- Kalloor
Kalloor is the name of the place in
Tamil Nadu ,India , where theApostle Thomas , one of the 12 disciples ofJesus , is believed to have been killed. Though there are differing claims and no written accounts have been found to favor one over another, it is generally accepted that the Apostle Thomas arrived in what is now the state ofKerala and established a number of churches, converting mainlyBrahmin families. He then traveled to what is now the modern state ofTamil Nadu and on toChina , establishing small works along the way. After returning to Tamil Nadu, he was killed by some locals. Though he was buried in India, his body was taken, in the fourth or fifth century, to Edessa, in modern-dayTurkey .Families in India
The name, Kalloor, also refers to a number of prominent families, in
Hindu ,Christian andMuslim communities. In Hindu communities, the Kalloorfamily is one of the few families that are part of the priestlyNamboodhiri Brahmin caste. In Muslim communities also, the Kalloor family is large and prominent. There are "suburbs " around a number of the larger cities of Kerala, like Kochi, that bear this name. Many of these suburbs have large Muslim populations.In Christian communities, there are a number of theories for the origin of this
family name . One is that early converts to Christianity took this name in remembrance of the martyrdom of the Apostle Thomas, who was killed at a place named Kalloor, in Tamil Nadu. Another is that they are converts from the Hindu Kalloor family, reportedly converting in the seventh century. Members of this family are prominent in a number of the Christian traditions, including in Syriac groups such as theIndian Orthodox Church , Western groups such as theRoman Catholic Church , and Reform groups such as theBrethren andPentecost al churches. Listed among the more prominent Christans are Bishop Yoohanon Chrysostom Kalloor of the Catholic Church, from the Kalloor family inPathanamthitta and the initial catalyst for the Pentecostal movement in Kerala, the lateKalloor Chacko , from the Kalloor family inThrikkannamangal .It is suspected but not proven whether the two Kalloor families of Pathanamthitta and Thrikkannamangal are related. Because family names can be modified or even discarded by each generation that establishes a new home, and are often not used as last names for people in
South India , the tracing of genealogies is very difficult, if not impossible, without written family trees. Many in the Kalloor family of Pathanamthitta remain in the Roman Catholic church and some have risen to leadership within that tradition, like Bishop Yoohanon. The Kalloor family of Thrikkannamangal had nominally remained within the Syrian tradition even during the Portuguese blockade of the 16th and 17th centuries. This blockade prevented theSyrian Orthodox Church and theAssyrian Church of the East from communicating with their branches in India and forced the majority of the Syrian churches in India to join the Roman Catholic church in order to preserve Apostolic succession. Some, however, made a public vow, known as theCoonen Cross Oath , to never succumb to the leadership of the Western Church. Later, many from Thrikkannamangal joined the Reformation movement within the Syrian Church in the 19th century which resulted in the establishment of theMar Thoma Church. Members of this family were also prominent in the establishment of the Brethren churches in South India. It was while Chacko was in the Brethren church that he became acquainted with the Americanmissionary Robert F. Cook , the "Father of Indian Pentecostalism."
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