Karingachira St. George's Church

             Karingachira St. George's Church,   established in 722 AD (Makaram 13), is one   of the ancient churches of the Malankara   Syrian Orthodox Church. The lone saint of   the Malankara Church, Mor Gregorius was   ordained koorooyo (fourth order of   deaconate) on September 14, 1857 at this   church.

Location
  The Karingachira church is located 1.5 km   east of Tripunithura town and 250 m west of   Hill Palace, the royal palace of the   Highnesses of the erstwhile Cochin state. Marshy land on either side   of a rivulet that flows west of the church had a few islands   connected by paths (chira in Malayalam) made of bushes known   locally as karingali which gave the place the name Karingalichira that   later became Karingachira.

Contact Information
  Mailing Address: St. George Syrian Orthodox Church, Karingachira,   Kochi, Kerala, India 682 309
  Phone: +91-484-277-7787

Origins
  Tradition has it that St. Thomas arrived at Kodungallur in AD 52 and   established seven churches in Malankara, one of which was the   Kottakkavu church in North Parur. In course of time, a church was   established at Edapally was established by migrants who belonged   to the Kottakkavu church.

  When Tripunithura gained prominence as the capital of the erstwhile   Perumpadapu Swaroopam (Cochin State), several Syrian Christians   migrated to the area. Syrian Christians of those days primarily   engaged in commercial activities which were looked down upon by   the upper-casted Hindus. But the rulers of the kingdom recognized   the value of their activity and encouraged them to migrate to their   capital by opening a new market (Puthan-angadi) for them. While   many Christians settled in the Tripunithura-Karingachira area, they   continued to depend on the Edapally church for their spiritual needs.

  In the early part of 8th century AD, two Syrian Christian   families-  Maliackel and Palathinkal gained prominence in this region.   A member of the Maliackel family died unexpectedly. A message was   sent to the authorities of the Edapally church, but they refused to   bury the remains in the church due to alleged dues to the church   outstanding from the Maliackel family. Even so, the family took the   dead body to Edapally church hoping for a settlement and burial   rites, but was turned away. On their way back, they decided to bury   the body in Karingalichira, an uninhabited place in those days. This   event caused great concern among the local Christians. The Maliackel   family consulted with the Palathinkal family and decided to construct   a church at the location where the body was buried. A church was   established there in the name of St. George, the patron saint of   Edapally church.

  There is evidence to believe that this church was established in AD   722. In 1923, an inscription was found when an opening was made   in the south wall on the eastern side of the church to construct a   window. This inscription (70 cm x 52 cm) was in a language known as   "Naanam-Monum." This inscription was translated into Malayalam   and inscribed on the southern wall on a granite slab. An English   translation would read "In the Year of our Lord Yeshue Meshiha 722,   month of Makaram 13, this Church of St. George was established and   was rebuilt in 812 AD, Karkidakom 21. Translated from   Naanam- Monum." Malayalam developed as a language between 800   and 920 AD, during the reign of Kulashekhara Rajas (Sridhara   Menon, "Survey of Kerala History", p. 188). Since the inscription is in   Naanam-Monum and not Malayalam, the inscription is acclaimed to be   true.