Holy See of the East the Church of the East after the Coonan Cross Oath and joined the Church of Antioch also claims the title of the Holy See of the East, since St. Thomas is also the founder of this churches. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church which evolved out of the Malankara Church as a part of the Oriental Orthodox Churches claims the title of the Catholicos of the East and the Holy Apostolic See of St. Thomas. The Malankara Syrian Catholic Church which evolved from the Malankara Church as a part of the Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See
Foreign relations of the Holy See between countries, including a dispute between Germany and Spain over the Caroline Islands. The Lateran Treaty of 1929 and the founding of the Vatican City State was not followed by any great immediate increase in the number of states with which the Holy See had official relations. This came later, especially after the Second World War. The Holy See, as a non-state sovereign entity and full subject of international law, started establishing diplomatic relations with sovereign states in the 15th century. It had the territory of the States of the Church under its direct sovereign rule since centuries before that