Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church - MOSC Headquarters, Devalokam

The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC), (Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܡܠܢܟܪܝܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܐܘܪܬܘܕܟܣܝܬܐ ܕܗܢܕܘ) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. It serves India's Saint Thomas Christian (also known as Nasrani) population. According to tradition, these communities originated in the missions of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century (circa 52 AD). It employs the Malankara Rite, an Indian form of the West Syriac liturgical rite. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church traces its origin back to the historic Malankara Church and its association with the Syriac Orthodox Church. Between 1909 and 1912, differences regarding the extent of authority of the Patriarch of Antioch led to a division within the Malankara Church. As a result, two ecclesiastical bodies emerged: the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) and the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (JSCC), both of which claim continuity with the Malankara Christian tradition. Since 1912, the MOSC has maintained the office of the Catholicos of the East, who also holds the title of Malankara Metropolitan. The current Catholicos and Malankara Metropolitan is Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, who serves as the primate of the church.