St. John the Baptist Jacobite Syrian Valiya Pally, South Parur

St. John the Baptist Church stands in South Parur, a village on the southern edge of Ernakulam District, Kerala, beside the busy Kottayam-Ernakulam Road, or Vaikom Road. The Syrian Christian tradition here reaches back to the 9th century, and following the Synod of Diamper the Jacobites put up a new church to the east of the main road.

Holy men have long come here. Geevarghese Mor Gregorius, known as Parumala Thirumeni, celebrated the Holy Qurbana in the old church, and Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I visited in 1982. A rebuilding of the Jacobite church took place in 1991, and on 5 January 2008 the Patriarch gave it the title Valiya Pally.