The Paradesi Synagogue is the oldest active[1] synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations,[2] located in Kochi, Kerala, in South India. Constructed in 1568, it is one of seven synagogues of the Malabar Yehudan people or Cochin Jewish community in the Kingdom of Cochin. Paradesi is a word used in several Indian languages, and the literal meaning of the term is "foreigners", applied to the synagogue because it was historically used by the typical Jews, a mixture from the Cranganore, the Middle East, and European exiles. It is also referred to as the Cochin Jewish Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue.