Sabor and Proth Qandisangal | |
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| Feast | April 29 |
| Influenced | Saint Thomas Christians |
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Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, according to Syrian Christians of Kerala, were two Church of the East Bishops believed to have arrived in 825 AD alongside a group of Christian settlers led by a merchant from Persia. Together, they established ecclesiastical institutions in several regions. Revered for their devoutness, they were posthumously recognized as saints by the local ecclesiastical body. [1] [2] The mission is said to have received permission from the then king of Kerala to build a church in Kollam.[3][4][5]
That the historicity of this mission cannot be verified does not dispute the epigraphical evidence that Christians were on the Malabar Coast in 9th century AD. Kollam Syrian copper plates, a 9th-century royal grant from Kerala, mentions that certain Maruvan Sapir Iso built a church at Kollam with the blessing of the then Emperor of Kerala. It is likely that Mar Sapir had a companion named Mar Prot.[6] A stone cross, one of the five Persian Crosses, with Sassanid Pahlavi inscription recovered also mentions certain "Afras the Syrian" as "the son of Chaharabukht".[7]
The two bishops are said to have died in Kerala and have been considered as saints by the Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Syro Malabar Church.[8][2]
- ^ Sprague, Sean. "Twin Saints, Twin Churches". CNEWA. Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ a b Pius Malekandathil (2010). Maritime India: Trade, Religion and Polity in the Indian Ocean. Primus Books. p. 43. ISBN 978-93-80607-01-6.
- ^ Land, 'Brief History of the Syrians of Malabar'. Anedocta Syriaca, I, pp. 27.
- ^ Menon, K. P. P. Kerala. I. pp. 273.
- ^ Joseph, T. K., 'Mar Sapir and Mar Prodh', I. A., 1928, III, p. 311.
- ^ Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 343-45.
- ^ C. P . T. Winckworth, 'A New Interpretation of the Pahlavi Cross Inscriptions', Kerala Society Papers, no. 3. p. 159-163.
- ^ Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 358.