An interactive history of the oath taken before the bent cross at Our Lady's Church — its causes, the day itself, and the long aftermath in the Latin Catholic Church of Cochin.
On 24 January 1653, the Saint Thomas Christians of the Malabar Coast gathered at the open-air granite cross of Our Lady's Church, Mattanchery. Holding ropes tied to the cross — said to have bent slightly under the weight — they swore an oath rejecting the authority of certain Portuguese Padroado prelates after the disappearance of Bishop Mar Ahatallah at Cochin harbour.
At the open-air stone cross of Our Lady's Church (Nossa Senhora da Vida), Mattanchery, Cochin — then a port town under Portuguese influence and today part of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India.
Koonan Kurishu is Malayalam for 'bent cross' or 'leaning cross'. Tradition holds that the granite cross bent under the weight of the ropes the gathered faithful held while taking their oath.
Scroll through the events that led to — and followed — the oath of 24 January 1653.
Archbishop Aleixo de Menezes convenes the Synod of Diamper (Udayamperur), imposing Latin discipline, the Padroado jurisdiction and revisions to the East Syriac liturgy of the Saint Thomas Christians.
The Syriac prelate Mar Ahatallah reaches Surat and then Mylapore, claiming jurisdiction over the Malabar church. Word of his arrival electrifies the Saint Thomas Christians.
Portuguese authorities detain Mar Ahatallah and ship him out of India. Rumours of his drowning or imprisonment by the Padroado inflame the community.
Representatives from across the Saint Thomas community converge on Mattanchery, summoned by Archdeacon Thomas Parambil (Thomas de Campo). The grievances against Garcia and the Padroado are recited publicly.
Before the great open granite cross at Our Lady's Church, Mattanchery, the Saint Thomas Christians take a solemn oath rejecting the authority of Archbishop Francisco Garcia and the Jesuit Padroado prelates. Tradition holds that ropes tied to the cross bowed it under the weight of the crowd — giving it the name 'Koonan Kurishu' (the Bent Cross).
Twelve priests lay hands on Archdeacon Thomas Parambil at Alangad, attempting to consecrate him as bishop — a canonically irregular act that nevertheless cemented an independent line until later reconciliations.
Pope Alexander VII dispatches the Discalced Carmelite mission under Joseph Sebastiani to reconcile the dissenting Saint Thomas Christians, bypassing the Padroado. Most parishes are eventually reconciled to Rome.
The granite Koonan Kurishu still stands at Our Lady's Church, Mattanchery — a quiet, weathered witness to one of the most decisive moments in Indian Christian history.