PilgrimstaysEstablished in 427 AD, the St Mary’s Basilica at Champakulam is one of the oldest Syro-Malabar Catholic churches in India. Commonly referred to as the Champakulam church, it was in its initial days, under the Niranom church. Niranom is one of the seven ancient churches founded by St Thomas the Apostle himself. Champakulam is located in the Kuttanadu taluk of Alleppey district is a village that has retained much of its old world charm. The many archaeological artefacts that abound in the Champakulam church premises speak of its past glories. For instance, there is an open air Rock Cross that dates back to 1151 AD. The church played a pivotal role in efforts to reunite the Catholic Syrians with the Jacobite Syrians in the 18th century. Ikkako Kathanar was a priest who was born in this parish and was martyred by the Portuguese for resisting their efforts to suppress the East Syriac tradition. The history of the Champakulam church is closely linked to the Devanarayanans of the Chempakassery kingdom. The Chembakasserry Kingdom, with its seat at Kudamaalor, was founded by a Namboothiri in the 12th century. With him were a group of Nair warriors who had been expelled from the territory by the Samoothiry of Calicut. These kings were called Devanarayanans. To this day the Champakulam church participates in the famous Champakulam Moolam Boat race by providing rope and bamboo every year for the boat race as a ritual. The church has been rebuilt several times over the centuries. In some instances royal patronage was received to carry out the renovations. On 27 November 2016, the church was elevated to the status of a basilica by Pope Francis. Considering its very ancient vintage, the St Mary’s Basilica at Champakulam figures prominently in the must see churches of Kerala. Every year, it attracts a large number of tourists from both India and overseas.
Established in 427 AD, the St Mary’s Basilica at Champakulam is one of the oldest Syro-Malabar Catholic churches in India
Niranom is one of the seven ancient churches founded by St Thomas the Apostle himself
For instance, there is an open air Rock Cross that dates back to 1151 AD
The church played a pivotal role in efforts to reunite the Catholic Syrians with the Jacobite Syrians in the 18th century
The Chembakasserry Kingdom, with its seat at Kudamaalor, was founded by a Namboothiri in the 12th century
Arriving at the Champakulam basilica by boat through the Alappuzha backwaters is one of the most memorable pilgrimage experiences in Kerala. The country boat moves through the network of channels and lakes, past rice paddies and coconut groves, to the island cluster of Champakulam, where the white basilica tower rises above the water. The approach is the pilgrimage.
The Champakulam Moolam is one of Kerala's oldest and most celebrated snake boat races — the long, narrow war canoes, each rowed by over 100 oarsmen, racing through the backwater channels after being blessed at the basilica. The race combines the Christian feast of St Mary with the Hindu zodiac calendar (Moolam asterism) in a characteristic Kerala synthesis of traditions.
Champakulam — a cluster of low-lying islands in the Alappuzha backwaters, connected by waterways and narrow paths, with coconut palms and paddy fields — is one of the most beautiful settings of any church in Kerala. The isolation of the island, the water on all sides, and the antiquity of the church's claim give it a particular atmosphere.
The tradition that St Thomas the Apostle himself established the Champakulam church — one of the seven (and a half) churches he is said to have founded in Kerala — is the foundation myth of the Christian community here. The impossibility of historical verification matters less than the depth of the conviction: this is an apostolic community, continuous with the first Christian generation.
The Syro-Malankara Qurbana — the Eastern Catholic liturgy celebrated in the West Syrian (Antiochene) tradition rather than the East Syrian tradition of the Syro-Malabar Church — is a distinctive form of the Eucharist. The variety of Eastern Catholic liturgical traditions represented in Kerala — Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, and Latin Rite — is one of the most complex and interesting aspects of Kerala Christianity.
The backwaters of Kerala are the landscape in which Thomas Christianity was planted. The Apostle came by sea, moved through water, founded communities on islands and riverbanks. The church at Champakulam, set in its island in the Alappuzha backwaters, is accessible primarily by water today as it was then. To come to Champakulam by boat is to come the way the faith came — across the water, to an island people. The Kerala Thomas Christians are a water people. Their faith came from the sea.
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.”
Read in full on Bible Gateway →Established in 427 AD, the St Mary’s Basilica at Champakulam is one of the oldest Syro-Malabar Catholic churches in India. Commonly referred to as the Champakulam church, it was, in its initial days, under the Niranom church. Niranom is one of the seven ancient churches founded by St Thomas the Apostle himself.
Champakulam, located in the Kuttanadu taluk of Alleppey district, is a village that has retained much of its old-world charm. The many archaeological artefacts that abound in the Champakulam church premises speak of its past glories. For instance, there is an open-air Rock Cross that dates back to 1151 AD.
The church played a pivotal role in efforts to reunite the Catholic Syrians with the Jacobite Syrians in the 18th century. Ikkako Kathanar was a priest who was born in this parish and was martyred by the Portuguese for resisting their efforts to suppress the East Syriac tradition.
The history of the Champakulam church is closely linked to the Devanarayanans of the Chempakassery kingdom. The Chembakasserry Kingdom, with its seat at Kudamaalor, was founded by a Namboothiri in the 12th century. With him were a group of Nair warriors who had been expelled from their territory by the Samoothiry of Calicut. These kings were called Devanarayanans. To this day, the Champakulam church participates in the famous Champakulam Moolam Boat Race by providing rope and bamboo every year as a ritual.
The church has been rebuilt several times over the centuries, in some instances with royal patronage received to carry out the renovations. On 27 November 2016, the church was elevated to the status of a basilica by Pope Francis. Considering its very ancient vintage, the St Mary’s Basilica at Champakulam figures prominently among the must-see churches of Kerala. Every year it attracts a large number of tourists from both India and overseas.
