In this post, we will see the double super-imposed T-shaped granite cross of Velur St Francis Xavier church, a protected monument in the Archdiocese of Thrissur. The cross has a Malayalam inscription on the lower long horizontal beam and Latin letters on the upper small cross arm. The laterite pedestal of the cross is in the form of an octagonal drum. It has 8 square panels on the main body, of which only three have carvings. The most characteristic among them is the Christian monogram IHS finely engraved on the eastern side. Remember, IHS is also part of the official emblem of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). On the western side of the pedestal, diagonally opposite to the IHS panel, is a small niche flanked by carved pillar motifs (?) on both sides and a cross on the top. The square panel immediately north to the IHS symbol has faint intersecting horizontal and vertical strokes, perhaps designed in the form of a cross. Interestingly, a square panel on the northern side of the pedestal has been completely chopped off, as if it was done intentionally on purpose. I don't know why such a measure was taken or whether the panel originally had any symbols. When we come to the top 8 triangular panels of the pedestal, they are abundantly carved with motifs of floral and geometrical designs, paired images of peacock, deer and fish (see photographs below).
Arnos Padiri and Velur Church
The origin of Velur church is associated with a remarkable German-born Jesuit missionary, Fr. Johann Ernst Hanxleden (1680/1681-1732), affectionately called Arnos (Ernst) Padiri (Padre) in Kerala. He was a celebrated and gifted Malayalam and Sanskrit scholar, poet, grammarian, lexicographer, and philologist. Church historian Mathias Mundadan (1988, p. 183) writes: “No other foreign missionary who at any time worked in Kerala became as popular as Hanxleden.” His most famous work in Kerala, the poem 'Puthen Pana' (New Hymn or New Path) on the 'Life of Christ' in simple elegant verses has already seen 20 editions (Arnos Smruthi, 2019, p. 70). The tercentenary of the “Puthen Pana” was celebrated on March 18, 2017 at Velur by a performance of 300 women and men dressed in traditional Syrian Christian costumes reciting the hymns for 12 hours (see here). The Velur church where Arnos spent a major share of his life in Kerala was consecrated by him on 3rd December 1712 in honour of St. Francis Xavier. We learn this detail from a letter written by him on 1713 (October 4), which says "Being very poor, we built a mud chapel and last year we blessed it and celebrated in it Holy Mass on the feast of St. Francis Xavier”. In the Roman Catholic Church, December 3rd marks the Feast of St. Francis Xavier, and since the letter (of 1713) mentions 'last year', the date mentioned is taken as 3rd December 1712. This original letter in Latin is preserved in the Archives of the Assumption Church of Cologne, No. 323 d. (Mundadan, 1988, p. 184), and a full English translation has appeared in the 2nd volume of the book, "Jesuits in Malabar" by Fr. Dominic Ferroli (1951, pp. 323-328). The other views are that the church was constructed in 1724 (Mappila, 1963, p. 52; and here) or 1726 (Thrissur Roopathah Shatabhi Smaraka Grandam, 1887-1987, p. 172).
Short Biography
Very little is known about Arnos Padiri’s family and his early life in Germany (for more details, see Adappur, 2015, pp. 19-22). Arnos came to India at the young age of 18 or 19 as a Jesuit novice. He arrived Surat on 13 December 1700 and proceeded to Goa. Scholars do not agree with the date of his arrival in Kerala as different versions are proposed from 1679 to 1705 (see Ulakamthara, 1982, p. 52; Gracy, 2014, p. 51, fn. 1). It is widely accepted that in the year 1701, he reached Kerala and joined the Jesuit seminary at Sampalur near Ambazhakdad for doing theology, and was ordained as a priest soon after the completion of his studies in 1707 (Ferroli, 1951, p. 322; Puliurumpil, 2015, p. 84). However, the exact time of his ordination is also not clear, and a wide range of dates have been suggested from 1704 to 1714 (Mundadan, 1994, p. 66; Mundadan, 1988, p. 87; Mappila, 1963, p. 52; and see here, here and here). Arnos Padiri was the secretary of Cranganore Archbishop Joao Ribeiro for four years from 1707/8 to 1710/11 (Mundadan, 1994, p. 87). It is certain that he came to Velur around 1712 and the place remained the abode for most of his remaining life. The official website of the church gives a slightly early arrival date for him at Velur, and thus, accordingly, he reached Velur in the year 1710, stayed there till 1729, and gradually developed the church to the present stature. According to Fr. C. K. Mattom (1957, pp. 15-16), Arnos first built a humble palm-leaf thatched church at Pazhayangadi near Velur for 18 Syrian Christian families belonging to Mattam parish, but he stayed only 6 months, because, the soil of that place was not good enough for a stable church, and hence moved to the current location at Vengalasseri Kunnu or Chiramangad/Sramangad in Velur. Today, an old Kurishupally exist at Pazhayangadi. Ulahannan Mappila (1963, pp. 32, 46-47) speculates that the mud chapel referred in Arnos Padiri’s 1713-letter is in Pazhayangadi and not Velur; his inference is also based on the land deed of the Velur church, which was issued to "Sambaloorkaran, Arnos Padiri in the name of the Saint of Chiramangattu Church" in the year 1724 only, and according to the author, the original deed was a Tamil-Vattezhuthu inscribed copper plate and a copy was preserved in Velur pallimeda (presbytery). Arnos spent his last years (1729-1732) in Pazhuvil and Ambazhakkad and died on 20th March or 20th May 1732, apparently of snake bite and was buried in the St. Antony church at Pazhuvil (see Mundadan, 1994, p. 70; Gracy, 2014, p. 72, fn. 66; Puliurumpil, 2015, p. 94). Pazhuvil church claims that Arnos Padiri arrived their place as early as 1726. Dalit Bandhu, N. K. Jose, believes that he lived at least until October, 1737, based on a Puthenpana Manuscript he dates to the same period (Jose, 1995, p. 175). Mappila (1963, pp. 51-52) discusses about a stone inscription preserved in Velur, in which he heard the date of Arnos Padiri's death was Dhanu 1, 1736, but the author fails to find the specimen during his visit to the place in 1973. For a better understanding the Chronology of Arnos Padiri in Kerala, Mundadan's articles (1988, p. 190 and 1994, pp. 87-88) will be much helpful.
Heritage Sites in Velur
The old church of Velur, known as the 'Arnos church' is beautifully decorated with murals and paintings, though many of them are lost with neglect and ignorance. The traditional rectangular two-storeyed building (Arnos Bhavan) where Arnos Padiri stayed is the western padippura (gatehouse) of the church. Built in the typical style of Kerala architecture, it has 9 semi-circular granite steps leading to the entrance (on the west side) and 5 laterite pillars to support the upper floor on both sides. It is assumed that the upstairs room was occupied by the Padiri during his stay in Velur. In addition, he is said to have dug a 12 ¾ kol (30 feet) deep well (Mattom, 1957, p. 17), and built a padippura on the eastern boundary of the church compound (Kalliath, 2017, p. 183; Kalliath, 2021, p. 34). The most detailed treatment on Velur’s heritage sites is an article entitled “Velurile Arnos Smarakangal” (Arnos Monuments in Velur) by John Kalliath (2017, pp. 175-191), the same chapter is reproduced in Kalliath, 2021, pp. 27-43. For structural details of Arnos Bhavan, see also Mappila, 1963, pp. 48-51; Licinia, 1995, p. 126 etc.
The government of Kerala declared the old church and the gatehouse/padippura of Velur as protected Archaeological Monuments on 23rd May 1995. Today, the church remains usually closed and is dark inside, but it is worth exploring the beautiful murals on the altar and ceilings. Regarding Arnos Bhavan, Jesuit Fr. D. Ferroli saw (before 1951) in the house the following articles: the cot on which Arnos used to sleep, a rough chess-board and 4 to 5 copper-plates, of which one is said to be the title-deed of the plot of land which he had got in favour of the Velur church (1951, p. 329). On December 5, 1972, when the Arnos Bhavan was demolished partially, personal belongings of him were discovered from a secret chamber inside the wall of the upper storey. The findings in 2 boxes included palm-leaf manuscripts and copper plates, but unfortunately, they were in a very bad shape and eventually lost to posterity (Nair, 1994, p. 51). I haven’t seen the interior of Arnos Bhavan, but I understand among his personal belongings, the cot and the chess board survive (Arnos Smruthi, 2019, p. 53). The present Arnos Bhavan is not in a well maintained condition, and recent reports suggest the residence facing collapse because of mite attack (see here, here and here). As for the church built by Arnos Padiri, we are lucky that a new church in Velur was consecrated on 4th May 2014 without pulling down the old structure.
Inscriptions and the Age of the Velur Cross
As mentioned above, there are two inscriptions on the horizontal arms of the cross facing the west side. The four letters, JNRJ inscribed on the upper horizontal bar represent INRI, the acronym of the Latin phrase "IESVS NAZARENVS REX IVDÆORVM" (Jesus Nazarene, King of the Jews). In this case, the letter I of IESVS is replaced with J of Jesus, and thus, the acronym reads "JESUS NAZARENUS REX JUDÆRUM".
The Malayalam inscription on the lower horizontal bar gives the year on which the cross was installed. The inscription reads "Ee Kurishu 1901 E (davam) 1-Natti", which can be translated as “This Cross was erected on Edavam 1, 1901”. Therefore, if we go with this reading, the cross is only an early 20th century structure. Now, the conventional opinion is that the cross is from the time of Arnos Padiri. The Kerala State Department of Archaeology concludes that the stone cross is as old as the church itself and the Velur church is constructed in 1724 (see here). The VMIS Archives (American Institute of Indian Studies) dates the Velur cross (documented by Dr. Jose Pereira) to 1794 (see here). Ironically, in none of Arnos Padiri’s letters we have obtained so far, there is any mention of a cross being installed at Velur by him. As Arnos specifically states about the humble mud chapel built in Velur, it is reasonable to expect at least a brief note about this impressive cross, had it been installed in the same period. Some believe that the word he used for ‘mud’ in Latin actually refers to laterite stones cut from the soil and not necessarily just mud. However, to correlate the year 1901 on the cross with an 18th century date was a difficult task. The symbol for the Malayalam numeral '1' appears three times in the inscription. Suppose if the numeral 1 at the beginning of the line is a sculptor’s error, the inscription becomes, "Ee Kurishu 901 E (davam) 1-Natti". In such a case, the date becomes 901, and in Kolla Varsham (Malayalam Era), it corresponds to the year 1726, fitting nicely with the early days of Velur church’s establishment. Anyway, this is too far-fetched to come through as the symbol is firmly inscribed and a mistake seems unlikely. I went through most of the early and recent biographies available on Arnos Padiri to see if the Velur cross is associated with him. The monuments linked to his life in Velur included artefacts used by him in daily life (cot, chess board etc.); structures built by him like the gatehouse/padippura on the west (Arnos Bhavan), the padippura on the east, the old church of Velur, and a well. Unfortunately, the open-air granite cross did not appear in any of them, neither could I find any traditions associated with its origin. It was therefore convenient to conclude that the cross was only an early 20th century church, until I came across an article written by John Kalliath in 2017 (p. 181) which had the answer I was eagerly looking. The article was also reproduced in 2021 (p. 43) in a different volume. Apparently, it turns out that both the dates (18th and 20th centuries) are correct! Kalliath learns from his local sources that the cross was built by Arnos Padiri himself, but he dismantled them into pieces and buried them under ground in the church compound for the seasoning of the granite. Thalakottur Kuriakose Kathanar, who was the Vicar of Velur church until 1904 (Kalliath, 2006, pp. 40, 67) obtains this crucial information from a church document and he excavates the cross from the site where it was buried, which is immediately west to the current cemetery entrance. The cross was discovered and was installed in the current location on 1901, Edavam 1, and hence the inscription. Kalliath traces this information from the descendants of Cheruvathoor (Ollukkaran) Pylappan, who was 31 years old in 1901, and an eyewitness to this event. Thus, traditionally, the granite cross of Velur is originally from the time of Arnos Padiri (early 18th century), and it was discovered and reinstalled at the current location with a new pedestal in 1901.
Views of Velur St Francis Xavier Old Church (2016 and 2022)
The Eastern Padippura & the Mammoth Compound Wall of Velur Church (2016)
References
Adappur, Abraham (2015)-Ernest Turned Arnos, Ernest Hanxleden: Linguist Par Excellence
Arnos Smruthi (2019)-Arnos Padiri Academy
Ferroli, D. (1951)-Jesuits in Malabar, Volume 2
Gracy, K. S. (2014)-Life and Works of Arnos Padiri, Ph.D. Thesis
Jose, N. K. (1995)-Arnos Padiri Charithraveekshanathil; In Arnos Padiri Oru Padanam, Edited by Sr. Licinia, C. and Sunny Jose
Kalliath, John (2006)-Nashttapeduthunna Arnos Paithrukam
Kalliath, John (2017)-Velurile Arnos Smarakangal; In Arnos Padiri Malayala Sahithyathile Mahamaneeshi, Edited by Peter Kannampuzha
Kalliath, John (2021)-Velurile Arnos Smarakangal; In Arnos Padiri Malayala Sahithyathnte Suryathejas, Edited by John Thomas
Licinia, C. (1995)-Kraisthava Vedapadanathinu Arnos Pathiriyude Sambavanakal; In Arnos Padiri Oru Padanam, Edited by Sr. Licinia, C. and Sunny Jose
Mattom, C. K. (1957)-Arnos Padri
Mappila, Ulahannan P. V. (1963)-Arnos Padriyude Malayala Vyakaranam
Mundadan, Mathias, A. (1988)-John Ernest Hanxleden (Arnos Pathiri): His Contribution to Sanskrit and Malayalam Language and Literature, In Jesuit Presence in Indian History, Edited by Anand Amaladass
Mundadan, Mathias (1994)-John Ernest Hanxleden (Arnos Padiri)-His Contribution to the Sanskrit and Malayalam Languages and Literature; In Arnos Padiri (Joannes Ernestus Hanxleden, S. J., 1681-1732)-The First Malayalam Poet Scholar Orientalist, Edited by Pallath, J. J.
Nair, Thankappan P. (1994)-Father Hanxleden-Pioneer Indologist; In Arnos Padiri (Joannes Ernestus Hanxleden, S. J., 1681-1732)-The First Malayalam Poet Scholar Orientalist, Edited by Pallath, J. J.
Puliurumpil, James (2015)-Arnose Pathiri-A Pioneer Indologist
Thrissur Roopatha Shatabdi Smaraka Grandham (1887-1987) or Thrissur Diocesan Centenary Commemoration Volume
Ulakamthara, Mathew (1982)-Arnos Padri
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