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Christianity is ''' India 's''' third-largest religion, following Hinduism and Islam . Christianity underwent major transformation following European contact and British colonisation. The 2001 census recorded over 24 million Indian Christians, comprising 2.3% of the country's population. There are three main regional concentrations of Christian population, namely in South India , in Konkan Coast and among Tribal People in East , Central and North-East India . In South India in the state of Kerala , the Christians constitute almost 19% of the population. EARLY CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA Prayer s in Tamil]] Main article: Saint Thomas Christians According to the 3rd century '' Acts Of Thomas '', the first Christians in India were converted by St Thomas The Apostle , who arrived at Kodungallur on the Malabar Coast of India in 52 AD . It is also important to note that the first Christian baptisms in India were performed by the saint. The Syrian Malabar Nasrani people are an ethnic community in Kerala, South India. Their tradition goes back to the very beginnings of first century Christian thought, and the seven churches that were established by St. Thomas the Apostle among the natives and the Jewish diaspora in Kerala. They follow a unique Hebrew-Syriac Christian tradition which includes several Jewish elements along with some Hindu customs. Their heritage is Syriac-Keralite, their culture South Indian, their faith St. Thomas Christian, and their language Malayalam. 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. There is a general agreement among the historians that St. Thomas, a Jew himself by birth, visited India in search of Jews settled here. Although the Christian ideals were foreign, many Hindus embraced the ideologies of baptism because of its similarities to bathing in the Ganges, which was first mentioned in the Rig Veda, the Mahabharata, and the Devi Bhagvatam . After evangelizing in Kerala and Tamil Nadu , the Apostle is believed to have been martyred at St. Thomas Mount in Chennai and buried on the site of San Thome Cathedral . Members of the Syro-Malabar Church , an eastern rite of the Catholic Church, adopted the Syriac liturgy dating from an unknown period before 4 th Century. In the 4th century, Apostle’s relics were taken to Edessa at the instance of the then Bishop of Edessa under whose jurisdiction the Kerala Church was and was later moved to Italy. The Christian community founded by St Thomas has since developed into a number of churches during the Portuguese persecution, including Syriac-rite churches in communion with the Roman Catholic, Antiochian Orthodox churches, and 'Nestorian' churches. The arrival of St Thomas, and the subsequent establishment of the seven and a half churches is viewed with skepticism by Western historians. However, the theory has never been discounted, and the Keralite s still attribute an apostolic origin to their church. MEDIEVAL PERIOD The Syrian Malabar Nasrani community was further strengthened by various Persian immigrant settlers. The trade routes brought with them not only riches but also stateless nations and nascent worldviews.The community was strengthened by Christian-Jewish Knanaya colonies of third century, Manichaeanism followers and the Babylonian Christians settlers of 4th Century, the 7th Century Syrian settlement of Mar Sabor Easo & Proth and the immigrant Persian Christians from successive centuries. The Kerala Syrian Church was in communion with Syrian Church and was under the jurisdiction of Patriarch Of Babylonian till the Portuguese arrival in the late 15th century. Bishops came from Syria . They seem to have maintained their identity for a long time in the first few centuries and later amalgamated into one patronized community known differently as Nasrani , Malankara Christains , Syrian Christians . The archeological excavations at , of the same kingdom, abounds in ships sent there with cargoes from Arabia, and by the Greeks ; it is located on a river, distant from Tyndis by river and sea five hundred stadia, and up the river from the shore twenty stadia. The South Indian epic of Manimekalai (written between 2nd and 3rd century CE) mentions the Nasrani people by the name Essanis referring to one of the early Christian-Jewish sect within the Nasranis called Essenes . The embassy of Alfred in 833 CE described the Nestorian Syrian Christians as being prosperous and enjoying high status in the Malabar coast. Marco Polo also mentioned the Nasranis and their ancient church in the Malabar coast in his writings Il Milione . IN THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD in Kerala , built in traditional Portuguese style ]] (l'Eglise du Sacré Cœur), West Bengal , reflects typical French architecture]] Portuguese missionaries, who reached the Malabar Coast in the late 15th Century , made contact with the St Thomas Christians in Kerala, and sought to introduce among them the Roman (Latin) Rite . Since the priests for St Thomas Christians were served by the Eastern Christian Churches, they were following Eastern Christian practices at that time. Throughout this period, foreign missionaries also made many new converts to Christianity. This led to the formation of Latin Catholics in Kerala. Latin Catholics in Kerala today comprises of the St Thomas christians who accepted Latin (Roman) Rite, found mostly in central Kerala, and the christians converted by Portuguese influence and other missionary work, found mainly in the southern parts of Kerala. |
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