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History of St. Thomas Traditions Christianity in India

History of St. Thomas Traditions Christianity in India | Indian Christian Heritage

History of St. Thomas Traditions Christianity in India

St. Thomas Christianity represents one of the world's oldest continuous Christian traditions. According to ancient Christian tradition preserved by the churches of India, the Apostle Thomas arrived on the Malabar Coast in A.D. 52, preached the Gospel, established Christian communities, and was later martyred near present-day Chennai. Whether examined through the lens of faith, historical tradition, archaeology, or trade history, the St. Thomas Christian community occupies a unique place in both Indian and global Christianity.

Today, the descendants of these early Christians are collectively known as the St. Thomas Christians or Nasranis (from Nazrani, meaning followers of Jesus of Nazareth). They belong to several churches, including the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, the Malabar Independent Syrian Church, and the Chaldean Syrian Church.

Their history reflects nearly two thousand years of continuity, adaptation, and interaction with Jewish, Persian, Middle Eastern, Portuguese, and Indian cultures.

The Apostolic Tradition

The strongest identifying feature of St. Thomas Christianity is the belief that the Apostle Thomas personally brought Christianity to India.

According to the tradition preserved by the St. Thomas Christian churches:

  • St. Thomas arrived at Muziris (Kodungallur/Cranganore) around A.D. 52.
  • He preached among Jewish settlements and local communities.
  • He established Christian congregations across the Malabar Coast.
  • He ordained clergy and organized the growing Christian community.
  • He later traveled eastward before eventually reaching Mylapore (present-day Chennai), where he was martyred around A.D. 72.

While modern historians debate the precise historical details of Thomas's journey, the tradition itself is ancient. It is reflected in early Christian writings such as the Acts of Thomas (3rd century), the writings of Church Fathers including Eusebius, St. Ephrem the Syrian, Gregory of Nazianzus, and later medieval travelers such as Marco Polo.

For the St. Thomas Christians, apostolic succession is not merely a historical claim but a living spiritual identity that has shaped their liturgy, customs, and ecclesiastical life for centuries.

The Seven and a Half Churches

One of the most enduring traditions is that St. Thomas founded the Ezharappallikal, or Seven and a Half Churches, in Kerala.

These traditionally include:

  • Kodungallur (Maliankara)
  • Palayur
  • Kottakkavu (North Paravur)
  • Kokkamangalam
  • Niranam
  • Nilackal (Chayal)
  • Kollam (Quilon)
  • Thiruvithamcode (the "Half Church")

Although historians cannot verify every aspect of this tradition through surviving archaeological evidence, many of these locations have maintained continuous Christian communities for centuries and remain important pilgrimage sites today.

Several churches standing at these sites preserve oral traditions, ancient crosses, inscriptions, and liturgical practices connecting them to the earliest centuries of Indian Christianity.

Christianity Along the Indian Ocean Trade Routes

The growth of Christianity in India cannot be understood apart from the extensive trade networks linking the Roman Empire, Arabia, Persia, East Africa, and India.

Long before European colonial expansion, merchants regularly sailed between:

  • Alexandria
  • Antioch
  • Edessa
  • Basra
  • Persian Gulf ports
  • Kerala's Malabar Coast

These commercial links allowed Christian merchants, clergy, and bishops to maintain contact with the growing Christian communities in India.

Roman coins, ceramics, and archaeological discoveries around Muziris demonstrate that Kerala was already a major international trading center during the first centuries of the Common Era, providing a plausible historical context for the arrival of early Christianity.

The East Syriac Connection

From approximately the fourth century onward, the Indian Church maintained strong ecclesiastical ties with the Church of the East, centered in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and Iran).

This relationship shaped many aspects of St. Thomas Christian life:

  • East Syriac liturgy
  • Syriac language in worship
  • episcopal succession from Mesopotamia
  • theological scholarship
  • biblical manuscripts
  • liturgical music

Syriac became the principal liturgical language, while Malayalam gradually developed as the language of daily life and later devotional literature.

Despite these connections, the St. Thomas Christians remained culturally Indian, adopting local languages, architecture, social customs, and forms of community organization.

Persian Christian Influence

Several waves of migration from Persia strengthened the Indian Church.

One of the most well-known traditions concerns Knai Thoma (Thomas of Cana), a merchant traditionally believed to have arrived in Kerala with a group of Christian families, clergy, and artisans between the fourth and eighth centuries (the exact date remains debated).

These migrations helped reinforce ecclesiastical connections with the Persian Church while contributing to the development of distinctive St. Thomas Christian customs and traditions.

The copper plate grants received by Christian merchants from local rulers testify to the respected position occupied by Christian communities within the commercial life of medieval Kerala.

The Copper Plate Grants

Among the most important historical records of early Indian Christianity are the Copper Plate Grants, issued by local rulers between the ninth and tenth centuries.

These grants conferred privileges such as:

  • land ownership
  • tax exemptions
  • commercial rights
  • judicial authority
  • ceremonial honors

The grants illustrate that Christian communities were recognized as influential merchant groups integrated into the political and economic life of Kerala.

Although scholars continue to debate the interpretation and dating of some plates, they remain invaluable evidence of the established presence of Christians in South India long before European colonial rule.

The Arrival of the Portuguese

A major turning point came with the arrival of the Portuguese in 1498.

Portuguese missionaries encountered a flourishing ancient Christian community whose traditions differed significantly from those of the Latin Church.

Differences included:

  • East Syriac liturgy
  • married clergy (in earlier periods)
  • distinct theological terminology
  • local customs
  • independent ecclesiastical governance

Initially both communities cooperated, but increasing efforts to bring the St. Thomas Christians under Portuguese ecclesiastical authority created significant tensions.

The Synod of Diamper (1599)

One of the defining moments in St. Thomas Christian history was the Synod of Diamper, convened by Archbishop Aleixo de Menezes in 1599.

The Synod sought to:

  • bring the Indian Church into full communion with the Latin Catholic hierarchy under Portuguese administration
  • reform liturgical books
  • address theological differences
  • regulate church administration
  • suppress practices considered inconsistent with Roman Catholic teaching at the time

While the Synod strengthened ties with the Catholic Church, it also introduced extensive Latinization of liturgical and ecclesiastical practices. Many St. Thomas Christians later viewed these reforms as a disruption of their inherited Syriac traditions.

The Coonan Cross Oath (1653)

Growing dissatisfaction culminated in the famous Coonan Cross Oath of 1653 near Mattancherry, Kochi.

Large numbers of St. Thomas Christians gathered around a stone cross and pledged to resist Portuguese ecclesiastical domination.

This event marked the beginning of a series of divisions within the St. Thomas Christian community.

Over subsequent decades, different groups entered into communion with Rome, adopted West Syriac traditions through relationships with the Syriac Orthodox Church, or continued their own distinct ecclesiastical development.

The Emergence of Multiple Churches

The historical developments following the seventeenth century eventually gave rise to several churches sharing common St. Thomas origins.

These include:

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

An Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with Rome that preserves the East Syriac liturgical tradition while tracing its heritage to the ancient St. Thomas Christian community.

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

Established in 1930 through reunion movements, it follows the West Syriac liturgical tradition while remaining in communion with the Catholic Church.

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

An Oriental Orthodox Church that traces its heritage to the ancient Malankara Church and follows the West Syriac liturgical tradition.

Jacobite Syrian Christian Church

Part of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, sharing the West Syriac liturgical heritage.

Mar Thoma Syrian Church

A Reformed Oriental tradition that emerged during nineteenth-century reforms while preserving many aspects of Syriac worship and St. Thomas heritage.

Malabar Independent Syrian Church

An independent Oriental church based in Kerala with historical ties to the Malankara tradition.

Chaldean Syrian Church

Centered primarily in Thrissur, this church belongs to the Assyrian Church of the East and preserves the East Syriac liturgy.

Despite theological and administrative differences, all trace their historical roots to the ancient St. Thomas Christian community.

Worship and Spiritual Life

St. Thomas Christianity developed a distinctive spiritual tradition characterized by:

  • Syriac liturgical heritage
  • rich hymnody
  • emphasis on the Eucharist
  • daily prayer traditions
  • fasting seasons
  • veneration of saints
  • strong family-centered faith
  • integration of Indian cultural expressions into Christian worship

Many churches continue to preserve ancient liturgical melodies that have been sung for centuries.

Contributions to Indian Society

Over the centuries, St. Thomas Christians have made lasting contributions to Indian society through:

  • education
  • healthcare
  • publishing
  • social reform
  • agriculture
  • commerce
  • public administration
  • literature
  • higher education
  • missionary activity

Institutions founded by various St. Thomas Christian churches continue to serve millions of people across India regardless of religion or background.

Important Pilgrimage Sites

Several sites are closely associated with the St. Thomas tradition:

  • Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Church, Kuravilangad – one of Kerala's oldest Christian centers with a long-standing tradition of Marian devotion.
    • Google Maps Location View Location on Google Maps
  • St. Mary's Forane Church, Niranam – associated with the apostolic tradition and one of the traditional Seven Churches.
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  • San Thome Basilica, Chennai – built over the traditional tomb of St. Thomas and one of the few churches in the world erected over the tomb of an apostle.
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These churches remain important places of worship, pilgrimage, and historical remembrance for Christians from many traditions.

Legacy

The history of St. Thomas Christianity is a remarkable story of continuity across nearly two millennia. While scholars continue to discuss aspects of its earliest origins, there is broad agreement that Christianity has existed in South India since antiquity and that the St. Thomas Christian community developed into one of the world's oldest continuous Christian traditions.

Its legacy is reflected not only in ancient churches and manuscripts, but also in living communities that continue to preserve Syriac liturgical traditions, Indian cultural heritage, and a strong commitment to education, healthcare, and service. As one of the oldest expressions of Christianity outside the Middle East, the St. Thomas tradition remains an integral part of India's religious and cultural history and continues to inspire believers around the world.

References

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

Frykenberg, R. E. (2008). Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present. Oxford University Press.

Menachery, G. (Ed.). (1998–2010). The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India. The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India.

Neill, S. (1984). A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707. Cambridge University Press.

Mundadan, A. M. (1984). History of Christianity in India, Vol. I: From the Beginning up to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century (up to 1542). Theological Publications in India.

Perczel, I. (Ed.). Various studies on Syriac Christianity and the St. Thomas Christian tradition.

The Syro-Malabar Church. https://www.syromalabarchurch.in

The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. https://malankaracatholicchurch.in

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. https://mosc.in

Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. https://www.jacobiteonline.com

Mar Thoma Syrian Church. https://marthoma.in

Chaldean Syrian Church (Assyrian Church of the East in India). >https://www.chaldeanchurch.org

Vatican Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. https://www.vatican.va

Eusebius of Caesarea. Ecclesiastical History.

Acts of Thomas (3rd century), translated in standard academic editions.

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