St. Joseph Church, Aloor is a parish of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in Aloor. It was the first parish church in Aloor Muri of the Mukundapuram and Kodassery taluks. Aloor parish is one of the 83 parishes between the Bharathappuzha and Periyar rivers, during the erection of syro-Malabar hierarchy and Trichur Vicariate.
The Nazrani community of Aloor built a small prayer hall made of bamboo and palm leaf upon land donated by its members in 1858, and used it for their usual prayer necessities. The church did not get approval for parish status from the authorities, however, due to some administrative schisms prevailed in the Indian catholic church in 19th century. In 1868, the Aloor church was recognized by the Vicariate Apostolic of Verapoly. When the Syro-Malabar hierarchy was re-established in 1887, it was placed under the Vicariate Apostolic of Thrissur.
History
Aloor is a village 25 km towards north east of Muziris (Kodungallur)—the cradle of Christianity in India—where Saint Thomas the Apostle arrived in Malabar in AD 52 for evangelisation. The Christian community existed in Aloor from a very ancient period, depending on the churches at Ambazhakkad (300 AD), Chalakudy (600 AD) and Velayanad (900 AD) for their liturgical needs. In 1790, the churches at Ambazhakkad, Velayanad and Thazhekad were ravaged and many laymen were martyred for faith during the invasion of Tipu Sultan's army to the kingdoms of Cochin and Travancore. The need for a new church was aroused in the region due to the loss of their ancient churches and influx of laity from surrounding regions. The Syrian Catholic community was forced to depend on the Vicariate Apostolic of Verapoly during this period after the suppression of the Syrian Padruado Archdiocese of Cranganore (1838). They paid little attention to request made by the people for the sanctioning of a new church here.
1858–1868: Struggle for liturgy and hierarchy
The pleas of the Syrian Catholic community for their church at Aloor were denied during the period of the bishops Ludovico Nartini (1839–1859) and Bernardino Baccinelli (1859–1868) of the Vicariate of Verapoly. The community leaders also made repeated pleas to both the Pope and the Chaldean Syrian Catholic Patriarch of Babylonia, who had the jurisdiction over the Catholics Syrians in India until 1865, for their own bishop and liturgy. In response these pleas, Patriarch Joseph VI Audo (the Chaldean Patriarch) sent a request to Pope Pius IX for the Catholic Syrians in Malabar to be placed under his authority. He dispatched Mar Thomas Rokos, bishop of Basra (1861) and Mar Elias Mellus, Bishop of 'Aqra (1874), to visit the Catholic Syrian Christians. They had substantial success in convincing Catholic Syrians in Thrissur District, from Chalakudy to Palayur (Chavakkad).
The Syrian Catholic community in Aloor aligned with the prominent parishes like Our Lady of Dolours Church Thrissur, St Thomas Church Palayur, St George’s Church (now St. Thomas Cathedral), Irinjalakuda, etc. in the movement for their own bishop and liturgy. It was a natural response of the people who were reeling under the yoke of unmindful latinization by the missionaries and the Bishops and the requests for a native bishop fell in deaf ears. The Syrian Catholic community later understood that these bishops had come without the knowledge of the Pope and the community continued in obedience with Rome.
In 1865, the jurisdiction of the East Syrian Patriarch over the Syrian Catholics in India was formally terminated by the Apostolic See. In 1868, Leonardo Mellano became the bishop of Verapoly and he gave approval for the church at Aloor. The Syrian Catholic community continued their struggle to have a hierarchy of its own rite—with native Bishops. Rome sent a few apostolic visitors to study the situation of leaking. Rev Leo Meurin S J in 1875 and Rev Igantius Pertico in 1876 arrived in Malabar. As a result, the Hierarchy of Syrian Catholics was restored in AD 1887 with the erection of Trichur and Kottayam vicariates for the Syrian Catholic Christians, separating them from the Latin rite Catholics.