Malekkurish Dayara
Malekurish Dayara
Malekurish Dayara is a famous monastery of the Jacobite Syrian Church, situated on a hilltop near Puthencruz in Ernakulam district. It is close to the Puthencruz Patriarchal Centre, the headquarters of the Jacobite Church. The name 'Malekurish' (cross on the hill) comes from the cross erected on the hilltop in 1902, after the passing of Parumala Kochuthirumeni. In 1923, 15 acres of land were donated for the monastery. The Dayara was established here by Mor Julius Elias Qoro Metropolitan, who was the Patriarchal Delegate in the 1920s. The tomb of His Holiness Baselios Paulose II, the Catholicos Baava, is also here.
The Malankara Syrian Orthodox Seminary functioned here for the first time from 1955 to 1990; it was later shifted to Udayagiri near Mulanthuruthy. In 2000, the foundation stone was laid for a new church complex combining Kerala architecture and the Syrian Christian style. The beautiful church seen today, filled with carvings and paintings, took shape in this way. In 2019, His Holiness Ignatius Aphrem II, the Patriarch Baava, consecrated the retreat centre 'Khanema Hanna Home'.
The main altar dedicated to St. George, along with the relics of St. George, Mor Kowmo, St. Kuriakose Sahada, Mor Ignatius Elias III Baava, Mor Osthathios Sleeba and Parumala Kochuthirumeni, makes this Dayara a major pilgrimage centre of the Syrian Christians in Malankara. The annual commemoration feast and the major feasts attract thousands of believers. A candlelit prayer procession up the hill is a special feature of the feast.
