India
had a thriving trade with Central Asia, Mediterranean,
and Middle Eastern countries, both along mountain passes in the north
east and sea routes along the Indian western and southern coasts,
well before the beginning of Christian era.It is likely that
Christian merchants settled in Indian cities along trading routes.
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| Champakulam Kallukkadu.Kerala.IndiaSt.Mary'schurch. www. nasrani.net |
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| old malabar christians in ancient India. rammhubpages. |
New Mar Thoma church,kerala,India, where St.Thomas built the church in AD52. Kodungaloor. wikipedia.org
Christianity, scholars believe, was first brought to India in 52 CE by Thomas, the Apostle who visited Muziris near Cochin, Kerala mainly for the purpose of spreading the gospel among the Kerala Jewish communities.
Christianity, scholars believe, was first brought to India in 52 CE by Thomas, the Apostle who visited Muziris near Cochin, Kerala mainly for the purpose of spreading the gospel among the Kerala Jewish communities.
The
Apostle Thomas built seven churches in Kodungallur and evangelized
in present day Kerala
and Tamil
Nadu.
The first converts were Cochin Jews who arrived there in 562 BC soon
after the destruction of The First Temple.
The
'world's first oldest church' was built by him in 57 AD called
Thiruvithamcode Arapally or ''Thomaiyar kovil'' as named by the then
Chera king Udayam Cherai. It is in Thiruvitamcode, Kanyakumari
district of Tamil Nadu. This historical church of great antiquity
is now an international St. Thomas pilgrim center. Legend has it St.
Thomas attained martyrdom at St. Thomas Mount in Chennai and was
buried on the site of San Thom cathedral, Chennai.
Later
escaping from the persecution of Christians in by the Iranian King
Shapur II, Thomas Cana, merchant & missionary of Mesopotamia and
Bishop Joseph of Edessa, and 400 Christians with permission from
king Cherman Perumal settled in Kodungallur in 345. They
established the colony of Syrian Christians in Kerala. The colony of
Syrian Christians established at Kodungallur may be the first
Christian community in South India for which there is a continuous
written record The generous grants given to St. Thomas were recorded
in copper plates dated 774 AD written in Tamil, Grantha & Hebrew.
Christianity,
according to tradition (and now supported by recent research),
arrived in India in the first century through the apostle Thomas. So, Christians had been living in India for centuries long before the arrival of Europeans. St.
Thomas converted many South Indians who continued to practice
Christianity until present. It was further consolidated by the
arrival of Syriac Jewish-Christians, now known as Knanaya people in
the second century C.E. This ancient ethnic Christian community of
Kerala is known as Nasrani or Syrian Christian. The Nasrani people
and especially the Knanaya people within the Nasranis have strong
Jewish historical ties. Their form of Christianity is one of the most
ancient. Syriac Christianity which is also known as the Eastern
Orthodox Church and referred to in India as Saint Thomas Christians.
It should be noted that the term
"Saint
Thomas Christians" is a loose term that many non-Nasranis
Christians in Kerala are often referred to. The vast majority of
Christians in Kerala are not the original Nasrani / Knanaya but
indigenous local converts.
Roman
Catholicism reached India during the period of European colonization,
which began in 1498 when the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama
arrived on the Malabar coast. Christian missionary activity increased
in the early 1500 and 1600s. Today Christianity is the third largest religion
of India making up 2 - 2.5% of the population. Christians are most
prevalent in the northeast in states such as Nagaland, Mizoram, south
India, major metro areas, and in western states such as Goa.
Several
centuries ago in spite of secular and democratic attitude of native
Indians, the preachers of other religions, instead
being appreciative of their secular mind, started indulging in
forced conversion of natives in 1500s and later period particularly
in Goa. Numerous past instances were on record during the Raj and
prior to the arrival of the British. These are blots on the history
of India especially the famous Goa Inquisition of 1560 introduced at
the instigation of Fr. Francis Xavier. In 1500s
and 1600s
the Portuguese missionaries and rulers not only forced the Indians to convert
to Christianity under threats of death and violence but also native Christians who had still followed the Hindu customs.. This resulted in earning the hatred of the natives on the west coast and a large Christian population moved over to other places. During the Raj some of the
evangelists did the same thing in a subtle manner and the Indians despised the forced
conversion under threats or enticements.
The Hindu Raja of Quilon had given Fr. Francis Xavier a munificently large grant of land and other resources to build Churches in his territory after taking this grant, he without scruples began conversion of Hindus into Christianity under force.
The Hindu Raja of Quilon had given Fr. Francis Xavier a munificently large grant of land and other resources to build Churches in his territory after taking this grant, he without scruples began conversion of Hindus into Christianity under force.
The
Saint
Thomas Christians
still use the Syriac
language (a dialect of Aramaic,
which is also the language that Jesus spoke
in their liturgy. This group, which existed in Kerala relatively
peacefully for more than a millennium, faced considerable persecution
from Portuguese evangelists in the 16th century.
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