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Focus on Synod of Udayamperoor

Staff Reporter

The Synod of Diamper, held between June 20 and 26, 1599, was convened by Portuguese Governor and Archbishop of Goa Dom Alexis de Menezes.

KOCHI: The Synod of Udayamperoor (Diamper) played a big role in changing the history of Kerala, opined speakers at a national seminar on Rethinking Diamper: Religion, Canon, Policy and Society in Kerala. The two-day seminar is being organised by the Kerala Historical Research Society at Chavara Cultural Centre.

Sergio Mascarenhas de Almeida, Fundacao Oriente, Lisbon, inaugurated the seminar. He said that religion played a marginal role in Portuguese politics in India initially. The first phase of the Portuguese presence in India was almost all about spices and fighting those who were obstacles to Portuguese economic interests. The Diamper was then too far away from the mindset and interest of the newcomers to India.

M.G.S. Narayanan, former Chairman of the Indian Council for Historical Research, delivered the keynote address on the medieval period of Kerala and its culture and Synod of Diamper.

Mar Aprem, Metropolitan, Church of the East, spoke on the Church of the East in India in the context of the Synod of Diamper. He said that the Chaldean or Assyrian Church of the East based in Thrissur is the faithful remnant of the pre-Portuguese Christian community in Kerala.

The Synod of Diamper, held between June 20 and 26, 1599, was convened by Portuguese Governor and Archbishop of Goa Dom Alexis de Menezes.

The aim of the seminar is to make fresh study and research on the subject. K. Babu, MLA, delivered the presidential address.

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