Saint Thomas Christians

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This article deals with Saint Thomas Christians or Mar Thoma Khristianis (Malayalam :മാര്ത്തോമാ ക്രിസ്ത്‌യാനികള്‌) and the various churches and denominations that form the Nasrani people

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The Saint Thomas Christians are a group of Christians from the Malabar coast (now Kerala) in South India, who follow Syriac Christianity. <ref name = Menachery> Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Mundalan, A. M; 1984; Podipara, Placid J. 1970; Leslie Brown, 1956 </ref> The different groups and denominations within the St Thomas Christians together form the Nasrani people. <ref name = Menachery> Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Mundalan, A. M; 1984; Podipara, Placid J. 1970; Leslie Brown, 1956 </ref> Their tradition goes back to the very beginnings of first century Christian thought, and the seven churches that are believed to have been established by St. Thomas the Apostle. <ref name = Menachery> Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Mundalan, A. M; 1984; Podipara, Placid J. 1970; Leslie Brown, 1956 </ref>

1 Nasrani and Saint Thomas Christian tradition
2 History of the Saint Thomas Christian tradition
3 Place in Indian culture
4 Contact with Western Christianity
5 Nasrani religious jurisdictions
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References & Bibliography
9 External links

[edit] Nasrani and Saint Thomas Christian tradition

The Nasranis are an ethnic people and in that sense a single community. <ref name = Menachery> Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Mundalan, A. M; 1984; Podipara, Placid J. 1970; Leslie Brown, 1956 </ref> However the Nasranis have various denominations as a result of Portuguese persecution. <ref name = Buchanan> Claudius Buchanan, 1811., Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Mundalan, A. M; 1984; Podipara, Placid J. 1970; Leslie Brown, 1956 </ref> As an ethnic community they refer to themselves as Nasranis referring to the common cultural heritage and cultural tradition. <ref name = Menachery> Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Mundalan, A. M; 1984; Podipara, Placid J. 1970; Leslie Brown, 1956 </ref> However as a religious group they refer to themselves as the Mar Thoma Khristianis or in English as Saint Thomas Christians referring to their religious tradition, despite a common ancestry of being the descendants of the early Mar Thoma church or Saint Thomas tradition of Christianity. <ref name = Menachery> Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Mundalan, A. M; 1984; Podipara, Placid J. 1970; Leslie Brown, 1956 </ref>

These first century churches, according to tradition, were, from north to south: Palayoor near Guruvayoor/Kunnankulam, Cranganore (believed to be the ancient Muziris of Pliny, and the Periplus, on the north bank of Periyar River today), Paravoor on the south side of Periyar, Gokkamangalam or Kokkamangalam, Niranam, Chayal or Nilakkal (the only inland church) and the Lakes or Kaayals, and finally Kollam. The visit of the Apostle Thomas to these places and to Mylapore on the East coast of India can be read in the Ramban Song of Thomas Ramban, set into 'moc', 1500. <ref name = LBrown> Menachery G; 1973, 1982, 1998; Leslie Brown, 1956 </ref>

[edit] History of the Saint Thomas Christian tradition

Modern developments in archaeology, anthropology, numismatics, place-name studies, geography and trade route investigations have revealed evidence of the trading which forms the background to the St. Thomas tradition of India. <ref name = KIyer> K.V. Krishna Iyer 1971., Menachery G; 1973, 1982, 1998; Leslie Brown, 1956 ., Periplus Maris Erythraei 1912 ., Miller, J. Innes. 1969 ., Bjorn Landstrom 1964 ., T.K Velu Pillai, 1940 ., </ref>

The lure of spices attracted traders from the Middle East and Europe to the many trading ports — Calicut, Cranganore, Cochin, Alleppey and Quilon — long before the time of Christ. <ref name = KIyer> K.V. Krishna Iyer 1971., James Hough 1893; Periplus Maris Erythraei 1912 ., Miller, J. Innes. 1969 ., Bjorn Landstrom 1964 ., Thomas Puthiakunnel 1973; Koder S. 1973 ., T.K Velu Pillai, 1940 ., </ref> According to the first century annals of Pliny the Elder and the author of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Muziris in Kerala could be reached in 40 days' time from the Egyptian coast purely depending on the Southwest Monsoon winds. <ref name = KIyer> K.V. Krishna Iyer 1971., James Hough 1893; Periplus Maris Erythraei 1912 ., Miller, J. Innes. 1969 ., Bjorn Landstrom 1964 ., Thomas Puthiakunnel 1973; Koder S. 1973 ., T.K Velu Pillai, 1940 ., </ref> The Sangam works Pura Nanooru and Aka Nanooru have many lines which speak of the Roman vessels and the Roman gold that used to come to the Kerala ports of the great Chera kings in search of pepper and other spices, which had an enormous demand in the West. <ref name = KIyer> K.V. Krishna Iyer 1971., James Hough 1893; Periplus Maris Erythraei 1912 ., Miller, J. Innes. 1969 ., Bjorn Landstrom 1964 ., Thomas Puthiakunnel 1973; Koder S. 1973 ., T.K Velu Pillai, 1940 ., </ref>

According to tradition, it was on a trading vessel plying between Alexandria and the Malabar coast that St. Thomas the Apostle arrived in Maliankara village in AD 52. This village is situated near Moothakunnam in Paravoor Thaluk. St. Thomas arrived on the south side of Periyar; on the north side is Cranganoor. St. Thomas is said to have begun preaching the gospel to the already existing Jewish settlers in the Malabar Coast and other locals. <ref name = Koder>David de Beth Hillel, 1832; Lord, James Henry, 1977; Thomas Puthiakunnel 1973; 'Acts of Thomas' Bevan, 1897., Koder S. 1973; </ref>. According to the Acts of Thomas, the first converts made by Thomas in India were Malabari Jews, who had settled in Kerala since the time of King Solomon of Israel. <ref name = Koder>David de Beth Hillel, 1832; Lord, James Henry, 1977; Thomas Puthiakunnel 1973; 'Acts of Thomas' Bevan, 1897., Koder S. 1973; </ref>.

The ministry of St. Thomas covered a period of twenty years from 52 A.D. till 72 A.D. St.Thomas had established churches all over India from Taxila to Kerala. It was one of the main religions of India along with Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. St. Thomas established seven Christian communities or churches in Kerala. They are in Cranganore, Paravur (Kottakavu), Palayoor (near Chattukulangara, Kunnamkulam, Arthat Church), Kokkamangalam, Thiruvancode(in Kanyakumari District now, Niranam and Kollam (Quilon). <ref name = Menachery> Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Mundalan, A. M; 1984; Podipara, Placid J. 1970; Leslie Brown, 1956 </ref> In the 4th century, a settlement of Jewish Christians was founded in Kottayam by Thomas Kynai at the behest of the Catholicos of the Assyrian Church of the East. <ref name = VJacob> Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Leslie Brown, 1956; Vellian Jacob 2001; Poomangalam C.A 1998</ref> They became known as the Knanaya. Currently, there are no independent Knanaya religious organizations; they look either to the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church or the Syrian Orthodox Church for ecclesiastic legitimacy. <ref name = VJacob> Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Leslie Brown, 1956; Vellian Jacob 2001; Poomangalam C.A 1998</ref> Nevertheless, this community has rigidly maintained its distinct ethnic identity to the present day, vehemently prohibiting intermarriage with non-Knanaya even within their own religious jurisdiction while freely permitting Knanaya marriage between Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. <ref name = VJacob> Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Leslie Brown, 1956; Vellian Jacob 2001; Poomangalam C.A 1998</ref>

[edit] Place in Indian culture

Throughout Kerala, one can find Christian families that claim their descent from Jewish ancestors who were baptized by Apostle Thomas. <ref name = Poomangalam> Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Leslie Brown, 1956; Vellian Jacob 2001; Poomangalam C.A 1998; Weil,S. 1982</ref> St. Thomas Christians were classified into the caste system according to their professions, in accordance with the Hindu tradition, with special privileges for trade granted by the benevolent kings who ruled the area. After the eighth century when Hindu Kingdoms came to sway, Christians were expected to strictly abide by stringent rules pertaining to caste and religion. This became a matter of survival. This is why St. Thomas Christians had such a strong sense of caste and tradition, being the oldest order of Christianity in India. The archdeacon was the head of the Church, and Palliyogams (Parish Councils) were in charge of temporal affairs. They had a liturgy-centered life with days of fasting and abstinence. Their devotion to the Mar Thoma Cross was absolute. Their churches were modelled after Jewish synagogues. <ref name = Poomangalam> Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Leslie Brown, 1956; Vellian Jacob 2001; Poomangalam C.A 1998; Weil,S. 1982</ref>

In short, the St. Thomas Christians of Kerala had blended well with the ecclesiastical world of the Eastern Churches and with the changing socio-cultural environment of their homeland. <ref name = Poomangalam> Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Leslie Brown, 1956; Vellian Jacob 2001; Poomangalam C.A 1998; Weil,S. 1982</ref> Thus, the Malabar Church was Hindu in culture, Christian in religion, and Judeo-Syro-Oriental in worship. <ref name = Poomangalam> Menachery G; 1973, 1998; Leslie Brown, 1956; Vellian Jacob 2001; Poomangalam C.A 1998; Weil,S. 1982</ref>

[edit] Contact with Western Christianity

In 1498, when the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama landed on the Malabar coast, there were an estimated two million Christians across the land, and they had 1,500 churches under the jurisdiction of a single Metropolitan bishop who lived in Angamali. The arrival of Vasco da Gama, however, heralded a new struggle for the East Syrian Church, because the Portuguese, who later established trading posts in Goa, Daman and Diu north of Kerala, moved against the East Syrian Church in the Goa Inquisition leading to tragic, ecclesiastical incidents. <ref name = Geddes> Claudius Buchanan 1811 ., Menachery G; 1973, 1982, 1998; Podipara, Placid J. 1970; Leslie Brown, 1956; Tisserant, E. 1957; Michael Geddes, 1694; </ref>

According to Joas de Castro, the Portuguese viceroy in Goa in 1548, the sword of the Portuguese was wielded "mainly against the centuries-old Syrian-Christians of Kerala" because they were opposed to Roman control of their church. <ref name = MGeddes> Claudius Buchanan 1811 ., Menachery G; 1973, 1982, 1998; Leslie Brown, 1956; Michael Geddes, 1694; </ref> This was because only in Kerala did the laity stand steadfast against Western colonization, and maybe the Portuguese, who were under the Roman Church, considered everything outside Roman Catholicism as heretical, including the Syrian Christians they found in India. <ref name = MGeddes> Claudius Buchanan 1811 ., Menachery G; 1973, 1982, 1998; Leslie Brown, 1956; Michael Geddes, 1694; </ref>

The move against the Syrian Church was followed by the Roman Church establishing a Roman Catholic diocese in Goa in 1534. In 1557 Pope Paul IV declared Goa an archdiocese with its supremacy extending from the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa to China, and all Christians, including the East Syrian Church, brought under its jurisdiction. The East Syrian Archdiocese of Angamali then became a dependent of Goa and it lost many properties to Roman Catholicism. <ref name = Geddes> Claudius Buchanan 1811 ., Menachery G; 1973, 1982, 1998; Podipara, Placid J. 1970; Leslie Brown, 1956; Tisserant, E. 1957; Michael Geddes, 1694; </ref>

This conversion to Roman Catholic rite led to divisions in the Church, as there was considerable resistance against Roman domination of its rituals and properties. <ref name = Geddes> Claudius Buchanan 1811 ., Menachery G; 1973, 1982, 1998; Podipara, Placid J. 1970; Leslie Brown, 1956; Tisserant, E. 1957; Michael Geddes, 1694; </ref> The Christian communities then split into many groups — East Syriac Catholics, West Syriac Catholics, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (in Oriental Orthodox Communion), Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church (in Oriental Orthodox Communion), Mar Thoma Church (reformed), Chaldean Syrian Church Church of the East (those who accepted the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East), and the Latin-Rite Roman Catholic Church. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Jacobite and other St. Thomas Christian bishops assisted at consecrations of Old-Catholic bishops who went on to form the movement of Independent Catholic Churches. <ref name = Geddes> Claudius Buchanan 1811 ., Menachery G; 1973, 1982, 1998; Podipara, Placid J. 1970; Leslie Brown, 1956; Tisserant, E. 1957; Michael Geddes, 1694; </ref>

**St. Thomas Christian Groups**
West Syriac (Antiochian)					East Syriac (Chaldean)
Oriental Orthodox			Protestant	Eastern Catholic		Assyrian Church of the East
Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church (Syriac Orthodox)	Malankara Orthodox Church (Indian Orthodox)	Malabar Independent Syrian Church	Mar Thoma Church	Syro-Malankara Catholic Church	Syro-Malabar Catholic Church	Chaldean Syrian Church
N.B. The Malabar Independent Syrian Church, while Oriental Orthodox in tradition, is not in communion with the rest of Oriental Orthodoxy.This church is in communion however with the Mar Thoma Church and both churches have assisted each other in the consecration of bishops.The Mar Thoma Church itself, while continuing to maintain a Syrian idenitity, has moved closer to the Anglican Communion and maintains communion with both the Anglican groupings in India - The CNI(Church of North India) and CSI(Church of South India)

[edit] Nasrani religious jurisdictions

(in alphabetical order by Communion)

Catholic
- Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
  - Archdiocese of Kottayam (Knanaya)
- Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
Oriental Orthodox Communion
- Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church
  - Knanaya Diocese
- Indian Orthodox Church or the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (Autocephalus Church)
Oriental Orthodox tradition but autonomous
- Malabar Independent Syrian Church
- Diocese of Cosmopolis
Assyrian Church of the East
- Chaldean Syrian Church in India
Mar Thoma Church (in communion with Anglican member churches but not a member of the Anglican Communion)
Evangelical Protestant
- St. Thomas Evangelical Church

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

[edit] References & Bibliography

Menachery G (1973) The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India, Ed. George Menachery, B.N.K. Press, vol. 2, ISBN 81-87132-06-X, Lib. Cong. Cat. Card. No. 73-905568 ; B.N.K. Press --(has some 70 lengthy articles by different experts on the origins, development, history, culture... of these Christians, with some 300 odd photographs).

Mundadan, A. Mathias. (1984) History of Christianity in India, vol.1, Bangalore, India: Church History Association of India.

Leslie Brown, (1956) The Indian Christians of St. Thomas. An Account of the Ancient Syrian Church of Malabar, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1956, 1982 (repr.)

Podipara, Placid J. (1970) "The Thomas Christians". London: Darton, Longman and Tidd, 1970. (is a readable and exhaustive study of the St. Thomas Christians.)

Menachery G (ed); (1998) "The Indian Church History Classics", Vol.I, The Nazranies, Ollur, 1998. [ISBN 81-87133-05-8].

Medlycott, A E. (1905) "India and the Apostle Thomas"; Gorgias Press LLC; ISBN 1-59333-180-0

David de Beth Hillel (1832) "travels"; madras publication;

Menachery G (ed) (1982) The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India, B.N.K. Press, vol. 1;

Lord, James Henry (1977) "The Jews in India and the Far East"; Greenwood Press Reprint; ISBN 0-8371-2615-0).

Acts of St. Thomas (Syriac) MA. Bevan, London, 1897

Poomangalam C.A (1998) The Antiquities of the Knanaya Syrian Christians; Kottayam, Kerala.

Tisserant, E. (1957) Eastern Christianity in India: A History of the Syro-Malabar Church from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Trans. and ed. by E. R. Hambye. Westminster, MD: Newman Press.

James Hough (1893) "The History of Christianity in India".

Michael Geddes, (1694) A Short History of the Church of Malabar together with the Synod of Diamper, London.

K.V. Krishna Iyer (1971) Kerala’s Relations with the Outside World, pp. 70, 71 in "The Cochin Synagogue Quatercentenary Celebrations Commemoration Volume" , Kerala History Association, Cochin.

Periplus Maris Erythraei "The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea", (trans). Wilfred Schoff (1912), reprinted South Asia Books 1995 ISBN 81-215-0699-9

Miller, J. Innes. (1969). The Spice Trade of The Roman Empire: 29 B.C. to A.D. 641. Oxford University Press. Special edition for Sandpiper Books. 1998. ISBN 0-19-814264-1.

Thomas Puthiakunnel, (1973) "Jewish colonies of India paved the way for St. Thomas", The Saint Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India, ed. George Menachery, Vol. II., Trichur.

Koder S. 'History of the Jews of Kerala".The St.Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India,Ed. G. Menachery,1973.

Vellian Jacob (2001) Knanite community: History and culture; Syrian church series; vol.XVII; Jyothi Book House, Kottayam

Weil,S. (1982) "Symmetry between Christians and Jews in India: The Cananite Christians and Cochin Jews in Kerala. in Contributions to Indian Sociology,16.

Claudius Buchanan, (1811) "Christian Researches in Asia" (With Notices of the Translation of the Scriptures into the Oriental Languages). 2nd ed. Boston: Armstron, Cornhill

Bjorn Landstrom (1964) "The Quest for India", Double day English Edition, Stockholm.
Menachery G (1987) (Chs. I & II)"Kodungallur City of St. Thomas," Mar Thoma Shrine Azhikode. Reprinted 2000 as "Kodungallur Cradle of Christianity in India".
T.K Velu Pillai, (1940) "The Travancore State Manual"; 4 volumes; Trivandrum

[edit] External links

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