The 425th anniversary of the Synod of Udayamperoor will be celebrated under the aegis of the Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council Heritage Commission (KRLCC) on August 22.
The synod of 1599 paved the way for a renaissance in the Kerala Church as a whole as it banned several practices that were not found in keeping with the tenets of the Catholic Church, said Joseph Jude, vice president of KRLCC, here on Wednesday.
He added that the decisions of the synod also had their impact on the larger Kerala society and religious practices as superstitions and wrongful practices were identified and banned. The synod also sought to end caste discrimination and inhuman punishments meted out to those who broke caste rules.
The anniversary celebrations are being organised with the support of the Archdiocese of Varapuzha. A workshop and talks on the impact of the synod would be part of the day-long programme, the organisers said.
The diocesan synod, convened by Archbishop Aleixo de Menezes, also paved the way for differences over what is seen as โLatinsationโ of the Kerala Church, which the Marthoma Nazranis or St. Thomas Christians opposed as it sought to do away with indigenous practices in vogue. The differences persisted after the synod and it led to the historic Oath of Koonamkurisu in 1653.
The 425th anniversary programmes are being organised at the Pastoral Orientation Centre, Palarivattom. Church historian Kuriakose Kumbalkkuzhi will deliver a lecture on the beginning of the Kerala Renaissance at 2.30 p.m., and Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission Director P.S. Sreekala will speak on the first full-length and complete Malayalam prose composition, the organisers added.
