By the Coonan Cross Oath, the Eastern Church in India cuts itself off from colonial Portuguese tutelage.

The Coonan Cross Oath, also known as the Great Oath of Bent Cross or Leaning Cross Oath, was taken on 3 January 1653, in Mattancherry, by a significant portion of the Saint Thomas Christian community in the Malabar region of India. This public declaration marked their refusal to submit to the authority of the Jesuits and the Latin Catholic hierarchy, as well as their rejection of Portuguese dominance in both ecclesiastical and secular matters.

Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean region or locations further east, south or north. The term does not describe a single communion or religious denomination. Eastern Christianity is a category distinguished from Western Christianity, which is composed of those Christian traditions and churches that originally developed further west.

January 3 is the third day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 362 days remain until the end of the year.