outh Indian Christians trace their denominational origins to Eastern Orthodox churches where Syriac was the liturgical language. Members of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, in communion with Rome, for centuries used a distinctive Syro-Malabar Syriac (based on Western Syriac) as the liturgical language of their chants, but today most singing is in the vernacular language of Malayalam. Father Joseph Palackal — an ethnomusicologist and priest from the Syro-Malabar community now living in Queens — has done extensive work to document remaining knowledge of the Syriac chants. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, following the Eastern Syriac rite, continues to use a distinctive Syriac in its services at churches throughout the New York area, including in Floral Park, where the Malayali community is substantial.