According to tradition, Christianity in India was established by St. Thomas who arrived in Malankara (Kerala) from Edessa in A.D. 52. The close ties between the Church in Malankara and the Near East go back to at least the fourth century when a certain Joseph of Edessa travelled to India and met Christians there.
The church in Malankara is an integral part of the Syriac Orthodox Church with the Patriarch of Antioch [His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas] as its supreme head. The local head of the church in Malankara is the Catholicose of India [His Beatitude Baselios Thomas I], ordained by and accountable to the Patriarch of Antioch.
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The Indian Orthodox Church was established by St.Thomas in AD 52 in south India.
The ancient church of India had to go through enormous troubles and tribulations since its inception.The Portuguese colonial atrocities,the Inquisition of Goa to name a few..
Today the church has about 2.5 million devout members in the south indian state of Kerala alone,and a large expatriate community in the middle east and the west.
The headquarters of the church is Devalokam("abode of the gods") in Kottayam,Kerala.The official title of the head of the Church is the "Catholicos of the East, Catholicos of the Apostolic throne of St. Thomas and the Malankara Metropolitan".
The head of the Indian church and the successor of St.Thomas is HH Moran Mar Baselios Marthoma Didymos 1.
The Indian Orthodox community inherited many aspects of Indian civilization and they are as any other member of any other community in India, in their customs, manners, and life style.
Despite several schisms, the Indian Orthodox Church remains a stronghold of Oriental Orthodoxy in the subcontinent.
RhetorTheo, in short, the OOs consider all Christian Bishops (including the Popes and Patriarchs) to be equal just as all the Apostles are equal. (The honour was given to St. Peter because he was the eldest.) However we also recognise that just as the US president is a bit more important than the president of Togo so too some Bishops are given greater honour because of their importance (usually historically from what I've seen). Each branch of the OO Church has it's own head but he must still answer to the Holy Synod of Bishops.
By the way, Abune Paulose earlier is not the Eritrean Orthodox patriarch, but the Ethiopian Orthodox patriarch. The Eritrean Orthodox patriarch is Abune Antonios, who is under house arrest at the moment. Pray for him:
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Phew, I'm SO relieved old OC.net is back. I've been posting on a Protestant forum, filled mostly with hardcore Reformed Baptists, in the interrim. I'm worn out. I'm glad to be back in Babylon with my fellow Mary-worshipping cannibalistic pagans!
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"Vain existence can never exist."
Bearer and Mother of God and Forerunner and Baptist of God, intercede to Christ our God on our behalf:
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The Incarnate Word - with the Patriarchs relating to Him as the successors of the Apostles.
The OO Churches are happy to recognise Rome's primacy of honour, but cannot accept the development of that into Papal Primacy in the form of Infallibility.
Indian Orthodox Church(Malankara). 
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