St. Mary's Orthodox Church, Kallooppara

St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church at Kallooppara belongs to the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and is counted among the oldest churches in Travancore. Local history says Christians here once had to take their dead by boat to Niranam for burial. An Edappally king, seeing such a funeral party pass while he rested at Elangalloor Maddom, granted land across the river for a burial ground and church. The foundation stone of the present church is dated to Karkkidakam 3 of Malayalam year 515, or AD 1339, though its true origins are uncertain.

Around 1750 a court ordered the church pulled down and its land handed to a creditor over unpaid debts. Valiya Avirah Tharakan, related to the Edappally royal family, settled the debts in gold, took over the church and rebuilt it at his own expense by about 1755; parts of that work, especially the altar and roof, can still be seen inside. The church is today a pilgrimage centre of the Malankara Orthodox Church.