Kadamattom, which is said to come from Mar Sabor
Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, medieval wall painting in the church of Nilackal, Kerala, India

Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, who appear in historical sources in India under various spellings (e.g. Mar Sapor and Aprot, Mar Sabrisho and Mar Piruz, etc.) were two physical brothers, monks and bishops who came from the Catholic of Seleukia-Ctesiphon immigrated to southern India in what was then Persia (now Iraq) and did missionary work there. They are among the earliest Christian missionaries in India known by name. Both are frequently mentioned in the enduring tradition of local Christians, the copper Christian privilege plates from Quilon , dating from 880, refer to Mar Sabor and numerous churches in what is now Kerala were dedicated to the brothers.

The founding of the southern Indian trading metropolis Quilon (today Kollam ), which is one of the seven early Christian communities in India founded by the Apostle Thomas, is handed down for the year 825 by the Chera king Rajasekhara Varman (820-844). The Malayalam calendar (Kolla Varsham) in Kerala begins with this event or year .

The national tradition reports that in 823 a group of Persians landed and settled in the port of Quilon, which has been known since ancient times. The two clergymen Mar Sabor and Mar Proth were there. The local king gave them land and Mar Sabor built a church in the area of ​​the current city of Quilon, from which the port and the settlement on the coast, i.e. today's Quilon / Kollam, developed, which was officially founded in 825. The old port of the fishing settlement Quilon was located much further inland on a sheltered bay of the Ashtamudi Lake, which is connected to the sea. The Christians of Quilon received numerous privileges from the king, which were recorded on engraved copper tablets for durability. The oldest is dated to the year 880 and names Mar Sabor as the founder of the church in the city called "Tharisapalli" , which can no longer be precisely located today.

Mar Sabor also mentions a constant tradition as the founder of the church of Kadamattom near Muvattupuzha. An antique stone cross in the choir area, with an inscription in Pahlavi , is said to go back to him. The inscription reads: "I came to this people from my native city Ninevah , written by me, whom God has saved from persecution" .

Mar Proth moved to the north of Kerala and worked both in the port city of Kodungallur and in Udayamperoor (formerly Diamper), while Mar Sabor stayed mainly in the south, near Quilon, and proselytized there. Many miraculous legends are passed down about the two popular saints . Mar Proth should u. a. have converted the royal family of the "Villarvattom" to Christianity in Diamper .

Death and grave

There are two competing traditions of Mar Sabor about his death. While one says that he died in Quilon and was buried in the church he built there, the other reports that he retired to Thevallakara (the former inland port of Quilon) where he lived a pious monastic life. died and was buried in the local church. In fact, the Marienkirche there houses the relics of Mar Sabor in a modern wooden shrine and they have been venerated here for a long time. The parish website of this church claims the place as the last apartment and original burial place of Mar Sabor.

However, the Portuguese navigator Afonso de Albuquerque , who visited Quilon in 1503, stated in his "Commentarios" that there is a church of local Christians in the city, which is called "Our Lady of Mercy" and, according to the tradition of these Christians, wonderfully was built by two saints who are buried in two chapels of this church. This church was burned down by Muslims in 1505, whereby 40 local Thomas Christians were killed in addition to the Portuguese, who they actually wanted to fight. After the destruction of their church, the Thomas Christians withdrew from the city and settled in "Upper Quilon", the former port area in the interior - that is, in the area of ​​today's Thevallakara - where they built a new church. It is quite conceivable that they took the relics of Mar Sabor from Quilon with them and then started a new tradition of worship in Thevallakara, which is now considered original. It seems to have been similar with the copper privilege plates from Quilon. These too were finally no longer in Quilon, but also in the St. Mary Church of Thevallakara and Archbishop Alexis de Menezes of Goa found them there during a visitation in 1599 .

Adoration

The Synod Church of Diamper, it was previously consecrated to the "Quadisagal" (Mar Sabor and Proth) and now bears the patronage "All Saints".

Both brothers, Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, were traditionally venerated as saints by the Thomas Christians without canonization ever taking place. The two were referred to as the "Quadisagal", which means "the two saints". The numerous churches consecrated to them were also called "Quadisagal churches". The best known of these is the All Saints Church in Diamper, where the infamous Church Synod took place in 1599. It was rededicated - like all other churches consecrated to the two popular saints - by order of Archbishop Alexis de Menezes. The ban on worship and the rededication of the churches was decided in 1599 at the aforementioned Synod of Diamper . The justification for the prohibition of the cult was that Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, as bishops of the Assyrian Church of the East , were schismatics and, moreover , adhered to the heresy of Nestorianism , regardless of the remarks by Cardinal Bernardino Maffei in the consistory of February 20, 1553, in which he expressly attested to the so-called “Nestorians” in Seleukia-Ctesiphon and India; they only carry this traditional name, in reality they are completely orthodox.

The feast day of Mar Sabor and Mar Proth was June 19, on which the feast of the similar sounding Saints Gervasius and Protasius fell in the Latin Church , whereby the exchange took place more or less unnoticed for the church people.

In the Catholic Church or among the Catholic Thomas Christians, Mar Sabor and Mar Proth are predominantly of historical significance today. However, a day of remembrance for them has recently been added to the liturgical calendar. The tradition of worship among the autocephalous Thomas Christians in Kerala is unbroken.

In the church of Nilackal (Kerala), one of the seven churches whose founding is traditionally attributed to the apostle Thomas, there is a medieval wall painting by Mar Sabor and Mar Proth.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The 7 original communities of St. Thomas on the Malabar coast
  2. ↑ On the history of the Thomas Christians, with the mention of Kollam as one of the 7 early Christian communities
  3. ↑ The 7 original communities of St. Thomas on the Malabar coast
  4. ↑ Historical website on the history of Mar Sabor and Mar Proth
  5. ↑ Website on ancient stone crosses in Kerala, with its own chapter on the cross of Kadamattom
  6. ↑ Parish website of the Marienkirche Thevallakara zu Mar Sabor (Mar Abo) ( Memento of the original from November 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.marthamariamorthodoxsyrianchurch-thevalakara.in
  7. ^ Walter de Gray Birch: "The commentaries of the great Afonso Dalboquerque, second viceroy of India" , Volume 1, Page 14, Asian Educational Services, 2000, ISBN 812061514X ; Scan from the source
  8. ↑ To the All Saints Church Diamper
  9. ↑ Source of Cardinal Maffei's speech on the Nestorians (Note No. 18)
  10. ↑ Calendar sheet for the memorial day of Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, from the liturgical calendar of the Syro-Malabar Church
  11. ↑ Website of the Syrian Orthodox Mar Sabor and Proth Church (here called "Mor Sabore and Aphroth") in Akaparambu, Kerala, which is said to be founded by the two saints and is consecrated to them.
  12. ↑ Website of the Church of Nilackal