Why does the Malankara Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church look to Antioch?

The Malankara Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church looks to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East primarily due to its historical and ecclesiastical alignment with the West Syrian tradition.

Following the 1653 Coonan Cross Oath, where Thomas Christians broke with Roman Catholic authority, a portion of the community sought to establish ties with the West Syrian church hierarchy. This affiliation led to the adoption of the Antiochene rite, a system of liturgical practices originating from the patriarchate of Antioch.123

By aligning with the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate, these Christians—historically referred to as Jacobites after Jacob Baradaeus—integrated into a miaphysite theological framework that emphasizes the unity of Christ's nature. This connection provides the church with its liturgical identity, using the literary Syriac of Edessa, and maintains its status within the broader communion of Oriental Orthodox churches.43