Kerala Church

The Synod of Diamper in 1599 had decreed the need for decorating churches with paintings as well as images.
A very common feature of churches was the paintings in oils on the wooden screens in the altar. Frescoes , if any, invariably decorated the walls around the altar. Murals on the roof above the altar also were not very rare.
The painting techniques used were similar to those employed in temples - the preparation of the wall surfaces and the preparation of colours followed the same principles. However certain church frescoes (for eg. in the church at Akapparambu) display a remarkable variety in colours when compared to temple murals. And in style, church and temple murals are markedly dissimilar. In the churches every theme was painted as a separate frame. And in the latter, mostly all the themes were not demarcated as individual panels. On the other hand they exuded a general impression of flowing continuity.
If Christian fresco painters seemed to have paid more attention to a more or less realistic representation of the human anatomy, temple muralists delighted in presenting a highly imaginative and idealistic notion of persons and things.

The Church at Cheppaad
The St. George's Orthodox Church at Cheppaad in Alleppey is believed to have been constructed partially with portions of an old 13th century church at Harippad. The fortynine odd frescoes in this are fine examples of the Christian mural art of the early medieval period. They can be dated as earlier than those at Vallom, Kanjoor or Koratty Churches.
The themes are all Biblical, ranging from the Anunciation of Mary, Jesus's birth, the flight to Egypt, the Last Supper and pictures of the Crucified Christ. However the most remarkable, ones here are those of Noah and his ark, Judas' betrayal of Christ and Jesus with his disciples.

Mar Sabore and Afroth Church
This centuries old Syrian Jacobite church is situated at Akapparambu near Ankamali (Ernakulam). The present Church is only a replacement or perhaps an enlargement of the ancient structure. On the upper halves of the walls around the altar are some remarkably beautiful frescoes, surely the best examples of church murals of Kerala.
Satan tempting Eve in the Garden of Eden, Prophet Elia handling over his mantle to Elisha before ascending to heaven, Moses on Mount Sinai with the tablet of the Ten Commandments. Sabore and Afroth engaged in theological arguments with Nampoodiri Bhramins are among the interesting murals here.
A group of eight pictures portray the sufferings that Christ had to endure like being dragged at the end of a rope and being cruelly whipped on his way to Calvary. There are also a few pictures showing the several miracles that he wrought on the faithful.
White, yellow, black, brown, red and shades of blue are the colours generally used. Most of the murals are approximately 125 cms. high and 95 cms. wide.

St. Mary's Church, Kanjoor
There are two large frescoes on either side of the main door of the church. Apart from this there are several oil paintings around the altar. The two frescoes are a commenoration of the defeat of Tippu's marauding army when it sought to plunder the church in 1790. While one mural has captured the fierce and bloody encounter between Tippu's troops and the combined forces of British cannons and native infantry, the other is a victory march of the latter. Gruesome details like a corpse of one of the marauders pitchforked at the end of a British bayonet bring out the horror and the mercilessness of war. These frescoes are thus signifciant from a historical perspective also. However, what one sees today is only a repainting of the original. A faithful reproduction of the original painting is exhibited in the archaeological Museum at Trichur.

Kottayam Cheriyapalli
This is an old church tucked one and a half kms. from the centre of Kottayam town. The church and surrounding places are steeped in history being built in the times of the Thekkumkoor kings.
Cheriyapalli has some fairly large and comparatively fine murals. There is a painting of the Last Supper. Judas accepting the silver for his betrayal, Jesus's disciples waiting for him in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus being whipped and dragged publicly, Christ to the cross, the Crucifixion, the Virgin Mother with the body of Christ on her lap and Christ's ascension are the other frescoes here. But here what we cannot help noticing is the colour of Christ's robe, which is ochre rather than white. Ochre in Hindu concept is a colour related to mysticism and spirituality.
These paintings with Biblical and the few non-Biblical themes seek to sanctify the thoughts of the visitors to the church with the story of the son of God who died on the cross for mankind.
Other churches in Kerala that have old frescoes include St. Antony's Fer-one Church at Olloor, St. Mary's Churches at Trichur and Koratty, the old Syrian Church at Kadamattom and the Paliyakkara church at Tiruvalla.