Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam The Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam is an eparchy of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India for Knanaya Catholics. The Knanaya are descendants of Syrian Christians of Jewish origin who reportedly migrated to the Malabar coast during the fourth century under the leadership of Nestorian Thomas of Cana. During the 17th century, they split into Catholic and Malankara Church factions. The Knanaya (Hebrew: קנניה, Malayalam: ക്നാനായ, Syriac: ܛܢܢܐ, Arabic: قينان), also known as Q'nanaya, Q'nai, Kanai, or Kanahi people are endogamous Jews who settled in Kerala. Their origins are uncertain, but many scholars believe them
Malabar region moisture-laden Southwest monsoon rains. The Malabar Coast featured (and in some instances still does) a number of historic port cities. Notable among these were/are Naura, Vizhinjam, Muziris, Nelcynda, Beypore and Thundi (near Kadalundi) during ancient times, and Kozhikode (Calicut), Cochin in the medieval period, and have served as centers of the Indian Ocean trade for millennia. Because of their orientation to the sea and to maritime commerce, the coastal cities of Malabar are very cosmopolitan and have hosted some of the first groups of Christians (now known as Saint Thomas Christians), Jews (today called as Cochin Jews), and Muslims (at