The Malankara Syrian Catholic Church was established on 20 September 1930 as a result of the union movement under the leadership of Bishop Mar Geevarghese Ivanios, when it split from the Malankara Church and entered into communion with the Catholic Church. The Malankara Church itself had emerged from the split within the Saint Thomas Christian community of the 17th century; after the Coonan Cross Oath in 1653, the Malankara Church emerged as the faction that stood with Archdeacon Mar Thoma I in swearing to resist the authority of the Latin Catholic Portuguese "Padroado". This faction entered into a relationship with the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. The Malankara Syrian Catholic Church