Kadamattom Church: Story of Kadamattathu Kathanaar

 

The land of Kerala has been the entry point for all major religions around the world & this place has been a fertile ground of all who came to preach the word of God. The way of life preached by the Christian missionaries came to the shores in the 1st century & spread the religion wide and far. In the 6th century one such revered missionary by the name Mar Abo came to the small hamlet of Kadamattom from Nineveh in Iraq. The Kadamattom church is part of history as it makes one remember another revered messenger of God, Kadamattathu Kathanar. The origins of the church & the legends behind the life of the Kathanaar are one to know.

When Fr Mar Abo came to the shores of Kerala he was not welcomed as there prevailed a very harsh caste system which believed in oppression of the people rather than openness to spirituality. He moved from towns to villages on his journey till he reached the small village of Kadamattom, tired and hungry. The only hut which looked welcome was of a widow who lived with a boy. The Father asked for some food not realizing that the lady and boy had been hungry for days without food. Out of sorrow the lady wept at the feet of the guest; Mar Abo asked the lady to boil water & took a grain of rice from the floor and put it in the pot praying to God. The lady to her surprise found the whole pot brimming with cooked rice. The two understood that the guest in their house was no ordinary person & the miracle helped them eat after many days. The boy and lady asked who the Father was & he explained to them the way of Jesus Christ. The two immediately are said to have embraced Christianity at the hands of Mar Abo. The Father stayed in the house & taught the boy the gospels, then became his assistant & took the name Poulose. One day the lady told the Father about the daughter of the local king suffering from mental instability. The lady had been suffering from insanity for long & no amount of treatment by healers or wizards could help her, the ruler by the name AyaKunnathu Karthavu was desperate to find a cure. The lady took Mar Abo to the palace, where the Father prayed to God placing his hand over the lady’s head; healing the lady of her mental instability. The news of this miracle spread like wildfire about a holy man capable of healing all with his presence. The ruler, his family & the people embraced Christianity, Mar Abo became a beacon for spiritual betterment for all in the village. Mar Abo made a request to the ruler for land where he could build a church so that all could pray. This request was accepted by the ruler & the church dedicated to Virgin Mary was opened. The earlier structure only had a small cross & thatched roof with devotees sitting on the floor when the Father preached.

The old lady & her son Poulose were the closest to Mar Abo. Poulose became a deacon of the father & looked after the daily rituals of the church in the absence of Mar Abo. One day when Poulose was grazing the cattle in the fields nearby, the cavemen of the nearby mountains abducted him. The cavemen were cannibals & they would bring humans to their chieftain as presents, when Poulose was brought to the chieftain, the deacon prayed to the lord for his safety. As it would be a miracle it is said that the chieftain had a change of mind and decided not to kill Poulose, rather he took a liking to him. The chieftain asked Poulose to be part of his clan & with no way to go, he stayed on. The chieftain was no ordinary person, he was a wizard of the highest order who could see the dead. The chieftain taught Paulose  wizardry, magic & supernatural mantras. One day the chieftain asked Poulose to become his heir & take control of the clan to which Poulose asked for forgiveness as he wanted to go back to the church. The chieftain understood the need but he could not convince all in his clan so asked Poulose to escape while all were asleep. The chieftain put all his people to a deep sleep while allowing Poulose escape back to the village of Kadamattom. Poulose returned to the church but found the doors of the church closed to which he prayed to Virgin Mary & the doors opened. The guards upon learning about his escape followed Poulose to the church & tried to break in but they could not crack the wall even with all their might. Fr Mar Abo seeing his most loved son return to the church ordained him as Father Poulose & gave all the responsibility of the church to him. Mar Abo had been ordained to spread the word of Christ by preaching the gospel & it was time for him to continue his journey. Fr Poulose was saddened by this decision & could not bear the pain of separation, so Mar Abo presented him a signet ring to be worn on his finger always. He also told Poulose that if the ring fell from his finger, that signaled the death of Mar Abo. If he wanted to see the Father again, he just would have to wear it back. Mar Abo left the hamlet of Kadamattom for his sojourn further south; he is said to have never returned to the church.

Father Poulose after taking over the responsibility of the church dedicated his life to serving humanity by warding off evil spirits & miseries. The teachings of Father Mar Abo & the wizardry that he learnt from the caveman chieftain helped him cure insanity or perform supernatural miracles to help people. The name of Father Poulose spread far & wide, people calling him fondly by Kadamattathu Kathanar meaning the Father of Kadamattom. It is said that one day the ring on his finger fell & he realized Mar Abo had died. He undertook a journey to find the grave of Mar Abo at the St Mary’s Orthodox church. He knelt at the grave to pray when the right hand of Mar Abo is said to have been raised from the grave. Kathanaar took the hand & placed it on the southern wall of the altar at the Kadamattom church. He is also said to have placed a Persian cross at the site in remembrance of the place from where Mar Abo came. There are many miracles of the Kathanaar which have been documented by people of Kerala over the years which detail how supernatural events were witnessed by mortals. Father Poulose lived an eventful life & upon his death was buried in the north side of the church. The St Mary’s church founded by Mar Abo was rechristened as St George church & for centuries has been a haven for the shelter less. 

The church architecture is nothing to boast about as the original church was reconstructed to today's style somewhere in the 15th century. The inside of the church is a simple style of Kerala church architecture with a tall altar. The grave of Kathanaar is on one side near the altar. The altar is a beautiful colorful piece of design with a semi circular roof which adorns the center of the altar. 

The Kadamattom church has stood proudly in this small village making everyone remember the life of two individuals who changed the way of Christianity in Kerala. The place where Father Poulose still stands is the Poyedam church & there is also a well which is called Poyedam Kinar. The well itself is a venue of legends as it is believed that the well was a portal through which Kathanaar visited the underworld. The legends & stories of supernatural events may be difficult for all to believe but what one cant ignore is the divinity of the church.