History

According to tradition, St. Thomas, one of the twelve Apostles, introduced Christianity to India in 52 AD. It is believed that he reached Crangannore on the West Coast (Malabar coast) of the South Indian peninsula and worked his way along the coastal regions. In 1972, Paul Paul VI declared St. Thomas the Apostle of India. His apostolic work was continued by missionaries from West Asia and Europe over the centuries.

Very little is known about the early Malabar Christians (also known as St. Thomas Christians) except a few historical notes. Pantaenus, sent by Demetrius of Alexandria, visited Malabar in 189. In 345, Thomas Cana, a merchant from Persia, traveled to Travancore and established a Christian colony apart from the Christian community that existed there. Timotheus I, the patriarch of the Nestorians in Persia, sent bishops to India (c. 800). In 825, Marwan Sabriso brought a party with two bishops, Mar Sapro, and Mar Prodh. The local ruler, the king of Venad, gave him land and some privileges. In 1122, there was an Indian patriarch in Rome. Indian churches came into contact with the Roman Church through European travelers and missionaries such as the Franciscans and Dominicans in the 13th century. In 1293, Marco Polo, a Venetian traveler, came to India and left some records of his visit to Mylapore. And in 1321, Four Franciscans were martyred in Thana, near Mumbai (Bombay).

The Franciscans were the first to arrive. They founded a convent in Goa (1518) and engaged in missionary work at Goa, Bombay, Cochin, Quilon, and Tamil Nadu. They opened schools in Crangannore, Poinsur, and Reis Magos in Bardez.

The Jesuits spread their message through the work of St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552), a Spanish Jesuit, who arrived in Goa in 1542. With his Jesuit companions and successors, they strongly emphasized the need for evangelization. St Francis worked along the Malabar Coast and baptized hundreds of fishermen.

The Dominicans arrived in 1548 and established convents in Goa and Cochin. They also established a college of philosophy and theology near Goa. When the Portuguese viceroy divided the missionary territories (1554-1555), the Dominicans received the western part of Goa, and the Franciscans received the eastern part. Later the Dominicans established themselves in other parts of Portuguese India.

The Augustinians came to Goa from Persia in 1572 and opened a large monastery and a convent of Santa Monica in 1606.

The Carmelites, Italian Theatines, and Hospitallers arrived in 1600. The Oratorians of St. Philip Neri extended their activities to Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

Around the 1500′s, tensions began to arise between the Portuguese Jesuits and the St. Thomas Christians. This tension culminated in the Coonan Cross Oath of 1653 in which 20,000 Malabar Christians, under the leadership of their Archdeacon, Thomas Parambil, pledged their independence from the Roman Church. As a result, congregations were forced to choose between the two. About 32 congregations stood faithful to the Archdeacon, and 84 congregations rejoined Rome.

St. Thomas Christians who rejoined the Latin Church were called Malankara Christians. Those who maintained their independence and gave their allegiance to the Jacobite (“Orthodox”) Patriarch of Antioch were called the Jacobites. The Malankara Christians were further subdivided into two groups. Those who followed the rites of East-Syrian traditions were called “Syro-Malabar” Catholics and those who followed the West-Syrian traditions were called “Syro-Malankara” Catholics.

There are some Malabar Catholics called “Knanaya Catholics” who are an integral part of Syro-Malabar Catholics. They trace their origin to a congregation established by Thomas of Cana (Cnae of Thomman), a merchant who came to India in 345 AD from Syria. He brought along with him Mar Joseph of Uraha, a Bishop of Edessa (Turkey), four priests and deacons, and 400 families. They were received by a local raja and were given some land. In 1911, Pope Pius X established a Diocese for them at Kottayam in Kerala. Read more

About

India Catholic Association of America (ICAA) was founded in 1979 by members of the India Catholic community in the Tri-state area in order to fulfill its mission. To foster this spirit of community, ICAA organizes several activities.
Once upon a time, some visionaries from the immigrant communities of the India subcontinent felt the need to create an umbrella organization to address common issues and retain and sustain the cultural and religious identities of their shared heritage. While there were several ethnic and linguistic organizations in existence, there was none to speak with a unified voice for all of them. For this reason, in 1979 , the India Catholic Association of America (ICAA) was established with a help of a $2,000.00 donation from India catholic immigrant communities

Mission

To convey our unique heritage and customs to the coming generations
To provide encouragement, support, and incentive for the continued practices of the Indian Catholic family life characterized by traditional liturgical services and family prayer life
To establish a forum for youths to maintain and invigorate the cultural heritage handed down by their forefathers
To provide lay leadership to aid the spiritual and temporal growth of the community as envisaged by the Second Vatican Council

Vision

The ICAA is meant to enrich the social and spiritual lives of its members through various activities, charitable work for people in India and the U.S.A., respond to natural calamities that occur in both countries’ provide opportunities to young people to develop leadership abilities, assist them with scholarships for continuing education, and maintain and provide a liaison between the Church hierarchies in both countries and the immigrant community.

Future

ln order to draw more members to the fold, bring in fresh blood to the organization, and not to become irrelevant to the people at large, in other words, to be a more attractive organization, it needs to divert its focus to the social service aspect of its original vision and mission. The ICAA needs to develop responsible and caring youths from our communities. It must provide and nurture leadership qualities for the future. lt must institute some kind of award mechanism to reward outstanding contributions to the community. The Association should increase its involvement with other local and regional organizations and take up causes that are permissible by its charter. In the past, there were strategy sessions on improving IACA’s vision. The Association should strive to build a revolving fund for its activities. This cannot be put on the back burner anymore. This article is meant to be a summary of ICAA’s achievements and aspirations. It is a history without the historian’s amplification on the events. This paragraph amplifies the author’s personal views on improving or refocusing the mission onto a forgotten path. In the beginning, there were some individuals with a lot of zeal who were interested in the work of the Association, but lost faith in it when they realized that the Association was ambivalent about social services, and as a result, they dropped out. For the last ten years, we are content with either conducting monthly novenas and annual pilgrimages or becoming nonchalant about our social consciousness. We do not have a long range plan to ensure the viability of the Association. We are good with reacting to the needs of victims, but how about becoming proactive with programs or plans to avert and meet with challenges that come our way? The Executive Committee, if it accepts this onerous responsibility, will have a praiseworthy Endeavour and some hard work ahead. The ICAA can and should do a lot more for the South Asian immigrant Catholic communities around the country!