page_title: Abraham Malpan
section_title: Trumpet Call & Reforms
hierarchical_section_title: Abraham Malpan / Reformation / Trumpet Call & Reforms
caption_attribution_description: Mar Thoma Church - Maramon, Kerala, India
context_page_description: Palakunnathu Abraham Malpan, also known as the Martin Luther of the East was an Indian cleric and theologian known for the Reformation movement within the Malankara Church during the 19th century. He was born in the ancient Syrian Christian Palakunnathu family which practiced Knanaya West Syriac Rite Oriental Orthodoxy after the Coonan Cross Oath of 1653.
  Abraham Malpan translated and revised the West Syriac liturgy, restoring the Church to what he considered to be its pristine position before the Synod of Diamper in 1599. He therefore strove hard for the abolition of auricular confession, prayers for the dead, intercession of saints, and veneration of sacraments. Further he emphasised the reading and study of the Bible, family-worship and evangelistic work. He insisted on a high moral standard of conduct for laity and clergy. All this created a ferment in the Church and its effects are still discernible in the Malankara Church as a whole. This led to the formation of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in 1898.
context_section_description: On 6 September 1836, strategies were formed by a group of 12 senior clergy under the leadership of Abraham Malpan, to initiate reformation. They issued a circular describing what they considered the wrong teachings, and a statement listing twenty-four evil practices which the Church had picked up due to its association with other churches and religions. They sent the same as a petition to governmental authorities; which all started from an order to investigate the reforms that could be made by the metropolitan.
  At the time of Purification, a number of reforms were made in church. A few of them are given below.
  Translated and revised the liturgy thus removing the unscriptural practices.
  Abolished prayers for the dead, invocation of saints, and veneration of sacraments.
  Abolished auricular confession.
  Introduced the practice of giving Holy Communion to the people in both kinds.
  Emphasized the reading and study of the Bible, family-worship and evangelistic work.
  Removed pictures and drawings and statues from the churches and places of worship.
  Insisted on a good moral standard of conduct for the laity and simple living for the clergy with high morale.
  On Monday 29 August 1836 (Malayalam Era (Kollavarsham) 1012 Chingam 15), the closing day of the 15 Day lent Abraham Malpan celebrated the Holy Qurbana Service in Malayalam directly translating from the Syriac Text at his home parish in Maramon. Clergy who supported him also followed it in various other parishes.
  Every year in the first week of October, there was a church festival at Maramon, connected with saintly Maphriyono-Catholicos Mor Baselious Yeldho. A wooden image of the saint named as 'Muthappen' (meaning: Elder Father), was taken around in procession and people used to offer prayers and offerings to it. In 1837, Abraham Malpan took the image and threw it into a well saying, "Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?" (Isaiah 8:19). So when the festival came there was no image to be taken out for procession.
caption: Marthoman Church Maramon (2005)
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