MORTH MARIAM KNANAYA CHURCH , Philadelphia

People of the Knanaya Community cherish their ancestry to have been migrated from the MiddleEast region, particularly the ancient Mesopotamia region to Kodungaloor coast of Kerala (India) in A.D.345. The aim for the then migration was to help the Christians in Kerala to continue their faith and practices. After their arrival, Christianity flourished and even branched into several Christian denominations. On January 8, 1882, the Knanaya Committee was formed at St. Stephen’s Knanaya church,Veliyanadu (Kerala). An independent autonomous Knanaya diocese under the Syriac Orthodox Church ofAntioch was authorized by Patriarch of Antioch His Holiness Mor Ignatius Abdalla II on August 28, 1910.Around 1960s, the Knanaya people started migrating to North America. Eventually, few Knanaya families arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania also.