The Triumph and Tragedy of The Synod of Diamper: The Story of Christianity in Malabar

This book, The Triumph and Tragedy of The Synod of Diamper, gives a modern perspective to the fascinating story of a unique Church created by a unique Apostle who believed in the Risen Lord only after physically verifying the truth. In modern times, Swami Vivekananda hailed it as the purest of Christianity in the world. The existential turbulence it underwent during the 16th/17th centuries under the Portuguese colonialists who sought to refashion this Church according to their western model and to reform the community’s social/familial customs and their consequences, form the essence of this book. The context is made vivid by briefly describing the story of the Church from its beginning. The Synod conducted at Diamper near Cochin in AD 1599 set in motion the reform process. It was a triumph of the Colonialists in one respect and a tragedy in several others. It triumphed in bringing two-thirds of the faithful to the Roman Church. It was also tragic in that the remaining faithful got fragmented into different denominations. Also, the social/familial reform efforts yielded but partial success. The progressive Jesuits were unfairly misunderstood, and they were replaced by traditionalist/conservative Carmelites. Malabar was the loser in that bargain.Although the events narrated herein have become history, this is still being perpetuated as an emotive issue by sections of Christians in Malabar. Consequently, they have also created emotionally-charged versions of the subject. This author has taken an objective approach and has given the subject a modern perspective fit for the reading of a 21st-century reader.