Michaelevansnet at 16:20, 18 January 2026

2026-01-18T16:20:41Z

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{{short description|Former synagogue in Kochi, Kerala, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox religious building
| building_name = Kochangadi Synagogue
| native_name = {{ubl|{{langx|he|בית הכנסת קוצ'נגאדי}}|{{langx|ml|കൊച്ചങ്ങാടി ജൂതപള്ളി}}}}
| religious_affiliation = {{nowrap|[[Judaism]]}}
| image = Cochin Jewish Inscription.JPG
| image_upright = 1.4
| caption = Hebrew inscription on a tablet from the former Kochangadi Synagogue, now placed at the eastern wall of the [[Paradesi Synagogue]]
| location = [[Kochangadi]], [[Kerala]]
| geo =
| rite = [[Nusach Sefard]]
| country = [[India]]
| map_type = India Kerala
| map_size = 250
| map_relief = 1
| map_caption = Former location of the destroyed synagogue in [[Kerala]]
| consecration_year =
| status = [[Synagogue]] {{small|(1344–1789)}}
| functional_status = '''Destroyed'''
| leadership =
| website =
| architect =
| architecture_type = [[Synagogue architecture]]
| architecture_style = Cochin Jewish architectur
| groundbreaking =
| year_completed = 1344
| construction_cost =
| date_destroyed = {{nowrap|1789 {{small|([[Second Anglo-Mysore War|2nd Anglo-Mysore War]])}}}}
| facade_direction =
| capacity =
| length =
| width =
| width_nave =
| height_max =
| materials =
}}
The '''Kochangadi Synagogue''' ({{langx|he|בית הכנסת קוצ'נגאדי}}; {{langx|ml|കൊച്ചങ്ങാടി ജൂതപള്ളി}}), or '''Misro Synagogue''', was an historic [[Judaism|Jewish]] congregation and [[synagogue]], located in [[Kochangadi]], south of [[Mattancherry|Jew Town]] in [[Kochi]], in the coastal state of [[Kerala]], [[India]].

It was built in 1344<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |author=Waronker, Jay |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/671537518 |title=The synagogues of Kerala, India : their architecture, history, context, and meaning |date=2010 |oclc=671537518}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Jussay |first=P.M. |date=1990 |title=The Origins of the Kerala Jews - An Evaluation of their Traditional Sources |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44148189 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=51 |pages=66–74 |jstor=44148189 |issn=2249-1937}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Nathan |first=Katz |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/246707556 |title=The last Jews of Cochin : Jewish identity in Hindu India |date=1993 |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |isbn=0-87249-847-6 |oclc=246707556}}</ref> by the [[Cochin Jews|Malabari Jews]] after fleeing from [[Kodungallur|Cranganore]], making it the oldest synagogue in India in recorded history. It was lost and never rebuilt. "Kochangadi" is an abbreviation of "Kocha Angadi" or "Jew Market", as Jews were addressed as ''Kocha'' in colloquial [[Malayalam]].

The synagogue in its history underwent multiple stages of destruction and restoration. The ruins of the synagogue were believed to have been intact until the late 20th century. The compound had at least one intact wall and was colloquially called "'''Misro Palli'''" though the entomology of the name is lost to time.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |author=Daniel, Ruby |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1243580690 |title=Ruby of Cochin: an Indian Jewish woman remembers |date=2002 |publisher=Varda Books |isbn=1-59045-649-1 |oclc=1243580690}}</ref> The foundation stone is retained in the courtyard wall of the [[Paradesi Synagogue]] of [[Mattancherry]], by the [[Cochin Jews|Paradesi Jews]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-06-26 |title=Indian Jews: This little known minority community has a rich heritage |url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/indian-jews-this-little-known-minority-community-has-a-rich-heritage-2855590.html |access-date=2021-09-28 |website=Firstpost}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |author=Koder, S. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/3415398 |title=History of the Jews of Kerala|date=1974 |publisher= |oclc=3415398}}</ref>

== History ==
The Kochangadi Synagogue was built in the 14th century, after the Malabari Jews had to abandon [[Muziris]] or [[Kodungallur]]. Joseph Azar, the 72nd heir to [[Joseph Rabban]] and the last Jewish prince of [[Kodungallur|Shingly]], fled to [[Kochangadi]] with his followers and founded the Kochangadi congregation. The reason for this migration is unclear with numerous theories and legends ranging from an attack by the [[Portuguese Inquisition|Portuguese]], a catastrophic [[Periyar Flood of 1341|flood in 1341]], to a quarrel and subsequent murder of his elder brother Aaron Azar. Moses Pereira de Paiva gives his account ''Noticias dos Judeos de Cochim'', that he had seen the tomb of Joseph Azar in Cochin. No extant remains have been found to corroborate this claim.

Another tradition states that the [[Palayoor synagogue|Palayur Jews]] migrated to Kochangadi and founded the congregation, based on oral songs of Cochini women.<ref name=":0" /> Other traditions state that the nearby [[Chempittapally|Chembittapally]], a [[Mosque|Muslim mosque]], was built with wood donated by the Kochangadi Jews.

After its establishment in 1344, the synagogue was restored by Baruch Joseph Levi in 1539. Levy was the Jewish ''Mudaliyar'' of the Cochin Jews. It is believed to have been demolished by the army of [[Tipu Sultan]] during his raids into Kerala in 1789, during the [[Second Anglo-Mysore War]].<ref name="cochinsyn_lostsyn">{{cite web |url=http://cochinsyn.com/page-lostsyn.html |title=Lost Kerala Synagogues |author=Waronker, Jay A. |work=Friends of Kerala Synagogues |year=2011 }}</ref> Added to that, [[Islam|Muslim]] dominance in the area may have forced the Kochangadi Jews to relocate further north to Jew Town in Mattancherry.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Katz, Nathan |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/828245962 |title=Indian Jews: an annotated bibliography, 1665-2005 |year=2013 |publisher=Manohar |isbn=978-81-7304-980-4 |oclc=828245962}}</ref><ref name=":4" />

After it was destroyed, the Jewish community did not rebuild the synagogue. Instead, they moved to the nearby [[Kochi]] and carried with them the inscription stone mentioning its year of construction and planted it a wall of the [[Kadavumbhagam Mattancherry Synagogue]] at Synagogue Lane, Jew Town. It was re-discovered in 1818 when plaster fell from the wall, exposing the inscription tablet.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> Later on, the tablet was inserted into the east wall of the nearby [[Paradesi Synagogue]] where it remains. The Hebrew inscription states that the structure was built in 5105 (as per the [[Hebrew calendar]]) as "an abode for the spirit of God". The tablet is the oldest known Jewish relic from any synagogue in India.<ref name=":1"/><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />

== See also ==
{{stack|{{portal|Judaism|India}}}}
* [[History of the Jews in India]]
* [[List of synagogues in India]]
* [[List of synagogues in Kerala]]

==References==
<references />
{{coord missing|Kerala}}

{{Synagogues in India}}

[[Category:1344 establishments in Asia|India]]
[[Category:1789 disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:14th-century religious buildings and structures in India]]
[[Category:14th-century synagogues in Asia]]
[[Category:18th-century attacks on Jewish institutions]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1789]]
[[Category:Cochin Jews]]
[[Category:Destroyed synagogues]]
[[Category:Former synagogues in India]]
[[Category:Mattancherry]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Ernakulam district]]
[[Category:Sephardi synagogues in India]]
[[Category:14th-century synagogues]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1344]]
[[Category:Synagogues in Kerala]]

Kochangadi Synagogue - Revision history

Michaelevansnet at 16:20, 18 January 2026