It is hard not to notice the Piravom Church (Valia Palli, aka Rajakkalude Palli or Three-Kings church) as you cross the bridge to arrive at Piravom from the west. The imposing structure looks like a fortress atop a cliff on the banks of the beautiful Muvattupuzha River. As I was visiting Piravom in March, 2008, I noticed a new feature – a neon sign and neon cross designed to attract attention as you drive over the bridge. (... and the people bowed and prayed... to the neon god they made...) It struck me as garish and superfluous; as the location and architecture are enough to attract attention of the traveler.

Conversation about the new sign triggered an interesting discussion with my family about Kerala church architecture and the poor taste with which various facades and super-structures have been added to ancient Kerala churches since the days of Portuguese influence. This discussion led to topics surrounding the history of the Piravom church; its name, its age, and various folklores.

Definitive historical accounts are scarce for most old churches in Kerala and therefore, folklore and oral history are the main sources. Piravom church is no exception and it is the subject of much folklores. The website maintained by the church contains some of these fantastic tales. Are there reliable written records regarding the history of Piravom church? Do the inscriptions on the church walls provide any clues?

I had heard from my father that the Piravom church was visited by the Portuguese Archbishop Alexis Menezes in 1599 shortly after the conclusion of the Synod of Diamper. I found an excellent description of Menezes's visit in James Hough’s work “History of Christianity in India”, published in 1839. Hough’s sources include Michael Geddes (1694) who literally translated the decrees of the Synod of Diamper from Portuguese, and Antonio Gouvea, a scholar and friar in Goa who was a contemporary of Menezes, under whose direction he wrote the history of Menezes’s travels in Kerala and documented the decrees of the Synod. Volume II of Hough’s book begins with a detailed account of the Synod, held in 1599.

Diamper, of course is Udayamperoor, about 10 miles south-east of Ernakulam. Most European writers, including Portuguese historians, had difficulty transcribing Malayalam names. Short names endured only minor alterations. Some of the long or complex names were so drastically altered that the connection between the real name and the transcribed form can be difficult to decipher. Piravom became Prouto, as we'll see below.

Hough used original Portuguese historical accounts to tell the fascinating tale of the Udayamperoor Synod and its aftermath that led to the Romanization of Kerala church. Archbishop Menezes triumphantly toured the major churches of Kerala in 1599, immediately after the conclusion of the Synod, in order to defeat pockets of resistance that existed in various churches. His tour included the infamous acts of burning ancient Syriac books and manuscripts in the churches he visited. It was the final blow to the old Kerala church, which until then relied on Babylonian patriarchs for apostolic succession. We are fortunate, however, that the Portuguese scribes recorded the Archbishop’s travels in great detail. It is a fascinating account of the skill, determination, and charm of the Archbishop and the failure of Kerala Christians to resist Romanization.

Hough describes Menezes's visit to Piravom as follows: “The next place visited by Menezes was Paligunde, in the territories of the Ranee of Wadakkamcore: and thence he proceeded to Prouto, in the same country”. It’s not hard to see how Piravom was transcribed as Prouto. Use of the dative or locative case is common among historians trained in Latin. Use of the dative and locative cases in Malayalam is quite prevalent among local people in Piravom. The church at Piravom is called “Proth Palli”. A native will usually reply “Proth” in response to a question “Where are you going?”

In addition to the above 16th century reference as Prouto, Piravam appears in various spellings in accounts of Kerala church history during the 18th century:

Farete – Raulini (1745)
Paratto – Du Perron (1758)
Parotta – Paoli (1760)

The variations in spelling can, to some degree, be attributed to the various nationalities of authors (Portuguese, Italian, French, and Austrian), but all use the dative case.

Hough’s account of Menezes’s visit to Piravom is brief, yet fascinating. Parishioners at Piravam were resisting the implementation of the Roman Catholic ritual of confession. The Archbishop was determined to overcome this resistance even though the efforts of the rector that he had appointed were unsuccessful. Apparently, the people at Piravom had convinced themselves that Confession, a Roman Catholic ritual, leads to death, especially for the aged. Menezis was successful in convincing the population that their apprehensions were groundless. The sacristan (caretaker) of the church is described as a man of great vigor. He was sixty nine and in excellent health in spite of a strict vegetarian diet. He apparently tasted meat only once in his lifetime. There’s no mention of the name or family name of this illustrious caretaker.

From Piravom, Menezes went to Caduthuruthy (transcribed as Carturte). Apparently, Caduthuruthy was his favorite church, being the first fruits of his labor in Kerala. Caduthuruthy remains steadfastly Catholic to this day.

Besides the brief mention in Hough’s book, I found even more interesting accounts of Piravom in the book, “Lingerings of Light in a Dark Land” (interesting title!), by Rev Thomas Whitehouse, published in 1873. The author clearly made considerable effort to visit the Piravom church during the early 1860s for the purpose of historical researches. His account provides interesting details of the church, its prominent location, struggle for control between Roman and Antiochean factions, iconoclasm, and clues to its interior architecture worthy of further antiquities research. I have reproduced the full account from this book:

"The church at Puruwum or Purom, also in the “Pepper Kingdom” belongs to the Southerns; and is most pleasantly situated, occupying an elevated position on the banks of a river, which is the chief way into the interior of this ancient principality. Rome also gained a footing here, and long and tenaciously did she hold it, even when most of the parishioners refused submission to her yoke. When, however, the healthy influence of British rule began to be felt in Travancore, some of the Syrian Christians made a formal complaint to the native court that the Romanists retained forcible possession of certain churches against the wishes of the people. Upon this the British Resident, Colonel Munro, issued an order that the church at Purom, the Valiapally of Kottayam, and the church of Changanashery, should be given over to the Syrian party. Their friends, the Churh Missionaries, assisted them as far as they could in this matter.

The church at Purom, dedicated to the Three Kings – a Romish appellation still retained – externally forms a pretty object as seen across the river, crowning a rocky eminence, and embosomed in rich tropical verdure. In 1863 there were six Cattanars connected with it, and not quite 200 houses.

When the Romanists vacated the place, nearly half a century ago (i.e., circa 1810), there being a division of property, they took with them only half their images. Those left behind being likely to prove a snare to the Syrians, were wisely removed, under the sanction of their Metran.

The late excellent senior Missionary has again and again narrated the story of their removal to the writer. These images had been made at Goa, were well executed, and of considerable value; and therefore it went sorely against the grain with some of the people to part with them. Like Laban, when he lost his gods, they were for rallying their forces and going after the mission boat in which they have been stowed; but by an extra effort the boatmen escaped them; and conveyed them to Cottayam, where they were safely housed in a lumber room on top of the old Syrian college. For years they rested there in peace, neglected and forgotten, till some repairs of the structure brought them to light. The missionary recommended their destruction, since they might lead to evil; but the Metran then running, a man of vacillating character, was for compromise, and suggested that they should be sold to the Romanists! This, of course, in principle, was decidedly objected to. At last the Metran and his staff were induced to visit them; it being thought that sight of them might alter his opinion, and bring him to the right decision. The Missionary presently called for a chopper, and with the tacit, but very reluctant consent of the Metran, began to hew them in pieces – the younger students looking on with a kind of horror, as if they expected divine judgment to paralyze the arm of the unsparing iconoclast. Had it not been for the decided action taken by the truest friends of the Syrian church, it is to be feared the people of Purom would, through their images, again have come under the power of Rome. This simple fact serves to show how thoroughly Romanized many of the image-hating Syrians were when our mission was first established among them.

What the imagery of the church may have been, can be easily inferred from elaborate reredos (wall behind the altar) still standing behind the chief altar, which is wood, though two modern side altars are of stone. The lower part of the reredos is adorned with bold alto-relievo carving; the upper has three principal compartments, representing the birth of Christ, the visit of the Magi, and the presentation in the Temple. In 1863 they had been fresh painted – about four years previously – and therefore presented a bright and showy aspect, which contrasted strangely with the otherwise dirty and poverty-stricken look of the edifice.

A heathen temple of considerable antiquity, called Chairycum Umbalam, stands near the church, but on lower ground. A local tradition for this is as follows:- When the Christians and Heathen were contemplating building, each wanted the high site; upon which a trial of the power of their sacred images was proposed, and accordingly one of Virgin, and another of some Hindoo swamy were thrown into the river; the later sank, the former swam and had the priority of choice! There is, however, this insuperable difficulty in the way – the Syrians abhorred images prior to the coming of the Romish Missionaries; and therefore we can regard this story as nothing else than a legendary mode of accounting for the singular fact that, in an essentially heathen state, the Christian church occupies a better position than the Hindoo pagoda. May it not indicate that, old as the Pagoda is, the Christians built their place of worship before the heathen did theirs?"

Author would appreciate input from anyone who may have access to pre-1599 history of Piravom.

Notes:

1. I found this reference to pre-1500 architecture of Kerala churches.

2. Kerala tourism operators seem oblivious to the antiquity of ancient Christian churches there. The boat trip organized by the tourism department covering the backwaters in Cochin includes St Francis church, first European church in Kerala; but no Syrian churches.

3. I wonder about the statement by Rev. Whitehouse that the Piravom church was controlled by the Southists. As far as I know majority of the Southists in Piravom are Roman Catholics. It is possible that they had control of the church prior to separation of Jacobite and Catholic factions in early 1800s.

4. A proper antiquities research should reveal interesting findings about the pre-Portuguese architecture of Piravom church. Examination of the old reredos may still yield more clues to the interior architecture. Also, assuming that the images were indeed divided up when the Jacobites and Catholics separated, the surviving half of those images should still be in the Catholic Church at Piravom.

5. Kerala needs regulations to preserve the architectural elements of old structures. The picture of Piravom church shows the dissonance of styles adopted by modern renovators – concrete and neon being the more recent fads.

6. Rev. Whitehouse describes how Changanassery churh reverted back to Roman Catholic control after the separation of Jacobite and Catholic factions during early 1800s.

7. Mulakkulam Yakoba church has interesting history. It too is located on a beautiful spot. The original church dates back to pre-portuguese era. I have heard from my father that Archbishop Menezes laid the foundation stone for renovations that were done during his time in Kerala. The church used to be called Mar Allesh Church years ago. My brother told me that Allesh is the Malayalam form of Alexis, which is, of course, the first name of the illustrious Archbishop.

8. History of Mulakkulam Marthoma church needs to be documented for future generations. Even though the structure has no particular architectural interest, the stories of its founding are interesting. I gave a very brief account as I knew it to Mr. N.M. Mathew who recently completed a three-volume book called “Malankara Marthoma Sabha Charithram”, published by Mar Thoma Episcopal Jubilee Institute of Evangelism, P.B.No 10, Manjadi, Tiruvalla-689105